Because he wasn’t available to talk to a reporter in person, The Daily Lobo conducted an interview via email with UNM President Robert Frank, who took office June 1. We discussed topics like ethnic studies, Athletics and media relations:
Daily Lobo: What is the biggest challenge you face and how do you plan to face it?
UNM President Robert Frank: My biggest challenge is finding a way to allow UNM to thrive and grow as a university, and to find a way to help students become so involved in their own education that they are willing to put in the effort it takes to succeed and graduate.
DL: What changes can students expect to see this coming semester and within the next school year?
RF: Students will not see great change at UNM in the fall semester. I am taking this opportunity to learn about the University and the community. At least one change students can expect in the spring semester is the opening of the Math Emporium in Centennial Library. That will be a place students taking Math 120 and 121 can go to get help and to practice math problems. It is crucial that we find a way to help more students succeed in our basic math courses.
DL: ASUNM President Caroline Muraida stressed a need for better communication between the administration and the student body. How will you increase communication and include the student voice in future decisions?
RF: I will follow President Schmidly’s efforts to make the budget process as transparent as possible and to include student input in a significant way. I am also in the process of listening to student input. Any student can fill out my survey right now and begin to talk about what they want to see work better at UNM.
DL: Former President Schmidly banned media presence at meetings between his office and (un)Occupy protesters. How will you improve UNM’s relationship with the media?
RF: UNM has an excellent relationship with the individual media that cover us on a regular basis. I expect that to continue.
DL: This summer UNM published the salary book online, but only about a year and a half after the first of three GPSA recommendations. How are you going to increase transparency?
RF: The second phase of financial information will be placed on UNM’s Sunshine Portal as soon as we can alter our internal operating systems to allow a way to share that information. It can take a long time to alter information technology systems so we can share the information easily.
DL: The Athletics department is $1.5 million in debt and students will pay an additional $50 in student fees to fund Athletics next year. How will you ensure that student fees won’t continue to increase so drastically for any department?
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RF: I will work with the regents and all parts of the University community as we move through the budget process this year.
DL: Arizona law HB 2281 shut down ethnic studies programs at K-12 schools across Arizona in 2010. How will you protect ethnic studies and diversity at UNM?
RF: I am listening now to input about the importance of our ethnic studies programs. This is part of the information I am thinking about as we consider the future of UNM and how to make the most of our important programs.
DL: There’s been concern about a “bottleneck effect” with advisement, and students have said that advising they receive has been inadequate and misleading. How will you improve the advisement practices at UNM?
RF: We are continuing to hire advisers as we improve the advisement process. This is an area in which the provost is charting the course for improvement.
DL: UNM’s six-year graduation rate is 45 percent, which is less than the national average of 55 percent. How do you plan to increase that rate?
RF: The first major change students will see is the opening of the Math Emporium in spring 2013, but I am listening now to suggestions of ways to improve our graduation rate. Again, I invite all suggestions for improvement and ask everyone to fill out a survey at: https://esurvey6.unm.edu/opinio/s?s=newpres2012.
