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Fall 2002 Spotlight Issue
October 28, 2002

Every vote counts for Boeglin

By Michael Padilla

Randy BoeglinWinning an election by one vote was a defining moment for UNM Dean of Students Randy Boeglin. That win, he says, led him to where he is today.

“If I would have lost I probably would not have continued working in the student services field,” he says. At that time, Boeglin was an undergraduate student at UNM and vying for hall governor at Coronado Hall.

Since then Boeglin has been committed to helping and guiding students. After working at Frostberg State University and Colorado Northwestern Community College, Boeglin returned to UNM where he has stayed 27 years.

“I find motivation and passion making a difference in people’s lives,” Boeglin said. “On a daily basis, people who work in student affairs, like me, have the opportunity to create an environment where students can flourish.”

Often times, he says, people give him a compassionate pat on the back when he tells them that he is Dean of Students and say, “you must have a tough job.”

But, he says, “I sometimes have to pinch myself to realize that I am getting paid for this job,” he says. “There are more upsides than there are downsides.”

Boeglin said the media and public focus more on traumatic and dramatic events that students get involved with and often fail to recognize the institution’s philanthropy. His advice is to try to change these perceptions and celebrate successes.

“We need to sell who we really are,” he says.

Boeglin notes that student roles have changed. “Within the last 15 years there has been a dramatic change in the nature of student lives. Years ago the role of students was carved out of life,” Boeglin says. “It was a set-aside period when you weren’t a child and you weren’t an adult. Students immersed themselves in a university.”

“We have to work with students now and help them with time management, work around their schedules and do our best to help them,” he says, adding that most students have many financial and family obligations.

Be caring, compassionate and try to be more forgiving, he advises.

Boeglin oversees the entire Dean of Students office which includes, Student Activities Center, Residence Life, Loborientation, Lobo Network and student discipline. He also works closely with ASUNM leaders.

Boeglin has a bachelor’s and master’s degree, both from UNM. He received an award for the graduating senior with the highest GPA in the Arts and Sciences.

He visits his mother and sister in Carlsbad and he heads north to fish.

Boeglin considers his wife Patsy to be his role-model and most influential person in his life. He met her at a parking lot dance behind Coronado Hall in 1964. She is now a teacher at La Cueva High School. They have two children, Eric and Shelly, and one grandchild.

He says he goes with the flow, but often makes sure that the flow is going in the right direction. With his flow changed by one vote, he is grateful to be where he is today.

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