I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Open government and press advocates say a public records bill larded up with exemptions from state agencies would define public records “out of existence,” according to the Santa Fe New Mexican.
And a no-confidence vote against top officials at the University of New Mexico by faculty sends a strong message that faculty believe the university is being run like a “political patronage machine,” a faculty leader tells the Albuquerque Journal.
For those of you who don’t subscribe and can’t access the link, here’s an excerpt of the story:
Like many other universities across the country, UNM has adopted a corporate management model to its detriment, said professor Richard Wood, chairman of the faculty governance committee.
“I think the vote (Wednesday) is a really clear message that treating a great research university as a corporation or political patronage machine just undermines what we do for students — what students and parents are paying for,” Wood said.
Faculty members on Wednesday night approved no-confidence resolutions aimed at UNM President David Schmidly, regents President Jamie Koch and Executive Vice President David Harris.
It was the first time in UNM’s 120-year history that one of its presidents had suffered such a fate, although the votes are largely symbolic and Schmidly has said he is not leaving his post.
He said Thursday that he was disappointed in the faculty vote but defended decisions that he said have avoided layoffs at the school.
“While the decisions we have made may have not been popular with some, we have nevertheless so far managed to avoid any layoffs or (mandatory) furloughs, unlike so many other colleges and universities — all while increasing enrollment and diversity and adding 43 new faculty positions,” Schmidly said in a written statement.
Jamie Koch, the president of UNM’s Board of Regents, meanwhile, tells the Daily Lobo that he doesn’t think a no-confidence vote by faculty will affect his ability to get a second term on the board.
