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Candidate explains UNM goals

UNM presidential candidate Edward John Ray said all the essential ingredients needed to make the University nationally competitive are in place, the only thing missing is a president to bring them all together.

Ray, who began a two-day visit to UNM Monday in order to become acclimated with the concerns of the community and the issues that exist on campus, spoke to a crowd of less than 10 people about the similarities between UNM and Ohio State University, where he is the executive vice president, provost and a professor of economics.

"The biggest issues that exist here at UNM; diversity, tuition hikes and competitive salaries, are the same issues I've been working on at OSU," Ray said. "I think that experience will enable me to lessen the impact on the community by these problems and help UNM see its goals for the future to fruition."

Ray, who has been a permanent fixture at Ohio State University since 1970, has held positions ranging from professor and department chairman to interim and acting senior vice president of the university.

Spearheading strategic planning initiatives to control the university's budget and resources and increase recruitment and retention efforts of minority students at the institution were listed as two of his biggest accomplishments at OSU, Ray said.

Also, he readily answered every question thrown at him regarding those topics during the student forum in Zimmerman Library.

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"It is very important that students capable of succeeding in college not be shut out due to financial shortcomings," Ray said of his stance on increased diversity at UNM. "A diversified campus is beneficial to everyone, as a wider range of perspectives and opinions only add to the quality of education at a university."

Ray, who received his bachelor's degree in mathematics from Queens College in New York and his master's and doctoral degrees from Stanford University, has earned several awards during his administrative tenure at OSU including the University's Outstanding Teaching Award and the Chairperson's Recognition Award. Ray also wrote several books, including Principles of Economics and The Income Tax in America: The Origin and Resolution of Fiscal Crises.

When asked about campus demonstrations regarding the war in Iraq, Ray said that if there is any place where people should be able to openly express their opinions, it is on a college campus.

If students feel passionately enough about any topic that they want to organize publicly, they have every right to do so and I applaud them for their willingness to do so, he said.

Ray added that in order for any president to accomplish his goals for the university, that person must have to make them part of the fabric of the university, with everyone in the community having a clear understanding of the objectives set out for the campus.

"Presidents and provosts come and go, if those people that start initiatives for a university aren't going to be there to see them through, who is going to make sure that they are carried through," Ray said. "Clear communication and a definitive set of goals is vital in ensuring that the University is carried into the future."

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