The search to find UNM’s next president is on, and the regents, charged with the final decision, are working to figure out what students, staff and faculty want.
President David Schmidly will vacate the post in May 2012, and a search committee, chaired by Regent President Jack Fortner, has been tasked with getting UNM constituents’ input on the new president.
“Regent Fortner asked us to … extract the essence of what we can derive from the University community and recommend that as criteria for the search committee,” Regent Brad Hosmer said.
The committee consists of three UNM regents, including Hosmer, and Faculty Senate President-elect Tim Ross, Staff Council President Mary Clark and the provost. The ASUNM and GPSA presidents are also committee advisers and will represent student voices in the search.
Hosmer said the first meeting will take place July 12 on UNM’s north campus, and the second meeting will be held after classes have reconvened in the fall. He said the attendees can ask questions, but should also expect to be questioned by the regents.
“The real questions are the questions that we have, and those are, ‘What do you think will be the right characteristics of the next president of UNM and why?’” he said. “We may ask, ‘What do you believe will be the main challenges for the next president of UNM?’ So, what would be the important skills and experiences or understandings that this person should have.”
Hosmer said the committee has set up a web-based survey where students can answer questions, as well as an email address where students can send questions. Once the criteria have been collected, Hosmer said, the committee will start the search.
Regents Committee on Academic, Student Affairs and Research Meeting
July 12
9 a.m.-noon
Auditorium of the Domenici Health Education Center
