The Board of Governors of the Colorado State University System today announced that Rick Miranda, chief academic officer for the CSU System, will serve as interim president of the CSU flagship campus in Fort Collins while the Board undertakes a national search for the 16th president of CSU.
Miranda, who will assume the interim role July 1, will not apply for the permanent position.
Miranda’s appointment will ensure stability and help keep key initiatives moving forward on pace during the search process, Board of Governors chair Kim Jordan said.
“Few people have the deep understanding of all aspects of CSU academics and operations that Dr. Miranda brings to the table,” Jordan said. “He has a strong personal dedication to the people and programs that make CSU a great university, coupled with a deep commitment to ensuring the campus is welcoming for all Coloradans. The Board has great confidence in his ability to lead thoughtfully and maintain the university’s momentum through the transition to a new president.”
The Board also moved to establish a Presidential Search Advisory Committee that will include faculty, staff, student, and community representation. The committee will provide input in development of a candidate profile, job description, and leadership statement that will be used in a national search that results in a qualified and diverse candidate pool. After identifying and interviewing applicants, the Committee will recommend qualified candidates for consideration by the Board, which is the hiring authority.
Miranda joined the CSU faculty in 1982 and served as provost and executive vice president for 12 years. He has also served as chief academic officer of the CSU System – which includes CSU Fort Collins, CSU Pueblo, CSU Global, and initiatives including the CSU Spur campus at the National Western Center, CSU Todos Santos Center, Sturm Collaboration Campus, and CSU Mountain Campus – since 2012.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the College of the Holy Cross and his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Following postdoctoral appointments at the University of Chicago and the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, he joined the Mathematics faculty at CSU.
His administrative career started in 1997 when he became chair of the Department of Mathematics; it continued with his appointment as dean of the College of Natural Sciences in 2002. As provost, he helped launch and lead efforts to address persistent faculty salary equity issues and to improve compensation and benefits for adjunct faculty. He also was instrumental in implementing the Colorado Tuition Assistance Grant program, a signature scholarship program that ensures the lowest-income Coloradans can attend CSU without taking on excessive debt.
After serving as provost and executive vice president from 2009 through July 2020, he returned to his faculty position as full professor of Mathematics, in addition to his role as System CAO.
