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Benson discusses plans for presidency

By Debbie Marsh
dmarsh@mscd.edu

Funding is Bruce Benson’s specialty. And Benson, sole candidate for the job of University of Colorado president, believes that funding is the key to excellence for higher education in the state.

The Republican activist and local oil tycoon spoke Feb. 5, to a standing room- only crowd in the Lawrence Street Building at Auraria.

Owner and president of Benson Mineral Group, Inc., the millionaire philanthropist said he is seeking the post because education is his passion. His ties to the subject go back decades; he has at times chaired the Auraria Foundation, the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Panel for Higher Education for the 21st Century, the Board of Trustees for Metro and the Denver Public Schools Foundation. Benson was also appointed co-chair of the P-20 Education Coordinating Council by Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter.

“Funding is one of my big issues here,” Benson said. “We’re on the brink in this state, as far as I’m concerned, with having a real collapse if we don’t do something about it.”

Colorado’s higher education institutions rank 48th nationally in state funding. Benson, asked what his highest three priorities for CU would be, he replied, “Funding, funding and funding.” He added that he’s been told that if he could straighten out the funding for higher education in Colorado, it would create a legacy.

A longtime Republican activist who has been known to cross the aisle, Benson noted that he has spent time talking to legislators and business leaders about how to fix the fiscal problem. He is seeking “different, outside the box” solutions, such as a greater number of profitable online classes. Benson said that fiscal solutions are increasingly important in light of the looming national recession and eventual expiration of Referendum C, a ballot measure for which he campaigned that raised funds for several state programs, including higher education.

“We need to talk about how great we are,” Benson said, adding that educators need to sell the university.

Benson indicated he would be in support of limited stakes gambling and a severance tax, “If it’s done in a way that will pass.”

Benson, who holds a bachelor’s degree in geology, has been criticized for his lack of higher credentials. If selected, he would be the first CU president since 1877 without a master’s or law degree; most had doctorates. In fact, of the three current chancellors who report to the president, the head of the Boulder campus has a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, the Colorado Springs chancellor earned a Ph.D. in organizational communication, and the Denver chancellor boasts a medical degree from Harvard.

At Metro, applicants for department head must have a minimum of a master’s degree, said Jacquie Oroeco in the department of human resources.

Asked how he would balance politics with his role as president, Benson replied, “I’m not going to participate in any partisan politics while I’m here.”

However, Benson has not shied away from heavy-handed partisan politics in the past. CU Regent Paul Schauer claimed that Benson warned him he would form a 527 and finance attack ads against him if Schauer ran for re-election. Benson responded that Schauer’s version of events “isn’t quite true,” but declined to elaborate, according to the Rocky Mountain News.

Benson was a member of The Trailhead Group, a GOP 527 organization that was accused of sponsoring false political ads, which attacked Democrat John Morse. According to Colorado Confidential, former Trailhead director Alan Philp has been quoted as saying the organization’s admittedly erroneous statements about Morse were an “honest mistake.”

Another audience member asked, “How do you see the future of the way the three institutions work together on the Auraria campus?” The crowd chuckled when Benson replied succinctly, “Needs work.” Benson stated that working on projects together for the common good would be a theme, such as erecting the new science building not for UCD alone, but for use by all three institutions on campus.

Queried about the inequity in the most recent allotment of CU Foundation funds, which found their way largely to Boulder, Benson replied, “We have a different set of constituencies for each of these campuses…. Each campus needs to get what is fair, not equal, fair.” He did not elaborate on what he considered to be fair.

Janis Nowlan, assistant dean of organizational effectiveness and outreach at the school of architecture who was present for Benson’s visit to Auraria said she liked his skill with the political process, outreach and fundraising. “I’m pleasantly impressed by him,” she said.

Mark Pogrebin, professor in the school of public affairs, was less admiring. “He’s not talking about his past history. He’s been a staunch Republican. They got us in this mess financially,” he said.

At press time, the Boulder Faculty Assembly had delayed a vote on Benson’s proposed appointment until after he made another visit to the main campus on Feb. 13. The Faculty Assembly will also be considering a written resolution critical of the search process, which ended with Benson as sole finalist.

“A single finalist transforms the nature of the search committee into something close to an appointing authority,” according to the resolution, while seeking to enlarge the role of faculty and students in the selection process.

While at the helm of Metro’s Board of Trustees, Benson supported a move to weaken tenure, an issue that is still before the state supreme court and continues to irritate faculty. While stating he could not directly address a matter that was in litigation, Benson said, “When I make a mistake, I’ll tell you about it.” He added, “Tenure is critical in higher education.”