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UNM’s fourth and final candidate for vice president for research and economic development has spoken to the community at an open forum, and the next step for the University is selection.
This candidate, Timothy Ford, is the dean of the College of Graduate Studies and Public Health and interim dean of the Westbrook College of Health Professions at the University of New England. In the forum Thursday, he discussed with faculty and staff why he would be the best person for the position.
According to the job description available at VPRsearch.unm.edu, the VP for research and economic development is in charge of expanding externally funded research at UNM; promoting interdisciplinary collaboration and collaboration with other research institutions; and assisting faculty in expanding their research role at UNM.
An interim vice president, John T. McGraw, has served while the search for a permanent replacement continues. According to the salary book available on the UNM Sunshine portal, McGraw makes $145,000 per year. The VP for research search committee will select a candidate for the position at an undetermined date.
The VP position has been open since June, when then-VP Julia Fulghum stepped down.
Ford said he is especially qualified for the position because his area of research is water systems and contaminants in water systems, including diseases, heavy metals and other toxins.
“It’s really a very appropriate place for me to bring my expertise regarding water scarcity, water contaminants, et cetera,” Ford said. “Water is foremost on peoples’ minds here.”
He also said that given New Mexico’s large Native American population, his experience working as the department head of microbiology at Montana State University is invaluable to UNM. He said that in the position he worked closely with members of the Crow reservation on public health issues.
“When you engage the community, one important thing is you engage tribal college students to get involved in work that affects the community,” Ford said. “You have to give the power to the community to drive programs.”
Ford also stressed collaborative research, between departments and between institutions such as the national laboratories, to increase funding awards for the entire University.
“We need to find new ways of rewarding collaborative approaches to increase our chances of receiving federal funding.”
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He said junior faculty mentorship is important to help such faculty adjust to the University system and produce quality research.
“It’s very important to listen to their needs and to work with them closely in order to help them become competitive,” Ford said.
Ford said he was a major supporter of the arts and humanities at UNE, and routed 50 percent of all pilot project funds to those departments to offset the fact that such departments usually have trouble securing federal funding.
He said he would bring that support to UNM, and work with the University to help arts and humanities secure more federal funding, as well as work with local donors and foundations in Santa Fe that might also contribute money.
Ford said that at UNE he helped establish centers for excellence in marine sciences, neuroscience, public health and global humanities, as well increase UNE’s annual amount of funding awards from $2 million in 2008 to almost $20 million this year.
“(UNE) didn’t have much of an endowment to start, but we got things moving and we’ve been able to keep up that research energy and go for more funding,” he said.
Ford said the role of vice president for research position at UNM is entrepreneurial and diplomatic.
“Part of the role of the VPR is being a salesman for the University, but it’s also to encourage collaboration with other institutions,” Ford said. “It’s all about partnerships, especially now with funding uncertainties, and I think the VPR can be very instrumental in building and maintaining those partnerships.”
