Robert Frank becomes UNM’s 21st president on June 1, and he said he plans to spend the first 100 days of his presidency listening to suggestions from the UNM community.
In an interview with the Daily Lobo, Frank spoke about the opportunities and difficulties he will face when he takes over the presidency.
Daily Lobo: What are your top three goals as president?
Robert Frank: The three areas that are most important to start looking at and will probably emerge as my top three goals are how to improve retention rates; how to continue to grow the research mission of the University and enhance it so it has both economic and general applications for New Mexico; and how the University can best serve the community of Albuquerque and New Mexico as a whole.
DL: Some faculty expressed concerns about your conduct and professionalism at the public forum here at UNM, and a group of faculty listed you in the “unacceptable” category. How do you intend to build effective relationships going forward?
RF: My understanding is that the group that you are referring to is quite small. There were about 30 people in the room, and less than 10 spoke, and so when you have a faculty the size of UNM that is not a significant portion at all. At universities, people are used to speaking their minds. That is just how things work, so I don’t know that I have a problem with the faculty as much as the faculty doesn’t know me and I don’t know them. I will reach out to the faculty and meet with them to find out how I can best help them as president.
DL: Do you intend to increase or curtail funding for Athletics? How important do you feel Athletics is to the University?
RF: Well, that is a very good question, and as you know it’s a very complex question. The key in Athletics, is not just what it costs, but what the cross-subsidies are, and I want to learn more about those cross-subsidies in my first 100 days to get a clearer answer on that as well.
First, I think athletics brings something to the University. It’s a big part of the American college experience, and I think we have to recognize that a lot of students go to colleges like UNM because the athletics are there, whether they are an athlete or just a spectator. That being said, programs need to be accountable for how much they spend, and how much they are given.
I do think athletics programs are a powerful marketing tool. If you look at universities with successful athletics programs, applications to that university go up. But if the program isn’t effective and the team never performs, it loses some of its marketing value.
DL: Which areas could UNM spend less and which areas need more funding?
RF: In any business with a $2 billion budget there are some places where things aren’t as efficient as they can be. Part of my first 100 days will be spent identifying those areas that are underfunded and areas with redundancies or overspending.
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DL: Do you know of any specific areas where you will increase, or cut, funding?
RF: No, not today, I don’t know enough about the institution to say.
DL: GPSA President Katie Richardson said she plans to hold the administration to being willing to participate in shared governance with students and faculty. Are you planning on increasing the role students and faculty play in administrative decisions?
RF: I got a chance last week to meet with the leaders of the Faculty Senate and I was quite impressed by the shared governance mechanisms they have in place, and I thought they would be conducive to conversation between the faculty and administration, and I intend to take advantage of what has been done and grow those conversations.
Katie (Richardson) offered to arrange some town hall meetings for me with students and I think that would be a great opportunity here with students. I meet routinely here with student government at Kent (State University), and I intend to do the same at UNM. I am eager to take them up on their opportunity and challenge.
DL: Some community members claim that UNM is top-heavy. Do you plan on reducing the salaries and number of positions of upper-level administrators?
RF: If I understand what has happened in recent months, President Schmidly has already significantly reduced the number of vice presidents from 10 last year at this time to seven now. Maybe not vice presidents; perhaps we should just call them senior people, because I’m not sure what the titles were, but he has started a process that has winnowed down that, and I will look at the staffing at all levels and examine the salaries and determine how appropriate they are.
DL: Do you want to allow more private housing on UNM’s campus?
RF: I don’t know the answer to that. It’s a very common trend in universities and it’s a way of getting someone else to make a sizeable investment in the University and, in doing so, you usually have better accommodation for students. On the other hand, the University gives up some control of those facilities, so effective contracting is really important if you are going to follow that route.
