Colorado § 23-70-102 - Auraria board - membership - terms - oath or affirmation - voting.

§ 23-70-102. Auraria board - membership - terms - oath or affirmation - voting.

(1) There is created a board of directors of the Auraria higher education center, which consists of eleven voting members. The members of the Auraria board are chosen as follows:

(a) (I) Three members of the public, appointed by the governor. Gubernatorial appointments shall be for three-year terms; except that the terms shall be staggered so that no more than one member's term expires in one year. All members appointed by the governor must be residents of the Denver metropolitan area.

(II) In the event of death, resignation, or inability or refusal to act of any such appointed member, the governor shall fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term.

(b) (I) The chief executive officers, respectively, of the regents of the university of Colorado, the board of trustees for Metropolitan state university of Denver, and the state board for community colleges and occupational education, or their designees, who shall be limited to the chancellor of the university of Colorado at Denver, the president of Metropolitan state university of Denver, and the president of the community college of Denver, respectively.

(II) Three members, one appointed by, and from among the members of, each of the following boards: The state board for community colleges and occupational education, the board of trustees for Metropolitan state university of Denver, and the regents of the university of Colorado, each such member to serve at the pleasure of the appointing board so long as he or she is a member of the appointing board.

(c) (I) An advisory committee of six members who are students is elected, two from each of the student bodies of each of the three institutions governed by the Auraria board. The advisory committee shall elect one of its members to fill one office on the Auraria board to serve for a one-year term beginning each July 1. The elected student member of the board must have resided in the state of Colorado no less than one year prior to the member's election. A vacancy in the office of the elected student member must be filled by reelection for the unexpired term.

(II) Repealed.

(III) In the event of death, resignation, or inability or refusal to act of an elected member of the student advisory committee, the student governing body of the institution with the vacancy shall appoint a student from that institution to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term.

(d) (I) An advisory committee of nine members who are full-time faculty members is elected, three from each of the faculties of each of the three institutions governed by the Auraria board. The advisory committee shall elect one of its members to fill the remaining office on the Auraria board to serve for a one-year term beginning each July 1. The committee shall select a member from the same institution only once in the same three-year period. The elected faculty member of the board must have resided in the state of Colorado no less than three years prior to the member's election. A vacancy in the office of the elected faculty member must be filled by reelection for the unexpired term.

(II) Repealed.

(III) In the event of death, resignation, or inability or refusal to act of any such elected member of the faculty advisory committee, the faculty governing body of the institution with the vacancy shall appoint a full-time faculty member from that institution to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term.

(2) (a) Each member of the Auraria board shall take an oath or affirmation in accordance with section 24-12-101.

(b) Members of the Auraria board are fiduciaries of the center, and a member shall recuse themself from a vote or executive session when they have a conflict of interest. The Auraria board may adopt, through its bylaws and policies, a comprehensive framework defining conflicts of interest applicable to board members. The bylaws and policies may establish procedures for identifying potential conflicts, require disclosure of relevant interests, and designate a final decision-making authority to determine when recusal is required. The Auraria board shall ensure that the bylaws and policies provide consistent, fair, and transparent standards for recusal determinations.

(3) All actions by the Auraria board shall be by majority vote, but, on all actions taken in which both representatives from any single system or institution have voted in the minority, the majority opinion shall prevail only if it is supported by a majority of the lay members of the Auraria board.

(4) In any instance in which no majority opinion can prevail under the terms of subsection (3) of this section, the Auraria board shall have sixty days in which to reach a determination by prevailing majority vote. If no majority determination is reached within sixty days, the commission on higher education shall thereafter consider and determine the issue at its next meeting.

(5) The Auraria board shall elect a chair from among the members of the public appointed by the governor who shall act as chair at meetings of said board and as such board's representative in official dealings with third parties.

(6) Repealed.

Source: L. 74: Entire article added, p. 391, § 1, effective May 13. L. 75: IP(1) and (1)(a)(II) amended and (1)(c) added, p. 740, § 9, effective January 1, 1976. L. 84: IP(1) and (1)(c) amended and (1)(d) added, p. 644, § 1, effective April 5. L. 86: IP(1), (1)(c), and (1)(d) amended, p. 415, § 27, effective March 26. L. 88: (1)(b) amended, p. 862, § 22, effective July 1. L. 89: IP(1), (1)(a)(I), (1)(b), (1)(c)(II), and (1)(d)(II) amended and (3) to (6) added, p. 1013, § 2, effective July 1. L. 93: (6)(a) amended, p. 290, § 1, effective April 7; (1)(c)(II) and (1)(d)(II) repealed, p. 672, § 2, effective May 1. L. 95: (1)(b)(I) amended, p. 303, § 1, effective April 21; IP(1) amended, p. 1102, § 32, effective May 31. L. 98: (6) repealed, p. 12, § 1, effective March 6. L. 2002: (1)(b)(II) amended, p. 1282, § 8, effective July 1. L. 2003: (1)(b)(I) amended, p. 791, § 13, effective July 1. L. 2011: (1)(c) and (1)(d) amended, (HB 11-1017), ch. 26, pp. 65, 66, §§ 1, 2, effective March 17. L. 2012: (1)(b) amended, (SB 12-148), ch. 125, p. 428, § 17, effective July 1. L. 2018: (2) amended, (HB 18-1138), ch. 88, p. 696, § 18, effective August 8. L. 2022: IP(1), (1)(a), (1)(c)(I), (1)(d)(I), and (5) amended, (SB 22-013), ch. 2, p. 45, § 54, effective February 25. L. 2025: IP(1) amended, (SB 25-275), ch. 377, p. 2057, § 127, effective August 6. L. 2026: IP(1), (1)(c)(I), (1)(c)(III), (1)(d)(I), and (2) amended, (SB 26-034), ch. 25, p. 120, § 3, effective October 1.

Cross references: (1) For the legislative declaration contained in the 2002 act amending subsection (1)(b)(II), see section 1 of chapter 307, Session Laws of Colorado 2002. For the legislative declaration in the 2012 act amending subsection (1)(b), 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.

(2) For the short title ("Auraria Student and Faculty Board Voting Rights Act of 2026") and the legislative declaration in SB 26-034, see sections 1 and 2 of chapter 25, Session Laws of Colorado 2026.