Mark Kennedy (politician)

Mark Kennedy
22nd President of the University of Colorado
In office July 1, 2019 – July 1, 2021
Preceded by	Bruce D. Benson
12th President of the University of North Dakota
In office July 1, 2016 – June 15, 2019
Preceded by	Ed Schafer
Succeeded by	Joshua Wynne
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota
In office January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	David Minge
Succeeded by	Michele Bachmann
Constituency	2nd district (2001–03) 6th district (2003–07)
Personal details
Born	Mark Raymond Kennedy (1957-04-11) April 11, 1957 (age 64) Benson, Minnesota, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Debbie Kennedy
Residence	Boulder, Colorado, U.S.
Alma mater	St. John's University University of Michigan

Mark Raymond Kennedy (born April 11, 1957) is an American businessman, politician, and administrator who previously served as the president of the University of Colorado (CU) system. Before that, he served as 12th president of the University of North Dakota, and before that led the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management.^[1] A Republican, he served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota from 2001 to 2007. Kennedy did not seek reelection in 2006, instead running in the 2006 election for U.S. Senate. He lost to Democratic–Farmer–Labor nominee Amy Klobuchar.

Early life and business career[]

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Kennedy graduated from Pequot Lakes High School in 1975 and St. John's University in 1979. He began his career as a certified public accountant and went on to receive his M.B.A. with distinction from the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business in 1983.

Kennedy's business career included working for the Pillsbury Company, assisting with its acquisition of Häagen-Dazs and arranging for financing to support its international expansion. As a senior executive at Federated Department Stores, he helped the company position itself for growth to become, as Macy's, the world's leading department store. He was profiled in May 1992's Institutional Investor Magazine, which featured him on its cover as one of "America's top CFOs". At ShopKo Stores, he was responsible for merchandising, marketing and store management.

Political career (2001–2007)[]

U.S. House of Representatives[]

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In 2000 Kennedy won the Republican nomination for the 2nd district and faced four-term Democratic incumbent David Minge. He had never run for political office before. In the closest congressional race of that cycle, Kennedy defeated Minge by 155 votes.

Leading up to the 2002 elections, although Minnesota did not gain or lose any districts, Kennedy's 2nd district—an enormous 28-county district stretching from the southwestern corner of the state to the fringes of the Twin Cities—was dismantled. Its territory was split up among four neighboring districts. Kennedy's home outside Watertown was just inside the reconfigured 6th district, in the Twin Cities' northern suburbs.

In 2002 Kennedy initially expected to face the 6th district's three-term Democratic incumbent, Bill Luther. But the new 6th was somewhat more Republican than its predecessor, and Luther opted to move to the reconfigured 2nd district, where he eventually lost to John Kline. Kennedy instead faced Janet Robert, a lawyer and longtime Democratic activist. In one of the most expensive congressional races in Minnesota history, Kennedy was elected with 57% of the vote.

In 2004, Kennedy faced child safety advocate Patty Wetterling. He received 54% percent of the vote to Wetterling's 46%.

2006 U.S. Senate election[]

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Kennedy did not seek reelection to the House in 2006. Instead he ran against DFL nominee and Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by DFL incumbent Mark Dayton. Also in the race were the Independence Party nominee, Robert Fitzgerald; the Green Party nominee, Michael Cavlan; and the Constitution Party nominee, Ben Powers.

Klobuchar won the election, receiving 58% of the vote to Kennedy's 38%.

Political positions[]

Kennedy's support of the proposed surge in the Iraq War during the 2006 Senate election was described as "bold and smart" on the Brit Hume show on Fox News (Fox News, Brit Hume Show, 12-27-06). Anderson Cooper, an anchor on CNN, said that "Kennedy doesn't ignore the elephant in the room. To the contrary, he looks it straight in the eye" (CNN, Anderson Cooper 360°, 10-25-06).

A proponent of free trade, Kennedy voted for giving the president fast-track authority and for the Central America Free Trade Agreement.^[2]

Kennedy supported the Bush tax cuts and voted for the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan^[3] and the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.^[4] His also sponsored a line-item veto,^[5] a lifetime ban on all members of Congress becoming lobbyists,^[6] full deductibility of medical expenses,^[7] no parole for sex offenders,^[8] and Medicare Plan Enrollment Fraud Protection.^[9]

Kennedy's record of bipartisanship included partnering with 20 Democrats to lead legislation and having more than half the Democrats in the House co-sponsor bills he introduced. Such bills included:

• the Teachers for Tomorrow's Careers Act with Rush Holt from New Jersey,^[10]
• the Fair Care for the Uninsured Act with Dan Lipinski from Illinois,^[11][12]
• the Rural Access to Emergency Services Act with Earl Pomeroy from North Dakota,^[13]
• the Clean Alternatives for Energy Independence Act with Mark Udall from Colorado,^[14]
• the Emergency Wetlands Loan Act with Mike Thompson from California,^[15]
• the Child Support Enforcement Act with Juanita Millender-McDonald from California,^[16] and
• the SLAM Act (to increase penalties on those who traffic and sell methamphetamines) with Darlene Hooley from Oregon.^[17]

Kennedy called himself "100% pro-life". He voted in favor of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act and the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. He voted to sustain Bush's veto of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005.^[2]

Post-congressional career (2007–present)[]

Community activities[]

In 2007 Kennedy was appointed to the President's Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiation (ACTPN).^[18] Part of the Office of the United States Trade Representative, ACTPN considers trade policy issues in the context of overall national interest.

In 2008 Kennedy, along with former Representatives Tim Penny and Bill Frenzel of Minnesota, founded the Economic Club of Minnesota (ECOM),^[19] a nonpartisan platform for national and international leaders in business, government, and public policy to present their ideas on how Minnesota can better compete in an increasingly globalized economy.

Also in 2008 he established the Frontiers of Freedom Lecture Series at the Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy at his alma mater, St. John's University.

Kennedy became a member of the Economic Club of Washington in 2013 and Chatham House in 2014.

In 2015 Kennedy was elected to the Council on Foreign Relations.

Employment[]

From 2007 to 2010 Kennedy served as the global retail business development lead at Accenture, a global management consulting, technology, and outsourcing services firm. In 2010 he formed Chartwell Strategic Advisors LLC. Kennedy's activities through Chartwell include speaking on applying 360° Vision to bridge differences between business and society; the political left and right; the United States and the world.^{[citation needed]}

From 2011 to 2013 Kennedy served as an executive in residence at Johns Hopkins University's Carey Business School in Baltimore, Maryland, teaching MBA courses on corporate statesmanship, global economic systems, as well as global immersion courses in Brazil and Turkey.^{[citation needed]}

In January 2012 Kennedy accepted the position of director and professor at the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management.^[20] During his tenure the school launched two new master's programs—one in Spanish with a Latin American focus and one focused on advocacy in the global environment^[21]—and was designated as the PR Education Program of the Year by PR Week.^[22]

Since 2012 Kennedy has also been an adjunct faculty member at Koç University in Istanbul, Turkey.^{[citation needed]}

Kennedy introduced the concept of "Shapeholders" to the field of business strategy—the political, regulatory, media, and activist actors that shape a firm's opportunities and risks. Kennedy teaches how to effectively engage shapeholders both at home and abroad to profitably advance business strategies while benefiting society.^{[citation needed]}

Presidency of the University of North Dakota (2016–2019)[]

On March 15, 2016, the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education announced that Kennedy had been selected as the twelfth President of the University of North Dakota.^[23] Kennedy, who had filed his application on January 2, 2016, was in February the third of six finalists to visit the school.^[24] He succeeded president Robert Kelley, who retired in January 2016, and Ed Schafer, who served as interim President until Kennedy took office on July 1.^[25] He was inaugurated on October 10, 2016.^[26]

Notable achievements by UND during Kennedy's tenure include being ranked by U.S. News as one of the 25 Most Innovative Schools^[27] and being awarded the 2017 Big Sky Conference Presidents' Cup for outstanding student-athlete academic achievement while winning four conference championships in one year.^[28]

On May 9, 2017, Kennedy's book Shapeholders: Business Success in the Age of Activism was published by Columbia Business School.^[29]

On April 9, 2019, Kennedy was named the sole finalist for the position of President at the University of Colorado. On April 10, he stated in an email that he would accept the position. ^[30]

University of Colorado president[]

In May 2019, the University of Colorado Board of Regents unanimously named Kennedy the sole finalist for the university presidency in a 9-0 vote 31 and elected him, in a 5-4 vote, as president of the four-campus University of Colorado system later that month 32. Kennedy started as an employee on June 15 for a transition period with outgoing president Bruce Benson and became president on July 1. 33

Kennedy’s presidency was marked by several historic milestones for the university, including hiring its first systemwide chief diversity officer 34 and the development of its first Indigenous lands recognition statement. 35 Eight months into Kennedy’s presidency saw the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the challenges associated with navigating a global pandemic, 36 Kennedy, working with the regents, advanced several key initiatives including shepherding a coordinated approach to expanding the university’s online offerings 37 and strengthening its technological infrastructure. 38 The university’s other notable achievements during this time include keeping net tuition flat; 39 garnering $1.4 billion in sponsored research funding and gifts in 2020; 40 increasing graduation and retention rates; creating the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Innovation Fund; 41 completing a strategic plan for the university; 42 and achieving the second highest fundraising year in the university’s history – $455 million in 2020. 43

In January 2021, the University of Colorado Board of Regents switched partisan control for the first time in 40 years, with Democrats in the majority. 44 On May 10, 2021, Kennedy announced that given changes in the board’s makeup and its focus, he was discussing an orderly transition of the presidency with the board despite having received a positive review from the regents. 45& 46 Many characterized this and the censure of Kennedy by faculty on one of the four campuses as partisan efforts to oust him. 47 & 48. On June 1, 2021, the board of regents announced that administrator Todd Saliman would serve as interim president of the university effective July 1, 2021. 49 On June 17, 2021, the Board of Regents passed a resolution of appreciation for Kennedy, commending him for his service to the university and conferring upon him the title of president emeritus. 50

Electoral history[]

Kennedy (left) with President George W. Bush (right) and Congressman Gil Gutknecht looking on (center).

• 2006 Race for U.S. Senate
  • Amy Klobuchar (DFL), 58%
  • Mark Kennedy (R), 38%
  • Robert Fitzgerald (I), 3%
• 2004 Race for U.S. House of Representatives – 6th District
  • Mark Kennedy (R) (inc.), 54%
  • Patty Wetterling (DFL), 46%
• 2002 Race for U.S. House of Representatives – 6th District
  • Mark Kennedy (R) (inc.), 57%
  • Janet Robert (DFL), 35%
  • Dan Becker (I), 7%
• 2000 Race for U.S. House of Representatives – 2nd District
  • Mark Kennedy (R), 48%
  • David Minge (DFL) (inc.), 48%
  • Gerald Brekke (I), 3%

References[]

External links[]

• United States Congress. "Mark Kennedy (id: K000358)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Office of the President University of Colorado
• Appearances on C-SPAN