Context

On April 10th, 2019, Mark Kennedy was named sole finalist for President of the University of Colorado system, set to replace retiring University President Bruce Benson. On the 12th, Kennedy penned an open letter to the CU community, imploring students, staff, and faculty to look past his "voting record when [he] served in Congress more than a decade ago," explaining that he would not cast the same deeply troubling votes now as he did from 2001 to 2007 while representing Minnesota's 2nd and 6th districts in the U.S. House of Representatives. Shortly after this letter was issued, the CU community at large was invited by the CU Board of Regents Chair Sue Sharkey and Vice Chair Jack Kroll to "have an open mind throughout the process" and "[provide] feedback" regarding Kennedy's selection.

In the intervening two weeks, growing controversy has surrounded both Kennedy as a candidate and the search process in general, generating resolutions from student and faculty groups, as well as an open letter to the Regents with over four thousand signatures from CU students, alumni, faculty, parents, staffers, and residents requesting "that Mr. Kennedy’s nomination be withdrawn and that the Regents return to the task of finding a select group of qualified finalists who will represent the values of our state and our university."

Kennedy attended town halls and faced difficult questions and protestors at the Anschutz​, Boulder​, Colorado Springs, and Denver campuses last week. He also spoke at a Faculty Council event and on Colorado Public Radio.

Town-Hall Quotes

• Unlike his statements about same-sex marriage, Kennedy has never said he would reverse his past votes on abortion access or stem cell research. He was asked if he supports those things, and did not give direct answers.
• “As a woman, I’m really tired of white men not apologizing for things they did wrong,” Allie Hoffman, a graduate student in the Colorado School of Public Health, said prior to an open forum with Kennedy Wednesday at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora.
• “He doesn’t understand the Boulder campus and what our values are,” Wittenberg said. “Students deserve to be represented by someone who is a leader in diversity and inclusion. It makes me incredibly sad for students because it seems like this is a done deal. I hope the regents saw what happened today, and I hope they don’t turn a blind eye to everything that’s being said.”

• Heather Nicholson, assistant director for veteran and military affairs at CU Colorado Springs, said she has read everything she could find on Kennedy, and found he often said he was misunderstood in response to criticism. “I have never read … of a time where you took responsibility for something,” she said. “That shows a lack of courage.”

• “I’ve been hearing Mr. Kennedy stumble with the term LGBTQ,” said Jacob McWilliams, director of the Women’s Gender Center at CU Denver and the Gender & Sexuality Center at the Anschutz Medical Campus. McWilliams said that, as someone who is queer and transgender, Kennedy’s lack of familiarity with speaking on LGBTQ issues makes him worry about his own risk. While he said it’s possible that Kennedy’s LGBTQ views have changed since he served in Congress, “from the way he talks about the LGBTQ community, I don’t think” that’s the case.

• [In response to "a question on affirmative action in Colorado college admissions"] Kennedy stumbled.“I have not wrestled with that at a university yet, in that restrictions have not been as — let me go back,” Kennedy told Warner. “Can I just not answer that question?”
• [Regarding Kennedy's use of "an anecdote about having a “full-fledged Afro” as a teenager as part of his message on racial understanding"] “I do think that minimizing the different ways that white people and African American people experience America is a mistake,” Addison said. “If we’re really going to face the challenges of racism and inequality, white people have to acknowledge that they benefit from the privileges of the system that we currently live within.”

With current reports stating that the CU Board of Regents could vote on Kennedy's potential presidency as soon as next Thursday (5/2), it is imperative that the Regents recognize the resolutions passed by CU Student Government and CU Staff Council reiterating the need to withdraw consideration of Mark Kennedy for President of the CU system and re-open the search process with a renewed focus on diversity and potential candidates' lifelong dedication to inclusivity and evidence-based decisionmaking. Following their original requests for feedback, the Board of Regents is now requesting confidential feedback by "no later than 5 p.m. April 30, 2019," just two days before the scheduled vote and less than a week after Kennedy's final town hall. Considering the apparent lack of transparency around the search and selection process, I would prefer to write publicly, although I will gladly use the Board of Regent's evaluation structure:

Intellectual and Professional Accomplishment: Weak

Mark Kennedy's chief professional accomplishment was serving as a Congressman for six years. While Kennedy has frequently mentioned that he wouldn't vote the same way now, CU Boulder graduate student Alex Wolf-Root summarizes why ignoring Kennedy's voting record during his consideration for President of the University would be an affront to the entire CU system:

"If you’re a student and you demean others due to their sexuality, you’ll be sent to the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance. If you’re a rich, white man and you try to pass a constitutional amendment to make those with different sexualities second class citizens, you could become president of the University of Colorado."

With this in mind, I will refer to Mark Kennedy's congressional voting record throughout the rest of this evaluation.

After working in industry and academia from 2007 to 2016, Kennedy became President of the University of North Dakota, home to fewer than 14,000 students. Since then, Kennedy has applied for two new positions: First, he "[reaffirmed] his commitment to UND" after the "University of Central Florida Board of Trustees decided Friday [March 9th, 2018] against choosing Kennedy to be their next president." Now, following his first failed departure from UND, Kennedy stands to become President of the University of Colorado with only 33 months of experience at a University less than 1/4th the size of our Institution.

Leadership and Vision: Weak

Mark Kennedy's congressional voting record, which represents his vision reduced to practice, reveals someone whose views are antithetical to those of the CU community. As a U.S. House Representative, Kennedy voted:

• to ban human embryonic stem cell research
• to ban Family Planning funding in U.S. foreign aid
• against $84M in grants for Black and Hispanic colleges
• to Constitutionally ban same-sex marriage
• against federal health coverage and public health initiatives
• against environmental and renewable energy initiatives

The University of Colorado is home to advanced research on stem cells and renewable energy sources, and CU's community prides itself on its inclusivity and non-discriminatory social practices. When he had the opportunity as a Congressman to support the ideals promoted by our University, Mark Kennedy failed. Moreover, as mentioned by Boulder resident Stanley M. Guralnick, Kennedy does not have the academic credentials expected from a candidate for President of the University: "Why would the regents of a major university appoint a president who lacks demonstrable passion for higher learning?"

Resource Development: Weak

As described above, Mark Kennedy consistently voted against development of renewable resources, as well as against endangered species protections. At UND, Kennedy proved his inability to retain high-level funding from alumni by "[alienating] donors" and "[giving] pay raises to people and [changing] their job titles to suit him." One of UND's largest donor families, having contributed more than $300M, described Kennedy as "impossible to work with" after discontinuing their donations "until Kennedy resigns."

Diversity: Weak

Reiterating from Leadership and Vision, Kennedy voted against $84M in grants for Black and Hispanic colleges and to Constitutionally ban same-sex marriage. Referring to Town Hall Quotes, Kennedy repeatedly stumbled when discussing LGBTQIA+ and race-related issues, and shared a tone-deaf story about his “full-fledged Afro” as a teenager. To use the Board of Regents' phrasing, Kennedy has never demonstrated a "principled and deep commitment to the values of diversity and inclusion."

Administration and Management: Weak

As President of UND, Kennedy promoted a longtime friend to his chief of staff, gave her a $30,000 per year raise (following budget cuts to the UND colleges and schools of Arts and Sciences, Business, Aerospace Sciences, Education and Human Development, Engineering and Mines, Nursing and Professional Disciplines, and Law totaling $32M), and allowed her to work from Texas, catching the attention of North Dakota State Auditor Josh Gallion. Additionally, another longtime friend of Kennedy's was paid over $90,000 between 2017 and 2018 for an interim position at UND. It was "not clear why UND needed to hire someone at such a high salary, with a need for a lot of travel expenses to commute from thousands of miles away, to fill a temporary position." Given Kennedy's history of questionable administrative decisions and subsequent tensions with alumni donors, he has failed to demonstrate his ability "to collaborate and succeed in a complex university environment" or "to make complex decisions with good judgment."

Feedback from faculty, staff, and students at the University of Central Florida was made public after Kennedy was not selected as President. While many comments are positive, some express grave concerns regarding his capacity to "support and inspire staff" given his congressional voting record and tenure at UND. These quotes were selected only from the first eight pages (faculty comments) of the 54-page document. They are largely representative of the concerns raised by the UCF community in response to Kennedy's candidacy:

• I am having trouble identifying any strengths that Mr. Kennedy would bring to UCF as President. This is probably because my concerns about his ability to provide a truly inclusive environment and place where LGBTQIA faculty, staff, and students could work without fear for their jobs and their ability to enjoy and flourish in all aspects of their lives is overshadowing all else about this candidate.
• I wanted to express my deep concerns with one of the candidates, Prof. Mark Kennedy. While I respect every individual’s political opinions, I am concerned that Mr. Kennedy’s values, as expressed in his voting record during his time in Congress, stands in conflict with many of the values that UCF professes, including non-discrimination based on sexual orientation, support for minorities in higher education, sustainability, and opening opportunities for others. I am gravely concerned that UCF’s mission and identity, of which I am very proud, would be fundamentally altered if Mr. Kennedy were to assume the position of president. Very little experience in his current role. Why is he leaving now?
• Seems as though he will run the university like a business. Legislators will love him, but he will be a disaster for faculty, staff, and students.
• I am still trying to digest and understand his response. He said he could provide me with “references” (his word) of former House staffers and others who have worked for him. He did not say how these “references” were relevant to answering my question nor did he even indicate that the “references” self-identified as members of the LGBTQIA community. He then moved on to another question. He did not answer my questions at all – never indicating what he would say nor what actions he would take. This was his chance to dispel my concerns of his full support of my community, and he did not even answer the question.
• This candidate is unacceptable! He is clearly a politician and a businessman who knows very little about education and what a major research university like UCF needs to move forward. He is oblivious to issues of diversity - he offers 'buzzwords' rather than genuine desire to make/keep UCF inclusive and diverse. He is absolutely incompetent for the position of president.
• Limited experience in higher education. Spent an enormous amount of time trying to convince the audience that he had an adequate academic background. This signaled to me that this may be his recognition of his weakness. Based on responses to questions on diversity, he has a limited view of diversity and inclusion. Concerned about how his political views might impact his leadership decision.
• Without a terminal degree and with his managerial background, I worry that this candidate will not connect well with faculty, will not support faculty, and will not necessarily be respected by faculty. I know that he mentioned in his open forum response that a president does not need a terminal degree, but a provost does, but I do think faculty will be suspicious of and may have a hard time working under a president without a terminal degree. I am very concerned about Kennedy's personal political beliefs and how he would represent us in the Florida legislature and how he backs off in responses about any political debates (DACA, stem cell research) in the open forum, which concerns me in that he seems like he is unwilling to commit to a stance or else he is hiding his own personal views because he is in the interview situation. I don't foresee him being an advocate for our faculty and for UCF's needs. His presidential experience is brief at UND--he's only been in the position since July 2016. That's a short time, and gives me pause: Would he be a 3-5 year president at UCF? Would he make huge changes and just leave with those changes unfulfilled?

Ability to Build and Sustain Relationships: Weak

Referring to Kennedy's employment history, Dr. Jennifer Armstrong, associate professor and physician at CU, said "he’s a hopper. He hasn’t sustained a long position ... If he is selected to be president, I would consider leaving my job." Kennedy's voting record alienated women and minorities long before his arrival in academia and his performance at the CU town halls further demonstrated his inability to "build relationships with a broad range of constituents." (See Administration and Management for more commentary and quotes from the UCF community on Kennedy's apparent commitment to his institution.)

Personal Qualities: Weak

Mark Kennedy has been rated by the following organizations:

• League of Conservation Voters: 25% (anti-environment)
• National Education Association: 17% (anti-public education)
• American Civil Liberties Union: 7% (anti-civil liberties)
• American Public Health Association: 0% (anti-public health)
• American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations: 0% (anti-union)

Additionally, Kennedy was characterized by the Grand Forks Herald, UND's hometown newspaper, as having a lack of candor after he made comments to Boulder's Daily Camera ascribing the backlash over "his decision to promote his assistant to chief of staff ... and allow her to work remotely from Texas" to racism, saying "some people couldn't understand how a young African-American woman ... could be as qualified." Kennedy's quote was quickly denounced by the former governor of North Dakota as 'hogwash' before Kennedy walked back his statement.

Recently, numerous opinion pieces have been authored regarding Kennedy's political career and conduct at UND, much of which has been discussed here and leads to obvious conclusions regarding Mark Kennedy's personal qualities. Notably, Colorado Governor Jared Polis contributed to the public discourse with a subtle caution against Kennedy's confirmation: "As the University of Colorado moves forward in its selection process for a new President, it's very important that they find a candidate that unites the board. It’s never good for a candidate or the institution if the board is split on a decision of this magnitude."

Overall, I would evaluate this candidate's ability to meet, if not to exceed, the expectations to be President as follows: Will have difficulty in meeting expectations in most areas.

Considering Kennedy's congressional voting record in opposition to women's and minority groups' rights, medical research and public health, education, and the environment, in addition to his controversial and tenuous experience as a University President, his history of frustrating alumni donors, his lack of dedication to diversity and inclusivity, his insufficient academic background, and his inability to mitigate the growing controversy surrounding his status as sole finalist for President of the CU system, I do not believe that Mark Kennedy is capable of meeting expectations if the Board of Regents votes to hire him. Returning to graduate student Alex Wolf-Root's writing, "[t]his whole situation would be laughable if the issue weren’t so incredibly serious."

Certainly, reports are accurate that Bruce Benson, who has nearly tripled CU's fundraising in his tenure, was originally a contentious pick. Although Benson has succeeded as President, he has not been without controversy, particularly in 2012 when he issued a letter erroneously claiming that the recent legalization of marijuana "[threatened] to cost the university nearly a billion dollars annually in federal revenue." Looking back on articles written at the time of Benson's selection, one can find great relevance to Kennedy's current status as sole finalist:

"University presidents are not just scholars and administrators. The very best ones elevate students, faculty and citizens alike by the lives they lead and the standards they champion."

Benson has surprised the CU community with the magnitude of his success. Now, operating under the presumption of his hiring, Kennedy has sent a message to the UND campus stating that he is "sorry to leave UND." The University of Colorado system is only becoming more progressive, and a step in the same direction is not necessarily a step in the right direction for the leadership of our campuses. Hopefully, Kennedy's farewell to his current institution is premature, as Regent Lesley Smith suggested:

"[Smith] said that Kennedy “made a mistake” when he wrote a letter to the University of North Dakota community saying he was sorry to leave the school, implying his resignation. North Dakota University System Chancellor Mark Hagerott then sent Kennedy a letter saying he accepted his “de facto notice of resignation.”

“It’s like, ‘No, no, no, that’s not set yet, we have to vote,” Smith said."

Despite Kennedy's unanimous selection as sole finalist, one Regent has changed her mind and will be voting against his hiring. Again, the Regents are expected to vote Thursday, May 2nd.

As such, I extend a vote of no confidence in Mark Kennedy for President of the University of Colorado system. I reiterate the resolutions passed by CU Student Government and CU Staff Council that "Mr. Kennedy’s nomination be withdrawn and that the Regents return to the task of finding a select group of qualified finalists who will represent the values of our state and our university."

Please contact the Board of Regents directly through their offices or on Twitter:

Sue Sharkey (R), Chair, District 4
Cell: (970) 673-2517
sue.sharkey@cu.edu
@Sharkey4Regent

Jack Kroll (D), Vice Chair, District 1
Office: (303) 860-5668
jack.kroll@cu.edu
@CURegentKroll

John Carson (R), District 6
Cell: (303) 524-2754
john.carson@cu.edu

Glen Gallegos (R), District 3
Cell: (970) 471-2671
glen.gallegos@cu.edu

Heidi Ganahl (R), At Large
Office: (303) 860-5668
heidi.ganahl@cu.edu
@heidiganahl

Irene Griego (D), District 7
Office: (303) 860-5668
irene.griego@cu.edu
@IreneGriegoCU

Chance Hill (R), District 5
Office: (303) 860-5668
chance.hill@cu.edu
@ChanceHill4CU

Linda Shoemaker (D), District 2
Cell: (720) 633-5251
linda.shoemaker@cu.edu
@Shoemaker4CU

Lesley Smith (D), At Large
lesley.smith@cu.edu
@LesleyForCU