Colorado University Regents

Michael Carrigan | Chair, District 1

University of Colorado Regent Michael Carrigan is a Colorado native, a civic leader, a proud CU alumnus, and a recognized attorney who practices with the well-respected Denver law firm of Holland & Hart. A Democrat, Carrigan has served on the CU Board of Regents since 2004, and represents Colorado’s 1st Congressional District. In 2010, he was re-elected to a second six-year term and is the senior Democrat on the Board of Regents.

In June 2012, Carrigan’s fellow Board members voted to elect him chair, the first Democrat to hold that position in more than 10 years.   As chair of the Board, Carrigan makes all major appointments, presides over meetings and leads the Board in its oversight over CU’s $3 billion budget.  He graduated with honors from the University of Notre Dame in 1990, and from the University of Colorado Law School in 1994.

After six years of experience as a prosecutor, Carrigan currently is a senior litigator and partner at Holland & Hart. His civic leadership includes time spent as a volunteer teacher at an inner-city high school in the Bronx, N.Y., and as a volunteer worker at a community center in La Paz, Bolivia. He also has served two of Colorado’s largest charities, serving on the Easter Seals Colorado board of directors and working with the Latin American Research and Service Agency.

In 2007, Carrigan received the prestigious Richard Marden Davis Award for his professional and civic contributions. The annual award recognizes a Denver attorney under the age of 40 who has combined excellence as a lawyer with civic, cultural, educational and charitable leadership. It is sponsored by the Davis Graham & Stubbs law firm, the Denver Bar Foundation and the Davis family.  

Carrigan will serve until January 2017.  

Stephen C. Ludwig | Vice Chair, At Large

University of Colorado Regent Stephen C. Ludwig is an experienced, recognized Colorado communicator, a successful entrepreneur, a higher education advocate, a civic leader, and a proud CU alumnus who has worked in broadcast journalism, public relations, marketing and corporatestrategic communications for the past two decades.

In 2006, Ludwig won a statewide election for an at-large seat on the CU Board of Regents, a volunteer position representing the entire state of Colorado. As a regent he helps oversee a three-campus system with a $2.4 billion annual budget. Currently, he serves as vice chair of the board, and on the awards and strategic planning committees. A Democrat, Ludwig’s six-year term will end in January 2013.

Joseph Neguse | 2nd Congressional District

University of Colorado Regent Joseph Neguse is a CU alumnus and civic leader who has spent years advocating for public higher education.

A Democrat, he was elected in 2008 to the CU Board of Regents to represent Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District. Neguse is one of the youngest public officials in the state, and was presented the "Rising Star Award" by the Colorado Democratic Party in 2010. He currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Audit Committee; his six-year term ends in January 2015.

Irene Griego | 7th Congressional District

University of Colorado Regent Irene Griego is a lifelong resident of Colorado whose career in public education took root with degrees from CU. She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Colorado Boulder and a doctorate in school administration from the University of Colorado Denver, as well as a master’s in educational administration from the University of Northern Colorado.

Griego, a Democrat, was sworn in as a regent in December 2011 after being appointed by Gov. John Hickenlooper to represent the 7th Congressional District. The seat formerly was held by Regent Monisha Merchant, who resigned in September 2011; Griego’s appointment continues through the next general election in 2012.