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UNM President David Schmidly talks with ASUNM President Ashley Fate and Vice President Matthew Barnes during his first day of work on June 1 in Scholes Hall.
UNM President David Schmidly talks with ASUNM President Ashley Fate and Vice President Matthew Barnes during his first day of work on June 1 in Scholes Hall.

First day at school for UNM president

by Jeremy Hunt

Daily Lobo

David Schmidly was almost late to his first day of work because he wanted to remove the orange Oklahoma State stripe from his Mercury Mountaineer before coming to campus.

"I have replaced it with a beautiful red stripe and Lobo insignia on both sides," he said.

He began his tenure as UNM's 20th president June 1.

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Schmidly spent the day meeting with members of the UNM community, including the presidents of ASUNM, GPSA, Staff Council and Faculty Senate.

Schmidly succeeds Louis Caldera, who resigned in January 2006 under pressure from the Board of Regents.

Schmidly's contract is $587,000 a year for five years and includes a housing allowance, vehicle allowance and deferred compensation.

He will be inaugurated in October.

Schmidly was the president and CEO of the Oklahoma State University system before coming to UNM and the president of Texas Tech before that.

He got his bachelor's and master's in zoology from Texas Tech and his doctorate from the University of Illinois.

Although his first day was June 1, Schmidly has worked with the University since being chosen as president Feb. 19.

He worked with the Board of Regents on the 2007 budget and took part in hiring Steve Alford as the men's basketball coach.

The first day at school

Schmidly started the day by meeting with his staff in the president's office at 9 a.m.

He said the office staff must never forget its purpose.

"We are here for one reason, and that is to serve the students, faculty and staff," he said. "It's all about the students. The University wouldn't be here without them. It's not there for me to be president. It's not here to give us jobs."

If people don't know where to get information, Schmidly's door will always be open to help them, he said.

"They're not going to get the bureaucratic runaround in the president's office," he said.

Schmidly said he is not going to make organizational changes in the first 125 days of his presidency.

He will meet with the executive vice presidents every Monday.

They will discuss the operation of UNM, including issues presented by faculty, staff and students, he said.

The first thing the president wants to do is get everyone at the University on the same page, he said.

If everyone at UNM works together toward the same end, it will flourish, he said.

"The University of New Mexico is a great place. There's no doubt about it. This is as good a university as you can find," he said. "My role is to pull us together so we can take it even further."

Working with students

Schmidly told ASUNM President Ashley Fate and Vice President Matt Barnes that he wants to spend time in the SUB talking to students.

The students can help him make the University a better place by telling him what doesn't work well, such as offices and services, he said.

"Students almost always know what needs to be fixed on campus," he said.

Fate said ASUNM and Schmidly will get along well, because they have similar goals.

Schmidly is a good communicator, and he is dedicated to helping students, Fate said.

"I wish all the students could've been there (at the meeting) to see how much he supports the students," she said.

At OSU, Schmidly had a sign-up sheet on his Web site for students to set a time to meet with him.

He said he will have something similar at UNM, and he may have open forums with students in the SUB.

Schmidly said he will meet once a month with representatives of ASUNM, GPSA, Staff Council and Faculty Senate.

The meetings will give the groups a chance to tell Schmidly and the executive vice presidents their perspectives on campus issues, he said.

"The problem with academic institutions is too often they can't come together," he said. "I want communication with the key constituency groups."

Two heads are better than one

Schmidly said there is one person he never crosses - his wife, Janet.

"If she tells me not to do something, I promise you I won't," he said.

The Schmidlys celebrated their 41st wedding anniversary Saturday.

They have two children, a son who lives in Albuquerque and a daughter in Connecticut.

David Schmidly said his wife is more levelheaded than him and less emotional when it comes to making decisions.

"She's a big part of any success I've had," he said. "I don't make any big decisions without talking to Janet."

Janet Schmidly said she plans on working with the staff in the president's office and with the Ronald McDonald House on campus.

"I look forward to becoming involved as much as I can," she said.

The Schmidlys bought a house in Placitas four years ago to retire in.

They will stay at their Placitas home most of the time, David Schmidly said.

They will use the University house to entertain UNM guests or if they have appointments late at night or early in the morning, he said.

When David Schmidly was offered the top job at UNM, he said it was an offer they couldn't refuse.

"We bought that (home in Placitas) not ever dreaming of working at the University," he said. "It just seemed to be, for us, an opportunity that was perfect."

Taking the Schmidly approach

The president said he wants to be a leader who unites the University, not a dictator on a power trip.

"It's easy to come in and throw your ideas in front of everyone like, 'This is the way it's got to be,' but you've got to listen," he said.

Trust, communication and teamwork are what make a university president successful, Schmidly said.

"When you sit around and talk about who's got power and authority, you don't get much done," he said. "That's when you have trouble."

The president of Faculty Senate said she was impressed with Schmidly's approach to University politics.

"I appreciate the comments on trust. It's a major issue," Virginia Shipman said. "When you don't have trust, it leads to misinformation."

Schmidly said he will be honest and straightforward with people.

"I sense there are some concerns the University is not as transparent as it could and should be," he said. "Not being transparent makes no sense because it's going to come out anyway."

Schmidly is working on a plan for the first 125 days of his presidency.

During that time, he said he will travel around the state to meet alumni, donors and people from UNM's branch campuses.

Schmidly needs to be familiar with New Mexico to run the state's flagship university, he said.

It will help fundraising efforts as well, he said.

Schmidly's said his main goal as president is to raise graduation and retention rates.

"That's what I want to be remembered for," he said.

Schmidly said he has high aspirations for his presidency.

It will be Schmidly's last job before retiring, and he wants to go out with a bang, he said.

"I will throw out some big ideas," he said. "This last month I've had off made me realize no way in the world am I interested in retirement."

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