BY FREDA MIKLIN
GOVERNMENTAL REPORTER
Before being elected to a six-year term as University of Colorado Regent for Congressional District Four in November 2022, Frank McNulty, who holds a B.A. in political science and government from C.U. and a law degree from D.U., spent eight years in the State House, including two years as Speaker of the House. After leaving the state House due to term limits, McNulty formed Square State Strategy Group, a corporate and political strategy firm.
At the monthly meeting of the Arapahoe County Republican Breakfast Club on December 6 at Maggiano’s, McNulty pointed out that Colorado is one of only four states (Michigan, Nebraska and Nevada are the others) that have elected leadership of universities and that CU is the only institution of higher learning in our state with an elected Board of Regents.
CU, he shared, has four campuses in Boulder, Denver, Colorado Springs, and Aurora, home of the Anschutz Medical Campus. It is a $6 billion institution with 60,000 students, 30,000 of whom are in Boulder.
Speaking about his experience as a CU Regent, McNulty said he has great confidence in CU President Todd Saliman, who was appointed in July 2021. He gave Saliman credit for standing up for Israel and made it clear that the policy of the Regents is that CU is a place where antisemitism is not acceptable, noting that CU “came out early with a strong statement of support for Israel and CU’s Jewish students.”
McNulty shared that the Colorado Springs campus (UCCS) has great potential because of its proximity to the Air Force Academy, defense contractors, military cybersecurity, aerospace companies, and related entities. He noted that while the Boulder campus is one of the largest public research institutions in the U.S. for quantum physics, there are plenty of research grants in fields that are a natural fit for UCCS, which “shouldn’t try to be ‘Boulder-lite.’ ”
Regarding higher education in general, McNulty said he often wondered as a legislator what was driving its high cost? As a Regent, he and his fellow board members are taking a hard look at the budget, particularly money spent on administration, adding that each chancellor runs their own campus and makes budgetary decisions.
To a question about a return to in-person education, McNulty said, “CU values the importance of in-person education but has the same challenges getting employees back in-person as everyone else.”
McNulty talked about having visited Israel, which he said, “was a life-changing experience. You recognize how close everything is. I saw a playground inside a bomb shelter. I saw missiles that had been dropped on Israel.”
Of those who sent the missiles, he said, “They don’t care who they kill. The missiles aren’t targeted.” Focusing on Gaza, McNulty said, “If the people of Gaza wanted to have a thriving economy, they could. They are right on the Mediterranean. But that’s not what they want. They want to destroy Israel and then come after the United States.”
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