MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL SESSION OF
THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO

January 24, 2007 9:00 am
Regents' Conference room, Scholes Hall

Attending:

Regent James Koch, President

Regent Jack Fortner (via conference phone)

Regent Sandra Begay-Campbell (via conference phone)

Regent John “Mel” Eaves

Regent Raymond Sanchez (via conference phone)

Regent Don Chalmers (via conference phone)

Regent Rosalyn Nguyen

University Counsel Patrick Apodaca

Interim VP Human Resources, Carolyn Thompson

Staff, President's Office, Kevin Stevenson

Regent James Koch called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. A quorum was established. A motion to adopt the agenda was made and seconded and unanimously approved.

A motion to close the meeting to discuss limited personnel matters pursuant to Section 10-15-1. H (2), NMSA, 1978 was made and seconded, and unanimously approved at 9:02 a.m.

At 9:15 a.m. a motion was made, seconded and unanimously approved to re-open the meeting and certify that only those matters described in Agenda item 2 were discussed in Executive Session.

A motion was made and seconded to approve the following candidates as finalists for the position of the 20 th President of the University of New Mexico. Regent Koch noted that UNM constituency groups had called for candidates with exemplary academic, executive leadership and management credentials, Regents are bringing three individuals who are current or former university presidents to campus, as well as candidates who are chief academic officers or senior vice presidents at other universities.

Meredith Hay, Vice President for Research, University of Iowa

Daniel H. Lopez, President, New Mexico Tech

Herman D. Lujan, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, California State University, Los Angeles

Robert T. McGrath, Senior Vice President for Research, The Ohio State University

David J. Schmidly, President and System CEO, Oklahoma State University

The candidates all have earned doctorates, and four have, during their careers, attained tenure and been promoted to the rank of full professor. Regent President James Koch praised the work of the advisory presidential search committee, chaired by Regent Raymond Sanchez, and including Regent John “Mel” Eaves, and Regent Sandra Begay-Campbell. He noted of the 22 individuals on the search committee, nine were women, and more than half were minorities who brought their particular experiences and insights to the process, insuring that the pool presented to the Regents featured candidates who are champions of diversity with an appreciation of New Mexico culture. Regent Sanchez added that each of these finalists was recruited by the committee and we can assure you that their academic credentials and commitment to diversity are exemplary. These are all serious candidates. Each of the candidates will have the opportunity to interact with a number of campus constituencies over an expected 2-3 days of interviews, beginning in early February. According to state law, regents' final action on selecting the president must take place at least 21 days after giving public notice of the names of the finalists. Biographies of each candidate will be available on the presidential search website.

A motion was made and seconded and unanimously approved at 9:30 a.m. to adjourn the meeting.

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Regent James H. Koch, President Regent Sandra Begay-Campbell

Secretary/Treasurer