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Mark Kennedy new, but soon to be old CU President - Official CU president Thread

I’ve actually heard that UCCS is doing very well. Enrollment is up and they’ve seen very nice growth over the last several years.
 
This makes me feel better that unlikely what Lesley Smith implied, this information was known and asked about.




She didn’t indicate anything concrete about his answers nor anything specific that led her to believe “he could handle a fastball.”

Can the guy raise a lot of effing money for the University of Colorado system? If so, we’d like to see the evidence.

On its face, it looks like a guy who had good meetings with the regents but a questionable political background and light fundraising chops got the fast track. This seems like a real terrible hire on all fronts.
 
Again, the political “fit” argument seems silly to me. His politics are irrelevant. The fundraising critique is valid, though. I hope he is more than a budget balancer. I have doubts that a guy who has never done anything in the State of Colorado will be effective at raising money here. But time will tell, I suppose.
 
Again, the political “fit” argument seems silly to me. His politics are irrelevant. The fundraising critique is valid, though. I hope he is more than a budget balancer. I have doubts that a guy who has never done anything in the State of Colorado will be effective at raising money here. But time will tell, I suppose.

This isn’t a learn on the job position. When he’s got a bigoted background, he better bring the fundraising firepower.

He doesn’t have that.
 
She didn’t indicate anything concrete about his answers nor anything specific that led her to believe “he could handle a fastball.”

Can the guy raise a lot of effing money for the University of Colorado system? If so, we’d like to see the evidence.

On its face, it looks like a guy who had good meetings with the regents but a questionable political background and light fundraising chops got the fast track. This seems like a real terrible hire on all fronts.

What is questionable about his political background?
 
I don't get the obsession on politics, the regents would have vetted that. In addition his job in Congress is different than the president of a University politically and he is probably capable of seperating the two, just like many of us do in our jobs.

Yes in Congress he voted on party lines, maybe he didn't like that and wants to side on issues based on his own viewes as well. He can speak for himself on that.

As a congressman you have to raise funds and hold fundraisers, I can see why that would be something that is looked at.

I do see the hire as uninspired and if it was done on the cheap, Kroll will just publicly blame it on the football program and the supposed money the AD is siphoning from the school. I also see this as a hire that won't rock the boat.

Uninspired is an appropriate description.
 
We don’t know what the other candidates looked like. The talent pool for this kind of job is incredibly shallow. Sometimes you take what you can get and hope for the best. Is that uninspired? Yeah, probably. It’s also probably unavoidable.

Hope for the best and keep a close eye on him. One thing is for certain: there weren’t any internal candidates that could do the job.
 
Again, I think it is fair to look at his political beliefs as they might relate to University issues.

He is anti LGBTQ
He is apparently somewhat anti-free speech, as he voted to make flag burning illegal
Voted No on allowing $84MM in grants for black and hispanic colleges
Voted No on Net Neutrality legislation
Voted yes to increase fines for 'indecent broadcasting'
Voted no on stem cell research
Voted against a number of environmental issues

Remember, this is a higher education institution with a strong research background and a medical campus, so having the head of your institution with certain views matters.

Maybe he is great, but there are a **** ton of warning signs. Lesley Smith posted this yesterday

 
9C0CFE36-6E86-4DF4-9D22-6CE9987C3519.jpeg

Here’s to hoping Kennedy is a worthy successor to Benson.

- Benson was a CU alum who donated millions to the athletic department and took a small salary.

- Kennedy has no obvious connections to CU nor Colorado. He didn’t come from a P5 football juggernaut. The regent vetting process includes Kroll and a lack of transparency. So my first impression isn’t a wow. Hope he learns to bleed black and gold.

Welcome to CU.
 
Who gives a **** if someone voted against gay marriage and abortion rights in 2002. GMAFB.
 
Who gives a **** if someone voted against gay marriage and abortion rights in 2002. GMAFB.
That’s pretty much where I am on this, too. His votes don’t make him “anti-LGBT” or a bigot. It is possible to oppose gay marriage without hating gay people. I think a lot of people are unable to make that distinction. They’re irrelevant to the position of University President anyway.

BUT, there are a lot of red flags on this guy.
 
This makes me feel better that, unlike what Lesley Smith implied, this information was known and asked about.




I asked her on twitter but haven't heard back (in her defense, it's been an hour) - but I'm pretty sure that the 9-0 vote she's talking about is just to allow him to be a finalist - not the "vote of support" she frames it as. Does anyone know for sure? They have to have another vote to confirm him for the job, right?
 
That’s pretty much where I am on this, too. His votes don’t make him “anti-LGBT” or a bigot. It is possible to oppose gay marriage without hating gay people. I think a lot of people are unable to make that distinction. They’re irrelevant to the position of University President anyway.

BUT, there are a lot of red flags on this guy.
Just seems completely irrelevant. He doesn't have to vote in line with his base, his views could have changed, and his personal beliefs will likely not mean anything with how he runs a campus. It is perfectly plausible for someone who runs universities to oppose gay marriage but say hey, this campus does not agree with me on this issue so it is not something that I can influence.
 
Who gives a **** if someone voted against gay marriage and abortion rights in 2002. GMAFB.

A gay student or gay staff member might care if their boss wants to deny them certain rights.

And I didn't touch on abortion, but rather stem-cell research, which is different, and should concern researchers at the University and medical staff at the university research hospital?

https://www.cuanschutz.edu/research
 
This isn’t a learn on the job position. When he’s got a bigoted background, he better bring the fundraising firepower.

He doesn’t have that.
Your claim that he is a bigot borders on slander.

Not surprisingly, lefties like you have to insert politics in every aspect of life, including the search for a CU President.
 
Again, I think it is fair to look at his political beliefs as they might relate to University issues.

He is anti LGBTQ
He is apparently somewhat anti-free speech, as he voted to make flag burning illegal
Voted No on allowing $84MM in grants for black and hispanic colleges
Voted No on Net Neutrality legislation
Voted yes to increase fines for 'indecent broadcasting'
Voted no on stem cell research
Voted against a number of environmental issues

Remember, this is a higher education institution with a strong research background and a medical campus, so having the head of your institution with certain views matters.

Maybe he is great, but there are a **** ton of warning signs. Lesley Smith posted this yesterday


Lesley Smith abides.
UTbXO9I.gif
 
But here is the broader point.

With all these red flags and no discernable excellence anywhere - why this guy? He didn't get along with the legislature in ND, he didn't get along with donors at ND, he didn't get along with athletics at ND. He doesn't appear to be an amazing fundraiser. He has never managed a university the size of Boulder before, much less a system that includes Denver, UCCS and Anschutz as well.

This is really the best we can do?

If you want a candidate that can be a wizbang fundraiser, then there are tons of candidates more qualified (like you did with Benson)
If you want a candidate that can better grease up the legislature, then there are tons of better candidates, including many in this state
If you want a candidate to increase retention or make college more affordable or grow the University System or whatever your goal is, it is almost guaranteed that there are better candidates with better experience from Universities that would take this job.

I would easily, EASILY take Tony Frank at CSU over this guy.
 
Your claim that he is a bigot borders on slander.

Not surprisingly, lefties like you have to insert politics in every aspect of life, including the search for a CU President.

Slander? A person who’s anti gay isn’t a bigot? Whatever.

If you read my posts, you’d know that I want someone who can first and foremost ring the fundraising bell. He has a terrible track record on this in his most recent job since major donors to his previous institution also despise him.

Him being a bigot and anti science are major red flags for a person who’s supposed to be in charge of a diverse set of campuses across many disciplines.
 
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