The Special Faculty Meeting of the University of New Mexico, held Feb. 25, 2009, was attended by 887 faculty, staff, Regents, administrators, students and community members. Of these, 500 were certified members of the voting faculty, constituting 50 percent of the non-medical school voting faculty of the Main Campus, from which most of the current concerns arose, and 28 percent of the total UNM voting faculty. Participants discussed and voted on five main motions.
The results are as follows:
1. Motion requesting audit:
Whereas it is in the best interest of the University of New Mexico to understand how its resources were used to further its mission; and
Whereas, transparency in decision-making allows organizations to make better decisions through deliberations;
Therefore be it resolved that the faculty of the University of New Mexico requests an immediate independent, external audit be conducted by a firm chosen by the State Auditor and approved by the President of the Faculty Senate. This audit is to establish where the following funds have been spent since 2003: increases in I&G funding; captured F&A funds from sponsored research: funds trimmed from end-of-year balances or other balances held by units within the University; and how financing of construction of the Rio Rancho campus will impact I&G budgets in fiscal years 2010 and 2011.
To this end, a finalized, signed contract for such audit must be presented to the President of the Faculty Senate and the Senate Operations Committee by March 25, 2009. The unedited results of the auditor’s report must be made publicly available at the time of its completion.
In favor: 471
Against: 18
Abstain: 8
Total: 497
2. Motion on Statement of Principles:
We, the faculty of the University of New Mexico, hereby adopt the statement of principles put forth in the presentation by the Faculty Senate. We recommend that President Schmidly, in conjunction with the Board of Regents and in consultation with the elected faculty leadership, immediately initiate changes in UNM's organizational structure, decision-making processes, and evaluation procedures that will address these principles.
In favor: 463
Against: 23
Abstain: 12
Vote total: 498
3. Motion on President of Board of Regents:
Whereas, the recent tenure of Regent Jamie Koch as President of the UNM Board of Regents has produced a crisis of confidence among faculty and staff in his ability to lead this public institution to excellence in research, teaching, and service to the people of New Mexico; and
Whereas, Regent Koch has undermined faculty confidence in his leadership by his public expressions of contempt for the main campus faculty of the University; and
Whereas, Regent Koch's tenure on the Board of Regents has coincided with the substantial diversion of millions of dollars away from instructional funds and towards the payment of golden parachutes, executive salaries, bonuses, housing and automobile allowances, and other types of compensation; and
Whereas, Regent Koch, as president of the Board of Regents, has been unable or unwilling to preserve the faculty and staff resources necessary for continuing to build excellence in critical units within the main campus; and Whereas, Regent Koch has ignored the principle of Shared Governance as demonstrated by the creation of the Rio Rancho Campus without consulting the faculty as mandated by Article I, Section 2 of the Faculty Handbook, which states faculty have the right of review and action in regard to the following: (1) formulation of institutional aims; and (2) the creation of new colleges, schools, departments, and divisions;
Therefore, we the General Faculty of the University of New Mexico hereby resolve that we have no confidence in the President of the Board of Regents, Jamie Koch.
We hereby respectfully request Governor Bill Richardson to withdraw his nomination of Jamie Koch to a new term on the Board of Regents.
In favor: 482
Against: 7
Abstain: 3
Vote total: 492
4. Motion on Executive Vice President for Administration:
Whereas, David Harris, Executive Vice President for Administration, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, in the August 2008 report on administrative salaries did not fully comply with the April 30, 2008 General Faculty Meeting resolution concerning "Financial Issues concerning Upper Administration Growth," which is a breach of the administration's commitment to public transparency and shared governance; and
Whereas, David Harris has been the Chief Financial Officer of UNM when undisclosed budget shortfalls in the last 18 months have resulted in three transfers of funds out of academic units to cover these shortfalls, all occurring before the current budget crisis; and
Whereas, David Harris was Chief Financial Officer when in 2008 auditors with the Legislative Finance Committee found that legislative appropriations intended for a main campus research center had been diverted to pay the expenses of UNM Rugby, a club sport and, as reported by the Albuquerque Journal, this diversion had been done with the CFO's knowledge; and
Whereas, David Harris has been the Chief Operating Officer of UNM when it has been widely reported that irregular hiring practices on the UNM campus have occurred;
Therefore, we the General Faculty of the University of New Mexico hereby resolve that we have no confidence in David Harris, VP for Finance and Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the University of New Mexico.
In favor: 438
Against: 24
Abstain: 26
Vote total: 488
5. Motion on UNM President David Schmidly:
Whereas, David Schmidly's tenure as president of the University of New Mexico has resulted in the substantive increase of administrative lines and costs at the expense of necessary faculty lines, thus weakening the university's ability to cover its core mission of teaching, research, and service; and
Whereas, David Schmidly, President of UNM, has breached his administration's commitment to public transparency and shared governance when he endorsed the August 2008 report on Financial Issues concerning Upper Administration Growth and continued to make decisions, especially about distribution of harvested monies, without advice and consultation with deans and chairs; and
Whereas, David Schmidly, President of UNM, has never publicly explained how harvested monies were reallocated and spent: and
Whereas, under David Schmidly, President of UNM, recent hires and practices have resulted in public outcries about cronyism and nepotism, compromising UNM's public image and undermining "best practice" standards; and
Therefore, we the General Faculty of the University of New Mexico hereby resolve that we have no confidence in the leadership of President David Schmidly.
In favor: 329
Against: 106
Abstain: 52
Vote total: 487
UNM President David Schmidly said, “While I’m disappointed, I’m grateful to the 106 faculty who took part in yesterday’s 2 hour meeting to express their support and to the countless others of our 22,000 faculty and staff who have contacted me with words of encouragement.
"While the decisions we have made may have not been popular with some, we have nevertheless so far managed to avoid any layoffs or furloughs, unlike so many other colleges and Universities – all while increasing enrollment and diversity and adding 43 new faculty positions.
"Nevertheless, the University of New Mexico is a family, and as I said yesterday, we will redouble our efforts to reach out and gain the support and confidence of every member."
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent@unm.edu