President David Schmidly said he has spared no expense to create two new vice president positions and fill them over the summer.
Josephine De Léon will be vice president for equity and inclusion, and Carmen Alvarez Brown will take over the University's enrollment management.
De Léon will take over the position previously held by Rita Martinez-Purson, and Alvarez will replace interim vice president Terry Babbitt.
The two additions to the administrative team will raise the number of vice presidents Schmidly has appointed since he took office last June to nine.
Schmidly said he made the new positions to further his vision for the University. Funding is not an issue, he said.
"We probably wouldn't have to increase our enrollment (by more than) 100 students to more than pay off for having these two vice presidents," he said.
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Schmidly said he had campus diversity in mind when he created the positions.
"We want to maximize the diversity of our student population as well as our faculty," he said. "And we certainly want the environment on the campus to be conducive of supporting and appreciating all the diversity in its total context. In that sense, they will work together on a common set of goals."
De Léon said she has been committed to the concept of diversity ever since she experienced discrimination at the age of 7.
"I realized that I was being treated different because I was Mexican-American," she said. "At that young age, I made the conscious decision to become an educator so that I could positively influence the educational experiences of all individuals."
Brown said she has also had experience working to improve diversity.
"I was just telling Josephine De Léon that I come from an institution where we celebrate diversity every day of our life," Brown said. "It makes the institution stronger - you're going to learn from people from all walks of life."
Brown said diversity on campus helps students learn to look at situations differently for the rest of their lives, she said.
"Through that global perspective, it opens up your eyes as a professional," she said.
Schmidly said a diverse education will help students compete in the job market.
"I've been visiting with the CEOs of companies that have been moving to Albuquerque," he said. "I ask them, 'Why are you moving here?' And the response I get is, 'We want to hire a diverse workforce in the future, and we think you're going to have the students we want to hire.'"
Schmidly said the new vice presidents will be responsible for getting to know those CEOs and to make sure they look strongly at UNM.
De Léon said recruitment, retention and graduation are concerns for all institutions of higher education. She will work closely with Brown to confront those issues, she said.
"There will be great opportunity for us to jointly address issues of concern and work on strategies," she said.
De Léon said she plans to "hit the ground listening."
"Student input is critical in shaping the goals and priorities that I will pursue, for they are the primary reason for creating an environment of inclusive excellence," De Léon said.
