The UNM Board of Regents announced Monday that, pending the outcome of non-binding discussions and contract negotiations taking place this week, Louis Caldera will be offered the position of University president on May 13.
Caldera said that he would accept the job if offered it and that he and his family "are delighted to be here in the final stretch of this process and we look forward to starting our life in Albuquerque."
Four of the seven regents met in closed session Monday morning to discuss finalists for the presidential position, then opened the meeting to the public to announce the board's interest in Caldera.
"We think he is the candidate best qualified to lead the University at this time and in the coming years," Reg. Mel Eaves said.
Eaves, Board of Regents President Larry Willard and Reg. Maria Griego-Raby, chairwoman of the search committee, spoke with Caldera last week concerning the position, Eaves said.
Those discussions were favorable, he added. Regents passed a resolution to allow Regent Vice President Jack Fortner and Eaves to "engage in non-binding discussions to determine whether the Board of Regents will extend an offer" to Caldera.
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Fortner and Eaves are not authorized to make an official offer to Caldera, but will report the results of this week's discussions to regents on May 13, the resolution states.
Caldera, 47, is the vice chancellor for University Advancement of the California State University system. He was also appointed to two positions in the Clinton Administration. From 1998-2001 he was Secretary of the Army and was managing director and chief operating officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service from 1997-98.
He would be the first permanent Hispanic president at UNM.
"I think it's time" for a Hispanic president at UNM, Eaves said. "If we believe in diversity, in affirmative action, in a multi-cultural society - I think he's the best qualified in the group."
Regents have been impressed with Caldera's leadership skills and his potential for being able to develop external relationships at the federal, state and private sector levels, Eaves added.
Caldera, who would replace interim President Chris Garcia, said the chancellor of the California State system is aware of the potential UNM offer and is "prepared to let me go."
He said if offered the position, he would like to take office before classes start in the fall.
"I would be learning a lot over the first couple of years" about things such as UNM's budget process and other pressing issues at the University, Caldera said.
Eaves said the regents would consider that the market has gone up for university presidents when hammering out the details of a contract. Caldera would be paid more than Garcia, who makes $218,000 a year, but Eaves would not say how much more.
According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, the median salary for presidents of universities that grant doctoral degrees in 2002 was $243,360.
Some members of the UNM community have expressed dissatisfaction with the possibility of Caldera becoming president, including the Faculty Senate.
In a vote last month, 85 percent of senators polled said Caldera was "unacceptable" as a candidate.
One major concern of the Senate is that Caldera has never taught in a university setting and would not be suitable for tenure at UNM's highest faculty level - one of the criteria set forth in the presidential qualifications statement.
"I certainly still have some questions," said Beverly Burris, president of the Faculty Senate. "But now that the decision has been made, we'll hope that things work out. It would be unusual to have a university president with no academic credentials, but I will personally do my best to see that this works."
Eaves said that regents had to consider "more than just one qualification" in choosing the 18th president of UNM and that Caldera more than satisfied all of the other qualifications.
Evaluations from other UNM groups gathered by the regents, Eaves said, could not be discussed as they contained matters of opinion on personnel matters.
Caldera said he plans to visit UNM sometime around May 13.
