President Caldera resigns

by Christopher Sanchez

Daily Lobo

UNM President Louis Caldera announced his resignation Wednesday during a meeting called by the Board of Regents.

Caldera said he will take an immediate leave of absence but will continue to advise the regents until his resignation date on Aug. 1.

David Harris, executive vice president for the administration at UNM, will be acting president until an interim president can be found.

Caldera said his resignation was a mutual decision between the regents and himself, and it is in the best interest of the University. He would not comment on the details that lead to his resignation.

Jamie Koch, president of the Board of Regents, said the regents did not buy out Caldera's contract. He said Caldera will continue to receive his salary until his contract expires in 2007, and he will be able to live in the University house until he finds a new place. The regents emphasized that a committee will be formed to find an interim president with an academic background.

Before serving as president, Caldera was vice chancellor of University Advancement of the California State University System.

Caldera said he plans to return to the University in fall 2007 as a tenured professor at the School of Law. In the meantime, he plans to work on writing projects and prepare for teaching, he said.

"I'm going to spend about a year preparing to go into the classroom," he said.

Christopher Smith, president of the Faculty Senate at UNM, said Caldera's resignation was a surprise to him and the rest of the faculty. Faculty members are questioning who is going to be the next president and what qualifications they will have, he said.

"That's the reaction you'd expect from a faculty," he said. "They're looking to the health of the University, and how do we want to move the University forward."

Smith said he would have been perfectly happy if Caldera would have finished his term.

"He has been a very pleasant person to work with," he said. "He has worked incredibly hard for the University."

Smith said Caldera served his term better than expected.

"He has been a better leader than what we had expected when he was hired," he said. "I think he has won a lot of faculty over during his time."

Harris, who was in Santa Fe lobbying for UNM at the Legislature, said he has no plans on being interim president but is happy to serve in the temporary position.

"I think I can provide short-term leadership," he said. "I get along with all the University community."

Harris added that financial management is his area of expertise.

Smith expects Harris to do well as acting president.

"I think the real question is who will be the interim president," Smith said.

UNM student Keith Hudson said Caldera's resignation will give the University a brighter future.

"It will give the University a chance to move forward, and we can actually have someone who is connected to the academia of the University," he said. "Caldera, being a politician, was put in an academic setting, and I don't think it has been the best for the University."

Nikki Katalanos, program director of the physician assistant program at UNM, said she was emotional over Caldera's resignation.

"The faculty has needed stability. He provided that stability. The students have needed stability. He provided it for students," Katalanos said. "He earned our respect and we are going to be really sad to see him go."

But, she said, Caldera made the appropriate decision.

"It is very difficult when the president of a university and the Board of Regents are not able to work together," she said. "They have to be able to work together, and he understands that."