CU president resigns

University of Colorado president Elizabeth Hoffman has resigned:

Hoffman, who has been president for five years, told the Board of Regents in a letter that her resignation is effective June 30 or whenever the board names a successor. 'It appears to me it is in the university's best interest that I remove the issue of my future from the debate so that nothing inhibits CU's ability to successfully create the bright future it so deserves,' Hoffman wrote. An independent commission reported last year that Colorado players used sex, alcohol and marijuana as recruiting tools. And in February, administrators took the first steps toward a possible dismissal of professor Ward Churchill, who likened World Trade Center victims to Nazi Adolf Eichmann. In an interview with The Associated Press, Hoffman said her decision to resign would give her time to help the university resolve the controversies. 'I've taken my future off the table so to some extent I can focus my attention on issues that face the university and not on my personal future,' she said. She cited the upcoming trial of a civil lawsuit that stemmed from the football recruiting scandal. 'Sometimes you need to say someone else perhaps needs to take the next step and that's what I've decided,' Hoffman said. 'I think it's really important to focus my attention on what needs to be done and not feel that I have to defend myself against attacks.' Board of Regents Chairman Jerry Rutledge said Hoffman would be missed.