When you look at the governing body of a massive institution like the University of Colorado, you usually expect to see career politicians or lifelong academics. Eric Rinard isn't really either of those things. He’s a guy who spends his time designing high-tech components and running a 30-acre horse farm in Weld County. Honestly, that's what made his run for the Board of Regents so interesting to people who are tired of the usual "suit and tie" routine.
Rinard is a CU Boulder alum—Class of 1985—with a degree in electrical engineering. He didn't just graduate and leave; he stayed in the Front Range, working for tech companies like LeftHand Networks and KMLabs. He’s the kind of person who looks at a university budget the same way he looks at a circuit board: something that needs to be efficient, logical, and stripped of unnecessary noise.
The Push for "Balance" in Boulder
The University of Colorado Board of Regents is a weirdly powerful group. They oversee a $6 billion budget and make the final call on things like tuition hikes and who gets to be the university president. For years, the board was a Republican stronghold, but that's shifted lately. Rinard stepped into the 2024 race for the at-large seat because he felt like the "diversity of opinion" at CU was basically non-existent.
He’s been pretty vocal about the idea that higher education has tilted too far in one direction. To him, a university should be a "marketplace of ideas," even the ideas that make people uncomfortable. He campaigned heavily on the concept of individual liberty and free speech. He often mentioned that Western Civilization is built on rational debate, and he felt that CU was losing its grip on that foundation.
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It wasn't just talk, either. He had some skin in the game as a board member for Aspen Ridge Preparatory Charter School. He saw firsthand how administrative bloat can eat away at a budget, and he wanted to bring that "lean" engineering mindset to the regent level.
Why the 2024 Election Mattered
The race for the at-large seat was high stakes. Why? Because it’s one of the few statewide offices in Colorado that Republicans actually had a shot at winning. The seat was previously held by Heidi Ganahl, who was the last Republican to win a statewide election in Colorado back in 2016. When she left to run for governor, the seat became the ultimate battleground.
Rinard faced off against Democrat Elliott Hood. It was a classic "two different worlds" scenario. Hood was an education attorney with a big war chest of campaign funds. Rinard was the underdog, raising about $12,000 compared to Hood’s much larger haul.
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Despite the funding gap, Rinard pulled in over 1.3 million votes in the general election. That’s a massive number of people who agreed with his message of cost management and "traditional thinking" challenges. He lost the race, but the sheer volume of votes showed that there is a huge chunk of Colorado that wants to see the university system move back toward a more conservative, or at least fiscally restrained, path.
The Realities of the Board
- The Budget: CU handles billions. Rinard argued that his experience in the private sector made him "uniquely qualified" to find the waste.
- Tuition: He supported the tuition cost guarantee, which locks in rates for four years for incoming freshmen. He’s a parent himself, so he gets the "sticker shock" of modern college costs.
- Research: As an engineer, he’s a huge fan of CU’s research status. He wanted to make sure the university stayed a leader in innovation without getting bogged down in social agendas.
Life Off the Campaign Trail
You can't really talk about Eric Rinard without mentioning the horses. He and his wife, Jodi, live on a farm east of Erie. They aren't just "casual" horse owners; the whole family is into equestrian vaulting. If you've never seen it, it's basically gymnastics on the back of a moving horse. It takes an insane amount of balance and discipline.
Maybe that's where the political grit comes from. He’s also spent years volunteering with the Weld County Republican Party. He’s deeply rooted in the "Northern Front Range" culture—a mix of high-tech industry and rural, independent values.
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The Takeaway for CU’s Future
Even though Eric Rinard isn't sitting in a regent's chair right now, his campaign highlighted some massive cracks in how the public views the university. People are worried about the cost of living in Boulder and the "ideological bubble" that seems to be forming on campuses.
His focus on "rational debate" isn't going away. Whether you agree with his politics or not, he forced a conversation about whether the university is actually serving all Coloradans or just a specific group.
If you're keeping an eye on Colorado's education system, the next few years are going to be wild. The Board of Regents is currently leaning Democratic, which means policies on things like campus carry and DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) are likely to stay the course. However, the 1.3 million people who voted for a guy like Rinard aren't just going to disappear.
To stay informed on how these decisions actually affect your wallet and your kids' education, keep a close watch on the Board of Regents' monthly meetings. They’re open to the public, and that’s where the real "boring but important" work happens. You can find their schedule on the CU website. If you're feeling bold, sign up for public comment. That's exactly the kind of "civic life" Rinard was talking about.
For those interested in the fiscal side of things, download the CU Annual Financial Report. It’s a dense read, but if you want to see where that $6 billion actually goes, it's all in there. Understanding the numbers is the first step in holding the board accountable, regardless of who's in charge.