Amy Parsons

President

Amy Parsons is the 16th President of Colorado State University. Prior to being named CSU President in 2023, Parsons served for 17 years in various senior executive leadership roles at CSU and the CSU System. She combines her higher education background with private sector experience, as well as a background in law.

Parsons currently serves in leadership positions for local, state, and national organizations that span business, cultural, and athletics interests. This includes service on the NCAA Committee on Infractions, the U.S. Committee for Economic Development Board of Trustees, the Salazar Center for North American Conservation External Advisory Board, the Denver Sports Commission, the Alpine Bank Board of Directors, the Colorado Business Roundtable Board of Directors, the Mountain West Board of Directors, the Pac-12 Board of Directors, and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science Board of Trustees.

Parsons was executive vice chancellor of the CSU System from 2015-2020; vice president for university operations at CSU from 2009-2015; deputy general counsel and associate legal counsel at CSU Fort Collins from 2004-2009. As vice president of operations at CSU, she helped navigate through the fiscal challenges of the Great Recession, supported the first comprehensive salary equity survey to uncover and remedy gender-based inequities, and oversaw an historic physical transformation that included construction and renovation of state-of-the-art classroom buildings, parking structures, research facilities, and an on-campus stadium. She worked as a litigation attorney for Denver-firm Brownstein, Hyatt, & Farber (now Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber, Schreck) from 1999-2004.

During the 2024-2025 year, Parsons received the CU Law Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, was named Zeta Tau Alpha National Alumna of the Year, and was inducted into CSU’s Inaugural Class Circle of Legends.

Parsons holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from CSU and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Colorado. She was born in Colorado and grew up in Wyoming.