Parents will soon have a louder voice at UNM.
The Board of Regents voted unanimously March 12 to create UNM's Parent Association.
Janet Schmidly, former teacher and wife of President David Schmidly, said the association will give students' families a voice in UNM administration.
"Just because a child goes off to the University doesn't mean parenting ends," she said. "Because of the money that is spent and the love of their children, parents want to be a part of the university experience, as well. A parents association gives them that power."
She said the association should be up and running within a year.
She will serve as the group's voting designate to the Board of Regents.
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Jamie Koch, president of the regents, said Schmidly was selected for the position based on her experience at Oklahoma State University, where she founded a nationally recognized parents association.
"When we were hiring for president of the University, we were impressed when (David Schmidly) talked about the parents at Oklahoma State and how important this initiative is," he said.
Schmidly said she wants to establish three associations in New Mexico - in Farmington, Hobbs and Gallup.
"This will help to keep our parents connected and in touch with one another," she said.
Maria Probasco, the association's president, will present on behalf of UNM parents at each regents meeting.
Probasco said she wants to advocate issues directly affecting student success and generate funds for the new association.
"Our main goal is to become an integral part of the UNM community," she said. "We want to give parents a forum for networking and make them feel like they belong at UNM, too."
Vice President of Student Affairs Cheo Torres serves as the administrative liaison for the association.
Torres said the group will increase parent involvement at UNM.
"Parents and families are an integral part of our students' lives. We strive to incorporate families into many of our student affairs initiative," he said. "This association will help to boost parent participation in the future."
Torres said students shouldn't worry about parents interfering in student affairs.
"I think it's all about the support of the students," he said. "I think most students want parental support, and this is one way to get it. We find that a lot of students communicate with their parents often. And plus, the association is going to be structured different from the public schools."
The Parent Association has 19 members and eight committees for event planning, mentoring, multicultural issues, student recruitment and fundraising, according to its Web site.
To become involved in the Parent Association or for more information on membership, call 277-5915, e-mail Parent@unm.edu or visit Parent.unm.edu.
