As the governor is proposing the highest tuition increase in the last four years, the University of Colorado is about to create a new position paying $325,000 in base salary per year for the chief of staff for retiring U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter.

With a standard benefits package, Piper’s pay likely exceeds $400,000 annually, according to Regent Jack Kroll.

Colorado Politics has obtained an undated internal announcement announcing Danielle Radovich Piper will join the university on Jan. 3 in the newly-created position of senior vice president for external relations and strategy. A university spokesman confirmed the salary and that a press release is to be issued later today.

Kroll said there was frustration among the board of regents that only one candidate was brought forward.

However, sources indicated a prominent woman of color was also among the candidates, which could have bolstered the university’s diversity profile within its administration. The university’s executive team of a dozen people includes one Hispanic man and one Hispanic woman. 

Piper will be the fourth-highest paid employee in the university’s system administration, behind CU President Todd Saliman, whose salary is listed at $750,000 per year.

The announcement says Saliman made room for the moves “by permanently eliminating two vacant senior-level administrative positions at system, vice president for administration and associate vice president/chief business officer.”

“Danielle has substantial experience as a coalition builder and a problem solver with deep experience in Colorado and beyond,” Saliman said. “She will be a great addition to the dedicated team of people working to ensure CU continues to meet its mission of serving our state’s students and communities while we work to reflect the diversity of Colorado.”

Piper’s duties including “coordinating and advancing external efforts for system administration in communications, marketing, government relations, fundraising operations, and outreach and engagement,” the announcement said.

“Danielle has been my Chief of Staff, trusted advisor, and right-hand person for more than two decades. She has led my team in management, communications, personnel and policy, and is respected by her peers,” said Perlmutter, D-Arvada. “She was especially helpful in work we’ve done for the university and across the four campuses. As a Double Buff, I can say there is no one better suited for this job. President Saliman and the CU Team will benefit from her leadership and management skills and are lucky to have her.”

Radovich Piper said she looks forward to bringing skills she honed in public policy and constituent engagement to CU.

“I am incredibly excited to join President Saliman and the entire University of Colorado system team. I look forward to bringing my passion for solving complex problems by building coalitions and bringing communities together to further the goal of the CU system to be a university for all of Colorado,” she said. “I am confident I will bring experience and relationships, a fresh perspective and strategic ideas to CU and to President Saliman’s leadership team.”

The hiring also comes at a time when CU-Boulder saw “modest” enrollment growth for 2022-23 but lower enrollment numbers among transfer students, continuing undergraduate students and resident graduate students.

A presentation to the CU regents in September showed three of the university’s four campuses – CU-Denver, UCCS and Anschutz – all saw overall enrollment declines in 2022-23.

Gov. Jared Polis has proposed a 4% increase in tuition for resident students and 8% for nonresident students for the 2023-24 budget year. It’s the biggest tuition increase since he first took office in 2019.