Albuquerque Journal

Tap Donors To Stem UNM Brain Drain (Editorial)

Unless New Mexico invests more in higher education, faculty brain drain could sap future economic vitality, according to David Harris, chief operating officer of the University of New Mexico.
       
“Constantly our faculty is being recruited by institutions who can offer higher pay than we’re able to meet,” Harris told a business group Monday.
       
It’s an important point, so important that someone tries to focus public attention on it every couple of years. It’s hardly surprising that professors are not paid as much in this poor state as at similar institutions in other states. Pick any other profession and the same is probably true. Unlike most other professions and businesses, the university is an economic engine, fueled with $1.4 billion in research. The puzzle that needs some research is this: While that’s a big drop in the bucket of the state’s economy, that relatively small bucket limits what the state can invest to soup up that engine. Harris speaks of strategic investment. In the context of keeping star faculty members conducting high-profile research, that could mean special incentives rather than across-the-board faculty raises.
       
In terms of spending state money, however, lawmakers’ focus ought to be on ensuring that more taxpayers’ children get through public school with an education that prepares them for college work instead of remedial classes. UNM and other institutions need more freshmen who can stick it out and graduate in four years as well as faculty stars.
       
But the state’s budget is not the only source of money for strategic investment. President David Schmidly arrived at UNM last year with a total compensation package valued at $587,000. That’s star salary by New Mexico standards. It’s certainly enough to expect that he will perform like a star in one of his key roles: raising money from private donors.
       
That effort cannot be helped by two patrons, the late Judge Leon Karelitz of Raton and former Anderson School of Management Dean Ray Radosevich, who were unhappy with the way their bequests were being spent. UNM should make a very strategic investment in honoring the intentions of such angels