The New Mexico Board of Regents began discussions about the search for a permanent University president at its meeting Tuesday.
The regents established a tentative timetable as well as criteria for the selection committee that will determine the next University president.
In what is often the first move to find a University president, the board voted to delegate authority to a regent subcommittee to select a search firm to locate potential candidates. It also voted for the new committee to approve the presidential job announcement.
That committee will include three members of the board, three faculty members selected from 10 nominations, one UNM dean, an undergraduate and graduate student, a staff member selected from at least six nominations and one University alumnus.
In addition to presidential search topics, UNM President Chris Garcia presented the latest University enrollment figures to the board.
Student enrollment for this semester at the main campus stands at 24,705, an increase of 3.55 percent over last year's totals. That increase includes the record freshman class with more than 2,800 students, a 17.25 percent increase.
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Among ethnic groups in the freshman class, the largest change was in the number of American Indian students, which increased by nearly 50 percent.
The percentages of men and women attending classes at the main campus changed little from last year with females constituting about 57 percent of the student body.
The board also passed a major appropriation of funds for the purchase of a new electron microprobe for the Earth and Planetary Science Department.
Presenters at the meeting said the cost of the microprobe will be $750,000. Partial funding for the equipment has been generated by grants from the National Science Foundation and NASA. Each grant will total about $280,000 and the University will provide the additional $200,000 needed for the project.
The microprobe will replace a piece of equipment purchased in 1982.
Also, Associated Students of UNM President Jennifer Onuska announced the plans for Sept. 11 campus memorials.
"The events that are planned will enable the students of UNM to honor those that lost their lives and commemorate them through their own beliefs and customs." Onuska said.
Board members expressed gratitude fro the work student leaders put into planning for Wednesday's commemorative events.
"It is nice to see that young people recognize that the events of Sept. 11 are now part of their history," said Reg. Richard Toliver.
