Of 93 applicants for the job of chancellor of the University of Colorado campus in Colorado Springs, two finalists toured the school last week and fielded probing questions from faculty, students and staff during three separate, hourlong onsite sessions.

The two finalists are Susan Elrod, who is in her fifth year as chancellor of Indiana University in South Bend, Ind., and Mahyar Amouzegar, distinguished professor of logistics who recently stepped down as provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at The University of New Orleans in Louisiana.

Elrod and Amouzegar cited their credentials and experience as making them good fits to lead the UCCS campus.

UCCS Interim Chancellor Jennifer Sobanet had applied but was not named as a finalist. She has a contract as interim through June, said UCCS spokesman Chris Valentine.

Recruitment for the position began in September, with an 18-member search committee

working with Greenwood Asher & Associates. The Miramar Beach, Fla.-based executive firm helped narrow applicants and is assembling feedback anonymously submitted by participants of last week’s campus meetings.

CU system President Todd Saliman will decide who will fill the position.

“We anticipate an announcement prior to Dec. 15,” said Jeff Howard, vice president for communication in the Office of the President.

Though the search committee was charged with providing three to five candidates to Saliman for consideration, and slots for the campus interviews had been reserved for three candidates, just two finalists were selected.

“While we held time and space for up to three candidates, following an extensive interview and vetting process, and conversations among the search committee and the president, two candidates were selected as finalists and advanced for campus visits,” Howard said via email.

According to the job profile, “The chancellor is responsible for the leadership and direction of the campus and its strategic relationship with the broader Colorado Springs community.”

Among the qualifications, the chancellor “should be aware of trends in higher education to provide dynamic leadership in the development, promotion of implementation of a vision for the campus that is consistent with its mission and the ongoing development of its central relationship with the community.”

The salary range is advertised at $395,000 to $435,000 annually plus housing and car allowances.

Former Chancellor Venkat Reddy announced in mid-May that after six years he would vacate the position as of July 1. He’s an adviser for special projects to President Saliman this academic year and is scheduled to return to his previous job as tenured faculty next fall.

UCCS, one of four locations in the CU system, has seen declining enrollment since 2018, this semester falling to 10,687 students, the lowest in a decade. That has resulted in budget reductions from revenue loss from tuition.

Also noted as concerns at this year’s State of the University address in October, retention was 67.7% at the start of this semester, and expenses have exceeded income at two of four new academic and public-facing buildings since the university built them in recent years.

While visiting UCCS, the finalists responded to questions ranging from why they want the job and their leadership style to their response to the charged political climate on college campuses today and how they would fix declining enrollment, weak retention and financial challenges.

Elrod, a scientist, earned a doctoral degree in genetics from the University of California Davis and has patents for four inventions.

In 2006-2007, she served as an American Council on Education fellow at Colorado College, where she said she learned about higher education in the Pikes Peak region.

She worked in Washington, D.C., as the executive director of an Association of American Colleges & Universities project that advanced science, technology, engineering and math in higher education.

Elrod also has been principal investigator on several projects, including a National Science Foundation study about building leadership capacity and a Sloan Foundation project that resulted in a Change Leadership Toolkit and associated curriculum that’s being piloted this semester.

Amouzegar, who holds a doctoral degree in electrical engineering from the University of California Los Angeles, worked as dean of engineering at California Polytechnic University in Pomona and at the RAND Corp. in Santa Monica, a nonprofit think tank. He has also served as senior national security policy analyst there since 1998, working on research for the Air Force.

He’s also an endowed professor at the New Orleans campus.

Both candidates have spent years in administrator positions at various universities and have taught and do research in their fields.

Both also said they encourage open dialogue on tough issues, such as the Israeli-Hamas war.

“These are part of freedom of expression and academic freedom,” Elrod said.

“One of the hallmarks of a public institution is to be the place where debate can occur, sides can come together to express their views in an environment where we can foster dialogue.

“We need to allow for those expressions and also make sure everyone understands their role, their rights. Academic freedom doesn’t mean you can say whatever you want; there are parameters around this.”

An immigrant from Iran, Amouzegar said demonstrations and teach-ins on college campuses regarding the fighting in Israel and the Gaza Strip represent a transformation of American colleges and universities, and he believes that “people have a right to say the things they need to say.”

“Part of our job is to educate politicians, the mayor’s office, the community, the industry, about what the issues are,” Amouzegar said. “We need to have those difficult conversations about what’s happening in the world. Our jobs should always be learning from each other and teaching each other.”

Amouzegar describes himself as “pretty relaxed and open,” and a people person who likes to assess a situation by talking with others, determining what’s working, and what’s not, figuring out what’s needed, and working to fulfill that.

“Service matters — we are here to serve — and response time matters. That means you will get an answer,” he said.

He does not see mistakes or failure as a time for reprimand or punishment but rather learning opportunities.

Amouzegar said he would continue a practice he’s held for years of hosting small, weekly lunches to gauge the temperature of faculty, staff and students, which guide him in decision-making.

He said he intends to use a team approach to figuring out what’s the best way to address everything from crafting the budget to creating new academic programs.

Elrod considers herself a “leader scholar,” modeled after the concept of “teacher scholar.”

“I’m a problem solver,” she said, who likes to use evidence-based solutions. “I’m not afraid to get into difficult topics and solve difficult problems.”

She said she uses “transparency and engagement across decision-making” when tackling problems, such as a campus budget.

“I see lots of alignment between not only my passions and who I am but also my experiences, and the challenges facing UCCS,” Elrod said. “There’s the opportunity to hit the ground running.”

She was one of three administrators to receive a resolution of no confidence from faculty leaders in 2015, while she was interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at her undergraduate alma mater, California State University Chico.

“That was two positions ago,” Elrod said when a professor brought up the vote. She said it “an unusual situation” that she unknowingly walked into, essentially “one of broken-down relationships.”

Since her responses were being recorded at the UCCS meeting, Elrod said she would not go into details about the matter.

“The real argument was between faculty and existing administration long before I arrived and had to do with longstanding challenges at the institution,” she said.

The resolution stated that “the executive leadership has failed to effectively manage the development and implementation of policies and personnel processes that concern the faculty and staff.”

Elrod said she’s since worked to build and nurture relationships and operate under a shared governance model, which the administrators at Cal State Chico were accused of not doing.

“The heart of shared governance is about relationships, understanding and listening,” she said. “A two-way communication needs to be built before there’s a crisis.”

When asked about diversity, equity and inclusion programs, Amouzegar said he thinks colleges often get the diversity part right but stumble over equity and inclusion, the latter of which he would rather rename “belonging.”

“When I was growing up there was a sense of not belonging — sometimes to my face,” he said.

Changing the culture and environment is an ongoing process that starts with the top echelon, who should take the same training as is required of everyone on campus, Amouzegar said.

“We put the president, provost, deans first, to signal that we just don’t sit up there in our little offices telling people you should do this, but we actually impose it on ourselves,” he said.

If offered the job, Elrod said it would be her second university presidency and “my last stop.” She said she’s “looking for an opportunity to pour my experiences and passions into and to have an even bigger impact that I have now.”

Amouzegar said he recently stepped down as provost in New Orleans because he had accomplished the list of goals he set six years ago for the campus and wanted time to assess his successes and shortfalls.

He said he wants to be the next chancellor of UCCS because his qualifications align with the seat, including his industry experience with the military, since 20% of UCCS students are either retired or active-duty, and he’s helped other campuses overcome difficult challenges and flourish.