news@dailylobo.com
The national search for UNM President Robert Frank cost about $115,000 less than the search for former UNM President David Schmidly.
According to a report from Human Resources Vice President Helen Gonzales, the national search process for Schmidly cost $294,000, which is about $115,000 more than the $178,000 budget for Frank’s national search.
UNM Director of Communications and Marketing (UCAM) Dianne Anderson said that before the search began, members of the administration estimated the cost of the national search would reach $260,000, but the search was ultimately $80,000 under budget.
Anderson said the allotted budgets for national searches are composed of the search firm expenses plus expenses for search processes, such as background checks, interviews and advertising. She said the allotted budget for search firm expenses should be one-third of the position’s annual salary.
Anderson said the probable reason behind the cost difference of the searches is that Schmidly earned more than Frank.
But according to the UNM Salary Book, Frank’s annual salary is $355,000, and according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, Schmidly’s annual salary was $380,000. Also according to Gonzales’ report, the University spent $220,000 for search-firm expenses in Schmidly’s national search, which was about three-fifths of his salary. For Frank’s search, $145,000 was allotted for search firm expenses, which amounts to roughly two-fifths of his salary — also more than the one-third limit.
Anderson said the national search for President Frank happened during the economic recession, so the University had to tighten its budget. She said that instead of allotting more money to the search, the University decided to use funding for improvements on campus, such as the renovation of Hodgin Hall.
“The University was cognizant of the necessity to stretch its own budget, so we were cautious and selective about how we conducted the search,” she said. “We looked for deals and ways to save money on our expenses.”
Because money was tight for the 2011 presidential search, Anderson said the University slashed some processes in the search. While the 2007 presidential search allotted an additional $19,000 for a separate set of interviews for semifinalists, the recent search merged the interviews for semifinalists and finalists together and conducted only one set of interviews. The estimated cost for two sets of interviews for Frank’s search was $55,000, but the single set of finalist interviews ultimately cost $24,000.
Although search firm expenses for the process exceeded the one-third limit, Anderson said Frank’s national search was efficient because it cost considerably less than Schmidly’s search, and because the actual budget of the search cost about $80,000 less than the expected budget.
Anderson said the budget is determined by a national search administrator selected by the University. For Frank’s national search, she said Gonzales was the administrator and also administered the final budget.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
According to the report by Gonzales, $106,000 of the presidential search budget was used to pay the search firm.
In addition, $38,000 of the budget was used for committee travel expenses and other minor expenditures, such as phone call costs. The remaining $33,000 of the budget was used for national search processes such as advertising, background checks and finalist interviews.
On the other hand, the search committee that led the 2007 presidential search for Schmidly was paid a direct fee of $195,000. An additional $25,000 was spent on the firm’s direct expenses, and $74,000 was spent on national search processes.
Schmidly’s presidential search lasted as long as Frank’s.
Gonzales was unavailable for comment.
Anderson said funds came from the University’s central reserve, a collection of unspent funds from previous years that UNM is required to have, and that student fees were not used for the project. She said that although searches can cost a significant amount of money, the money used for the process is well spent and is fair to the University community.
“Hiring the president of a University, especially for a tier-one research institution such as UNM, is an enormous investment,” she said. “A search firm has the ability to identify and attract candidates that may not otherwise have considered the position.”
The national presidential search for Frank began in June 2011 — one month after Schmidly announced his resignation from the position — and ended in December 2011. Frank was selected on Jan. 4, 2012, took office June 1 and will be officially installed as president Nov. 18.
According to the Board of Regents’ Policy Manual, national searches can be held for the University’s administrative and academic officials and although the regents’ manual includes national search policies for members of the administration, only the Board of Regents oversees presidential searches.
Other national searches are initiated by individual departments and are monitored by the Office of Equal Opportunity.
Although the administration did not hold a national search for UNM Provost Chaouki Abdallah, Anderson said the administration will consider a national search for a UNM law school dean, after former dean Kevin Washburn was appointed by President Obama to be the assistant secretary for the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and confirmed last month. The University may also hold a national search for a dean for the Honors College, which was proposed by Abdallah last February.
In the meantime, interim deans have been appointed for both schools — Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Barbara Bergman is the interim law school dean and dean of the University College and economics professor Catherine Krause is the interim Honors College dean.
