Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced her appointment of five new members of the University of New Mexico Board of Regents on Saturday, according to a press release from her administration.
Those nominees will now be sent to the senate for a confirmation vote at the New Mexico State Legislature.
Lujan Grisham nominated three women and two men: Sandra K. Begay, nominated for a four-year term; Kimberly Sanchez Rael, nominated for a six-year term; Douglas M. Brown, nominated for a four-year term; Robert Schwartz, nominated for a six-year term; and Melissa Henry, a UNM student nominated for a two-year Student Regent position.
According to the University’s website, seven people sit on the Board of Regents. Regents are responsible for the University’s fiduciary, policies and oversight.
The two appointments from former-Governor Susana Martinez, Regent President Robert Doughty and Regent Vice President Marron Lee, will continue in their positions until Dec. 31, 2020, as per their term limit.
The Santa Fe Reporter reported in October 2018 that Lujan Grisham is “not satisfied with the work of any of the regents.” Despite the Governor’s statement, Doughty and Lee indicated they would not resign during the new wave of appointments, according to the Albuquerque Journal.
In her press release, Lujan Grisham said she looks forward to the new regents’ tenure.
“I am proud to nominate this incredible group that I am confident will be dedicated to ensuring equity, responsibility, and accountability at the University of New Mexico,” Lujan Grisham said.
In a statement to the Daily Lobo, UNM President Garnett Stokes said: “I look forward to working with the newly appointed members of the Board of Regents to serve our students and the citizens of New Mexico and welcome the diverse perspectives they will bring to UNM.”
Public opinion about the current crop of regents has not been popular. In 2016, the Daily Lobo reported that the regents’ vote to reorganize the Health Sciences Center was criticized by opponents as a “closed-door meeting.”
More recently, the board’s decision to cut four sports teams in June 2018 has come under particular scrutiny, with a bill currently making its way through the State Legislature that would appropriate $2 million to bring the sports back.
Anthony Jackson is photo editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted by email at photoeditor@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @TonyAnjackson.
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