Carlos E. Santiago said he will bring a variety of perspectives to UNM if chosen as the University's next president.
"I've been very involved in fundraising and capital development," Santiago said. "I know all the aspects of running a large research university. Coming from a faculty background and having served in various capacities, I have a pretty intensive view."
Santiago is provost and vice president of academic affairs at the University of Albany, State University of New York. He is also a professor in the Latin American and Caribbean Studies as well as the Economics Department. Santiago said he believes his experience running a large research university makes him an excellent candidate for UNM president.
"I deal with the day-to-day operations of the entire campus," Santiago said of his work at the University of Albany. "I serve in the absence of the president. While the president is mostly focused on external issues, I deal with most of the internal issues on campus."
As provost at Albany, Santiago has also been very involved with fundraising for the university.
"One area I'd like to focus on is economic development," Santiago said. "It is a wide-ranging endeavor and it takes a lot of collaboration. The executive and state government is very important, as well as the private sector. If you want to grow, you have to have a research university leading the way."
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Santiago also said he is a product of public schools and that he thinks public higher education is an important part of the educational landscape.
"I have always worked in public higher education," he said. "I believe in public higher education. I believe it should provide quality education to a wide range of the community."
Santiago said he is familiar with UNM from an educator's point of view. He said he looked into the University's Economics Department in 1988 and has had a scholarly interest in UNM as a professor and former chairman of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Department at Albany.
Santiago earned his bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Miami in 1973 and two master's degrees in economics from the University of Puerto Rico in 1975 and Cornell University in 1979. He also earned his doctorate from Cornell in 1982.
Santiago is tentatively scheduled to visit UNM April 17-18.
