University of Colorado
Todd Saliman
Todd Saliman, the University of Colorado’s chief financial officer, was named interim president of the four-campus, multibillion-dollar CU system Tuesday ahead of the looming departure of President Mark Kennedy.
The university’s elected Board of Regents voted unanimously to make the appointment at a noon meeting.
“Todd is a valued and respected member of the university community who has a sound understanding of the issues it faces,” Regent Glen Gallegos, R-Grand Junction, and the board’s chair, said in a statement. “He was the unanimous choice of the Board of Regents and we look forward to working with him to continue CU’s momentum and upward trajectory. His appointment will provide important continuity in some of our key initiatives, including strategic planning, online education and the fall return to on-campus teaching and learning.”
Saliman, who has been at the university since 2011, is leaving his post as CU’s senior vice president for strategy, government relations and chief financial officer in system administration. In a news release, Saliman said he would not seek the permanent presidency.
Saliman will take his seat at the helm of the university system after Kennedy leaves on July 1.
Before CU, Saliman served as Colorado’s budget director in the administration of former Gov. Bill Ritter and was a senior adviser early in the administration of former Gov. John Hickenlooper. Before that, he served in the Colorado legislature from 1995 to 2002 with four years on the Joint Budget Committee.
Saliman guided the state budget through the 2008 recession, according to a university-provided biography, and owned and operated a lobbying firm representing prominent organizations and governmental entities in the state, including CU.
Born and raised in Colorado, Saliman is a CU Boulder alumnus.
“I look forward to continuing to work with the board and my colleagues at CU system administration and on our campuses to ensure that CU continues to advance its mission to serve our students and state,” Saliman said.
Much like Kennedy’s contentious introduction to the CU community, the former Republican Congressman’s departure from Colorado’s flagship university devolved into a political argument.
At a Board of Regents meeting last month in which Kennedy was awarded a $1.3 million separation deal, Republican regents on the politically-elected, nine-member board rebuked the university’s statement that Kennedy’s leaving was neither a termination nor a resignation, alleging that the conservative president was fired for his political beliefs.
Kennedy’s May announcement that he planned to step down followed recent censure votes by Boulder faculty members and students for his handling of diversity issues. Critics also have targeted Kennedy for a lack of “shared governance,” or not seeking sufficient input from the university community.
