UNM Names Research VP; University faculty members had complained about academic affairs division
BYLINE: MARTIN SALAZAR Journal Staff Writer
A University of New Mexico employee who oversaw the governmental affairs office has been made associate vice president for research administration.
Carlos Rey Romero assumed his new position Monday.
The move comes amid significant growth in the university's central administration. Five new vice president positions have been added since President David Schmidly took office June 1.
Among the most recent moves:
The university reassigned Curt Porter, associate vice president for budget, planning and analysis. Porter will become an associate vice president overseeing finances for the academic affairs office. He will not get a pay raise.
A new vice president position is being created to oversee auxiliaries, physical plant and facilities operations. The position has yet to be filled.
The reassignments of Romero and Porter aim to establish solid financial controls in the research and academic affairs divisions, said David Harris, executive vice president for administration.
Among Romero's duties will be developing a business plan for the office of the vice president for research and economic development.
The research office ended the fiscal year last June with a reported $2.1 million deficit. An internal audit is under way.
A recent study of the office found it had fallen into such dysfunction that some faculty members were leaving.
Before going to work for UNM in 2003, Romero was the financial adviser and governmental relations director for the New Mexico Finance Authority for three years.
UNM spokeswoman Susan McKinsey said in an e-mail that five people applied for the position, which was posted internally. The university didn't disclose who the other applicants were.
Romero's new salary is $139,517 - a 4 percent raise over what he had been earning. McKinsey said his former position of associate vice president for government and community relations is being eliminated.
Earlier, Schmidly elevated the athletics director post to vice president for athletics, and he created the positions of vice president for enrollment management and vice president for institutional diversity. A vice president for finance/controller was also added.
An additional new position - special consultant to the president for strategy and goals - was created to help update the strategic plan, McKinsey said.
She said there are no additional costs associated with the vice presidents for athletics, enrollment management and institutional diversity or the vice president for finance/controller.
McKinsey said the $200,000 for the special consultant is split between the executive vice president for administration and the executive vice president for health sciences and is being funded through a shift in internal savings.
McKinsey said UNM now has 10 vice presidents and 10 associate vice presidents. "This is for an organization with more than 17,000 employees," she said.