Robert Spuhler accepted the position of Colorado Mountain College president Thursday.

“I appreciate the confidence the faculty, staff and trustees have placed in me and look forward to moving this institution forward into the future,” said Spuhler, who becomes the college’s seventh president. He has been serving as interim president since the retirement of former CMC president Cynthia Heelan in February.

In June, the college board decided to consider hiring a new president from within the college’s own ranks.

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The Colorado Mountain College board offered Spuhler a two-year contract Thursday, and he signed it the same day.

The contract calls for an annual salary of $164,000 per year.

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Spuhler, 56, was a CMC vice president from 1993 to 2002.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico, master’s degrees from Pepperdine University and Central Michigan State University, and a doctoral degree from the University of Southern California at Los Angeles.

As CMC president, Spuhler will oversee a community college district with 1,700 employees and 25,000 part-time and full-time students. The college operates 13 locations in nine western Colorado counties.

Spuhler said he is pleased to be able to continue his efforts alongside CMC faculty and staff, and plans to address four challenges facing the institution:

– The migration of the college to a “customer friendly” student information system.

– An on-going talent drain from the institution due to faculty and administration retirements.

– Developing a new strategic plan.

– Fully integrating the college’s technological capabilities into the classroom and administrative operations.