Rick Miranda, the chief academic officer for the three-campus Colorado State University System, was named interim president of CSU Fort Collins by the system’s Board of Governors on Friday morning.

Miranda will assume the position on July 1. He replaces Joyce McConnell, who was named the university’s first woman president in 2019.

“Few people have the deep understanding of all aspects of CSU academics and operations that Dr. Miranda brings to the table,” said Board of Governors Chair Kim Jordan in a news release. “The Board has great confidence in his ability to lead thoughtfully and maintain the university’s momentum through the transition to a new president.”

McConnell and the university announced Thursday that the two parties agreed to “part ways.” Her last day is June 30 and she will receive more $1.5 million as part of the separation agreement, the Coloradan reported.

Miranda joined the CSU faculty in 1982 and served as provost and executive vice president from 2009 through July 2020. He was named chief academic officer in 2012, according to the news release.

He also served as the chair of the Department of Mathematics, beginning in 1997, and was appointed dean of the College of Natural Sciences in 2002.

Miranda will not apply for the permanent position at Fort Collins. The Board of Governors moved to establish a Presidential Search Advisory Committee that will provide input in the development of a candidate profile, job description and leadership statement.

The committee will be composed of faculty members, staff, students and community members, according to the news release.

Colorado State University and its president, Joyce McConnell, have agreed to “part ways,” a joint message sent to students, faculty and staff on Thursday said.

McConnell’s base salary was $550,000.

McConnell came to Fort Collins from West Virginia University, where she held the position of provost and vice president for academic affairs.

In a statement Thursday, the board said it “thanks President McConnell for her efforts leading the university, particularly during challenging and unprecedented times. The Board wishes President McConnell all the best in her future endeavors,” the joint statement said.

McConnell navigated CSU through tough times, including the pandemic and a controversy that started at the beginning of the 2020 fall semester, when she put a temporary stop to the football program over reports of racial insensitivity and a scandal over coaches encouraging players not to report COVID symptoms.

The football team was cleared by an independent law firm of any wrongdoing, but problems between McConnell and the athletic department continued when she fired head football coach Mike Addazio after a dismal two-season, 4-12 record.

Her tenure also included an incident in which she did not punish four students who were caught in a social media photo wearing blackface accompanied by the message “Wakanda forevaa,” a reference to the Black Panther movie. She instead apologized for the incident.

At about the same time, a swastika was spray-painted on campus. In response, McConnell started a Race, Bias and Equity Initiative at the school.

McConnell said she is leaving CSU before she can see the fruition of her Courageous Strategic Transformation Plan, which she created to bring national recognition to the university for its research.

In an email she sent around to colleagues Thursday morning, McConnell wrote that leading CSU “is the highest accomplishment of my career in higher education.”

Rick Miranda

Colorado State University System

Colorado State University President Joyce McConnell makes a point during an announcement that Steve Addazio has been hired as the new head football coach at Colorado State at a news conference at the school Dec. 12, 2019, in Fort Collins.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE