Bruce Benson, a businessman and politician who has led the four-campus University of Colorado system for a decade, will retire next July, officials announced Wednesday.

Benson, who turned 80 this month, has led CU through a decade of change that included getting the school system back on its feet after the 2008 financial collapse sent its budget teetering.

The longtime head of the state’s Republican Party and 1964 CU graduate used his business background to firm up the university system’s finances.

“After a decade on the job, I believe even more strongly in what my CU experience taught me — this place changes and improves lives,” Benson wrote in a letter to alumni. “It certainly changed mine, providing the foundation for a successful career and fulfilling life. There are tens of thousands of stories like mine, and a big part of my job is ensuring that everyone who attends CU has the same opportunities I did to take advantage of education as a ticket to a better life.”

CU Regent Kyle Hybl, a Republican who has represented District 5 since 2007, credits the success of CU, the state’s largest university system, to the culture Benson has helped create, from the top down.

“You can see that in his leadership team, the chancellors, the faculty and staff, for the University of Colorado to be an important asset not just to the students and learning but also to be an important asset as an economic and cultural driver,” Hybl said.

“His ability to be an advocate for the university in the community is probably unparalleled.”

In his 10-year tenure, Benson has accomplished fiscal sustainability and growth, Hybl said, as well as “making sure that students are learning how to think and not what to think.”

The local campus, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, “in many ways embodies the entrepreneurial spirit” that Benson has championed, Hybl, said, growing from 7,000 to nearly 13,000 students since Hybl joined the Board of Regents.

Benson’s tenure included a 10 percent enrollment growth at CU campuses and a doubling of its annual budget from $2.2 billion to $4.5 billion, according to a news release issued Wednesday.

Announcement of his retirement was not unexpected. Last year, the nine-member Board of Regents with five Republicans and four Democrats set policies and procedures for selecting a new president.

Hybl said a search committee comprised of regents, faculty, staff, students and community members — somewhere between 14 and 18 people — will be formed soon.

“It’s common to have a search last six to 12 months in the academic industry,” Hybl said.

The board will narrow the field of applicants, interview some candidates and select a finalist.

Hybl said he considers himself “a student of leadership,” and there’s no doubt in his mind that “Bruce Benson is one of Colorado’s best leaders because he has the ability to weave the world of education, the world of politics and the world of business like few other people can.”

Benson said in a statement that CU’s success has been a team effort, and he praised the faculty, staff, campus chancellors and his executive team for their work.

“Together, we’ve improved the culture, enhanced collaboration and increased diversity in all its forms,” he said. “CU has programs and people in every corner of Colorado, and we’re proud of what we do every day to improve the state that was founded the same year as the university.