Board O’ Govs rallies for two new members

Two new members of the Board of Governors for the CSU System got

on board in early March to help steer CSU and CSU-Pueblo.

Chad McWhinney and Diane Evans, both native Coloradans and local

businesspeople, were appointed by Gov. Bill Owens to serve on the

board.

“It’s something I’m very excited about,” McWhinney said. “I

would look after CSU just like I would look after my own

business.”

The Board of Governors oversees the operation of both

universities and is responsible for hiring presidents for each

university and deciding curriculum, enrollment, tuition, personnel

and land-sale issues.

“The best analogy I could use is that the university and the

university’s administration do a lot of the rowing where the Board

of Governors does a lot of the steering,” said Jesse Lauchner,

president of Associated Students of CSU and a non-voting member of

the board. “They kind of have the sole authority over the larger

issues.”

The board is compromised of thirteen members, nine of who are

appointed by the governor and approved by the Colorado Senate.

Members of the board can serve two four-year terms.

“All of us have either been appointed or re-appointed by Gov.

Owens,” said Jeff Shoemaker, vice president of the Board of

Governors. “We are one of several boards that the governor

appoints.”

The remaining four consist of one student and one faculty

representative from each campus. These four are elected by their

peers and do not vote.

“(Students and faculty) are not voting members, but they are

very much involved in discussion,” Shoemaker said. “The board tries

to find the proper mix between involvement and micromanaging.”

McWhinney and Evans both attended their first Board of Governors

meeting on March 16.

McWhinney is the president and CEO of McWhinney Enterprises in

Loveland. McWhinney Enterprises is a northern Colorado real estate

company dedicated to “innovative, high quality and responsible real

estate development,” McWhinney said.

Evans has worked with the Land Title Guarantee Company in Castle

Rock for 25 years, and now serves as the vice president.

Both new members are pleased to have been selected and look

forward to serving the CSU System.

“I believe that CSU is one of the main backbones of northern

Colorado,” McWhinney said. “I hope to bring some of my business and

leadership experience to the university.”

Evans is already impressed with the operation of the board.

“I’m really looking forward to looking into (CSU and

CSU-Pueblo),” Evans said. “I was very impressed with all of the

board members and the faculty.”