W. Va. school leader quickly made grade

Highly criticized initially by faculty, he's popular now

By Berny Morson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published February 21, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.

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Faculty members at West Virginia University were outraged last year when lobbyist Michael Garrison was nominated to head the school.

So outraged, in fact, that the faculty senate passed a resolution of no confidence in the search process.

It was a reaction similar to the one that greeted the nomination of Bruce Benson as CU president. But six months after taking office in Morgantown, Garrison gets high marks from faculty members.

"Many of his initiatives have been exactly the initiatives the faculty like," said J. Steven Kite, a geology professor who heads the faculty senate. "I think he's won over most of the faculty with his actions."

Among Garrison's achievements, according to Kite: the largest faculty raises in more than a decade and progress on a child-care center that staff members have sought for years.

Like Garrison, Benson is a graduate of the university he will lead. The two also have strong political connections in their states - Garrison as former chief of staff to a Democratic governor, Benson as past state Republican Party chairman.

As at West Virginia, the faculty at CU voiced outrage at the nomination of Benson. During public forums and in comments posted on a CU Web site, they derided Benson's lack of an advanced degree and warned that his political connections could be more divisive than helpful.

But some observers who study higher education management say a president from outside academia can bring a wealth of fundraising and political skills to the job.

'May surprise people'

"Driven by passion and with the proper connection, he (Benson) may surprise people and become pretty successful," said Rita Bornstein, a past president of Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla., who holds an endowed chair in academic leadership.

"If the new guy at CU can do something like that," Bornstein said, referring to Garrison's accomplishments at West Virginia, "all will be forgiven and forgotten."

But Benson will face significant hurdles as he moves from the private sector to academia.

"If a CEO says we're going down Third Street, everyone lines up and goes down Third Street," said Claire Van Ummersen of the Washington-based American Council on Education. Faculty members, on the other hand, expect their leaders to convince them to accept change.

"It is really learning a new culture and a new way of doing business," Van Ummersen said.

John DiBiaggio, who was president of three universities, said that faculty members expect to be treated as equals.

"You don't treat a professor as being in a lesser role, a subservient person," said DiBiaggio, who has headed Tufts, Michigan State and the University of Connecticut.

Because of the need for extensive consultation, decision-making can take a long time and involve contentious meetings.

"You have to have patience to do that," DiBiaggio said.

Some people make the transition to academia. Others fail, he said.

Trouble at Metro

Wrong steps can be disastrous, said Robert Zemsky, who studies higher education at the University of Pennsylvania education school. "If he tries to do something and the faculty views it as an attack on them, it's a firestorm," Zemsky said.

That's what happened to Benson at Metropolitan State College of Denver, where he headed the Board of Trustees. Faculty members viewed a proposal backed by Benson as an attack on tenure. The matter is still in litigation.

Benson has promised to leave tenure alone at CU. He also has promised to put partisan politics aside and not interfere with research or academic freedom.

Most of the nation's colleges and universities continue to be headed by people who followed a traditional academic career path. In Colorado, another exception is the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, which hired former Exxon Mobil executive Bill Scoggins as president.

Nontraditional executives have fluctuated between 13 percent and 15 percent of presidencies over the past 20 years, said ACE's Van Ummersen. The figure now stands at 13.1 percent.

morsonb@RockyMountainNews.comor 303-954-5209

The University of Colorado system at a glance

CU has more than 50,000 graduate and undergraduate resident and nonresident students in more than 300 degree programs taught by more than 3,800 faculty on its three campuses in Boulder, Colorado Springs and Denver.

The University of Colorado's fiscal year 2007 budget is $2 billion, with contracts, grants, and tuition and fees accounting for more than half of revenues.

How they voted

Bruce Benson was named CU's 22nd president on a 6-3 vote of the Board of Regents. The vote - Republicans supported Benson; Democrats were opposed - came as no surprise.

Tillman Bishop Republican

* Yes

"I'm placing my confidence in the dedication and commitment that Bruce has said he would give."

Steve Bosley Republican * Yes

"No one . . . has a higher understanding of higher education in Colorado today than Mr. Benson."

Cindy Carlisle Democrat

* No

She said that although she did not support Benson, "I also will work with him."

Michael Carrigan Democrat

* No

"Never in CU's history has a presidential nominee received such broad-based opposition" from students, the faculty and staff members.

Pat Hayes Republican

* Yes

"This has not been an easy decision for me. . . . I have had many sleepless nights where I go to sleep thinking, What is the best thing for the University of Colorado? And I wake up thinking the same thing."

Kyle Hybl

Republican

* Yes

"Are we going to help the University of Colorado be the world-class institution that it is, and that it can be?"

Tom Lucero, Republican

* Yes

"We're not hiring Bruce Benson to go into the classroom and teach. We're looking at somebody with demonstrated ability and leadership, who's proven himself. . . . It takes a unique indidivual to be successful not only in one industry but in multiple industries."

Steve Ludwig, Democrat

* No

"We need great relations with Colorado state lawmakers. . . . Another controversy or controversial figure sucks all the oxygen out of the room."

Paul Schauer, Republican

* Yes

"This search has been elongated, and it is time to get on with educating students, conducting research and serving the community."

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