by Ashleigh Sanchez
Daily Lobo
Rita Martinez-Purson said the best way to prepare students for the real world is to bring the real world to UNM.
"Diversity brings excellence to a campus community," she said. "It teaches students to live in a pluralistic society and a global environment."
Martinez-Purson, dean of Continuing Education and Community Services, was named interim vice president for institutional diversity July 16.
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She is charged with starting an office to improve diversity on campus.
President David Schmidly, who created the position, said the office's first priority is to improve the University's efforts to recruit minority faculty members.
Another priority is to have all the minority student support groups on campus coordinate their services, he said.
The office must also develop ways to track progress and study the effects of the new program, Schmidly said.
He said Martinez-Purson is well-qualified for the job.
"Rita is a very sharp lady," he said. "My hope is that she applies for the permanent position, and we'll be posting that soon."
Martinez-Purson said she will spend the fall semester working with minority students and leaders at UNM to formulate a plan to increase diversity on campus, starting with faculty and staff.
"We are doing OK as far as our freshmen are concerned," she said. "We run into problems with our graduation rates and our faculty and staff."
About 78 percent of tenure and tenure-track faculty is Caucasian, and almost 60 percent is male, according to the 2006 UNM Fact Book.
About 49 percent of students are Caucasian, and about 42 percent are male.
UNM would benefit if faculty were more representative of the student body, said Richard Holder, deputy provost for Academic Affairs.
"Students react well to faculty who are like them," he said. "(Working to) further diversify faculty is advantageous for students."
While there are excellent programs for minority students, there is not an organization to unite them to work toward a common goal, Martinez-Purson said.
"We have super-committed and compassionate people right now," she said. "We need a cohesive vision of where we are going and how we can bring everyone together."
Pamela Agoyo, director of American Indian Student Services, said she hopes the office develops a clear set of objectives soon and starts to make a difference on campus.
"I would hope that office really listens to students' issues and expands programs and support on campus," she said. "It's important for students to see themselves. So, I hope they increase faculty diversity."
