The Board of Governors of the Colorado State University System has named long-time educator with CSU roots Rico Munn as the sole finalist to succeed Tony Frank as the next chancellor.
The Friday announcement followed a three-day board meeting at the CSU Spur campus that included some public pushback from faculty. The announcement triggers a mandatory 14-day waiting period under Colorado law before an official employment agreement is signed.
The chancellor is the CEO of the Colorado State University System, which includes three campuses: the flagship CSU campus in Fort Collins, CSU Pueblo, and the fully online CSU Global.
“In Rico Munn we have a proven leader, committed to the CSU System, who also brings a strong statewide network and experience at all levels of government relations,” said board chair John Fischer. “Given the importance of this role and our confidence that he is enormously qualified to take it on, we have moved forward with our selection of the next chancellor of the Colorado State University System.”
Munn has served in various leadership roles at CSU for more than a dozen years. He currently serves as CSU’s vice president for strategy and engagement with Metro Denver and recently completed a tenure as interim president of CSU Pueblo. He was superintendent of Aurora Public Schools for a decade, led two state departments, and is the former chair of the CSU System Board of Governors and previous chief of staff to CSU President Amy Parsons.
Munn is active in Denver’s nonprofit community and has spent many years volunteering in the international human rights community with Amnesty International.
What does a chancellor do?
The CSU chancellor oversees the leadership and management of the CSU system. The role is based in Denver, works closely with the Board of Governors, and spearheads government relationships on behalf of the system and its three campuses.
“I am grateful and honored to be considered for this role. And I appreciate the thoughtfulness the board has put into the succession planning process, one focused on maintaining stability while setting the table for future innovation,” Munn said.
Faculty pushback on search process
The appointment followed an internal search by the board that was only open to current CSU employees. Some faculty said that the internal search lacked transparency and failed to meet national best practices for a public institution.
The selection process faced sharp criticism during public comment sessions at the Feb. 5 board meeting.
Brian Munsky, an associate professor in the department of chemical and biological engineering, said confining the search to internal candidates only showed a “blatant disregard for the principles of shared governance and egregious disrespect shown to the faculty, staff, and students of CSU.”
Munsky also criticized the short search time.
“The decision to announce an accelerated six-week internal search during finals week and with almost zero advertising appears to be intentionally calculated not only to exclude faculty, staff, and students from the decision, but also to hide the search from qualified candidates.”
Mary Van Buren, president of the Fort Collins chapter of the American Association of University Professors, also called for a more rigorous selection process by an independent committee.
“This is not a monarchy,” she said. “This is a public institution.”
There was no public discussion among governors about Munn’s selection except for board member Elizabeth Markey who said faculty and staff had “valid concerns.”
“To our campus — and I will speak for my colleagues at the other campuses — it doesn't make sense,” she said. “It is out of alignment with our national peers. If the next chancellor starts the tenure at CSU with questions about the legitimacy of the search, I think it's a real disadvantage.”
She urged the board to spend some time with community campus organizations to address their concerns about the search process.
“Need for continuity”
Board chair John Fischer said the board intends to do that soon.
In a statement issued after the vote, Fischer defended the decision to conduct an internal search. He said the role of the chancellor is designed to be focused primarily on government and board relations. And it requires knowledge of Colorado and a strong statewide network. He cited a need for continuity in key relations during a time of funding challenges.
“We find it highly unlikely we would identify another candidate whose experience includes serving as the state’s top higher education officer, a longtime superintendent of one of the state’s largest and most diverse school districts, past chair of a governing board of a public university system, interim president of a public university campus, and chief of staff at an R1 university campus – all on top of a successful legal career,” Fischer said.
If confirmed, Munn will take over for Tony Frank, who is scheduled to retire June 30, 2027.
The Colorado State University system serves almost 50,000 students and employs more than 7,500 faculty and staff.
