UNM has found a commencement speaker.
Antonio Flores, president of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, has been selected to replace former Mexican President Vicente Fox, whose commencement speech was canceled.
Some on campus had expressed outrage at the selection of Vicente Fox as speaker. GPSA passed a resolution this month urging that his invitation be withdrawn.
Flores is on business in Washington, D.C., and could not be reached for comment.
HACU is a Texas-based lobbying organization that promotes access to higher education for Hispanic students across the country. The group aims to increase federal funding to schools where Hispanics make up 25 percent or more of enrollment.
President David Schmidly said in a statement that Flores is a good choice and that he serves as a role model for graduates.
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"We are pleased to have such a distinguished academic speak," he said. "Dr. Flores' knowledge and understanding of building strong Hispanic-serving institutions will be a source of inspiration to students and their families."
Flores has a Ph.D. in higher education administration from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Before joining HACU in 1996, Flores served with the Michigan Higher Education Assistance Authority and Michigan Higher Education Student Loan Authority.
Lissa Knudsen of GPSA said her group will withhold judgment on Flores until they have a chance to learn more about him.
"We hadn't heard about this," she said. "We will take some time to find out about him. We might pass a resolution at our meeting this Saturday."
This year's commencement ceremony will take place May 16 at 9 a.m. in Tingley Coliseum, on the grounds of Expo New Mexico.
The ceremony would have been held at The Pit, as it has in past years, but the venue is undergoing renovation.
Tingley Coliseum seats about 11,500, compared to The Pit's 18,000.
University officials said Fox's speech was canceled due to the change in venue, claiming Tingley did not offer adequate security for a former head of state.
UNM spokeswoman Carolyn Gonzales said that because of the smaller seating capacity at Tingley, students will be asked to keep their guest count to a minimum.
"They will be asked to limit them to eight," she said. "We just want to make sure everyone has equal access for their families."
The limits are voluntary and there are are no plans to issue tickets to enforce the limit, Gonzales said.
"We are on the honor system," she said.
Some students are worried that the voluntary limit may become mandatory.
Criminology major Dora Galindo said the limits could keep members of her extended family from being able to attend.
"I come from a large Hispanic family," she said. "I am the first member of my family to graduate from college. It's a big deal."
