Douglas D. Baker
provost and executive vice president,
University of Idaho
1. In the past, there have been complaints about a lack of transparency in the UNM administration. How, specifically, do you plan to increase transparency?
Transparency is actually a hallmark of how I try to operate. What I try to do is maintain open dialogue and inclusive processes because that ultimately leads to good decision making. What we need to do is implement inclusive planning process and develop a strategic plan that includes small, reachable goals that people can work toward and all agree on. The president of a university should be interacting with the Faculty Senate and staff and student leadership and encourage open dialogue; be speaking with various student and faculty groups and branch campuses. Transparency can also go on through secondary communications like email as well setting up a clear set of communication channels.
2. The tuition credit and rising tuition costs are problems currently facing UNM students. How you plan to handle these problems?
While serving as Provost, Baker worked with a team of university officials to successfully increase net university revenue through restructuring tuition waivers and recruitment programs.
3. How do you feel about the privatization of UNM’s dorms and residence life communities by American Campus Communities?
I see residence halls as not only a place to live, but as a living learning environment. It sounds like UNM, like many universities, is challenged with updating its capital infrastructure. As you make that decision you have to think about the learning experience that residence life offers and the programming that goes into the residence life experience.
The quality of residence halls also enhances recruitment and retention, which is something I have worked hard to increase here in Idaho. We worked on developing the residence halls and programs and developing the transition programs for freshmen.
When you’re making a decision like this, you have to look at the benefit to students; there’s the cost factor and the quality of the learning experience. That might be able to be done with ACC; I’m not sure because I would need to look at the parameters of the contact between UNM and ACC.
Robert G. Frank
provost and senior vice president for academic affairs,
Kent State University
1. In the past, there have been complaints about a lack of transparency in the UNM administration. How, specifically, do you plan to increase transparency?
I believe transparency is important. Anyone who attends my campus presentations will hear that message.
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2. The tuition credit and rising tuition costs are problems currently facing UNM students. How you plan to handle these problems?
UNM, like most public research universities, has raised tuition over the last decade. There are so many tools in a president’s tool chest. Obviously, fundraising for scholarships is a big one. Another is ensuring the pathway to graduation is efficient and every effort is made to retain the students admitted to UNM. Retained students help the economy and the university. It is important to work with the business community to gain their support for the University in Santa Fe to obtain the proportion of funding UNM deserves for the number of students attending the University. The University must also work very hard to manage costs.
3. How do you feel about the privatization of UNM’s dorms and residence life communities by American Campus Communities?
As you have stated, students are very worried about tuition increases. To prevent tuition increases, universities must seek new ways to operate and raise money. I don’t know the specifics of the American Campus Communities discussion, but this is an increasingly common practice. Private companies may provide students the best amenities, which some students seek. Avoiding costly investments and maintenance may allow the University to invest more in the academic mission or operate more efficiently.
Meredith Hay
special adviser to the chair for strategic initiatives,
Arizona State University
1. In the past, there have been complaints about a lack of transparency in the UNM administration. How, specifically, do you plan to increase transparency?
Transparency is the cornerstone of shared governance at any major university. I have a deep commitment to shared governance and I believe that students, faculty and staff together, working side-by-side, is what is needed to advance the University. The work of the University — our charge to educate, innovate, and participate — is a shared charge, one that is taken up and implemented by faculty, students and staff.
2. The tuition credit and rising tuition costs are problems currently facing UNM students. How do you plan to handle these problems?
The rising cost of high-quality higher education, especially at the public major research universities, is a national challenge. We must work collaboratively and collectively to keep costs down while advancing UNM’s high-quality programs.
3. How do you feel about the privatization of UNM’s dorms and residence life communities by American Campus Communities?
In the context of trying to keep costs down, public universities, nationally, are looking at how to better engage the private sector and create private-public partnerships. Again, collectively, these issues and discussions need to include the entire campus community as well as the Albuquerque community.
Elizabeth Hoffman
executive vice president and provost,
Iowa State University
1. In the past, there have been complaints about a lack of transparency in the UNM administration. How, specifically, do you plan to increase transparency?
I have a long history of transparency and of meeting with students and faculty members. I am the leader of Executive and Vice-President Provost Office Budget Planning. With planning documents, what I try to do is, every stage during the academic year, put out a document that can be read by everyone that is usually an article in our internal communication. We have lots of open forums and websites where people can comment. I want to be available.
2. The tuition credit and rising tuition costs are problems currently facing UNM students. How you plan to handle these problems?
I think issues that (are) delicately political, it would be better for you get more information before taking a stance.
3. How do you feel about the privatization of UNM’s dorms and residence life communities by American Campus Communities?
I’d have to look in very carefully. Is it saving the University money so student rates don’t go up? When I have seen it done before, it has been done because it is possible to manage at a lower cost, so that is the kind of thing I need to study before I came up. ACC does manage a number of dorms around the country and they do have broad experience.
Elsa A. Murano
professor and president emeritus,
Texas A&M University
1. In the past, there have been complaints about a lack of transparency in the UNM administration. How, specifically, do you plan to increase transparency?
I am a firm believer in shared governance and in open communication. I enjoy meeting people and I learn a lot from the exchanges, which helps me do my job even better. Meeting with groups on a regular basis and seeking their input well before decisions are made is the best way I know to ensure that I have as much information as I need to make the best decisions for the university. As president of Texas A&M, I made the student leaders members of my cabinet and often asked them to serve on task forces and committees. I also met with them on a monthly basis and made presentations to the student senate on a regular basis.
The selection process at UNM is, frankly, typical of the way these searches are conducted. Actually, in some states, such as Texas, they do not disclose any of the finalists’ names, and instead interview one at a time in secret. So, the fact that as many as five candidates get to visit the campus in an open process at UNM is very positive.
2. The tuition credit and rising tuition costs are problems currently facing UNM students. How do you plan to handle these problems?
Providing a quality education is not something that can be done cheaply. Faculty are the backbone of a university, and in order to attract and retain the best and brightest, resources are needed. Similarly, world-class universities require world-class facilities. So, how do we generate enough revenue to have a world-class university without pricing ourselves out of reach? Well, it is not rocket science to realize that the more efficiently one runs a university, the more it can save and thus be able to pass those savings on to the students.
However, even after that is accomplished, sometimes one finds a situation in which the revenues are not enough to provide a quality education. In those instances, it is imperative that a university do all it can to raise revenues through support from the state, through philanthropy, through research contracts & grants, and through partnerships with private industry. It is a multi-pronged approach that only works when one’s house is in order in terms of cutting out the waste.
3. How do you feel about the privatization of UNM’s dorms and residence life communities by American Campus Communities?
I am not familiar with what has been proposed or done at UNM with regard to this issue. However, in general, I would say that whatever provides the students with quality, safe and affordable housing is an option worth exploring. Of course, such decisions need to be made carefully, with everyone’s input, and with the benefit of as much information as possible in order to avoid unintended consequences and maximize the benefits to the end-user, the student.
