Editor,
President David Schmidly, you've been the man in charge of keeping this University running for more than a year now, and I don't have to tell you how important first impressions are for such a big job.
Since last October, you have begun running UNM less like a university and more like a corporation. You have vastly increased administrative spending, giving us more than 40 new vice presidencies. You have heavily favored these administrators over faculty and staff when it comes to pay increases, claiming that competitive salaries are necessary to attract quality management while conveniently ignoring that same logic regarding teachers - the educational heart of any college.
You have given UNM its own communications department, which in this day and age is code for a spin center. You have removed necessities such as dorm landlines and reliable wireless service. You have lifted, or allowed your subordinates to lift, $50,000 from the coffers of the independent journalistic voice of the students. You tried to develop the community golf course on North Campus without even asking the opinion of the community. You have given the football coach a $1 million salary to encourage sports performance, which has produced limited results.
You have taken the liberty of paying for all of this out of our pockets. You have claimed that all of this is for our benefit. You have claimed the added administration is to make things run more smoothly, the higher-paid coaches are to boost sports records and draw spotlight to UNM, and public relations hires are to make this look like a better place to go to school.
Here's a better way: Actually make it a better school. When it comes to education, substance needs to take priority over appearance. And if you need a little money to grease the wheels, take it out of your ridiculous administration budget. However important administration is, it can't trump students' and teachers' needs. We put up $587,000 a year for a president and got a CEO instead.
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Take an early hint from the ongoing breakdown of the U.S. financial system. Spending without regard for paying does not work, nor does top-heavy economics. And this is an institution of learning, of teachers and students. To focus exclusively on beefing up administration and taking breaks only to throw a bone to sports is idiocy.
If you think UNM needs better communication, then communicate better; don't hire a team of flacks to do it for you.
If UNM's books are in the red, try taking it out of your own salary or those of your vice presidents rather than creating a conflict of interest for the Daily Lobo.
If you think education needs to be improved, hire more or better teachers. And don't even think of increasing the financial burden for your policies on the shoulders of the most strapped-for-cash part of college: the students.
If UNM is to be run as a corporation, then we are your stockholders. And we want what we are paying for: an honest education.
Ryan Moore
UNM student
