UNM Board of Regents President Jamie Koch said the group of students nominated for the student regent position was not diverse enough to fit the governor's standards or fill the position.
Gov. Bill Richardson nominated Rosalyn Nguyen as the student regent in December. She was not among the six nominations made by ASUNM and GPSA but was one of three names submitted to the governor.
Koch said the group of five male candidates and one female candidate, who had previously served as a student regent for New Mexico State University, was not diverse.
"Out of 30,000 students, they didn't have more women?" Koch said. "It's got to be diverse. I would think if I were a female student, I would be offended."
The governor, he said, made it very clear he was looking for diversity in the candidates for the student regent position.
"Gov. Richardson carefully considers diversity in all appointments, especially regents and student regents," said Gilbert Gallegos, spokesman for the governor.
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He said by the way Richardson governs it is clear diversity is one of his priorities.
"It's implicit," Gallegos said. "It should be understood."
Koch said UNM President Louis Caldera had to pick another candidate from the applicants.
"The problem is there are only two women on the board now," Koch said.
Caldera said in a written statement there was not enough racial and gender diversity in the initial group of students recommended by ASUNM and GPSA. He also wrote both student organizations were asked to only nominate outstanding individuals with the maturity and judgment to be a good student regent.
He added he felt comfortable they would select candidates that represented UNM.
"For the most part, they did," Caldera wrote.
He said he asked for all the applications, because there were not many, and he wanted to consider them himself.
GPSA President Buckner Creel said the only restriction he had in choosing candidates was he had to nominate three. The group of names he sent to the governor, he said, was diverse.
The nominees from GPSA included two men and one woman. All were Hispanics, Creel said.
ASUNM President Kevin Stevenson said the group he sent to the president was not diverse, adding that ASUNM only had six applicants. One of them was female but was a freshman lacking experience.
He said five men and one woman is not representative of the campus, when the student population is almost 60 percent female, according to the 2003 UNM Fact Book.
"If I were in his position, I would have done the same thing," Stevenson said. "That's just how things happened.
Koch said both student organizations should be more responsible in nominating students in the future.
Graduate student Melissa Nelson agreed.
"It's better for people to see more women and minorities there," she said.
Sophomore Rachel Cunico said diversity shouldn't really matter.
"It depends on who meets the standards," she said. "Whoever has better merit deserves it. Diversity now is such an issue."
Koch said he is planning to speak with Stevenson and Creel about their choices in candidates at the next regents meeting.
