UNM's new director of Resource Management will be leaving the sunny beaches of Hawaii's Big Island for the dry, high-altitude climate of Albuquerque.
And he actually seems to be happy about it.
"Frankly, I've had my eye on New Mexico opportunities," said John Whittaker, who will take over Academic Affair's top financial post in January. "I have a long-term interest in New Mexico and the Southwest."
Whittaker comes to UNM from the University of Hawaii at Hilo, a small city on the state's largest island. He has been the University's vice chancellor for Administrative Affairs for more than four years.
UNM Provost Brian Foster said Whittaker's budget and finance experience, which stretches from the nation's East Coast all the way to Hawaii, makes him a good fit for the position.
"This is a very important appointment, and I think we made a great one with John Whittaker," Foster said.
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As director of Resource Management, Whittaker will take a lead role in budget analysis for academic divisions, preparing budget guidelines, coordinating capital outlay requests and special legislative projects, according to the University. Foster said these are important issues to Academic Affairs.
"It's Academic Affairs that really drives what the University is about," Foster said.
Whittaker has worked in a finance management capacity for decades at institutions of higher education and state education boards.
Before working at UH, Whittaker was the executive assistant to the president of Roxbury Community College in an inner-city section of Boston.
He worked as the director of budget and fiscal planning at the Connecticut Board of Higher Education and was also as an assistant vice chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Massachusetts-Boston.
Whittaker's experience also extends into the banking and finance industry. He was a senior budget and operations analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
But not all of his knowledge comes from the boardroom and the office. Whittaker earned his doctorate in adult and higher education from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and his MBA from Babson College in Massachusetts.
Although he will miss Hawaii, Whittaker said he is looking forward to working at UNM and his chance to get back to the Southwest after leaving Arizona years ago.
"I think what I'll miss most (about UH) will be the people and the excitement here," Whittaker said. "I think I'm going to feel that same type of excitement at the University of New Mexico."
Whittaker said he and his wife Joan are looking forward to relocating to Albuquerque, which is more of an urban environment than their current home of Hilo. Whittaker said he is excited about Albuquerque's cultural attractions and sporting venues, among other things.
Whittaker, a former captain in the Army, said he anticipates beginning work at UNM in early January.
The University's former director of Resource Management, Max Kerlin, left UNM to work at the University of South Florida.
