UNM President Louis Caldera's goals for the year have been put to paper.
The Board of Regents met Thursday to finalize written initiatives for the president's next year.
Regent Mel Eaves said they began working on objectives for the president after a retreat three months ago.
He said there were two reasons the goals were created.
First, President Caldera's contract requires the establishment of annual goals for his bonus and compensation. Second, it's good management, Eaves said.
The regents asked Caldera to focus on finalizing his management team, keeping the regents informed of any financial changes at the University, attracting top students to UNM, improving retention and graduation rates and being a good external president.
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The president had no such written statement of things he was supposed to accomplish last year, but Eaves said Caldera understood them, because the regents met and discussed them with him.
Caldera said he had a strong sense of what was expected of him last year.
"This past year I had a strong sense - an intuitive sense - of what I needed to be doing," he said.
Caldera said he set his expectations and goals higher than what the regents expected of him.
He said it was a good idea to put his future objectives in written form for him and for the University.
"The written goals are important for any organization, not just for the head of an organization," he said. "It's part of being a well-managed organization."
The regents said they didn't ask for the written goals as a criticism of Caldera.
"It's not a criticism of Louis," Eaves said. "He helped create it. It's part of his vision for the University, and the regents solidly support him,".
The regents asked Caldera to suggest what he thought was appropriate for the next year.
Caldera said he thought the goals established were a reflection of the priorities of the University, including improving undergraduate education, the research programs at the University, the success of the Health Sciences Center, management and the ability of the University to raise private support.
"It will help the University make progress and follow its mission," he said.
Board of Regents President Jamie Koch said the regents were pleased with the Caldera's efforts, and they hope he will stay another five or six years.
President Louis Caldera's primary goals for this year
*Finalize his management team.
*Assure the success of a new audit committee created by the regents.
*Provide quarterly financial reports to the regents.
*Improve communication with the Board of Regents by meeting weekly with the president of the board.
*Attract more of the top students in New Mexico, specifically getting the top 10 percent of high school graduates to enroll at UNM.
*Continue to improve faculty compensation.
*Be a good external president by improving community relations with media, the alumni association, fund raising, and obtaining support from the Legislature.
*Improve fund raising efforts and private donations.
*Work with Sandia National Labs and Los Alamos National Labs to develop partnerships for research projects.
*Improve economic development.
