Editor,
While I left UNM before Louis
Caldera took office, and therefore
cannot really offer a student viewpoint
on his tenure, I feel that Regent
Jamie Koch's comment in the
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Albuquerque Journal on Jan. 26
merits a closer look. Koch said the
next president should "understand
the culture here," and most likely
should be a native New Mexican.
What does he mean by the
culture here? Is he referring to a
culture in which elected officials
scheme to funnel investment
brokerage commissions to themselves
- see the State Treasury
Office. Is he referring to a culture
in which an obscure law may pave
the way for a judge convicted of
rape and accepting bribes to have
his conviction removed from record
because some state statute
says members of the judiciary of
the state cannot be held to account
for bribes?
Is Koch talking about a culture
in which the city just had to pay a
lump sum $600,000 settlement
in addition to separate settlements
of $900,000 and $300,000 for the
sexual assaults committed by APD
officer Christopher Chase, and yet
there is no recourse against the
man's personal assets to recover
some of the money the taxpayers
lost?
What is this culture that Koch is
talking about - low expectations,
and the culture of the state ranking
low on the totem pole in education
quality?
Caldera's problem was in outlining
goals and expectations and in
communicating with the faculty.
He did not seem to have any direction
one way or the other about the
University, but then again, the last
president who did have anything
resembling a vision was Richard
Peck. Even Peck's goal to bring
UNM into the fraternity of research
universities was often met
with controversy from faculty, who
felt the main goal was undergraduate
education.
The next president should be
one with some background in
academia, yet who is also a competent
manager. Understanding
"this culture" should not be the
motivating characteristic - rather,
these should be:
Does the president work well
with faculty and communicate well
with staff and educators?
Does the president have an academic
background that gives him
or her the empathy necessary to
work with faculty and understand
what they are trying to accomplish?
Does the president have a clear
goal and vision and an outline of
how to implement that goal? Is
the goal research or undergraduate
education? How does he or she
plan to phase those benchmarks
into the running of UNM?
Can the president articulate
those ideas clearly and concisely to
administrators and faculty alike?
These are the things to consider.
The presidency must be based
on the merits and who is the best
person for the job - not some
glib generalities about appreciating
"this culture," as Jamie Koch
seems to believe.
Brandon Curtis
UNM alumnus
