Good morning.

We’re pleased to welcome Spanish royalty to campus this morning. Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince and Princess of Asturias, will preside over the fourth meeting of the advisory council for The Prince of Asturias Endowed Chair in Information Science and Related Technologies.

This endowed chair, funded by Spain’s electric utility Iberdrola,is shared by the departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science.  Dr. Fernando Pérez-González recently began his tenure as the second Prince of Asturias Professor.

We’re also delighted to host the Ambassador of Spain to the United States at today’s meeting, as well as our good friend, former U.S. Ambassador to Spain Edward Romero who spearheaded the effort to have the Prince of Asturias Chair located at UNM.

Athletics Issues

Reports of an altercation involving Lobo head football coach Mike Locksley and an assistant coach spread throughout the media last week and have caused much concern and debate in the UNM community.

Vice President for Athletics Paul Krebs has rightfully asked the Division of Human Resources to conduct an official investigation and to provide direction on appropriate actions.  He is also contracting with UNM’s Counseling, Assistance and Referral Service to assist in the evaluation and in identifying potential solutions.  This is consistent with provisions in UNM policies 3215 (Performance Management) and 2210 (Campus Violence).  You can find these at:

http://www.unm.edu/~ubppm/ubppmanual/3215.htm and at

http://www.unm.edu/~ubppm/ubppmanual/2210.htm.

The University takes this issue seriously.  We want it settled as quickly as possible and the investigation will be done thoroughly.

Lobo Ads

We are fully aware that many in the UNM community found the Route 66 television ads that included the Lobo mascot to be in questionable taste and not in line with the mission and values of this institution.  As soon as these concerns were made known, UNM Athletics worked with Route 66 to revise the ads. The old ads were pulled off the air a week ago.

Admissions Requirements

The University of New Mexico is considering modifying UNM admission requirements to maximize a student’s opportunity for success. Proposed requirements would de-emphasize standardized test scores, like the SAT and ACT, emphasize a student’s preparation in high school and reward dual credit, AP, and other rigorous courses. 

The Regents want the proposed modifications to be thoroughly discussed and understood. We are seeking comment from students, parents, educators and interested citizens from around the state.  To review the proposed requirements and comment, please go to www.unm.edu/admissions/arp/.  The deadline for comment is November 15, 2009.

Happy Anniversary, El Centro!

El Centro de la Raza is celebrating 40 years of working with and for the students of the University of New Mexico.  Their Adelante celebration is being observed today and tomorrow with a number of activities at the SUB.  A full schedule of events is on El Centro’s website at http://www4.unm.edu/elcentro/.  On behalf of the entire university community, congratulations to El Centro de la Raza for decades of wonderful service.

Have a good week.

David J. Schmidly

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