Information about the Chancellor Search: January 21, - TopicsExpress

Information about the Chancellor Search: January 21, 2014 Dear University of Denver Community, This follows Chancellor Robert Coombe’s announcement to you on Friday that he will be retiring on or about June 30 of this year. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I want to reiterate our thanks to Bob for his extraordinary leadership, the truly significant successes of his nine years as chancellor and his remarkable 33 years at the University of Denver. I had desired that he stay longer, but understand and accept his decision to step down in June. Under Bob’s leadership, the University has continued its remarkable transformation through a steady focus on the quality of the academic enterprise, supported by solid financial stewardship and strategic investments in our campus and facilities. This has superbly positioned DU for the next phase of its history and we have Bob to thank for leading us to this place. During the coming months, we will honor Bob for his enormous impact and contributions to the University. As Bob indicated in his letter, “the University stands at a significant point of transition and we are about to enter an altogether new phase in our 150-year-long history. The coming years will be an extraordinary time, a time when we can rise to still greater heights of quality and impact.” As a part of this transition, the Board of Trustees has immediately commissioned an international search for a new chancellor. Doug Scrivner, Chair-elect of the Board of Trustees, will be the chair of the search committee, which will be assembled in the next week. The committee will be tasked with undertaking an extensive outreach to the entire University community for its thoughts on the challenges facing the University and the attributes needed in a new chancellor. The goal is to recommend a slate of final candidates to the Board of Trustees before the end of the academic year. In the coming weeks, University town hall meetings and listening sessions will be scheduled across campus so that you can speak directly with members of the committee. A search committee mailbox, [email protected], is available for you to provide comments and pose questions. In addition, a search committee web page will be created to both solicit input and provide updates on the progress of the search. As those of you who have followed the deliberations of the Strategic Issues Panel are aware, the environment for higher education is evolving rapidly. This presents challenges and significant opportunities for DU. We intend to bring on a new chancellor fully capable of leading our excellent administration, faculty and staff, and seizing the opportunities of the coming years. Best regards, Trygve Myhren Chairman, Board of Trustees