On the heels of UNM President Bill Gordon's retirement announcement Thursday, speculation and concern are abundant over who should take his place.
The search that resulted in Gordon's selection four years ago was marred with controversy.
In 1997, the Foundation for Open Government and Albuquerque Journal sued the Board of Regents for violating the Open Meetings Act by interviewing candidates privately and off the record. Gordon emerged the clear favorite in the selection process but the search was scrapped because of the legal problems that plagued the University.
Gordon was interim president until a second search yielded that same result, and he officially took office in 1999.
Board of Regents President Larry Willard stated that the regents will meet during the next few weeks to discuss a format for choosing Gordon's successor.
The board has not named an interim president, but possible candidates include Julie Weaks, vice president for Business and Finance; Provost Brian Foster; and Eliseo Torres, vice president for Student Affairs.
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Faculty Senate President John Geissman said he hopes that the faculty are involved in the selection of an interim leader and the next president.
"Obviously, I think that we're keeping our fingers crossed that what happened last time won't happen again," he said.
Geissman says he hopes that if the person does not have a UNM background and is not familiar with the school that the next president at least has a good background in higher education in the western states.
"Let's face it, it's different out here," he said. "It's a very different environment than other parts of the country with different challenges that must be addressed."
Geissman said issues of importance include improving support for the University and ensuring full-formula funding for higher education; keeping tuition as low as possible; and raising staff and faculty salaries significantly.
"It's pretty clear under the current environment, the only thing you can do to improve your situation here is to acquire an outside job offer, which is really sad," he said.
He added that in general, the University's leader needs to establish a far better rapport with the Legislature and make sure it is in tune with UNM's needs.
Community leaders also are eager to play a role in the presidential selection after voicing strong dissent over the process that resulted in Gordon's selection. Chuck Monta§o is president of the Hispanic Roundtable, a group that represents 40 other Hispanic organizations and 35,000 people throughout the state. He says his group will play an active role in the presidential search process.
"We're not surprised that President Gordon left because we had concerns about the level of commitment from those outside of New Mexico leading New Mexico institutions," Monta§o said. "So many people use this place as a stepping stone and it really is about time we found someone from the community strong enough to lead us and who is willing to stay."
Monta§o added that Gordon's connections to the East Coast were a liability and the University should steer clear of the problem during the next search.
"I have a master's degree like a lot of educated Latino and Hispano people in this community, but I couldn't just get a job in the Midwest and immediately understand what is important there because I am an outsider - the same is true here," he said. "People from outside the state cannot really empathize and relate to the diverse community we have here."
The interim presidential appointment also is a point of contention for Monta§o, who says he thinks the University should appoint someone who is not vying for the job because it gives that person an unfair advantage in the search.
Monta§o encouraged participation in the process from all who have a stake in the future of the state because the next president will affect them.
"Latinos make up a huge percentage of students at the University, but their voices are hardly ever head," he said. "Part of it is our own fault and our reluctance to speak out, but the other part is people in positions of power who ignore us. I hope that during this search, we not only speak up but that people in authority listen. We all have vested interest making sure this university succeeds."
