Good morning!

I always love taking part in Commencement exercises, and Friday night was no exception. With every diploma, there goes a personal story of persistence, dedication and hard work, and I never cease to be inspired. Graduations are the culmination of everything we do, and let me again extend the congratulations of our entire UNM family to each and every one of the graduates – and to their loved ones who sacrificed, too, to make Friday night’s ceremonies possible. A special thanks to all those who worked so hard to ensure a successful event.

I also want to thank everyone who took time out Thursday to attend the Special Meeting of the Regents. It was a good discussion, with many excellent questions by the Regents and some equally constructive comments from the audience, most notably Faculty Senate President Howard Snell, Staff Council President Loyola Chastain, GPSA President Christopher Ramirez and ASUNM President Ashley Fate.

To keep the conversation going, I have set up a new blog that contains all of my Monday Morning Messages, webcasts and other notes and thoughts. I invite you to make comments. Please visit: http://blogs.unm.edu/president/ to tune in – and feel free to weigh in with your thoughts.

It’s time we realized that we all love UNM, and that nobody has a monopoly on good ideas, especially when they’re communicated in a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect. As I said in my Inaugural address, a University should always be a place that is alive with the discussion of ideas, and my website is no exception.

In the meantime, we’ll likely have no definitive word from Santa Fe about funding until the start of the Legislative Session in January and so, as I said at the meeting and at my other forums, we’ll proceed with the program we’ve initiated: a pause in hires, promotions and pay hikes, a suspension of all but essential travel and curtailing capital projects. To my mind, it’s the only prudent course.

I want to extend the congratulations of the entire UNM community to Regent Jamie Koch, who was reappointed to the Board of Regents by Gov. Richardson on Friday. Let’s also extend our warm thanks to student Regent Dahlia Dorman, whose term has been marked by enormous hard work, intelligence and poise. Let’s also congratulate and welcome our newest student Regent, Emily “Cate” Wisdom, a junior majoring in Biology and Chemical Engineering.

I’d like to extend an invitation to the entire UNM community to join me for a holiday celebration at the SUB TOMORROW, Tuesday, December 23rd from 9:30 a.m. -11 a.m. To help share in the spirit of community and camaraderie, I want to kick off the winter break with hot cider, coffee, biscochitos, good friends and good cheer.

This is a time for good friends and family – for being grateful for all that we have, to remember times past and those we miss. It’s also a time to remember those less fortunate, and I hope each of us will consider a special Holiday gift to the United Way, by filling out a pledge form, which you can get by visiting:

http://unitedway.unm.edu/pledgeform.pdf.

Happy Holidays to each of you and your loved ones, and here’s to a happy, healthy and productive New Year.

David J. Schmidly

Good morning.

I want to begin by extending the best wishes of the entire UNM community to those of our students who will be graduating this Friday night. You have each achieved a real milepost in your lives, one that reflects countless hours of hard work, sacrifice, dedication and persistence. Congratulations – not just to you, but to all those in each of your lives who made this moment possible: your family and loved ones (and let’s not forget the many teachers, professors and counselors who inspired you to this moment). You will always have a place at the UNM table as members of our alumni family. Commencement ceremonies will take place Friday at 6 p.m. at The Pit.

Congratulations are also in order for Dr. Julia Fulghum, who was appointed by Provost Ortega last week as Vice President for Research. Having served as interim Vice President for these past six months, Dr. Fulghum demonstrated both extraordinary professional skills and a remarkable ability to work in easy collaboration with others. Under her leadership, Research has made remarkable progress, and we have every reason to expect more to come in the years ahead. Please join me in congratulating our friend and colleague.

A warm Lobo welcome to our 29th head football coach, Mike Locksley, who burst onto the Albuquerque scene last week full of high-octane energy for the challenging work ahead. Like Athletic Director Paul Krebs said, Coach Locksley impressed us right from the start with his infectious enthusiasm and strong, winning record, including his most recent stint as offensive coordinator at Illinois. Coach Locksley says he’s passionate about his family – and the Lobo Nation is now his family. Welcome to the family, Coach!

By the way, I hope you’ll join me and thousands of other football fans at University Stadium for the New Mexico Bowl on Saturday, December 20. Fresno State will take on Colorado State, and kickoff is at noon. UNM faculty, students and staff can buy tickets at the discounted price of $20 with a valid ID.

Speaking of the UNM family, let me extend my thanks to those who’ve written and called to express their support for me following Friday afternoon’s Town Hall Meeting.

Fear is normal when times are tough, and I suppose it’s inevitable that at times like these, we are all capable of letting our anger and frustration get the best of us.

Nevertheless, let’s not lose our perspective: we’re far better situated than most public institutions of our size. In large part, this is because we engaged in this strategic planning effort – including the hiring and pay raise pause – when Governor Richardson and legislative leaders warned us on October 17 about the possibility of mid-year budget rescissions.

It’s also normal, at any University, for rumors to circulate – but it is irresponsible to alarm people in a public forum without checking the facts first. Let me reiterate what Dr. Paul Roth has already made clear: there is NO plan to put ANY employees on furlough – at the Health Sciences Center or elsewhere. Never has been.

No one person has all the answers to navigate through times like these, which is why I reached out to seek your advice, explain our efforts and hopefully provide some measure of reassurance. If we’re to come through this difficult time, it’ll take all of us, working cooperatively and in mutual respect, sharing our best and most creative ideas in a transparent atmosphere of shared governance. Let’s try to do it in a manner of mutual respect and cordiality.

During this season of giving, please try to remember that the United Way Community Fund helps feed the hungry and shelter the homeless. As difficult as things are this year, let’s also remember those less fortunate by filling out a pledge form. You can get one by clicking here http://unitedway.unm.edu/pledgeform.pdf.

Have a good week.

David J. Schmidly

Good morning.

On behalf of the university, I’ve sent congratulations to New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson who has been selected by President-elect Obama as Commerce Secretary. It is a pleasure and privilege to work with Governor Richardson and we look forward to doing so until he takes on his new duties in Washington.  Likewise it is an honor to work with UNM’s great friend and neighbor, Lt. Governor Diane Denish, and we look forward to strengthening that partnership in the years to come.  New Mexico has been blessed in its leadership, both executive and legislative, and they will serve us well as we approach the challenges of the upcoming year.

New Mexico’s latest revenue projections will be announced today, so we’ll have a clearer picture of the economic challenges facing the state as we approach the legislative session. As I’ve mentioned to you before, the Legislature will determine what actions higher education must take to deal with the downturn. In the
meantime, UNM continues to slow spending and conserve money as we prepare for whatever the future may hold.  We look forward to sharing with you the latest economic information available this Friday at a town hall scheduled for noon in the SUB Ballroom C.

Last Friday, we reminded UNM supervisors about the Winter Setback Program which is designed to save energy during the winter holiday.  The Physical Plant has identified buildings where temperatures can be safely set back without jeopardizing critical research and activities.  The savings goal is $75,000, and working together we can achieve that.  So please do what you can to save.  You’ll soon be getting tips from PPD.

We have more congratulations to pass around.  It was announced last week that UNM law professor and former president Louis Caldera has been appointed to head up the White House Military Office. As a former Secretary of the Army, Professor Caldera is no stranger to Washington.  We wish him the best in this next stage of his remarkable career.

Congratulations on behalf of the university go to Sandra Ortiz and Gloria Manzanares – our 2008 Gerald May award winners for distinguished service and dedication to UNM.  Sandra has been in Physics and Astronomy for more than 20 years, currently supervising admin support.  Gloria is an associate director of admissions.  I look forward to honoring these two and all of the nominees at 4 p.m. today in SUB ballroom C.  Former UNM presidents Gerald May and Chris Garcia will join me.  Thanks to the Staff Council Rewards and Recognition Committee for organizing these annual awards.

Kudos to the UNM staff members who worked with Albuquerque Public Schools the past four years to achieve an aligned spring break.  That will happen on March 15 – 19, 2010 and it will make life easier for the UNM students and employees who have children attending APS.  Thanks also to the UNM Staff Council for keeping this issue on the front burner.

Any of you – faculty, staff or students – who would like an outlet for your creative work should consider submitting it to Conceptions Southwest, UNM’s fine art and literature magazine.  The deadline for the spring edition is this Friday, December 12.  For more information, visit http://www.unm.edu/~csw or call 277-5656.

Thanks to all of you who made Friday evening’s caroling and luminaria tour so special. Janet and I enjoyed seeing you all at Hanging of the Greens.

Have a good week.

David J. Schmidly

United Way Fact…
Did you know that United Way helps fund several of our most deserving UNM programs?  You can designate the UNM Foundation, or any college, school or University program to receive up to 100% of your United Way pledge.  Won’t you help UNM fulfill its missions of education and research by filling out a pledge form?  You can get one by clicking here http://unitedway.unm.edu/pledgeform.pdf or by asking your Department Coordinator.

Good morning.

Welcome back!  I hope you were able to spend quality time with family and friends this past long weekend.  Thanksgiving comes at just the right time to give us all a much-needed break before the final push toward finals, commencement and the winter holiday.

UNM’s holiday season officially begins on campus this Friday evening with the annual traditions surrounding Hanging of the Greens. Janet and I are really looking forward to this.  You’re all invited to University House for hot chocolate, biscochitos and some steaming posole starting at 6 p.m. You’re also invited to bring an unwrapped book that will surely bring cheer to the youngsters at UNM Hospital.  It’s a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday season together.

For many of you, however, it all starts much earlier in the day.  I’m told that Mortar Board and approximately 25 other student groups will be placing 12,500 luminarias all over campus Friday and will then light them all at dusk.  On behalf of the University community, thank you.  That’s a huge job, but it makes for a magical evening for everyone strolling on campus.  Carolers will also congregate in front of the Center for the Arts around 6 p.m. to sing their way to University
House.  So please join your University family for an evening of celebration.

I hope you’ve all had the opportunity to view my webcast on the economic challenges we have been preparing for and will no doubt be dealing with for the foreseeable future.  Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to share your thoughts and suggestions with me.  We all need to work together to get through this, and we continue to invite your input, so please submit your ideas at unmpres@unm.edu.

In the spirit of the season, please remember those less fortunate in our community by giving to United Way.  You’ll feel good about it, I promise you.

Have a good week.  Janet and I look forward to seeing you at Hanging of the Greens.

David J. Schmidly