The UNM Board of Regents unanimously selected Robert G. Frank on Jan. 4 to replace David Schmidly as the next president of UNM, but the decision elicited mixed responses from the UNM community.
Frank graduated from Mayfield High School in Las Cruces and received three degrees from UNM, including a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. He said during a press conference that he is glad to return home to his alma mater.
“To have the opportunity to return to this University is a very satisfying moment and I want to thank the regents and the faculty and staff for their vote of confidence,” he said. “This is not a homogeneous place, as you all know. This is an opportunity to see the new America, and I look forward to shaping that and showing the rest of the nation what we can do as a diverse University.”
Faculty Senate President-elect Amy Neel and current Faculty Senate President Tim Ross said that faculty at the presidential forums expressed concerns about the selection of Frank. Both Ross and Neel said they will lend their support to Frank in the upcoming months.
“If you look at the faculty responses, Dr. Frank was not on the top of their list, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t a good choice, he was,” Ross said. “He is extremely savvy in the running of a complex university, and he has a strong background in the medical field, where 50 percent of our budget is.”
Ross said that during the forums, some faculty reacted negatively to a comment Frank made about “dropping the hammer” as an administrator, a reference to using his administrative powers forcefully.
“One of the biggest concerns was the way he handled himself in the forum,” Ross said. “I think the negatives had to do with his style … but I don’t think this necessarily reflects his leadership.”
Ross said faculty received mixed reviews when they contacted colleagues at Kent State University, where Frank has served as provost and senior vice-president for academic affairs since 2007, to ask about Frank’s leadership.
“I think for any upper administrator you are going to get mixed results from the school they are at,” he said. “Right now, most universities are cutting programs and laying people off and you are not really popular, but that is just something he had to do.”
Interim provost Chaouki T. Abdallahw said he is working with Frank to evaluate new programs that would improve student success through increased preparatory classes. Abdallah said Frank hopes to work with faculty to address their concerns.
“In my one-on-one meeting, he indicated he would be supportive of shared governance,” Abdallah said. “So far he has met with faculty members and other organizations. In [regard to] the ‘unacceptable’ comment in the (Albuquerque) Journal, I think this was a group of faculty leaders that had concerns. I think there were two of them that had concerns, but regardless of what the faculty think, he (Frank) needs to meet with them and see what those concerns are, and see how he can address that. I think he is mindful of that, and of the role of the faculty and the students.”
Regent Don Chalmers said Frank was selected for his outstanding leadership skills and strong ties to New Mexico.
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“When it all comes down to it, his experience has to do with dealing with issues. We don’t know what the issues will be in the next five years, but I think the strength of his character can carry us through those times,” he said. “I like the fact that he is coming home. We may have picked a president that will be here not just for the next five years … but may serve this University for even longer.”
Frank said his primary goal as president is to maintain and improve the wide variety of educational opportunities at UNM.
“I am committed to leading the University, in a collaborative and thoughtful manner, to realize its full potential,” he said. “There is richness in this campus that is unappreciated by the outside, maybe not appreciated even in the Albuquerque community, but the complexity and breadth of programs is staggering.”
GPSA President Katie Richardson said she is pleased with the selection of Frank, but said she intends to ensure student input is a part of future administrative decisions.
“I think that there is an old attitude that is becoming rarer on campus that faculty, staff, and students can be brought in to cosign at the last minute,” she said. “We intend to hold Dr. Frank to the promise that he is going to be a listener on campus.”
Frank takes office June 1, and will earn $355,000 a year, which is $102,000 less per year than Schmidly’s current salary. The Board of Regents said the salary cut will help support academics.
Frank said he will also receive benefits including health insurance and residence at UNM’s University House on campus. He also receives $100,000 in deferred compensation, a $12,000 car allowance and could receive as much as $25,000 in annual bonuses if he can produce “measurable improvement” in UNM’s graduation and retention rates, according to his contract.
Schmidly earns $587,000 a year, plus benefits.
At Kent State, Frank increased student retention rates by more than 6 percent, streamlined promotion and tenure rules and improved tracking of students to ensure graduation, according to his résumé.
UNM spokeswoman Cinnamon Blair said Schmidly will take a sabbatical after his term as president is up, during which he plans to finish three books in the field of biology. Blair said Schmidly intends to return as a full-time faculty member in the Department of Biology.
While Schmidly’s future salary and benefit details have not yet been released, his contract states “if and so long as Dr. Schmidly continues to serve as a full-time tenured faculty member after May 31, 2012, he shall then be entitled to such salary paid by the University to the highest paid full-time tenured faculty member in the Department of Biology.”
