Schmidly selected as UNM's president

by Caleb Fort

Daily Lobo

David Schmidly was selected by the Board of Regents on Saturday as the next president

of UNM.

The regents made the announcement after a three-hour closed meeting.

"I don't think we've ever had an incoming president as outstanding as Dr. Schmidly," Regent Don Chalmers said. "David Harris has been a great acting president, but we can really get things moving forward with David Schmidly."

Schmidly has been the president of the Oklahoma State University System since 2002.

At a meeting Tuesday, about 70 faculty members recommended Meredith Hay and Robert McGrath for president. The University had about 3,200 faculty members in 2005, according to the UNM Fact Book.

Daniel L¢pez and Herman Lujan were also competing for the job.

Jamie Koch, president of the board, said the faculty's vote will not hinder Schmidly.

"He's going to do just fine," he said. "It was only a small number of faculty, and I'm sure he'll get the support of everyone."

It takes 130 faculty members to establish a quorum.

After the faculty meeting with Schmidly that also took place Tuesday, 71 percent of the 83 faculty members who attended said he would make a good president.

Most of the faculty questions were about a 2002 lawsuit alleging that Schmidly referred to a woman with a derogatory phrase. The lawsuit was dropped.

Schmidly, who could not be reached for comment Saturday or Sunday, repeatedly denied the claims.

Koch said Schmidly was not bothered about the faculty members' focus on the lawsuit.

"He was embarrassed that they chose to concentrate on that," he said. "He could have answered so many questions that hadn't already been answered."

Schmidly received 86 percent approval from staff and 89 percent approval from students.

Schmidly served as president of Texas Tech before going to Oklahoma State.

Having a president who has experience as CEO of other campuses will be good for UNM, Regent Raymond Sanchez said.

"He will not need on-the-job training," Sanchez said. "He'll be able to hit the ground running."

Schmidly's salary will probably be about $450,000 per year, Koch said.

In meetings Tuesday with students, staff and faculty, Schmidly said he wants to establish a program to boost retention and graduation rates.

The program would be a partnership between UNM and a community college. Freshmen who do not meet minimum requirements would be enrolled as UNM students, but they would take their first 24 credits through the community college.

The program would teach students necessary math, English and study skills, he said.

Schmidly said he would have weekly office hours that students could sign up for on the Internet.

Student Regent Dahlia Dorman said she was impressed by Schmidly's willingness to talk to students.

"He said he likes to eat lunch in the SUB, so he can socialize with the students and find out what they're talking about," she said. "I think it will be really great to have someone who's open like that."

Schmidly owns a house in Placitas.

"He has ties to the state," Sanchez said. "He pays taxes here. He understands the issues that we have here."

Koch said Schmidly will probably begin work at UNM after the semester ends at Oklahoma State.

Schmidly's contract will be similar to former President Louis Caldera's, Koch said.

It will require a 120-day notice to fire the president instead of the one-year notice required in Caldera's, he said.

Caldera resigned in January 2006.

Several groups who met with each of UNM's presidential candidates filled out survey cards to give their opinion. Here's a look at the percent of positive reactions to David Schmidly compared to the average percent of positive response for all of the candidates.

Students

Schmidly: 89 percent

Average: 72 percent

Staff

Schmidly: 86 percent

Average: 82 percent

Faculty

Schmidly: 71 percent

Average: 71 percent

Deans

Schmidly: 100 percent

Average: 86 percent

Executive cabinet

Schmidly: 100 percent

Average: 80 percent

Health Sciences Center administration and clinical chairs

Schmidly: 100 percent

Average: 91 percent