by Eva Dameron
Daily Lobo
UNM has a new provost and a new athletics director.
Regents approved Reed Dasenbrock as University provost and Paul Krebs as athletics director at a meeting in the SUB on March 13.
Regent Jack Fortner said he was confident about Dasenbrock, who served as interim provost for the past year. The provost is the chief academic officer at UNM.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
"What really swayed my recommendation was Reed's enthusiasm and desire to do this job, while the other two (final candidates) were more reserved in their willingness to serve," Fortner said. "Reed was unabashed in his ambition in wanting to do a good job."
Dasenbrock said he makes decisions about tenure and promotion of faculty and staff, who gets hired, budgets, strategies to pursue legislative priorities and funding new buildings.
"The advice I received for my year as interim provost was to go ahead and do the things that need to get done, so interim provost to provost doesn't make a big difference," he said. "I'm a go-getter. I like to get stuff done."
Dasenbrock said he's relieved the application process is over with. One of the first things on his agenda is to raise graduation rates, he said.
"We need to address that most students who enter UNM do not graduate from UNM," Dasenbrock said. "We're not going to make dramatic progress overnight. We need to look at how we are teaching. Students learn differently now; they learn in technological forms of communication. All kinds of things need to change as we're part of the 21st century."
Dasenbrock said he would not know his salary until the next regents meeting, but makes $200,000 a year as interim provost.
Paul Krebs, former athletics director at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, said he will also bring changes to UNM in the athletics department, although Rudy Davalos will leave it in top condition.
"Normally when you take over a position like this, you're coming in because there are issues, a lot to be corrected," Krebs said. "Rudy has made this a great job, and I look forward to taking the reins of what he's done and trying to elevate the program."
Acting UNM President David Harris said he was impressed with Krebs' emphasis on academic performance, integration between athletic life and student life and a high graduation rate for student athletes.
Bowling Green's athletic department has a 76 percent graduation rate, the highest in the school's history.
Jamie Koch, president of the Board of Regents, said Krebs was accepted across the board as the best candidate.
"A lot of the time when you go before groups, you have a tendency to speak to those groups as you feel those groups might be able to be swayed," Koch said. "Didn't see that with Paul Krebs. He was totally consistent. We're very honored and pleased to have a person of this quality come to this University."
Men's basketball coach Ritchie McKay served on the search committee for athletics director.
"Congratulations on the hiring of Paul Krebs," McKay said in an address to the Board of Regents. "I've been at a few institutions and served under a few athletic directors, and boy I'm extremely impressed with not only his credentials but also his person."
Krebs said he has no immediate plans for the athletics department except for getting to know the staff and students.
Rudy Davalos will step down from his position June 1, but will work with Krebs until August to get him acquainted with the job. He has been at UNM for 13 years.
Krebs will receive a five-year contract and base salary of $152,000.
