A new president means a new resident on the University of New Mexico’s campus.
President Garnett Stokes is moving into 1901 Roma Ave. SE soon — and with that comes the scrutiny of how much funding is being spent on the residence. The president’s house has been making headlines for the past 89 years.
The two-story adobe house was built in 1929, according to University Archives.
Chris Vallejos, the associate vice president of Institutional Support Services, is heading the planning and managing of the University space. ISS is in charge of building renewal and replacement funding, covering all of Main Campus including the University house, he said.
“It’s an older building and requires more maintenance than others. We allocate money, so we can have an account to keep the University house up to par,” Vallejos said.
The full institutional support services budget for the 2017-2018 fiscal year is $42.6 million.
The Main Campus building renewal budget for this year is around $5.7 million — the appropriation for the past 10 years has been between $50,000 to $75,000, but on average has spent $38,000, according to Vallejos.
“Whatever is left, we roll over to the next year to fund whatever is needed,” he said.
“Only a very small portion goes into the University house,” Vallejos said. “The rest goes to the various other buildings we have to maintain on campus.”
The president’s house has been scrutinized for spending before.
According to Van Dorn Hooker’s book on the architectural history of UNM, former President James Fulton Zimmerman was the first to live in the house until 1956. Zimmerman had to go before the New Mexico Senate Finance Committee and justify the 1930 purchase of a $25,000 rug for the residence. Calculated for inflation, that would be nearly $350,000 today.
Zimmerman’s successor, President Tom Popejoy, had the house remodeled by famous New Mexico architect John Gaw Meem. The Albuquerque Journal reported in January 1956 that the renovations cost $42,000 which by today’s currency would be over $300,000. Popejoy’s additions included the sunroom and breakfast nook.
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In the 80s, there was serious consideration to turn the residence into an event space exclusively.
In 1990, when President Richard Peck moved in, the house required a $400,000 makeover.
University Archivist Portia Vescio said that the president’s house was an architectural statement of the Southwest.
“Prior to around 1905 most of the campus buildings were red brick, same as any other campus you’d find in the Midwest,” Vescio said. “It wasn’t until the (1910s through 1920s) that the Spanish Pueblo Revival became the very distinctive look of New Mexico.”
Pueblo Revival style includes buildings on campus such as the Zimmerman Library, the Anthropology Building and Mesa Vista Hall. It includes adobe, exposed roof beams called vigas and square shapes.
The house is 7,000 square feet and has 10 rooms. The living space is relegated to the second floor with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, and another bedroom is in the basement. The house is used for University functions and similar events.
“There’s a living part of the house, but also a very functional use,” Vescio said.
The University has had eight presidents in the past 20 years.
The residence has been vacant since 2016. Stokes is the first president to live in the residence since President Robert “Bob” Frank.
Danielle Prokop is a freelance reporter with the Daily Lobo. She can contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @ProkopDani.
