The two top candidates vying to be director of Admissions and Recruitment Services have worked with President David Schmidly and Carmen Alvarez Brown, vice president of enrollment management.
The candidates discussed their qualifications for the position - which could pay more than $100,000 - in open forums on campus last week.
Shingirai Chanaiwa, a consultant for Oracle Group, assists universities with converting to admissions systems and once worked as director of admissions at Bowie State University. He worked with Brown as a consultant at Florida International University, where Brown worked before coming to UNM.
Karen Lucas is the director of undergraduate admissions at Oklahoma State University, hired while Schmidly was president.
The director of Admissions and Recruitment Services will report to Brown, along with other directors in enrollment management including the directors of Financial Aid, the Registrar and the communications center.
Chanaiwa and Lucas were selected from a pool of 42 applicants, UNM spokeswoman Susan McKinsey said in an e-mail.
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Brown said there were applicants from the UNM community but that they were disqualified based on their lack of experience with admissions.
"For the director of admissions, they have to be - they have to have admissions experience, otherwise they don't have the skill-set to take on such a task," Brown said. "You really need to know about marketing and positioning and admissions processes. It takes a long time to be really good at that job. You have to have a lot of experience."
But according to the University Business Policies and Procedures Manual, New Mexico residents should be given preference over nonresidents, and University employees should be given preference over outside applicants.
That mandate is based on Regents' Policy 6.2, which says that employees of the University will be given preference over outside applicants only if their "qualifications, ability and past performance are substantially equal as determined by the University."
McKinsey said the director of Admissions and Recruitment Services will receive a salary that can fluctuate between $65,000 and $117,000 and is negotiable based on the candidate's experience.
Loyola Chastain, Staff Council president, said she hopes Chanaiwa and Lucas will be evaluated fairly for the position, despite their history with Schmidly and Brown.
Lucas was hired at Oklahoma State University when Schmidly presided over the University, and she and Brown were employed by Florida International University at the same time.
McKinsey said Schmidly did not know Lucas had applied for the job and would not have a say in the hiring process.
"Other than a possible recognition of the name, the president does not know Karen Lucas," McKinsey said. "This candidate never worked with President Schmidly at Oklahoma State, as she was hired shortly before he left that university, which was nearly two years ago."
McKinsey said Brown will be responsible for deciding which candidate would be the best fit for the University.
Chastain said there is no need to speculate as to whether Lucas was favored for the position based on her affiliation with Brown or Schmidly.
"We do expect, though, that all appropriate practices and policies will be followed and that each candidate will be given fair consideration," Chastain said.
Brown said Chanaiwa applied for the job in part to cut back on the time he spends commuting as a consultant.
"The amount of traveling is something he really doesn't like, so that's why when he saw that there was an opening at the University of New Mexico, he called me because he was interested in it," Brown said. "I had called him before I left (Florida International University), teasingly, to say, 'Hey, there might be a position over there if you're interested.' I did not know that there was going to be any position."
Chastain said senior administrators should ensure the applicants are judged solely on their experience.
"Cronyism is a serious allegation," Chastain said. "That is why we want all policy to be followed."
The Regents' Policy Manual does not address cronyism.
