Monday, November 15, 2010

Julio Leon selected for Colorado position

Former Missouri Southern State University President Julio Leon has been selected from three candidates as the finalist for interim president at Colorado State University-Pueblo. The announcement was made in a letter issued today by Chancellor Joseph B. Blake:

Dear Colorado State University-Pueblo Campus Community:
Today, I am very pleased to announce that Dr. Julio Leon has been recommended to the Colorado State University System Board of Governors as the finalist for the position of interim president of Colorado State University-Pueblo. In accordance with state laws, there is a 14-day grace period before a formal appointment can be made. Our intent is to have Dr. Leon start as early as Nov. 29, 2010.
In the meantime, Dr. Leon and I will be at CSU-Pueblo this Thurs., Nov. 18, for a campus reception from 9-10 a.m. in the Hearthwell Lounge. We hope you can join us. Dr. Leon is excited about this opportunity and looks forward to meeting the campus community.
Dr. Leon led Missouri Southern State University for 25 years before retiring in 2007. During his tenure as president, the institution earned university status and enrollment doubled to 6,000 students. He has a commendable level of community outreach and involvement, which makes him an especially qualified interim leader for CSU-Pueblo. You can learn more about Dr. Leon’s accomplishments in his curriculum vitae. 
I would personally like to thank CSU-Pueblo faculty and board representative Jennifer Mullen and student body president and board representative Steven Titus for their involvement and insight during last week's important interview process. I have enormous respect for them and the meaningful roles they serve on behalf of the campus community. I also would like to thank board members Dorothy Horrell and Scott Johnson who participated in the interview and selection process.
On behalf of the board and the entire campus community at CSU-Pueblo, I want to thank Dr. Tony Frank for his extraordinary service over the last several months. He is held in the highest personal and professional regard. We also know that accepting this important role was not done without a great amount of personal sacrifice, time, and energy.
The Board of Governors and I understand how important it is to maintain the great momentum CSU-Pueblo is experiencing. We are absolutely committed to ensuring that momentum continues during this transition period. Dr. Leon will be an effective interim president. He will work with the campus and community to lead the university along its positive trajectory, while the board begins a national search for a permanent president. In my email to the campus on Nov. 3, I outlined next steps regarding the search for a permanent president, the first two steps of which involve selecting a search committee and search firm. We hope to make progress on these two items in the coming weeks. I look forward to seeing many of you on campus this Thursday.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

MSSU lost their gain - what a shame we are stuck with what we have - CONGRATULATIONS DR LEON

Anonymous said...

University of Colorado-Pueblo: We are so envious! You are getting nothing but class, competence, and
vision...

Way to go, Dr. Leon.

Danny Thomas said...

Congratulations to Dr.Leon. I worked with him on severalsubjects and he was both a visionary and pregmatic leader. The University of Colorado-Pueblo scored a big win here. They should keep him as their permanent President which they may well do.

Anonymous said...

I'm so pleased for Dr. Leon, but also sad for MSSU at the same time. We are stuck with such a buffoon here, with no hope of him going away anytime soon.

Anonymous said...

I suspect that the bar for "good President" has dropped so low after Bruce Speck that Julio Leon, a total loser, has turned into a saintly exemplar of academic excellence.

Good lord.

Steve Earney said...

I concur with Danny Thomas, Dr. Leon is a visionary and pragmatic. More than that, he is a leader with a passion for what is in the long term best interest of students and the institution. As a gifted and persuasive speaker he can make a convincing case on important issues when he believes it is merited. His wife, Vivian, will be an asset to your university as well.