Jamie Koch is stepping down as the president of UNM's Board of Regents.
Gov. Bill Richardson announced in a statement on Thursday that Koch had "graciously agreed to step aside as president to avoid being a distraction."
Koch will remain a member of the board, and Richardson said he will support Koch in his upcoming reconfirmation hearing before the Legislature. The hearing has not been scheduled, but the legislative session ends March 21.
UNM faculty voted no confidence in Koch in its Feb. 25 meeting. Faculty members also requested that Richardson withdraw his nomination of Koch for a second term on the board.
On Tuesday, Richardson met with faculty representatives on campus and said he would not withdraw his recommendation of Koch.
Richardson said he doesn't like to get involved with running the University but decided it was necessary this time.
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"However, I decided to intervene on a one-time basis, given my responsibility to appoint regents and make funding decisions for higher education."
Faculty Senate President Howard Snell said the decision is not necessarily a victory for the faculty.
"Some of the faculty may see this as the end of a process; others might see it as an important first step," he said.
Richardson recommended Regent Raymond Sanchez to be the next president of the board.
Koch said he spoke with Richardson and was in favor of the idea.
"I think it's great," he said. "I think Raymond will do a great job. I talked to Raymond a couple of - (maybe) three - weeks ago and told him that I probably was going to step aside anyway and that I think he will do just fine, and we will just move on."
Sanchez said he will take Richardson's recommendation to the board to see if they will elect him president.
Sanchez will need a majority vote of the seven regents on the board in order to be voted into the presidential position.
According to the Board of Regents' Policy Manual, the board is required by statute to meet the second Monday in March to elect a president, vice president, and secretary-treasurer. The board did not meet this month because the regents are still waiting for two positions to be filled by the Legislature and Koch to be reconfirmed.
The board is scheduled to meet April 14, but a meeting has not yet been announced.
If elected president, Sanchez said his first task will be to unite the University community.
"What I'm thinking of is just bringing UNM together," he said. "I want to get us back together so that we are all on the same page and we're trying to go in the same direction relative to what needs to be done to create an atmosphere and a great University."
Snell said Sanchez being president would be good for the board.
"I've worked with Raymond Sanchez on the Academic/Student Affairs & Research Board of Regents subcommittee, and I've enjoyed working with Regent Sanchez, and I look forward to working with him as president of the Board of Regents," he said.
Richardson also recommended that the board consider requesting more faculty participation in the Finance and Facilities Committee.
President David Schmidly said in a statement that Koch's performance on the Board of Regents coincided with a time of growth for the University.
"I commend his years of leadership and look forward to his continuing presence on the board," he said.
