University of Colorado Budget Office collection

The CU Budget Office’s history can be characterized by the many different names and functions it served throughout the 20th century. The Budget Office originally a function of the Board of Regents in 1920 where the role of the comptroller belonged to Frank H. Wolcott, Secretary to the Board of Regents. Wolcott served as CU’s comptroller until 1940, where the Budget Office split from the Board of Regents and became its own entity based in Mackey Auditorium. In 1941 Wolcott stepped down as comptroller to be replaced by Waldo E. Brockway, who was previously the Supervising Engineer for the University. His position was renamed to Business Manager/Treasurer, making him solely responsible for the University’s financing and budgeting along with Stuart M. Hill as his assistant. In 1952, the Budget Office was expanded to hold the positions of the Business Manager, Budget Officer, Secretary to the President, and the Treasurer of the University. Stuart M. Hill was promoted Budget Officer and Secretary of the University that same year and directed the CU budget until 1957. It was during this year that John. W. Bartram was promoted from Director of Publication to Director of the temporarily named “Budget Office”, with Stuart M. Hill still performing his duties as a budget officer.

The following year the Budget Office was renamed Budget and Planning until 1962 where the office would be named to Budget Office once again; Stuart M. Hill stepped down from his position as Budget Officer and his duties were passed to Bartram’s position. In 1974, the Budget Office was split into two, one being the Budget Office - Campus that solely financed CU Boulder and the other office, Budget Office - University financed University of Colorado as a whole. Both offices were based in Mackey Auditorium; Bartram was promoted to VP and Director of Budgets of the Budget Office – University, and Peter J Barden took his place as campus budget officer along with Gordon J Johnson in the assistant position of Program Administrator. They managed the Campus Budget Office from 1974 to 1980. From 1980 to 1994, Barden’s assistant Gordon J Johnson took over his position as Budget Officer/Director. Bartram stepped down from his position as VP and Director of Budgets, leaving John A. Bernhard to take over Director of Budget chair and William Fischer to take place as VP until 1989. Due to both of these managers dropping from their position in 1989, James Topping filled interim as Director along with Stuart M. Takuechi as interim VP until 1991, when Glen R. Stine takes over both of their positions as VP until 1997. Finally, from 1994 to 1997, Ric Porreca takes the position as Budget Officer for the Campus Office.