CMC Board of Trustees reviewing application material, public input regarding next college president and CEO

April 10, 2024 – The Colorado Mountain College Board of Trustees held a special meeting April 8 at CMC’s Vail Valley at Edwards campus regarding the search process for the college’s next president and chief executive officer.

Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser, the longest serving president in Colorado Mountain College history, recently announced her decision to step down in August after nearly 11 years in the role. During a special meeting on March 22, trustees cited the strength and stability of CMC’s talented team of faculty and staff and determined that the college would conduct an internal search to identify current employees who are qualified to serve as the college’s next president.

During the meeting, trustees held an executive session to review application material for the position and input obtained through a survey of community members, students, faculty and staff. Survey data, which was anonymized and aggregated, provides useful and illuminating feedback for the trustees to consider. Trustees want to complete their review of all survey responses before moving forward with the search process.

“We are grateful for the passion and care with which community members provided their feedback about what they’d like to see in Colorado Mountain College’s next president,” said Board of Trustees President Peg Portscheller. “We believe that CMC is the thriving institution that it is today because of Dr. Hauser’s leadership, which includes the practice of tapping into the college’s internal talent for key roles. Trustees will spend this week reviewing application material and feedback from the public before determining next steps.”

Trustees plan to reconvene and continue the presidential search process review on Monday, April 15 after all survey results have been considered by the board.