Editor,
It can be argued that President David Schmidly may have the most to lose if the North Golf Course is lost to development. Schmidly received his Ph.D. in zoology. He won the Joseph Grinnell Award in 2003 that recognizes excellence in education in mammalogy. He discovered the first pocket mouse in New Mexico when he was doing research in the 1960s, which points to his long relationship with Albuquerque and New Mexico. He even had a species of mouse named after him by a former student many years after Schmidly first discovered it. He also developed his "10 Commandments for Conservation" and has spoken out about fragmentation of open spaces due to urbanization. Schmidly has dedicated his entire academic career to wildlife and the conservation of open space.
On Sunday, Schmidly stood before a packed room filled with various stakeholders of the North Golf Course and unveiled yet another development concept for the space. His proposal showed the last piece of the "East Mesa" - the Barren Fairways - would be paved over forever. He reiterated UNM's need for new revenue streams and future homes for alumni, faculty and other patrons of the University.
Schmidly spoke of honest and open dialog with stakeholders while making plans to climb into bed with a reproachable development company. Not once did I hear him mention the wildlife, the open space or the need for its conservation and protection. It appears Schmidly has lost his voice and his life-long commitment to New Mexico's wildlife.
Can the students, faculty, alumni, neighbors and donors trust a man who is critical of local conservation efforts and contradicts his own life's work? It appears to me Schmidly may lose one of the most important characteristics of a great leader - trustworthiness.
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Robert Kenney
UNM student
