by Jeremy Hunt
Daily Lobo
UNM is looking for candidates to fill two vice president positions for offices started this year.
Search committees are advertising nationally for vice presidents of the offices of Enrollment Management and Inclusion and Equity.
University administrators say the offices want to increase student success by coordinating the efforts of organizations with similar roles.
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"They're definitely very important to the institution," Interim Provost Viola Florez said. "Both of these offices are very related to student success."
Both search committees are made up of faculty, staff and students. The committees will interview candidates next semester.
Florez said the enrollment management office aims to create a "one-stop shop" for departments such as financial aid, admissions and registration.
"The goal is to consolidate and pull things together," she said. "Our hope is that it's more efficient for students, and they don't have to go all over campus to get answers to questions."
Terry Babbitt is the interim vice president for enrollment management.
The Inclusion and Equity Office will coordinate UNM efforts to increase diversity, Florez said.
"One of the things we have now is a lot of fragmentation," she said. "This office can help bring us together and focus on the richness we have on this campus."
Rita Martinez-Purson is the interim vice president for equity and inclusion.
The interims are creating plans to fulfill the offices' goals, Florez said. The next vice presidents will implement the plans, she said.
Enrollment Management
The vice president will manage undergraduate enrollment, said Vice President for Athletics Paul Krebs, chairman of the enrollment management search committee.
"We're looking for somebody who will develop, coordinate and execute the enrollment strategy that will help UNM attract, recruit and retain outstanding students," Krebs said. "It's a key leadership position within the University administration."
The office will coordinate the University's enrollment offices: admissions, recruitment, financial aid, the scholarship office and registration, Babbitt said.
He said the enrollment office will also work closely with the Bursar's Office because it is closely related to the other offices.
"They all had different reporting structures and different goals," he said. "What creating an enrollment division does is putting together all those areas that affect students the most."
The individual offices don't know enough about each other's operations, and students must often go back and forth to get their questions answered, Babbitt said.
"Our focus as a division is cross-training," he said. "We want our financial aid and registrar's and admissions personnel and bursar's personnel to be cross-trained in different areas so students can get help in one place."
Equity and Inclusion
The vice president will work with on- and off-campus organizations to promote and expand diversity in the UNM community, said Vice President for Academic Affairs Cheo Torres, chairman of the equity and inclusion search committee.
"It's going to be a person that has the initiative to develop programs and to bring people together," he said. "We hope to be the best program on diversity in the country."
The Office of Equity and Inclusion will create a Universitywide framework for increasing diversity, Martinez-Purson said.
"That includes strengthening the number of minority faculty and women faculty," she said. "It will include increasing the number of minorities in upper ranks of administration."
The office will establish career- and professional-development programs for employees to improve their ability to serve diverse students, Martinez-Purson said.
The office will hold the University accountable by publishing a diversity report card every year, she said. The office will set goals for helping minority students, faculty and staff at every level of UNM, Martinez-Purson said.
It will look at minority hires at the University and graduation and retention rates for every college and department, she said.
"It works hand-in-hand with the diversity plan," she said. "It will document on an annual basis our performance in terms of reaching our diversity goals."
The search committees will recommend finalists to Florez and President David Schmidly. Schmidly and Florez will choose finalists who will visit the campus for interviews open to students, faculty and staff.
