American Association of University Professors @ Colorado State University

November 5, 2026

Dr. Nathaniel Easley, Jr., Chair of CSU System Board of Governors,

We are writing to you today as members of CSU’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). We look forward to engaging constructively in the upcoming presidential search to assist our leadership in identifying our next president. In contrast to recent hiring processes for top leadership positions, we urge you to select our next president via a process that reflects AAUP principles and advances CSU’s land grant mission.

The AAUP has developed best practices over many decades of participating in presidential hires at colleges and universities around the country. These guidelines are driven by the principle of shared governance. Following AAUP best practices in hiring our next president would also align CSU with our aspirational land grant university peers.

First, AAUP-CSU recommends forming a joint search advisory committee with direct representation from faculty. This should not be a token process. The incoming president will need the confidence of both CSU’s Board of Governors and faculty to address the serious challenges facing CSU. The search advisory committee should be free of any appearance of a conflict of interest, and it should exclude the current and incoming Chancellors of the CSU system.

Second, it may make sense for the search advisory committee to work with a reputable, independent executive search firm to recruit exceptional candidates to present to the search committee. If CSU elects to use a firm, AAUP recommends that this executive search firm be selected in coordination with Faculty Council. Its role should be to identify candidates and assist with logistics, rather than guiding CSU policy or overseeing a ‘closed’ search.

Third, once the search committee selects finalists for the presidential hire, the AAUP recommends an open phase in which these finalists visit campus and meet with faculty, staff, and students. This open phase should invite “individual faculty members as well as faculty bodies to review the credentials of finalists, ask questions, and share opinions before a final decision is made” (AAUP 2016).

Finally, conducting a fair and open presidential search takes time. The process should not be rushed. AAUP-CSU recommends that faculty, staff, and students spend Spring 2027 conducting a needs assessment to determine what we need in our next president. Our presidential position could then be posted in Fall 2027 in line with the academic job market. Our non-voting faculty and student representatives to CSU’s Board of Governors should be included in deliberations outlining the presidential search process at their meeting December 3-4, 2026.

Along with our colleagues on the Faculty and Administrative Professional Councils, as well as our students in ASCSU, we look forward to a fruitful collaboration with the CSU system as we search for our 17th president. A fair and open presidential search will allow all of us to avoid costly mistakes and advance CSU’s academic mission.

Sincerely,

Executive Committee of CSU’s Chapter of the AAUP

In response to President Parson’s NDA and $1.1m settlement, AAUP-CSU President Anders Fremstad speaks out on behalf of AAUP-CSU:

“My colleagues and I are outraged to learn that the Board of Governors is paying Amy Parsons $1.1 million in exchange for signing a non-disparagement agreement that ensures the public will never learn what led to her sudden resignation. Tax-payer’s money should not be used to shield a state institution from public scrutiny. CSU’s lack of transparency and accountability in hiring and firing top administrators undermines the academic mission that we collectively work so hard to fulfill. Settlements with ex-administrators are costing CSU millions of dollars at the same time that we face enormous deficits driven by poor leadership.”

Read more in The Rocky Mountain Collegian.

The next AAUP-CSU General Meeting is 4pm on Monday, Nov. 2 (Eddy 104). There has never been a better time to join our fight to protect shared governance and academic freedom.

Given the recent news concerning the resignation of CSU President Amy Parsons, it is crucial to amplify faculty and staff voices within all discussions that will define our university’s future.

Toward that end, all CSU faculty and staff are invited to join next general meeting of the American Association of University Professors at CSU, which will be 4pm-5pm on Monday, November 2 in Eddy 104 and immediately followed by a Faculty Council listening session from 5pm-6pm in the Ramskeller at LSC. Both meetings are open to all CSU employees.

If you are not already a member of AAUP-CSU, click here to join and support our efforts to strengthen shared governance and defend academic freedom at CSU. Together, we can help CSU to refocus on its missions to educate and support our students and communities.

Sincerely,

The AAUP-CSU Executive Committee

https://aaupcsu.org

Happy fall semester to everyone whose work powers Colorado State University. As usual, CSU’s administration is celebrating our shared achievements, especially our progress on a series of construction projects and our first season competing in the Pac-12 athletic conference. These achievements are real, but they also fall short of what we could do with the resources we have. Our chapter of the AAUP is committed to improving the lives of faculty, instructors, researchers, and academic professionals at CSU. We are convinced that democratizing CSU and improving pay and benefits, would advance not just our interests, but the interests of our students and the people of Colorado.

Working at CSU is frustrating because important decisions are made with little or no input from workers. CSU’s administration gives lip service to “shared governance,” but it runs this University from the top down. Last year, CSU’s administration announced it would eliminate 178 full-time equivalent positions just two days before laying off scores of longtime colleagues. This year, we have been told to expect more cuts, without any indication of whose jobs are on the line. Although we are supposedly in our second “parallel year” of CSU’s new budget model, the administration has still not shared its formulas for determining College budgets. Increasing transparency and accountability at CSU will benefit faculty, staff, and students.

Living in Fort Collins is also increasingly unaffordable for CSU workers, because many do not earn a living wage and our raises do not keep pace with the cost of living. The average “merit” raise for faculty and administrative professionals this year is 3.0%, while the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that inflation will come in at 3.6%. That means that most of us are a bit poorer than we were last year. Moreover the AAUP’s online calculator shows that these raises leave us about 13% worse off than we were a decade ago. Paltry raises make it difficult for CSU to retain faculty and staff. Guaranteeing all workers decent wages and annual cost of living adjustments would allow us to put down roots in Fort Collins and invest in our jobs at CSU.

Our chapter of the AAUP has two main strategies for making CSU more democratic and equitable. First, we leverage Faculty Council’s existing powers to hold CSU’s leadership to account. This year we are working to get AAUP members on every Faculty Council committee to set an agenda that advances our interests. Our member Prof. Kari Anderson is now representing faculty on CSU’s Board of Governors, and we will also be campaigning to make that Board a more transparent and accountable institution. Second, we organize to unionize CSU faculty, instructors, researchers, and academic professionals. Colorado labor law still excludes most public sector workers from unionization, but the time is ripe to change that. This year we will be working with our allies in UCW, COWINS, and other public sector unions to pass legislation that grants us the right to bargain collectively with CSU over our wages and working conditions. Our power comes from our union.

We need you to achieve our goals. Please join our general meetings, which are open to all CSU workers. All of our meetings are posted on our website and you can add them to your calendar by clicking this link. And please join the AAUP to fight for higher education at CSU and beyond. Together, we can make CSU a better university.

Anders Fremstad, President, AAUP-CSU

AAUP-CSU Executive Committee

Please join AAUP-CSU and partner organizations for the annual May Day Picnic on Sunday, May 3 from 12pm – 2pm. this family-friendly celebration of unions and labor will include food, games and activities, pro-labor speakers and more. Please come join us to celebrate spring and the end of the semester, while working to support workers in the Northern Colorado Community.

Register at: https://www.mobilize.us/coloradoea/event/941671/

Get the NoKingsAAUP to join the QR-based scavenger hunt.

In January, President Parsons asked all units at Colorado State University to submit budget cut proposals of at least 8.75% of expenses. On Monday, CFO Brendan Hanlon announced his committee’s recommendation to cut 178 full-time equivalent positions at CSU. Yesterday, many of our colleagues were given notice that their positions will be terminated.

Even as our friends and coworkers are being laid off, CSU’s administration is not providing any information about what jobs will be eliminated until after the Board of Governors finalizes its proposal. Many of us are frustrated and confused by the opaqueness of the entire process.

The American Association of University Professors CSU Chapter believes that transparency is necessary for accountability. The campus community requires information about these cuts as soon as possible. 

Towards that end, we are surveying faculty for information you may have about budget cuts in your unit. We would appreciate any information you can share via this short confidential survey. We also want to hear from you about your thoughts and concerns about the process by which these cuts are being decided.