The Colorado State University System Board of Governors announced in May that it has selected Dr. Anthony A. Frank to become the 14th President of Colorado State University. Dr. Frank has been Interim President since November 2008.
Dr. Frank has served the University for more than 16 years including four years as Provost and Senior Executive Vice President. His commitment to the mission of the land-grant university was shaped by his own experiences growing up on a farm in rural Illinois, and later by his experiences as a student, faculty member, and researcher.
Dr. Frank earned his bachelor's degree in biology from Wartburg College and his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Illinois. He completed a PhD and residencies in pathology and toxicology at Purdue University. He served on the faculty at Oregon State University before joining Colorado State in 1993, where he was Chairman of the Department of Pathology and Associate Dean for Research in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
Dr. Frank was appointed Vice President for Research and Information Technology at Colorado State in 2000, a role he held for five years and in which he was responsible for the network and data systems of the University and for oversight of the more than $300 million in research activity that occurs annually at Colorado State. He was appointed to the position of Senior Vice President in July 2004 and was responsible in this role for coordination of the academic core of the University. In 2005, he also assumed the title of Provost, leading the Division of Academic Affairs and serving as CSU's chief academic officer. Dr. Frank was named Senior Executive Vice President in 2008, and the Board of Governors of the Colorado State University System selected him to serve as Interim President later the same year.
The Colorado State University System Board of Governors accepted in May the recommendation report by the 15-member chancellor search committee that was charged with identifying qualified candidates to lead the three-campus, 30,000-student CSU system. The board, including students and faculty board representatives, interviewed the two candidates brought forward by the committee and publicly voted to name Joe Blake as the finalist for the CSU System Chancellor position.
Blake has served as President and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce since 1999. His career has been focused on statewide leadership and stewardship of Colorado’s economy, competitiveness, and business climate.
He currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Colorado State University System. He is a board member of The Denver Foundation, Denver Public Schools Foundation, the Metro Denver Sports Commission, Porter Hospital Foundation, Denver Police Foundation, and the Executive Committee of Colorado Concern (Past Chair). In recent years, Blake has chaired the Colorado Transportation Commission and the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority.
Blake’s commitment to statewide leadership was highlighted in 2005 when he served as co-chair of the statewide Yes on C&D campaign, a coalition of more than a 1,000 organizations focused on passage of Referenda C and D, also known as the Colorado Economic Recovery Act.
Colorado State University conferred degrees on spring 2009 graduates at commencement ceremonies May 15 and 16. College ceremonies and two ROTC commissionings recognized 2,581 undergraduates, 670 graduate students, of which 78 are doctoral students and 123 professional veterinary medicine students. Fifty-three students graduated summa cum laude, 68 graduated magna cum laude and 158 graduated cum laude.
Colorado State University also conferred an honorary doctoral degree on Sen. Timothy E. Wirth, President of the United Nations Foundation and the Better World Fund. Interim President Anthony A. Frank awarded the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa, to Sen. Wirth in recognition of his public service contributions to the state of Colorado and the United States related to the environment, health, human rights and peace around the world.
