Editor,
I am sure many will wonder why I would defend President Schmidly and his staff in light of all the controversy.
I have never been at a place that didn’t voice some type of complaint against its leader. Have you? While I won’t defend their actions, I still respect them. For instance, I don’t like President Obama, but I’ve respected him enough to defend him against accusations thrown by my fellow conservatives.
When we show disrespect, it hurts us more than it hurts them. We lower ourselves when we do this. Not to mention it’s just plain rude. I know this because I’ve done the same thing.
After reading all the comments, I took some time and researched the complaints against Dr. Schmidly:
He doesn’t make more money than any other university president in the nation. The highest paid presidents make around $1 million.
All leaders are accused of cronyism.
UNM’s student-to-faculty ratio is in the normal range.
UNM struggles with the academics-versus-athletics-program issue just like any other university.
Most schools complain that there is an issue between administration and faculty.
He gets cancer treatment out of state because the treatment for this type of tumor has not been perfected in New Mexico.
When it comes to education, the burden is on the student, not the professor. My kids have known this since they were in elementary school.
Many schools across the nation are cutting jobs. So far, he has done an excellent job keeping everyone employed.
He is not responsible for the Duck Pond incident this summer, an incident where ducks and fish died.
How he performed at other universities is a matter of opinion and hearsay.
While all serious matters evoke emotion, strong feelings should be used sparingly in dealing with the situation. If we don’t control our emotions, then we won’t be guided by reason. None of us should be applauded when we behave this way. It’s an awful feeling when emotions are used to guide actions. I personally feel like a 5-year old when I do it.
Dr. Schmidly is not perfect. He has issues and there are problems, but we still need to respect him and his office.
While we have the right to vent in private about this matter, going public to make false accusations, humiliating him in front of others, sending hate mail and using his cancer as a target for jokes does nothing to bring about a real change. It interrupts meaningful dialogue, and in the end, we make ourselves look worse than the person we are attacking.
Connie Sirman
Community Member
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