Dr. David J. Schmidly was installed as the 20th President of The University of New Mexico on October 7, 2007. As President, he is responsible for UNM campuses in Gallup, Los Alamos, Taos, and Valencia as well as at the UNM Health Sciences Center, which includes the nationally renowned UNM Cancer Center.
President Schmidly brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to UNM having led Oklahoma State University as its system CEO and President since November of 2002. In addition to his work at OSU, he was previously the President of Texas Tech University after having served as vice president for research, graduate studies, and technology transfer, and as dean of the graduate school. He also spent 25 years at Texas A&M University, including five years as CEO of the Galveston campus and six years as head of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences.
President Schmidly is an internationally respected researcher and scientific author and has been inducted into the Texas Hall of Fame for Science, Mathematics, and Technology, which recognizes Texans who have played a major role in significant scientific accomplishments. As a noted scientific naturalist, he has authored nine natural history and conservation books about mammals and more than 100 scientific articles. In addition, Dr. Schmidly received a very prestigious honor when a new species of mouse was named after him – Peromyscus schmidlyi. Quite possibly, he is the only university president with this distinction.
David Schmidly earned a Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Illinois, following a bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas Tech. He is a native of Levelland, Texas. He and his wife, Janet, have two grown children and three grandchildren.
