CU President Search Called “Rigged, Unethical and a Charade “

“There is no better term that defines this process than one we are very familiar with, “rigged”. This was a rigged appointment from the beginning. The public should be seriously concerned with a Board that is willing to carry on with a process that was biased and unfair,” said Mario M.
Carrera, President/CEO of CLLARO. “The Regents’ decision to select Todd Saliman was preordained months ago and the so-called “open and fair search process” was a charade.”

Mario M.
Carrera, President/CEO of CLLARO.

The Colorado Latino Leadership, Advocacy & Research Organization (CLLARO), is a non-profit organization established in 1964.

See Mario Carrera’s interview with Fox 31 NEWS HERE


CLLARO stated “Our partners in the Latino Action Council are not surprised by this decision and concerned about what this may mean for the university’s future and its commitment to Latino students.


Last June, the Regents appointed Mr. Saliman as interim president and his contract stated that “Todd will not apply for the position of president, but will aid the search process for the next president and the transition process”. (Section 2. B) Mr. Saliman further agreed to return to his
position as Vice President for Budget and Finance. Mr. Saliman, as per his contract, began the search process which included the review of national search firms and assisted the regents in selecting the 17 member search committee.

Eight of the 17 members of the search committee were CU employees and Mr. Saliman knew, or should have known them, given his years at CU
and his oversight of the university’s budget.
For reasons which have never been made public, the regents and Mr. Saliman amended his contract in September, 2021 to allow Mr. Saliman to apply for the presidential position.

Interim President Todd Saliman is the sole finalist for the university’s next president.


Mr. Saliman, with the full knowledge and agreement of the regents (several of whom are also CU employees) had been and continued to be engaged in the search process for several months. Only after the search firm Storbeck Search had been hired, and the search committee had its first meeting in mid-December, did Mr. Saliman formally state he would apply for the position. He thus knew the members of the search committee, the search firm itself, before formally submitting his name. No other candidate had such an advantage in the search process making the search process biased and unfair in favor of one individual. No other candidate has “oversight” of CU employees who were members of the search committee or the board of
regents.


Further, CLLARO believes that state funds have been used to further the application of Mr. Saliman. CLLARO stands by the official citizen complaint filed with Attorney General Phil Weiser alleging abuse of government resources and a pattern and practice of discrimination by the University of
Colorado’s Board of Regents. We also submitted a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request for email and other communications since June 1, 2021, between former University President Bruce Benson and the search committee and CU Regents; any and all communications between
current Interim President Todd Saliman and the search committee, CU Regents, and the search firm; and the demographics for all CU presidential candidates interviewed but not chosen as a finalist. This CORA request has not been fulfilled in violation of state law.


CLLARO believes the decision to nominate Todd Saliman as the sole candidate for the university’s next president is yet another display of an inherent conflict of interest and potential unethical behavior by the CU Board of Regents. Our request for a new search process with a qualified Colorado search firm and a diverse and representative search committee has been ignored, and CLLARO and members of the Latino Action Council will continue to employ all legal avenues to hold the Board of Regents and Mr. Saliman accountable for their conduct.

In its press release naming Todd Saliman as the sole finalist for the position the The CU Board of Regents stated, “The board insisted on having a highly qualified and diverse candidate pool. To achieve that, the board hired Storbeck Search, a national recruiting firm with a reputation for building diverse search pools. Hundreds of people expressed interest in the job, and Storbeck presented the search committee with a highly qualified and diverse pool of 39 candidates: 13 women and 26 men – 13 candidates from Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) groups – from 20 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and international candidates.

The search committee spent many hours reviewing the candidates and discussing their credentials. They interviewed 10 candidates: seven women and three men – two BIPOC candidates – from seven states.

Per Regent policy, the committee narrowed the field to five highly qualified unranked candidates, who were forwarded to the Board of Regents for interviews. Those candidates included three women and two men – one BIPOC candidate – from five states.

CU Regents to host public open forums with Presidential Finalist Todd Saliman
Board requests input from university community
The University of Colorado Board of Regents will host open forums through April 22 for campus and community stakeholders to meet with Presidential Finalist Todd Saliman.Events include public open forums, which may be attended in person or virtually, on all four CU campuses and at the system office in Denver. The schedule follows below:UCCS | Mon., April 18, 10:30 – 11:30 a.m., Berger HallCU DENVER | Tue., April 19, 2 – 3 p.m., Jake Jabs CenterCU BOULDER | Wed., April 20, 2 – 3 p.m., University TheatreCU ANSCHUTZ | Thur., April 21, 4 – 5 p.m., Education 2 South, Room 1102CU SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION | Fri., April 22, 11 a.m. – noon, 1800 Grant St., Bruce and Marcy Benson Conference Room Click here for more information on the open forums. Streaming and feedback links will be listed as soon as they become available.Saliman also will meet with stakeholders from across the university and the state, including business and community groups and organizations representing rural communities, nonprofit organizations and elected officials. All are being asked to provide feedback to the Board of Regents before it holds a final vote on CU’s next president at the end of April.Comments may be submitted via the CU Presidential Search website, where a survey will be available starting Sunday, April 17.“The importance of this stage of the process cannot be overstated,” said Board of Regents Chair Jack Kroll. “The board will not vote on the next CU president until considering all public input. We encourage everyone in the community to take part.”