Two seats on the UNM Board of Regents are up for grabs, but it’s not clear how the governor will decide to fill them.
Former Gov. Bill Richardson signed off on a new regent selection process Dec. 17 that creates a Committee on Regent Appointments composed of faculty and community members, but the regent selection process is now solely up to Gov. Susana Martinez.
Faculty Senate President Richard Wood, who advocated a revised regent selection system alongside faculty senates from NMSU and New Mexico Tech, said the future of the process isn’t guaranteed.
“We are, of course, aware that much depends on how this initiative is received by the new administration in Santa Fe,” he said. “For that reason, we are hoping to create some common ground with the incoming administration of Gov.-elect Susana Martinez around the core of this procedure.”
Board of Regents President Raymond Sanchez and Vice President Jack Fortner’s terms ended Dec. 31. In the past, the governor appointed regents without a selection committee’s help.
Calls to Martinez’s office over the last week and a half were not returned.
Representative Rick Miera, Legislative Education Study Committee chair, said Martinez doesn’t have to uphold the executive order.
“She’s been given the opportunity to do that, but that doesn’t negate the fact that she doesn’t have to accept what was given to her,” he said. “It’s a suggestion, and she can take it or leave it.”
Wood said Martinez may not search for regents immediately, so Sanchez and Fortner will stay on the board until their replacements are named.
If accepted by Martinez, Wood said, the process would allow more input from members of the University community.
“It will create greater transparency in how our research universities are governed, and encourage future governors to draw on a wide pool of talented and committed individuals when making future regent appointments,” he said.
Miera said that regardless of whether Martinez adopts the selection process, input from University faculty is necessary when selecting regents.
“We won’t get the input of the University community unless we ask for it and then take it to heart,” he said.
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