Colorado Mountain College (CMC) hired Matt Gianneschi, Ph.D. as its new president in April of this year. CMC spoke with The Sopris Sun and addressed some concerns about the brevity of the process.
The college is a public higher education institution “recognized as part of the state system of higher education and gets some state funding,” explained Peg Portscheller, CMC board president. “But … we are funded mostly through property taxes.”
Agreeing that CMC is beholden to its taxpayers, Portscheller said it’s a responsibility they take very seriously. Being a public institution, board agendas and minutes are posted online. Gianneschi was hired during a special meeting on April 15, although those minutes are rather short and vague.
The CMC board is only in charge of hiring for one position. “Boards of higher education institutions have a responsibility to hire and evaluate the performance of their CEO [president]. Beyond that, we don’t hire,” Portscheller explained.
CMC has a policy that requires an internal search be conducted before expanding to an external one for the position. After developing a job description that encapsulated what the board wanted in a candidate, it was posted internally, which, she reiterated, “We’re allowed to do by law.”
Following President Carrie Hauser’s announcement that she would be moving on, a survey went out in Spanish and English to college employees and local community leaders inquiring about what qualities CMC’s future leader should possess. It accrued over 400 responses, with many, according to Portscheller, advocating that Gianneschi assume the role.
Gianneschi, from his letter of interest to his afternoon-long interview, thoroughly impressed the board, shared Portscheller. They voted unanimously to appoint Gianneschi. “Had that not gone as well as it did, we would have moved to an external search,” she assured.
Portscheller said that there were a few other inquiries about the vacancy, but Gianneschi was the only person to actually apply. Applications were open from March 27 to April 5.
She noted that many other higher education institutions hire internally. Additionally, if done right, she said, external searches cost hundreds of thousands dollars. “Honestly, why spend taxpayers money in that way, or state dollars in that way, if you don’t have to?” she queried.
Meet Matt
Gianneschi grew up on the east side of Denver and attended public schools there. He went on to the University of Denver (DU) for his bachelor’s and master’s degrees and got his Ph.D. in higher education finance from the University of Arizona, minoring in economics and political science. He currently lives in Basalt.
“My entire career has been centered around higher education in one way or another,” he told The Sopris Sun. “Both of my parents worked in higher education … so I was literally raised on college campuses.” After graduating from DU, he worked as an admissions counselor there. “I used to recruit students. I traveled to every small town in Colorado … and got to know Colorado really well.”
That first job led him to become one of the original directors of the Daniels Fund, “which was then the largest college access program in the Western United States,” Gianneschi stated. His work there revolved around preparing first-generation and low-income students for college.
He went on to become the chief academic officer for the State of Colorado during Governor Bill Owens’ administration. After Owens termed out, incoming Governor Bill Ritter appointed Gianneschi as his senior education advisor. With Owens being a one-term governor, Gianneschi went on to work as the vice president of student affairs at the Community College of Aurora.
He was ringed into serving the state again under Governor John Hickenlooper, when then Lieutenant Governor Joe Garcia asked Gianneschi to return as the deputy executive director of the Department of Education.
One thing Gianneschi is particularly proud of from that time was being a part of the state’s concurrent enrollment legislation, of which he was the primary author. “Prior to that legislation there were fewer than 5,000 students in the entire state participating in concurrent enrollment and today … we have nearly 60,000 students in the state benefiting from concurrent enrollment.” He noted that over 40% of students at CMC are concurrent enrollment students.
He worked alongside his predecessor, Hauser, since he started at CMC. “We worked hand-in-glove for the better part of a decade,” he stated. During his time as chief operating officer, Gianneschi assumed the duties of president in Hauser’s absence — a procedural measure passed by the board.
“I’ve always assumed that at some point in my career I would attempt to become a president,” he shared. “I didn’t know if it would be at CMC or another institution.” In 2017, he was a part of the first cohort of the Aspen Institute’s Presidential Fellowship, co-led by Stanford University, where 40 people trained to become the next generation of college presidents.
Gianneschi has had the opportunity to participate in several presidential searches, including over a year ago for a position out of state for which he applied but ultimately withdrew from.
He showed up to his interview with the CMC board in a suit and tie. The challenge, he said, was presenting himself not just as the chief operating officer they knew, but a capable and deserving candidate for the presidential position.