.... Boards meet CCHE
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Regents.propose single·chief by Sal Ruibal
The Board of Regents of the University of Colorado apparently have not given up hope for the eventual merger of Auraria,s two largest institutions. In a presentation to the Colo• rado Commission on Higher Education last week, the Regents proposed that. Metropolitan State College and the University of Colorado-Denver be administered by a single chief executive. The i:" combined leader would be hired by, and responsible to, both the Regents and the Trustees of the State College Consortium, MSC,s governing board. The RegenCs proposal is a re" treat from their previous hard-line position in favor of a direct merger under their control. The .new position still calls for consolidation of administrative, academic, budget, finance, and .it student service activities between the two schools. The Regents outlined their plan at a hearing conducted by the CCHE as part of the requirements set by the 1979 state General As.- sembly. House Bill 1498 orders the commission to present recommendations to the ·assembly concerning the "continuance, restructuring, or dissolution,' of the Auraria
Higher Education Center by January 15, 1980. Citizen input was required under H.B. 1498 and the CCHE heard public comment on Oct. 22. The governing boards of MSC, UCD and the Community College of Denver-Auraria gave presentations, as well as the Auraria Board. The·State Board of Community Colleges and Occupational Education did not respond to the Re-genCs proposal, but asked that -whatever the outcome of the merger issue, the individuality a,nd mission of the Community College of Denver-Auraria be left intact. The SBCCOE also asked for representation of any governing board of the combined schools. The ·Trustees, MSC,s governing board, supported a proposal by the Auraria Board that would give that body the power to settle disputes between MSC and UCD. The Tmstees said they were happy with the minor consolidations directed by the CCHE earlier this year, but did not want further merging of services or departments . The Auraria Board emphasized that their first choice was a merger of MSC and UCD, with the combined · board taking over the responsibilities of the Auraria '
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Board. Their second choice was the "modified status quo,, position favored by the Trustees. CCHE staff members have expressed concerns that there has not been enough time to properly prepare recommendations. H.B. 1498 was initially proposed by State Representative Tom Tancredo (RArvada) with a deadline of 1983. As the bill moved through the Assembly, the date was advanced to 1981, and finally to January, 1980. The bill was signed by
Governor Richard Lamm in June 1979, giving the CCHE only six months to complete what was originally viewed as a three-andone-half year project. The CCHE staff will present their report to the commission at the Nov. 2 meeting in Greeley, only 'twelve days after the public hearings: In December the CCHE will decide on its final recommendations, with the report going to the General Assembly in January.
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The media is the mess-up See page 6 ................:..-:·. • ,...
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