Gov. Polis Appoints Republican Ken Montera To CU Board Of Regents

By Julia Fennell, Colorado Newsline

December 20, 2021

Republican management consultant Ken Montera will serve as the new University of Colorado Regent from the 5th Congressional District, Gov. Jared Polis announced Monday.

“I will do everything I can to take us into the future with as much pride as Colorado deserves,” Montera said during the announcement, which took place at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs on Monday.

Montera, of Pueblo, is a first-generation college student who graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder.

“The reality is, (Montera) is a thoughtful, very effective person in seeing the big picture, and yet working very specifically on problems,” said Pam Shockley-Zalabak, chancellor emerita of UCCS. “He cares deeply about this region, about students, about the state of Colorado and values education. I think we will see nothing but a better future for all of the CU system, but also for this campus.”

Montera previously ran for an at-large seat on the Board of Regents in 2018, but lost to Democrat Lesley Smith. He plans to run for the 5th District seat next year, he said Monday.

The seat opened in November after Chance Hill, a Republican elected to the position in 2018, resigned to pursue “new professional opportunities” outside the state. The district is made up of Colorado Springs and the surrounding areas, including Fort Carson.

Polis said his office received 19 “great applications from excellent candidates” for the position.

He also announced Monday that he had appointed Nick Ragain, owner of the Colorado Springs Switchbacks soccer team, as a new member of the Colorado Tourism Board.

“Nick has really been helping to build community here in Colorado Springs,” Polis said. “He knows how important tourism is to the Colorado way of life.”

“This is a good day for Colorado Springs,” Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers said of the appointments of Montera and Ragain.

Suthers said Montera was an “outstanding choice.”

The Board of Regents, which supervises the University of Colorado system’s four campuses, consists of nine members who serve staggered six-year terms. One member is elected from each of the state’s seven congressional districts, and two additional members are elected from the state at-large. Regents elected from a congressional district are required to live in the district they represent.

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