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New Mexico State University

Memos & Newsletters

The Year Past, The Year Ahead
by Michael V. Martin

"I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past." -
Thomas Jefferson

At the completion of my first year as president of New Mexico State University, it is appropriate to reflect on what we've learned, where we've been, and where we're going as a major, international land- grant university. This brief report cannot capture all that's happened to me and to NMSU, but I hope it will touch on some of the issues and challenges we've faced and frame expectations for the year ahead.

First, it has been a genuinely rewarding experience to serve NMSU and to serve with the outstanding faculty, staff, and students that are the heart of this fine institution. Much of my first year has been focused on learning about NMSU and the state of New Mexico. While there is much more to learn, I can confidently report the following:

  • This is a very good university, thanks to the talents and dedication of the faculty and staff.
  • We have a real opportunity with a few changes and investments to get much better.
  • We are a remarkably successful, educational value-added university. We take in students from widely varied backgrounds, and those who graduate from NMSU are uniformly well educated and strongly motivated.
  • Still, we must improve significantly our recruiting and retention rates.
  • Across the state and in Santa Fe, NMSU is appreciated for the many ways it serves the citizens of New Mexico. While we are not as well funded, in absolute terms, as our sister land-grant universities across the country, the state has been generous to higher education.
  • Despite the quality of faculty, staff, programs, and students, we have not established the national or international reputation and recognition we deserve.
  • A multiplicity of forces, both endogenous and exogenous, will demand that we change, respond, and grow.

Along with the ongoing guided education I have received, I have attempted to launch and support several initiatives over the past year. Here is a short summary.

One University - under this banner we have:

  • Clustered our research efforts.
  • Unified our approach to federal and state relations.
  • Established a more aggressive and engaged approach to promoting economic development locally and statewide.
  • Moved toward more coordinated university communications, in part, to support the "branding initiative."
  • Begun implementation of a new approach to budgeting for both academic departments and support units.
  • Set the groundwork for a systemwide facility and infrastructure master plan.
  • Continued progress on a number of building and facilities restoration projects.
  • Positioned the university for its first comprehensive fund-raising campaign.
  • Worked to fully integrate and fully value our community colleges as part of the NMSU system.
  • Continually sought to keep our focus on outputs, performance, and service first and inputs second.
  • Sought ways to make administrative and support services more efficient and effective.

Budget Allocations

This past year we received a modest amount of enrollment growth money. We allocated it to several areas of need:

  • Faculty and staff salaries.
  • Health care benefits for those earning less than $30,000.
  • Graduate studies.
  • Distance education.
  • The College of Education and the College of Health and Social Services.
  • Recruiting and retention under the Vice President for Student Services.

Thanks to the generosity of Mr. Stan Fulton, we have established endowments to support professorships in the College of Education and in the College of Health and Social Services. We also established an endowment to support the Graduate School.

In the College of Education, the holder of the new endowed chair will work with the New Mexico Alliance for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning to provide learning opportunities that enhance the futures of children living along the U.S.-Mexican border. The holder of the endowed chair in the College of Health and Social Services will play a leadership role in the Southwest Center for Health Disparities Research. Holders of these new chairs should be appointed later this year.

We also changed the method of allocating indirect costs recovered funds (Federal facilities and administrative cost reimbursement) to encourage and support the research clusters.

The overarching objective, as you know, is to build centers of excellence that will (a) enhance our reputation and ranking, (b) strengthen and focus our service to the people of New Mexico, and (c) serve as a magnet to attract long-term external support.

In the College of Business, a $500,000 gift from Dean Garrey Carruthers and his wife, Katherine, established a new chair that focuses on economic development. With a $1 million match from the state, the Carruthers' endowment will be worth $1.5 million. Dean Carruthers also assumed the coordination of university economic development efforts in 2004. He is serving as both vice provost for economic development and dean of the business college.

Other Initiatives

Northern New Mexico residents who don't want to leave home to study now have a wider range of higher education options following the December 2004 opening of NMSU's uptown Albuquerque Center.

In March 2005, New Mexico State University, through the efforts of the university's Arrowhead Center Inc. and private investors, launched the commercialization of Genetic Testing Laboratory Inc. The for-profit DNA-based human identity lab, located on the NMSU campus, will offer a variety of services.

The first J. Paul Taylor Symposium on Social Justice was held this spring. The theme for the symposium, expected to become an annual event at NMSU, was justice for young people.

Also in the spring, the new President's Council on Native American Relations (PCNAR) was announced. I hope the council, under the leadership of Butch Blazer, will provide a better understanding of the diverse roles of Native Americans in New Mexico. The council includes six Native American leaders from different nations and pueblos in the state, all of whom attended NMSU.

Students opting for degrees in hotel, restaurant and tourism management will benefit from enriched curriculum, more educational resources and greater industry prestige upon graduation now that the Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management Department has been upgraded to a school. Students majoring in HRTM will benefit from the combined resources of the College of Agriculture and Home Economics and the College of Business.

Challenging Times

Unfortunately, this year has not come without some sadness for our NMSU family. We lost several members as the result of natural causes and some tragic actions.

In the wake of the deaths of two NMSU students, we determined that it was time to take the issue of alcohol abuse to the community to raise awareness about the scope of the problem and to engage the community in a discussion about how to reduce such abuse. We held a forum that brought the university together with officials from the city, the county, and the state, family and friends of the victims of alcohol abuse, and students aware of the alcohol scene on campus. It set the stage for future efforts to assist our students in making smart choices.

Athletics

It was not in my plan to become directly involved in intercollegiate athletics early in my tenure at NMSU. However, our decision to join the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) brought with it a commitment to raise the bar both academically and competitively. Thus, we have made several changes intended to ensure the success of our student athletes, create excitement around Aggie sports and significantly improve the revenue side of athletics so as to make our programs fiscally self-supporting. Thanks to the good work of many, I believe we are on the right path.

The Year Ahead

As we embark on my second year as president, many of the initiatives from the past year will continue on the long-term agenda. There are, however, a few issues that will receive special attention. We will, of course, make our "One University" philosophy central to all we do.

We will likely reconsider and restructure our approach to government relations. The world of federal funding is changing, and we'll have to change in response.

Likewise, we may do some modest reorganization of central administration roles and functions to achieve more effective service to faculty, staff, students, and constituents.

We remain committed, over the coming years, to improving economic welfare for faculty, staff, and graduate assistants. Our commitment also is strong to undergraduate activities, particularly workstudy and other financial aid programs. While we will look to the Legislature for assistance in this regard, real progress will require internal adjustments and reallocations. The coming year will see significant new construction and facilities renovations on campus. While this will cause some displacement, it will also greatly improve our campus infrastructure and the ways it serves our mission.

In all we do, we will remain focused on our core values of excellence, diversity, and global participation.

Let me add one sidebar observation. There has been a lot of local buzz about mascots, logos, symbols, and the like. I know that those who weigh in are sincerely concerned so I don't want to trivialize their input. However, there are substantial matters that should occupy our time, talents, and energies. We'll leave decisions about symbols of all kinds to the professionals who understand how to best design and utilize them.

The rest of us will work to build the kind of university that transcends symbolism and establishes NMSU, and any logo, as an internationally recognized premier land-grant institution.

Summary

All in all, I have enjoyed my first year as an Aggie. The support and encouragement I have received from our excellent Board of Regents, faculty, staff, colleagues, student leaders, alumni, friends, leaders in the Legislature, our Congressional delegation, folks in the local community, and my fellow New Mexico university presidents has been both remarkable and appreciated.

My wife, Jan, and I are proud to be part of the "Aggie Nation." There are exciting days ahead for New Mexico State University. I hope and trust you'll be encouraged - indeed, compelled - to share in the excitement.