A faculty organization at Colorado State University is accusing the CSU system Board of Governors of carrying out a “closed door” search to replace outgoing chancellor, Tony Frank, a search that it says lacks transparency, bypasses faculty, and allows Frank to effectively choose his own successor.
"This begs the question of who, exactly, is making the selection," wrote Mary Van Buren, president of the Fort Collins chapter of the American Association of University Professors in a strongly worded letter to the board. "All of the above suggests that Dr. Frank is, in fact, naming a successor rather than conducting an objective search."
The letter calls the process a “grave concern” that fails to meet even minimal national standards for selecting a system-wide academic leader and bypasses shared governance — a core principle of higher education administration.
It is unclear if the Board of Governors plans to name a sole finalist at its meetings this week, six weeks after Frank announced he would retire in June 2027. Frank has served as CSU system chancellor since 2019, after holding the dual role of chancellor and president of CSU Fort Collins beginning in 2015.
In a statement, CSU said the board has discussed Frank’s replacement at length and considered faculty concerns, while emphasizing what it described as “the strength and depth of talent within our own community.”
A "closed-door" process
The letter alleges that the search — outlined by the board in a Dec. 18, 2025, statement — deviates from established best practices in several ways:
The search was restricted to internal candidates rather than being opened to a national pool. Instead of a diverse search committee, the Board of Governors evaluation committee is acting as the sole advisory body. There is no formal role for faculty, staff, or students, it alleges. Applicants were instructed to submit materials directly to Frank’s office instead of to an independent committee or the board itself.
The faculty also raised concerns about timing. The board announced the process right before winter break, with applications due Jan. 26 — a six-week window that fell in between Faculty Council meetings.
“The entire process was scheduled in a way that left faculty completely unprepared,” Van Buren said, arguing that the accelerated timeline effectively stifled input from the campus community.
While faculty objected to restricting the search to internal candidates, CSU said in its statement that said the chancellor’s role is designed to focus primarily on government and board relations, which require deep knowledge of Colorado and a strong statewide network.
It also said an internal search would help preserve continuity at a time when funding challenges are at the forefront, allowing the system to build on momentum on key priorities.
“We are confident in the quality of our internal pool and believe it is both prudent and strategic to first determine whether a highly qualified candidate — one who is already familiar with our state, institutions, and culture — is ready to lead as our next chancellor before embarking upon a national search."
What are national best practices?
The American Association of University Professors said the current approach contravenes national guidance on shared governance, which typically calls for significant faculty representation on search committees for top university roles.
It states that shared governance helps ensure that universities and colleges serve the public interest.
“Serving this interest is why we have public universities and colleges and why we grant special tax status to nonprofit private universities and colleges,” it states.
The letter claims that the current search is part of a broader pattern of problematic searches. It cited previous presidential searches for the Fort Collins and Pueblo campuses. It said those searches resulted in the selection of candidates closely connected to Frank with limited stakeholder input.
The CSU System serves roughly 50,000 students and employs more than 7,500 faculty and staff. The American Association of University Professors argues that an institution of this scale deserves a "rigorous selection process based on nationally recognized best practices".
The group is calling on the Board of Governors to scrap the current effort, implement a new search, open the pool to national candidates and form a committee that includes faculty and other key stakeholders.
