It’s unfortunate that professor Jeffrey Beall has such an inaccurate view of his own university (“Beall: It’s time for regime change at the University of Colorado,” Statesman May 17). Certainly it’s fair for faculty or others to criticize leadership for real or perceived problems, but we believe professor Beall missed the mark in several of the points he tried to make.

He charged that CU President Bruce Benson has turned CU into a “profit-seeking enterprise” with a “massive administration” that raids students from other institutions and sends faculty to far corners of the world for their research. Beall suggests that CU is not living up to its mission due to “incompetent” leadership.

As leaders of the university’s governing board, elected by the people of Colorado, we disagree. CU is not only meeting its mission to educate students and serve the state and society, but also is a critical driver of the economy, health and culture of Colorado. The university is thriving.

Since Bruce Benson took over as president nine years ago, CU has seen its research funding hit record levels. University researchers attracted $924 million last year (up from $660 million when he started), which improves lives, fosters innovation and has a substantial economic impact on Colorado. Fundraising has nearly tripled, from $135 million in 2008 to $384.5 million today. CU’s endowment has nearly doubled, from $640 million to $1.2 billion.

President Benson would be the first to tell you that CU’s success is the result of hard work, innovation, dedication and collaboration from the entire university community, not any one person.

Enrollment on CU’s four campuses is at record levels and we are getting higher-quality students as well. Graduation rates are strong, providing Colorado the highly skilled workforce critical to its future. Professor Beall criticizes CU for competing for students with other institutions, but that is simply the nature of higher education. It is a highly competitive environment and getting more so every day.

As for CU as a “profit-seeking enterprise” that is “corporatizing,” CU’s annual budget is $3.8 billion. While it is a nonprofit, the notion that it shouldn’t be run efficiently and effectively is suspect. President Benson has led an efficiency initiative that has saved CU tens of millions of dollars. His team has partnered with the Colorado Legislature during the past nine legislative sessions to secure measures that have helped cut red tape, streamline bureaucracy and grow revenue. Its “massive administration” is actually 27 percent below national peer averages.

Just last week, Moody’s upgraded CU’s bond rating because of the university’s strong stewardship of its funding, citing CU’s “demonstrated success and ongoing momentum of strategic revenue and financial reserve growth.” The university’s bond rating is now higher than the state’s.

Perhaps most curious is Beall’s claim that CU faculty focus research more on developing countries than Colorado. While our faculty do conduct research around the world, Colorado by far gets the most attention. CU faculty address issues ranging from water and air quality to improved design for communities to medical services. We have nearly 300 outreach programs that provide research and services to communities large and small in every corner of our state.

We were equally troubled by Beall’s claim that President Benson’s wife, Marcy, “tails him at campus meetings, where he presents her as first lady” of CU. Neither is true. Marcy Benson gives generously of her time and talents and has been an asset to CU in areas ranging from fundraising to community engagement. She is in high demand to serve on committees and engage in initiatives. True, President Benson praises her when she joins him at mostly external CU events, but he does so with good reason and as a proud husband.

He also criticizes CU Denver Chancellor Dorothy Horrell by claiming Benson “sidestepped the search committee process to install one of his cronies as chancellor.” In fact, CU conducted a traditional search for the position, which did not identify a candidate acceptable for the position. Chancellor Horrell, a highly regarded and widely admired fixture in Colorado higher education and the community generally for a number of years, then went through the very same process with the search committee and campus community before being selected. She has proven to be an extremely effective chancellor who has built a strong team and is lauded on campus and in the community.

We understand that professor Beall may have a different view of how CU is doing than we do. Yet we’re disappointed in his ill-informed piece. We are used to a higher level of discourse from our talented and dedicated faculty.