Last November, as the economic crisis deepened, the UNM community responded immediately with a reduction in spending and an across the board suspension in hiring, pay hikes and promotions. While not easy, these steps have allowed us to continue our core missions of education and research while preparing to meet the possibility of a legislative rescission of 2008-2009 fiscal year funding.

From what we now understand, these measures have succeeded in allowing us to meet the mid-year revenue adjustments that will likely be contained in the State’s Solvency Plan. This is critical because higher education is our best hope to secure a brighter economic recovery in our state.

UNM employs more than 22,000 people and continues to be one of the most powerful economic engines in our state and in Albuquerque. With the support of the Governor, the Legislature and our fellow citizens, we will continue to concentrate further on our teaching and research missions while keeping tuition affordable.

We are taking the following steps:

• We will reduce non-academic Main Campus administrative spending by 15% over the next three years to concentrate our resources on our teaching and research missions.
• At the same time, we will accomplish a net increase of at least 10 new full-time Main Campus tenure-track faculty positions.
• We will indefinitely freeze executive compensation of the President, Executive Vice Presidents and main campus Vice Presidents, including salaries, allowances and deferred compensation.
• We will develop a comprehensive University-wide policy on deferred compensation, which we will submit to the UNM Board of Regents at the April 2009 regular meeting.
• Through the end of fiscal year 2009-2010, we will freeze all increases in compensation for all Main Campus non-academic administrative staff earning more than $125,000 annually.

We have finalized these steps over the past several days and have shared our intentions with members of the Legislature. I am gratified to receive the following messages of support:

From Sen. Cisco McSorley: “This is a great first step and good news for those of us who have been concerned about executive compensation. The University’s willingness to assess and adjust its business model is appreciated by all.”

From Rep. Larry Larranaga: “Though I had concerns about executive compensation, I am heartened to see that the University is taking the lead and revisiting old policies.”

We are fortunate to have the most dedicated and talented faculty and staff of any higher education institution in the country. Each of you have made and are willing to make significant sacrifices to protect our core missions.

What is most important now is that all of us in the University community redouble our efforts on behalf of our students, and that we join together, as one, to communicate the vital importance and contributions of the University of New Mexico in this increasingly difficult economic climate.

Good morning.

We now begin the first full week of the legislative session in Santa Fe, and a lot is riding on it – nothing less than the future of our state’s young people and their ability to prepare a better future for all of us.

In the course of our day-to-day work and struggles, it’s easy to forget that we share the noble calling of inspiring excellence in the next generation of New Mexicans. The students we’re privileged to serve will someday find cures for AIDS, cancer and diabetes; they’ll design new and more efficient methods to heat our homes and fuel our cars; they’ll create new jobs in businesses that we can’t even imagine today; and they’ll find better ways for all of us to live and work together in harmony. Most important, they’ll go forward to live happy, satisfying lives as educated men and women.

It’s our job – the job of EACH of us – to communicate that message loud and clear. We may have our individual disagreements, but one thing we all should agree on is that even in a recession, the mission of educating our citizens is too important to be sacrificed. Indeed, it’s especially important in challenging economic times not to take our eyes off this goal, for to reduce our commitment to the next generation is to eat our own seed corn. I’m confident in the enlightened leadership of our Governor and our Legislators to take the long view and do the right thing.

I am proud of our faculty’s outstanding achievements and am always delighted to share those milestones of greatness with the campus. Ravinder K. Jain, a professor in both Electrical and Computer Engineering and in Physics and Astronomy, has been appointed a Fellow in the American Physical Society. This honor, which recognizes Dr. Jain’s outstanding contributions in physics, is only given to a few outstanding members of the Society.

Another of our physicists, Distinguished Professor of Physics Carlton Caves, has been elected an American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow. He’s being recognized for advances in the understanding of physical laws and in quantum information theory. Dr. Caves will be honored at the AAAS annual meeting in Chicago next month.

Anderson School of Management Professor Steven Walsh has once again been named one of the top 50 researchers in the Technology Innovation Management field by Elsevier Limited, a leading publisher of science and health information serving more than 30 million scientists, students and health professionals worldwide. Dr. Walsh has not only won this recognition for each of the past five years, he is also one of only seven researchers who have maintained this status for an entire decade.

I’d also like to celebrate four of our student-athletes who are recipients of the L.F. “Tow” Diehm Inspirational Award and the Leslie Self Inspirational Award. This is the 11th year these awards have been presented to male and female student-athletes in recognition of their leadership, character, determination and commitment to team.

Jeremy Johnson of Albuquerque finished his collegiate career here as one of the greatest long distance runners in UNM history. Former walk-on John Sullivan went from being a virtual unknown to being the third consensus All-America honoree in Lobo football history, setting school and conference records and leading the nation with 29 field goals.

Canadian Tori Clarridge was a four-year academic and athletic All-Mountain West Conference performer for the Lobo women’s swim team. She got her degree in Nursing with a 3.65 GPA and currently works in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at UNMH. Finally, Ruidoso native Katie Coronado, as a junior, recorded the highest NCAA Championship finish in UNM women’s history, placing second in the javelin at the 2008 Championships. I hope you will join me in taking pride in the character and accomplishments of these UNM Lobos.

Have a good week.

David J. Schmidly

Good morning.

Today, as we begin UNM’s spring semester, our nation begins a grand and hopeful new adventure with the swearing in of Barack Obama as our 44^th president.

I remember in 1963 watching the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King deliver the inspiring words that have come to be known as his “I have a dream” speech - doubtless one of the most profound and moving pieces of oratory in American history. I suppose it is a measure of our progress that few people, back then, could have imagined that in our own lifetimes, we would see our nation elect an African American to the highest office in the land. Let’s be mindful, however, that we have a long way to go before King’s dream is fulfilled and every American is judged by the content of his or her character, not skin color, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, age or beliefs.

Regardless of your politics, I know that all of you join me in hoping for a successful term for President Obama, and I’m proud that several of our UNM students took up his call to participate in a national day of service to commemorate both King’s vision and his own Inauguration. In a time of enormous challenge to our nation, both at home and abroad, it was the most appropriate way to honor King’s legacy and the hope and optimism that surrounds President Obama’s swearing in.

Five of our UNM students are helping produce a marathon of talk radio, live and direct from the center of everything happening on Capitol Hill. The “Radio Row” features more than 30 radio show hosts of all political stripes, and at least 100 celebrity guests. The students, from UNM’s Communication & Journalism and Political Science departments, are taking part in a new internship with the Talk Radio News Service this semester. We look forward to hearing their great work.

Some of our faculty and students have a front row seat to history, side by side with the millions of Americans who have ventured to Washington, D.C. for the Inauguration and the events surrounding it. I look forward to hearing their stories of this momentous day upon their return to Albuquerque. For those not able to travel to Washington, you can join your friends at the SUB Theatre to watch inaugural events live from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. or so. As might be expected, even if you can’t get to the Theatre, every television in the SUB will be tuned to the Inauguration.

Today also marks the beginning of the 2009 legislative session in Santa Fe. Lawmakers should hammer out a solvency package for the current budget in the next week or so. At this time, the cuts for higher education are around 2.5%, but could go deeper depending on the collection of revenues and decisions on capital outlay. The Legislature is also working on next year’s budget, which is even more challenging. I want to thank the entire University community for cooperating in a diligent and good faith way to plan ahead. Because of your efforts, we are far better prepared to meet whatever challenges lie ahead without impairing our core missions of education and research.

The semester begins today, but courses will be starting throughout the semester. With the revised and improved education benefits you’ve heard about, staff members should take a look at the class schedule and consider the challenges and rewards of life-long learning. Anyone working around schedule or location limitations might also consider UNM’s online course offerings.

It’s a day for new beginnings. Let’s take advantage of them.

Have a good week.

David J. Schmidly

Good morning.

It’s good to hear about the success of the university’s current intersession classes. I mentioned last week that they were growing in popularity. Vice Provost Wynn Goering reports a growth of 21.5% over last year and a three-fold increase in students since these classes launched in 2005. This session, there are 31 classes with a total enrollment of 1,285 students. So Wynn is exactly right when he says we are clearly meeting a significant need with these classes. Thanks again to everyone putting in the time and energy to make them successful.

In support of the anticipated influx of armed forces veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, UNM is working toward easing the transition of these brave men and women back into our New Mexico communities and our universities. With the passage of the new GI bill last year, coupled with the economic recession, it is important for the university to act as a resource for all of our prospective students, particularly for those who have bravely served our country. In this effort, I am pleased to announce that we have hired a program manager for the UNM Veterans Education and Outreach Center. Later this month, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Elise Wheeler will take the helm of the center, reaching out to veterans on and off campus to help with their transition from the battlefield to the classroom. I invite you to welcome Elise to our campus and to support this mission-critical center.

The 2009 session of the New Mexico Legislature begins at noon on January 20, and UNM’s Government Relations team has been preparing for what promises to be a challenging session. The new Government Relations website outlines the priorities for UNM, supplies a legislative calendar and provides a way to receive frequent updates on your computer. The website can be accessed at http://govrel.unm.edu/legislative_sessions/2009/. If you would like to receive daily updates about the progress of UNM-related bills during the 60-day legislative session, you can opt in to a list serve at http://govrel.unm.edu/updates/. Don’t forget to respond when you get your confirmation email.

This week, five of our students arrive in Washington, D.C. to launch the University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service Internship. Coffee Brown, Christina Lovato, Michael Ruhl, Suzia Van Swol and Candyce Torres will have a front row seat on history during some of our nation’s most exciting days as they cover the inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama, his State of the Union address and the first five months of the new Administration and Congress. They will be credentialed journalists with access to the News Galleries of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, and once they’ve obtained security clearances, access to TRNS’ studio booth in the White House. Reports from the University of New Mexico Talk Radio News Service Washington Bureau will be available at UNM Online! (http://unmlive.unm.edu/) and at TRNS’ existing websites, and they’ll be fed to over 200 radio stations nationwide. Good luck to each of our TRNS student interns as they join our highly successful complement of Washington interns taking part in the Senator Fred Harris Internship Program!

Have a good week.

Good morning and Happy New Year!

We’ve enjoyed some time off to enjoy family and friends, to rest and reflect. Now we’re back, ready to roll up our sleeves and meet the challenges of 2009. I’m looking forward to joining you in taking on what this New Year will bring. We are already well aware of some of the upcoming funding issues, but let’s not forget the joys and opportunities ahead of us. Where better than a university to encounter new ideas, energized debate, leading-edge research, the anticipation of learning and the satisfaction that new knowledge brings. I’m looking forward to the journey.

Of course, many of you continued to work through the holidays and we thank you. From physical plant workers and police who kept watch over our campus to the health care personnel who kept hospitals and clinics operating to the athletes who continued to practice and play to the faculty, staff and students preparing for intersession classes - thanks for keeping us going. It is obvious that UNM never shuts down. The Albuquerque Journal had a great story over the break about the growing popularity of the intersession courses. All of you involved put in extraordinary time and energy. We commend you.

I’d like to mention again that I’ve set up a new blog that contains all of my Monday Morning Messages, web casts and other notes and thoughts. I invite your comments, because as I’ve always said, nobody has a monopoly on good ideas, especially when they’re communicated in a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect. Please visit http://blogs.unm.edu/president/ to tune in and weigh in with your thoughts.

One of the major campus events in the near future will be our Lincoln/Darwin Symposium, celebrating the 200th birthday of two individuals who shaped and changed the world. This will be a week-long campus-wide celebration with lectures, panels, student presentations and special events. I’m told there will even be birthday cake. Thanks to all who are participating in the planning. We’ll keep you updated on the details in the coming weeks.

With the New Year comes new Federal standards for maintaining, collecting and presenting data on race and ethnicity. The new data collection begins this fall, so everywhere race and ethnicity data is collected, stored and used at the University must be brought into compliance with the new standards by that date. I’ve asked Dr. Jozi De Leon, Vice President for Equity and Inclusion, to lead the effort with Dr. Valerie Romero-Leggott, Vice President for Diversity for the UNM Health Sciences Center.

Every unit on campus will have to pitch in and participate fully in order to make this effort a success. You’ll be hearing more about the time-line being defined by the Race and Ethnicity Data Collection task force in the near future.

It’s good to be back.

Have a good week.

David J. Schmidly