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Search process
The search was led by a 31-member Search Advisory Committee representing key stakeholder groups, including tenured and non-tenured faculty, current students, alumni, administrative professional and government classified personnel, Board of Trustees members, agricultural industry representatives, business and public leaders etc.
Board Chair Kim Jordan thanked the search committee for its work in identifying a top-level panel from which to select the sole finalist. Thousands of stakeholders participated in the search process through surveys and listening sessions, she said.
“The search committee did an excellent job enabling the Board to identify a finalist who is uniquely and exceptionally qualified,” said Jordan. “Amy has a deep personal commitment to CSU as an alumna and parent, and has held a series of extremely important roles at CSU, such as Deputy General Counsel, Vice President, and Executive Vice President—she also teaches courses in the SAHE program. In other words, she understands budgets, the legal environment, the importance of academia, and the role of the university in the state, the system, and in the lives of students. She also demonstrates that she does not shy away from even the most daunting challenges.”
Background
Parsons served in senior leadership roles at CSU and the CSU System for 16 years before becoming the founding CEO of Mozzafiato LLC, an international e-commerce company, in 2020. She served as deputy general counsel and associate Legal Counsel at CSU Fort Collins from 2004-2009; as Vice President of University Operations at CSUFC from 2009-2015; and as executive vice chancellor of the CSU system from 2015-2020. While on campus, she also taught in the Master’s Program in Student Affairs in Higher Education.
As vice president, she helped address the fiscal challenges of the Great Recession, led the first comprehensive pay equity study to uncover and correct gender-based disparities, and led a historic physical transformation that included the construction and renovation of state-of-the-art classroom buildings art rooms, parking structures, research facilities and a stadium on campus. As executive vice chancellor, she led system-wide initiatives, including the creation of the CSU Spur Campus at the National Western Center in Denver.
Jordan added, “As a Board, we were impressed with her personal business experience and also looked at her leadership success in building the Spur campus, in fundraising, in designing our Todos Santos Center in Mexico, in creating the Engagement program to Campus” for campus employees, in launching a whole range of strategic partnerships and plans, and in connecting with diverse people and industries in Colorado. All of this pushed her to the top of a very talented group.”
A personal story
Born in Colorado, Parsons grew up in Wyoming, where she participated in 4-H. She dreamed of attending CSU and said in her presidential bid that she worked two jobs at the Laurie Student Center to help pay her way through her undergraduate degree. She has also served in ASCSU’s student government and as an admissions tour guide, along with being selected to serve as a White House intern in Washington, DC
She graduated from CSU with a BA in Political Science in 1995 and received her Juris Doctor from the University of Colorado in 1999. Prior to joining the Office of General Counsel at CSU, she served from 1999-2004 as litigation attorney for the Denver firm of Brownstein, Hyatt, & Farber (now Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber, Schreck).
“There’s only one job that could tempt me out of my current position, and that’s this one,” Parsons said. “Much of my life and career ended with CSU. My life was truly shaped by people who took the time to invest in me—people like political science professor Bob Lawrence and the maintenance crew I worked with as a student in the basement of the Laurie Student Center. Now, as a parent of a current student, I gain a whole new perspective on the opportunities and challenges we face. At its core, CSU is about access, excellence and inclusion – and the dreams that education can make possible. It will be a tremendous privilege to be able to serve as the chief advocate and advocate for this great university and safeguard the success and well-being of our students, faculty, staff and alumni.”
14-day waiting period
In accordance with Colorado law, there is a mandatory 14-day notice and waiting period after the announcement of a finalist before the Board can enter into an employment agreement and announce an expected start date.
If approved by the board, Parsons will succeed former president Joyce McConnell, who left the post in June. Dr. Rick Miranda, longtime CSU chancellor and chief academic officer for the CSU system, served as interim president after McConnell left but did not apply for the permanent position.
The new president will take office at a time when the university is rebuilding after weathering the global pandemic. This fall, CSU welcomed its largest and most diverse first-year class as it fully reopened for in-person study and work.
Presidential Search Advisory Committee
The 31-member Presidential Advisory Search Committee began the nationwide search in July. The board of governors also brought in Parker Executive Search to help with the effort, citing the firm’s experience conducting more than 2,000 national and international senior-level searches over the past 30 years for leading organizations in a variety of industries, including higher education.
The Search Advisory Committee was chaired by Armando Valdes, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors. After gathering input from the campus and community through a variety of means, including nine public input forums and stakeholder surveys, the committee worked with the search firm to develop a candidate profile and job description. After recruiting a wide and diverse pool of potential candidates, the committee reviewed and interviewed the candidates and then reached a clear consensus on three qualified candidates, each of whom the committee felt could do the job. These candidates were sent to the Board of Directors, which is the hiring authority. The Board of Governors interviewed all three candidates, and after considerable debate and review of input from multiple sources, the Board selected Parsons as the sole finalist.
“Inclusion as a whole in the process was the main goal of what we wanted to achieve,” Valdes said. “The grand commission represented a variety of stakeholders from a variety of fields, and we definitely wanted this to honor the campus community and show people that their voices are represented in this room.”
Amy Parsons’ resume and cover letter for her presidential bid are available on the search website.
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