CSU–Pueblo provost to step down and return to faculty in 2006

Pueblo –Pueblo Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Barbara Montgomery announced on Monday that she will step down as the University’s chief academic officer next summer to teach speech communication in the Department of English and Foreign Languages beginning in Fall of 2006.

In an announcement to the campus community, Montgomery said her decision to step down effective Aug. 21, 2006, was in the best interests of the University.
“A number of decisions I’ve made and positions I’ve taken over the last eight months have not had the broad support of the campus, the community, and the system required to sustain effective academic leadership,” she said. “In all cases, the decisions and positions were grounded in a critical analysis of facts, a careful consideration of policy and good practice, and extensive consultation.”

She indicated that she had no doubts or regrets about those positions and decisions, which were motivated by a mission to serve the communities of southern Colorado.
“It saddens me to see this commitment to excellence, diversity, and service interpreted in a manner that furthers divisions among us, between town and University, and between the University and the system,” Montgomery said.

Montgomery also indicated that the time demands of the position had increased and, subsequently, had taken a toll on her personally. She stated that she wanted to spend more time with her family at this stage of her life.

She expressed gratitude in being able to join a faculty “remarkable in its accomplishments, given its support resources.”

“I would like my years before retirement from higher education to be filled with the liveliness, challenges, joys – even disappointments – that accompany teaching students,” she said.
Montgomery joined the then University of Southern Colorado staff in 2001. Since coming to the University, she has taken an active role in the legislation to rename the school and update its mission, supported successful accreditations for the Hasan School of Business, teacher education, and athletic training, encouraged collaborative academic programs with CSU in Fort Collins, and shepherded the addition of a new master’s degree in nursing in 2004 and a new baccalaureate engineering degree in 2005.

Prior to joining CSU-Pueblo, Montgomery held posts as Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Millersville University, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Chair of the Department of Communication at the University of New Hampshire, and a faculty member at the University of Connecticut. She is the author of a number of scholarly books about interpersonal communication.


 Colorado State University - Pueblo is a regional, comprehensive university emphasizing professional, career-oriented, and applied programs. Displaying excellence in teaching, celebrating diversity, and engaging in service and outreach, CSU-Pueblo is distinguished by access, opportunity, and the overall quality of services provided to its students.