Anthony A. Frank Named President, 2009-2010 Budget Approved at Colorado State University System Board Meeting Wednesday

Note to Editors: A chart illustrating tuition and fees for the 2009-2010 fiscal year is included at the end of the release.

Dr. Anthony A. Frank, a 16-year veteran of Colorado State University and interim president since November, today was officially named permanent president of CSU Fort Collins by the Board of Governors of the Colorado State University System.

The appointment is effective July 1.

"Tony has an incredible reputation on campus and around the state. He is universally admired, trusted and respected by the faculty, staff and students. He is a great communicator and maintains an openness that is valued by the community and elected officials," said Joe Blake, newly appointed chancellor of the CSU System. "Tony will do a terrific job leading and representing the university."

In accepting the appointment, Frank said: "I’m deeply honored by the confidence shown in me by the Board and the CSU community, and I am grateful for this opportunity to serve the faculty, staff, and students of Colorado State."

Budget Approved

Also today, the board approved an education and general budget for the Fort Collins campus of $422.3 million – an increase of $11.8 million over the previous year. The education and general budget constitutes 47 percent of CSU’s estimated revenues and includes state general fund support and tuition, which is used to help cover the costs of educating students and paying faculty and staff. The education and general budget doesn’t include self-funded programs, external grants and contracts, and other funding sources that make up the university’s entire revenues of nearly $800 million. For an example, state and federal research funding that can solely be used for those research activities is included in the $800 million. The state of Colorado will provide approximately 16 percent of CSU’s total estimated revenues, including stimulus funds deployed by the State from the American Resource and Recovery Act (ARRA).

The total CSU Fort Collins education and general budget decreased by $30 million from the 2008-2009 fiscal year because of the economic downturn. To prevent major cuts in higher education access and quality, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter and the Legislature deployed federal ARRA stimulus funds to backfill the shortfall and make sure higher education funding would not drop below 2006 levels.

"This budget avoids debilitating cuts to CSU and higher education, thanks to the leadership of Governor Ritter and our state’s elected representatives," Frank said. "Their actions to backfill budget cuts this year will allow us time to focus on cost containment and thoughtful, conservative approaches to lowering spending, while state leaders consider a long-term approach to better supporting Colorado education. We’re especially pleased to be able to keep next year’s tuition increases to single digits, so student tuition will go up less than $200 a semester next year."

The board today also approved expected tuition increases for 2009-2010 that are in keeping with the tuition guidelines established this year by the Governor and General Assembly that limited tuition increases to no more than 9 percent. Resident undergraduate students at CSU will pay $2,411 per semester in tuition next year – an increase of $199 per semester. Fees for an on-campus student taking 12 credit hours during the regular academic year increased slightly by $23 to $718 per semester, making total student tuition and fees $3,129 per semester – an overall combined tuition and fee increase of 7.6 percent.

A $3.9 million increase in financial aid includes a 23.4 percent increase in financial aid support for resident undergraduates. This marks the fourth consecutive year that the university has dedicated the largest piece of its discretionary budget increase to financial aid.

"Increased financial aid is one of the many ways Colorado State works to make higher education accessible to all who qualify to pursue a CSU education, including first generation, limited income or ethnically diverse students," said CSU Vice President for Enrollment and Access Robin Brown. "Colorado State remains a great value in terms of affordability for a major research university in comparison to in-state and national peer universities."

"We have been extremely prudent in our financial planning, and while increasing tuition is always a difficult decision, it is a necessary step – along with other measures – to ensure the academic quality our students and parents expect and deserve," Frank said. "We’ve discussed these increases with our students, faculty, and parents, and there seems to be general agreement that CSU remains very reasonably priced for students seeking an education at a top-ranked research university. At the same time, we realize families are struggling in this economy and are doing what we can to increase financial aid."

Frank Named President

After he was named interim president in the fall, Frank cut $1.5 million from the administrative budget, including streamlining President’s Office operations and cutting several upper administrative positions to increase efficiency. The cuts helped the university navigate difficult economic times.

"Clearly there are economic uncertainties and challenges ahead, but I believe we have built a solid budget that protects the academic core of the University, advances accessibility, improves some critical areas, and takes significant steps forward in assuring a long-term stable financial foundation for CSU," Frank said.

Before being named interim president, Frank previously served four years in the university’s top academic post as provost and senior vice president. He earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from Wartburg College and his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Illinois. He completed a Ph.D. 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 served as chairman of the Department of Pathology and associate dean for Research in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Frank was appointed vice president for Research and Information Technology at Colorado State in 2000. He was appointed to the position of Senior Vice President in July 2004 and Provost in 2005. As provost, he led the Division of Academic Affairs and served as CSU’s chief academic officer. The Board of Governors of the Colorado State University System tapped him to serve as Interim President in November.

He has served on several federal panels including appointment by the U.S. Department of Commerce to the Deemed Export Advisory Council. He also has served on the editorial board of Toxicologic Pathology and as a member of the Colorado Climate Action Panel. He was awarded the Carl J. Norden Distinguished Teaching Award at both Colorado State and Oregon State University. Frank’s research interests have included toxicologic and infectious disease pathology, and he has authored and co-authored numerous scientific publications.

Frank has said his commitment to the mission of the land-grant university was shaped by his own experiences growing up on a farm in rural Illinois, where he participated in programs like 4-H, which CSU oversees in Colorado.

"We’re here to do whatever we can as institution to contribute to the benefit of the society in which we are so fortunate to live and raise our families," Frank said.

For more information about Frank and the president’s office at Colorado State, go to http://www.president.colostate.edu/index.aspx.

SEMESTER TUITION AND FEE RATES FOR 2009-2010

(Dollar increase in parentheses)

Resident undergraduate tuition $2,411 ($199)

Resident graduate tuition $3,232 ($421.50)

Non-resident undergraduate tuition $10,372 ($302)

Non-resident graduate tuition $9,058 ($431)

Mandatory fees, based on 12 credit hours $718 ($23)

Residence hall fees $2,119 ($62)

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