Regents approve five finalists for NMSU president job

Great article Amanda! Well-organized and informative!

Maybe they should interview Amanda for the job. If this group is the best and the brightest that applied for this job we're in trouble.

Well, uninformed criticism didn't take long to emerge. No wonder NMSU is always looking for a new president. Show some optimism, you don't even know these people!

I hope that whoever is awarded the job will provide steady visionary leadership, and stick around for many years. I also hope the female candidates will truly receive equal consideration as their male counterparts. If they are the best candidate for the job, I would love to see a female president to NMSU for amy reasons.

uhhh many reasons not amy reasons....typo there

How can this be an ethical search when two of the candidates had to resign because of scandals........

Way to go Amanda, way to not do your research and find out that two of the finalists were voted no cofidence by the professors of their respective schools..........

I'm waiting for the follow-up article about those ethical violations. Being forced to resign from a high administrative post in a university seemingly ought to disqualify you from the applicant pool, especially if there is a "deep bench."

come on Sun News, cover the story! Come on NMSU, stop embarrassing us! 2 of the candidates HAD to resign their previous posts --- read the Albuquerque journal:

By Martin Salazar
Journal Staff Writer
Two of the five finalists for the New Mexico State University presidency resigned from their previous leadership posts amid high-profile scandals involving alleged special favors...(Herman and Oblinger...)

"Much emphasis was placed on the ethics of the search, after the Faculty Senate asked the regents to stay at arm's length, Erickson said."

The Faculty Senate was so busy trying to keep the Regents from interfering, that they didn't get a chance to do any background or ethics checks.

BTW, guess which one of those two will be the next pres.?

Yikes! I hope they don't consider those two!!!

What did you expect with Carruthers on the committee. He helped end the last search by supporting and attending the champagne brunch, and Del Archeluta, the chair of the searc comm. is one of the top 5 boosters at UNM and his company is doing the renovations at the Pit. The biggest job ahead is to keep Conniff honest, which was not possible last time.

Ortiz is going off as the odds on favorite by local bookies,it's rumored that he is considering cross dressing in order to win over the " I want a female" contingent!

Here we go again. Whenever NMSU gets the chance to start over, they end up with more of the same.

NMSU is need of a serious overhaul.

How much money did NMSU pay that head hunting firm to come up with a list of viable (maybe 3 out of 5) candidates? Did the search committee rubber stamp the head hunters list? Doesn't anyone on the search committee know how to do a google search? Sheesh, both chancellors who were forced out made the national news. Getting reamed again. No wonder it's called Enema U!

As an NMSU faculty member, I am curious to know how this batch of finalists stacks up to the finalists from last years failed search? The ones we never met nor announced due to the pettiness of our Regents.

Well, here we go again. The search committee for NMSU somehow selects the former chancellor of my alma mater who recently resigned amidst a slew of high-ranking NC State administrative resignations and firings. Whether or not Oblinger was/is guilty of any wrongdoing, he should NOT have been considered for the NMSU Presidency vacancy, even if he did wonderful and marvelous things for the University during and before the controversies became public knowledge. Where are the morals and ethics in this hiring process for NMSU??? Appearance is everything, and where there's smoke, there's often fire. Why even consider the guy for this position? It seems NMSU has a tendency to hire presidents with jaded pasts, and who often leave NMSU a few years later due to more of the same. Poor poor poor judgement on the part of the search committee, or the firm hired to do the search, or wheover is in charge of what once again can turn into a huge local Las Cruces mess.

I disagree. There is usually more to the story than what makes the papers. Prior to this allegation, Dr. Oblinger spent 20 years in the public eye at NC State with no hint of scandal. That should count for something. He at least has earned the right to publicly state his case during the interview process.

NC State Alum wrote:

Well, here we go again. The search committee for NMSU somehow selects the former chancellor of my alma mater who recently resigned amidst a slew of high-ranking NC State administrative resignations and firings. Whether or not Oblinger was/is guilty of any wrongdoing, he should NOT have been considered for the NMSU Presidency vacancy, even if he did wonderful and marvelous things for the University during and before the controversies became public knowledge. Where are the morals and ethics in this hiring process for NMSU??? Appearance is everything, and where there's smoke, there's often fire. Why even consider the guy for this position? It seems NMSU has a tendency to hire presidents with jaded pasts, and who often leave NMSU a few years later due to more of the same. Poor poor poor judgement on the part of the search committee, or the firm hired to do the search, or wheover is in charge of what once again can turn into a huge local Las Cruces mess.

Hey Amanda,

Why don't you at least try to work to become a real journalist. Today's Albuquerque Journal beat you to the punch and informed us that two of the five candidates are corrupt. Why do I have to go to the Journal to find the real story?

God your newspaper sucks...

Curious George wrote:

As an NMSU faculty member, I am curious to know how this batch of finalists stacks up to the finalists from last years failed search? The ones we never met nor announced due to the pettiness of our Regents.

they were Colorado State University Interim President Tony Frank,
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center President Dr. John Baldwin, Arizona State University Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs David A. Young, East Carolina University Chancellor Steven Ballard, Oklahoma State University Interim President Marlene Strathe, University of Louisiana-Monroe President James Cofer, West Chester University of Pennsylvania President Greg Weisenstein, and Florida International University Provost Ronald M. Berkman.