Colorado § 23-54-102 - Board of trustees - creation - members - powers - duties.

§ 23-54-102. Board of trustees - creation - members - powers - duties.

(1) (a) Effective July 1, 2002, there is established the board of trustees for Metropolitan state university of Denver that consists of eleven members and is the governing authority for Metropolitan state university of Denver. The board of trustees created by this subsection (1) is a body corporate and, as such and by the names designated in this section, may:

(I) Acquire, by purchase or lease, and hold property for the use of Metropolitan state university of Denver, develop and construct facilities upon the property, and dispose of the property, leasehold interests, and facilities; except that the board of trustees shall have the authority to dispose of a leasehold interest in property owned by the Auraria higher education center only to a constituent institution, as specified in section 23-70-101 (1)(b), or in connection with a sale and leaseback or other form of transaction in which Metropolitan state university of Denver will remain the ultimate user of the property;

(II) Be a party to all suits and contracts;

(III) Do all things necessary to carry out the provisions of this article in like manner as municipal corporations of this state, including but not limited to the power to demand, receive, hold, and use for the best interests of Metropolitan state university of Denver such money, lands, or other property as may be donated or devised to or for the university;

(IV) Without limiting the scope of any other authority, authorize, by resolution, revenue bonds and enter into other lawful financial transactions for the purpose of raising moneys for constructing or otherwise acquiring and equipping any facility or facilities necessary or useful to the accomplishment of the mission of Metropolitan state university of Denver; and

(V) Transfer, assign, or pledge portions of its student fees, auxiliary revenues, capital facilities fees, and up to one hundred percent of tuition money to the Auraria higher education center to provide a source of repayment for revenue bonds or other loans or financial obligations incurred by the center to finance construction of an auxiliary facility, as defined in section 23-5-101.5 (2)(a); a complementary facility, as defined in section 23-70-101.3 (3); any other facility necessary or useful to the accomplishment of the mission of Metropolitan state university of Denver; or the infrastructure necessary to support any of the types of facilities specified in this subsection (1)(a)(V).

(a.5) Nothing in this article shall authorize the board of trustees to enter into a contract for the construction of buildings or improvements that creates any debt or obligation upon the state. Buildings and improvements erected on lands controlled by the board of trustees and intended for the use of Metropolitan state university of Denver under the terms of this article and any leasehold interests shall be exempt from taxation as permitted by the state constitution.

(b) The trustees and their successors shall have perpetual succession, shall have a seal, may make bylaws and regulations for the well-ordering and government of Metropolitan state university of Denver, and may conduct the business of the university in a manner not repugnant to the constitution and laws of this state. The board of trustees shall elect from the appointed members a chairperson, whose duties and responsibilities shall be prescribed in the duly adopted bylaws of the board of trustees. The board shall also elect a secretary and a treasurer, who are not members of the board and whose duties and responsibilities shall be prescribed in the duly adopted bylaws of the board of trustees. The staff of Metropolitan state university of Denver shall provide staff support for the board of trustees.

(2) The governor shall appoint, with the consent of the senate, nine members of the board of trustees. Members appointed by the governor shall serve terms of up to four years, expiring on December 31 of the third calendar year following the calendar year in which the member is appointed; except that the terms shall be staggered so that no more than five members' terms expire in the same year. All appointed members shall serve until their successors are appointed and qualified. Of the nine members appointed by the governor, no more than five members may be affiliated with the same political party.

(3) A full-time junior or senior student at Metropolitan state university of Denver, elected by the student body at large, shall fill the tenth office as a member of the board of trustees. The term of office is one year, beginning on July 1 each year. The elected student office is advisory, without the right to vote and without the right to attend executive sessions of the board of trustees, as provided by section 24-6-402. The elected student member of the board of trustees must have resided in the state of Colorado not fewer than three years immediately prior to election. As used in this subsection (3), "full-time student" has the same definition as "full-time equivalent student" used by the joint budget committee of the general assembly.

(4) A full-time member of the teaching faculty at large of Metropolitan state university of Denver, elected by the faculty at large, shall fill the eleventh office as a member of the board of trustees. The term of office is one year, beginning on July 1 each year. The elected faculty member of the board of trustees is advisory, without the right to vote and without the right to attend executive sessions of the board of trustees, as provided by section 24-6-402.

(5) Any vacancy in the office of an appointed member of the board of trustees shall be filled by appointment by the governor for the unexpired term. Any vacancy in either of the elected offices on the board of trustees shall be filled by reelection for the unexpired term. Each trustee shall take an oath or affirmation in accordance with section 24-12-101.

(6) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection (6), the powers, duties, and functions formerly performed by the trustees of the state colleges in Colorado, as said governing board existed prior to July 1, 2003, with respect to Metropolitan state university of Denver are hereby transferred to the board of trustees. Policies, procedures, and agreements previously approved by the trustees of the state colleges, as the governing board existed prior to July 1, 2003, and applicable to Metropolitan state university of Denver shall remain in force and effect unless and until changed by the board of trustees.

Source: L. 2002: Entire article R&RE, p. 1276, § 2, effective July 1. L. 2003: (1)(a), (2), (3), and (4) amended, p. 2595, § 4, effective July 1; (1)(b) and (6) amended, p. 790, § 11, effective July 1. L. 2006: (2) amended, p. 1233, § 7, effective May 26. L. 2008: (1)(a) amended and (1)(a.5) added, p. 1077, § 1, effective May 22. L. 2012: (1), (3), (4), and (6) amended, (SB 12-148), ch. 125, p. 422, § 3, effective July 1. L. 2018: (5) amended, (HB 18-1138), ch. 88, p. 695, § 16, effective August 8. L. 2022: (2), (3), and (4) amended, (SB 22-013), ch. 2, p. 40, § 50, effective February 25; IP(1)(a) and (1)(a)(V) amended, (SB 22-121), ch. 76, p. 386, § 3, effective April 7. L. 2025: IP(1)(a) and (1)(a)(V) amended, (SB 25-275), ch. 377, pp. 2055, 2057 §§ 118, 128, effective August 6.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 23-54-102 as it existed prior to 2002.

Cross references: For the legislative declaration in the 2012 act amending subsections (1), (3), (4), and (6), see section 1 of chapter 125, Session Laws of Colorado 2012. For the legislative declaration in HB 18-1138, see section 1 of chapter 88, Session Laws of Colorado 2018.

ANNOTATION

To the extent certain tenure provisions in the 1994 Colorado handbook for professional personnel afforded professors vested rights, the board did not have statutory or contractual authority subsequently to unilaterally modify those provisions or dismiss professors. Saxe v. Bd. of Trs. of Metro. State Coll., 179 P.3d 67 (Colo. App. 2007).

Changes to personnel handbook dealing with priority of layoffs of tenured faculty and their relocation within the institution constituted substantive changes and were therefore unconstitutionally retrospective. Although an employer reserves the right to modify its employment handbook, there are limits if the modifications constitute changes that affect employees retrospectively and substantively. Saxe v. Bd. of Trs. of Metro. State Coll., 179 P.3d 67 (Colo. App. 2007).

Changes to personnel handbook dealing with standards, access to information, and written explanation of termination decisions, however, constituted mere procedural changes and were therefore constitutional even though retrospective. Saxe v. Bd. of Trs. of Metro. State Coll., 179 P.3d 67 (Colo. App. 2007).