by Rhian Hibner
Daily Lobo
David Harris is satisfied with the legacy he left during his term as acting president of UNM - he's also glad it's over.
"I enjoyed my time greatly. It was fun," he said. "I have a greater depth of understanding and appreciation for students, faculty and research staff."
Harris will now focus on the job he was hired to do three years ago as the executive vice president for administration.
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Harris said his experience as president made him better at doing his job.
"I have a much broader perspective of the University than I had before," he said. "I know more people in key roles than I ever had before, and I have greater appreciation for teaching and research."
Harris was president after Louis Caldera resigned in 2005. He was not paid for the extra work.
David Schmidly took the post earlier this month.
During Harris' term, he continued working as head of the University's administrative functions.
The University lacked the funding to hire a president from outside the University when Caldera resigned because the regents agreed to pay out the rest of his contract, which expired this year.
"The appointment of someone from within the University was, however, inevitable," Harris said.
Harris didn't mind having a temporary position at the top of the University.
He said he knew from the start that his lack of academic credentials meant his new position was to be a caretaker.
His goal as acting president was to help UNM attract a new president.
He said it was a tiring job, and he worked several months without taking a day off.
"I was doing two jobs, and it was hard to get everything done in the seven days in a week," he said.
Now that the University has a president, Harris said he will try to ease the transition for Schmidly.
Harris said he has more time for other things now that he's back to doing one job.
One project he said he's looking forward to is a position on the board of the Harwood Museum, a University art museum in Taos that specializes in historic and contemporary art from the region.
The museum has financial problems, which Harris plans to fix, he said.
His contract with UNM has been extended to December 2008.
While it can be terminated with 120 days notice from either him or the University, Harris shows no signs of leaving UNM, except possibly for the weekend.
Despite time restraints, Harris said he did many of the things he wanted to do.
"I've been able to manage my personal life," he said. "I don't get to spend as much time with my grandkids as I'd like to, but I think every grandparent feels that way."
