by Christopher Sanchez
Daily Lobo
Provost candidate Uday Sukhatme was surprised to see the Roberts Room in Scholes Hall packed with more than 60 staff members.
"I was not expecting this big of a turnout," he said. "It shows the staff is interested, which is very important."
Sukhatme is one of three finalists vying to be the next University provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. The candidates were chosen by a search committee formed in October.
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Sukhatme was the first candidate interviewed by staff and students Monday. The staff forum was held in the morning, and the student forum was held later in the afternoon at the SUB.
During the staff forum, Sukhatme said staff plays an important role to an institution and should be recognized.
"Students and faculty are always getting recognized," he said. "Sometimes we forget about the staff."
Sukhatme said if he becomes provost, he will attend Staff Council meetings on a regular basis to maintain open communication. By getting to know the staff, he said, it would make a more comfortable environment for everyone.
If something is brewing within the staff, there would be communication before things get out of hand, he said.
Steve Borbas, a member of UNM Staff Council, said Sukhatme provided good answers.
"He was very smart, very calm, very professional. He clearly has excellent experience, as we would hope for being one of the three finalists," he said.
Borbas said he would like to see the future provost provide better communication with the staff.
"We have had a lot of help on different fronts, but you can always do better," Borbas said, referring to past provosts.
Sukhatme also told the staff he would like to increase the number of students studying abroad.
"Undergraduate studies is incomplete without international experience," he said.
During the student forum, Sukhatme spoke to about 25 students and discussed diversity at UNM and the importance of communication between the provost and students.
Sukhatme wants minorities on campus to help promote diversity on campus by sharing their success stories with their peers, he said.
If minorities have a good experience at UNM, then that is all it takes to promote diversity, he said.
He also said administrators should teach classes to create better communication with students. As provost, he said, teaching a class would be a good thing.
He teaches a class every third semester at the State University of New York at Buffalo, he said.
Sukhatme has been the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and professor there since August 2002. Sukhatme has more than 180 publications in physics journals.
UNM graduate student Lucia Anglada said Sukhatme presented himself well.
If there was more time, she would have liked to know more about his views on under-represented groups on campus, such as minorities, she said.
"In an hour it is difficult to all the issues addressed," she said.
Sukhatme said he would like to get the community involved with the University. At the State University of New York at Buffalo, Sukhatme began Saturday lectures that were open to the public.
Anglada said she liked Sukhatme's ideas about promoting communication with students and the community.
The search committee will recommend its choices to acting president David Harris, and he will name a provost in April.
The faculty forum will be today at 2 p.m. in the Santa Ana Room in the SUB.
Reed Dasenbrock will be interviewing for the position Wednesday and candidate Ramon Gutierrez will be on campus Friday.
