Contact:

Frank D. Martinez, (505) 277-1811

March 14, 2002

UNM PRESIDENT WILLIAM C. GORDON ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT AND WILL BECOME WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY PROVOST SEPT. 1, 2002

University of New Mexico President William C. Gordon today announced he will retire from UNM this summer. On Sept. 1, he will become provost at Wake Forest University, where he received his undergraduate and master's degrees.

"My career at UNM has been a long and rewarding one," Gordon said. "It has been filled with professional opportunity and many personal friendships. It has also been a very exciting chapter in my life because over the past 24 years the University has changed so much and has grown so significantly in quality and importance."

"Certainly the past four years have been particularly exciting for me because when I arrived here in 1978 I never imagined serving in any kind of leadership role at UNM, much less having the opportunity to serve as president," he said. At UNM, Gordon previously served as provost/vice president for Academic Affairs; dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and chair and faculty member in the Department of Psychology.

"President Gordon's departure will be a tremendous loss for UNM and this community," said Larry Willard, president of the UNM Board of Regents. "Bill has been an effective leader and he deserves to be proud of UNM's accomplishments during his tenure as president. While I am extremely sorry to see him leave, I know that this University will continue to build on the strong foundation that exists today."

Willard said the UNM Board of Regents will meet within the next few weeks to discuss the process for selecting Gordon's successor. "We will have an interim president in place by late summer when President Gordon departs. In my opinion, the fall would be the best time to initiate the search for a permanent president," he said.

Gordon has informed the UNM faculty and staff of his decision.

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The University of New Mexico
Public Affairs Department
Hodgin Hall, 2nd floor
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0011
Telephone: (505) 277-5813
Fax: (505) 277-1981