{"id":408452,"date":"2017-08-16T14:45:22","date_gmt":"2017-08-16T20:45:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=408452"},"modified":"2017-08-17T20:26:35","modified_gmt":"2017-08-18T02:26:35","slug":"carruthers-should-stay-at-nmsu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2017\/08\/carruthers-should-stay-at-nmsu\/","title":{"rendered":"Carruthers should stay At NMSU"},"content":{"rendered":"

COMMENTARY:<\/strong>\u00a0In 2013, Garrey Carruthers was named president of New Mexico State University. He was not my first choice, and I expressed my opposition to his hiring publicly.<\/p>\n

\"Bill

Courtesy photo<\/p>

Bill McCamley<\/p><\/div>\n

Boy, was I ever wrong.<\/p>\n

Since the beginning of his tenure, Carruthers has lead NMSU through extremely tough times. State budget cuts created lower funding levels, and the decision of NMSU\u2019s Board of Regents to not raise tuition led to hard choices. Jobs have been lost, students are uncertain, and morale for many staff and faculty is low.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t his fault, and Carruthers has tried to turn lemons into lemonade by reducing bureaucracy, reorganizing departments, and focussing on students success.<\/p>\n

Nationwide data shows that, over the past decades, it has taken students consistently longer to get through school. Credit creep (where more and more classes are required for graduation), complicated class choices, and difficulties transferring from community colleges to main campuses have all contributed to the problem.<\/p>\n

Carruthers, recognizing that more time in school increases student loan debt while decreasing graduation rates, created a 128 credit hour cap for completion, instituted clear pathways for students to follow, and standardized classes between the NMSU main campus and branches. The last allows students at a two year school wanting to pursue a four year degree to do so seamlessly, getting them to the finish line sooner.<\/p>\n

But his accomplishments don\u2019t stop there. He hired a talented president for Do\u00f1a Ana Community College, and under their leadership a nursing program that lost its accreditation is on the road to recovery. He made sure that campus police won\u2019t be stopping people for immigration purposes, and NMSU now allows students from our neighboring state of Chihuahua to get in-state tuition. His leadership in partnering with the new Burrell Medical College not only gives local students an educational opportunity they\u2019ve never had, but has created jobs and produces more primary care doctors for our local hospitals and clinics.<\/p>\n

These choices translate to the following successes:<\/p>\n