University Relations

President finalist visits UCCS

Bruce Benson, sole finalist for CU president, attended forums and fielded questions from UCCS faculty, staff and students Tuesday and Friday.

An estimated 20 students attended a Friday morning forum to meet Benson as he capped off a week-long three-campus tour of interviews. On Tuesday, he met with a standing-room only crowd at the University Center where faculty and staff peppered him with questions ranging from his stance on academic freedom to his activities on behalf of conservative Republicans.

Acknowledging that there are “real financial problems ahead” for the CU system, Benson presented himself as an innovative fundraiser privy to the ear of policy makers on both sides of the political aisle.

“I believe in using my political connections to better my causes,” Benson said. “And this is my cause now.”

Labeling faculty the “heart and soul” of the university, and UCCS the state’s “best kept secret,” Benson vowed to make faculty retention and recruitment, and marketing campus initiatives, a top priority.

Benson estimates he’d spend 25 percent of his time monitoring and managing the campuses and 75 percent working outside to find grants and to increase federal funding to promote higher education.

To see Silver and Gold Record coverage of Benson’s campus visits, click here.

-- Jane Wampler