New president’s skills, energy and vision are praised by trustees
Today the Colorado Mountain College Board of Trustees approved a contract to hire Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser as the next president of the college.
Following a national search, the college’s board of trustees selected Hauser as their top choice earlier this month. She is expected to start at the college Dec. 2.
“We are really looking forward to having Dr. Hauser join us,” said Glenn Davis, president of the board. “Her demonstrated leadership experience, great energy and strategic vision will benefit our students and employees and the many communities we serve. The trustees understood their affirmative obligation to all of the college’s constituents – students, staff and supporters alike – and seized this perhaps unique opportunity to invest in a president who could potentially fulfill the college’s vast promise of becoming the premier community college in the country.”
“In Colorado and beyond, Dr. Hauser has proven herself to be a powerful advocate for students wanting to gain access to an affordable, quality education,” said Dr. Bob Taylor, the college’s trustee from Summit County. “She has demonstrated the drive to support them as they reach toward their educational goals. With these strengths in mind we think she is a great fit to lead Colorado Mountain College and lay a new foundation for students and higher education in the CMC District and the state.”
“With Dr. Hauser’s proven success in fund raising and garnering the support of students and faculty, CMC will now go forward in being a great community college,” said Kathy Goudy, the college’s trustee from eastern Garfield County.
In Colorado, Hauser has been vice president for advancement and external relations at Metropolitan State University of Denver and executive director of its foundation. She also served as vice president and an original senior officer of the Daniels Fund, a major Colorado-based foundation focused on helping students achieve college access and success, and as a governor’s appointee to the Colorado Commission on Higher Education and the Colorado Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Care Reform.
Her background includes teaching assignments at the University of California – Los Angeles, the University of Denver and in Colorado State University’s executive MBA program. She has held research and legislative staff roles as well as positions with the Boulder-based Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education and the University of Arizona, her undergraduate alma mater. She earned her master’s and Ph.D. degrees from UCLA and is a graduate of the advanced management program at the Wharton School of Business.
Currently she is a senior fellow for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City, Mo., and also served as president and CEO of Kauffman Scholars, Inc., a major subsidiary unit of the foundation.
Comprehensive search spanned five months
The national search for a new president of CMC started in June, when the board hired search consultant the Association of Community College Trustees. A screening committee composed of faculty, administrators, staff, a student, three community members and two of the college’s seven trustees reviewed more than 60 completed applications.
From those applicants, the committee recommended that the board interview seven semifinalists. After those video interviews, the CMC Board of Trustees selected five finalists to interview in person.
In September the five finalists were interviewed by employees, community members, students, senior college leadership and the board of trustees. Those who took part in the interviews or viewed online videos of the finalists’ presentations were then invited to complete online surveys.
Following those interviews of the five finalists and after weighing participants’ input, the trustees voted to bring back two finalists, Hauser and Dr. Alan Walker, for further interviews. These followup interviews were conducted in public session during the board of trustees’ Oct. 9 meeting.