A timeline of Joyce McConnell's tenure as Colorado State University president

March 15, 2019: Joyce E. McConnell, provost and vice president for academic affairs at West Virginia University, is named a finalist to become Colorado State University's next president, succeeding Tony Frank, who became chancellor of the CSU System.

April 1, 2019: CSU's Board of Governors officially confirms McConnell as the university's 15th president, making history as the first woman to lead the university.

July 1, 2019: McConnell assumes the top job, earning a base salary of $550,000.

September 2019: McConnell launces the Race, Bias and Equity Initiative during her fall address and apologizes to students who have been victims of racism and bias on campus after a swastika was spray-painted on the brick wall of a campus apartment building and a photograph of four white CSU students in blackface with the caption "Wakanda Forever," a reference to the "Black Panther" movie, circulated through campus. They were the first of several race-related incidents that dominated McConnell's tenure. McConnell's apology was met by silent protest. After she said the photo did not violate university rules or regulations and students would not face disciplinary action, students called the response disgusting and disappointing.

►Joyce McConnell, Colorado State University's first female president, stepping down

March 2020: A worldwide pandemic hits and McConnell shuts down the Fort Collins campus, sending students home to attend classes remotely.

May 2020: May commencement ceremonies are rescheduled until December to allow graduates to share their achievements with their families in person.

Fall 2020: CSU incorporates some in-person instruction into 64% of its classes during the fall semester. All classes, as planned before the semester began, shifted to remote-only instruction following the Thanksgiving break.

August 2020: McConnell pauses all football activities and launches an investigation into CSU athletics following a Coloradoan investigation regarding reports of racial insensitivity and abusive behavior within the athletic department. Those accusations were followed by an investigation that revealed some players and members of the athletic department staff were told not to report COVID-19 symptoms and were threatened with reduced paying time if they did.

October 2020: The investigation by law firm Husch Blackwell found no major wrongdoing by CSU and McConnell calls the results "positive and reassuring overall." Some athletes called McConnell's assessment "insensitive and ignorant."

The executive committee of CSU's Faculty Council admonishes McConnell for not adequately addressing student-athlete concerns and criticizes CSU's Board of Governors, which issued a letter in support of the department's leadership.

December 2020: In-person commencement ceremonies are replaced by virtual celebrations. Each 2020 graduate — spring, summer and fall — is showcased with a personalized slide.

►So long, 'junk drawer of CSU': University's Clark Building to receive $130 million renovation

January 2021: Spring semester begins remotely and later shifts to in-person instruction to give the university time to test students, faculty and staff for COVID-19 before they return to campus. McConnell and the Pandemic Preparedness Team require most students and staff teaching and learning in person to be screened regularly for COVID-19 using the university's own saliva screening system.

Starting the semester with remote-only instruction gives the university’s Pandemic Preparedness Team “additional time to assess local COVID-19 case numbers."

August 2021: McConnell and her team announce that students and staff will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to return to campus in the fall. Vaccine exemptions were available and about 8% of students and 7% of staff requested an exemption in the fall.

McConnell also required masks be worn when indoors on campus.

December 2021: McConnell fires football coach Steve Addazio after the CSU football team compiles a 4-12 record in two seasons under Addazio's leadership.

December 2021: McConnell announces students and staff would be required to receive a third dose, or booster dose, of the COVID-19 vaccine in response to the omicron variant spreading in Larimer County.

March 2022: McConnell removes the campus' mask mandate that had been in place for people indoors since the start of the school year. McConnell also formally launched her Courageous Strategic Transformation plan for the university. She spent her first two years creating this plan and hoped it would bring CSU national recognition for its research. The plan had not yet been formally approved by the Board of Governors at this point, though they voted to approve it in May.

June 2022: CSU announces McConnell is stepping down, with her last day set for June 30.

Pat Ferrier is a senior reporter covering business, health care and growth issues in Northern Colorado. Contact her at patferrier@coloradoan.com. Please support her work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a subscription today.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Timeline of Joyce McConnell tenure as CSU president