{"id":4575,"date":"2009-05-15T13:30:00","date_gmt":"2009-05-15T19:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2009\/05\/core-identity-should-decide-the-next-nmsu-president\/"},"modified":"2009-08-22T05:49:45","modified_gmt":"2009-08-22T11:49:45","slug":"core-identity-should-decide-the-next-nmsu-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2009\/05\/core-identity-should-decide-the-next-nmsu-president\/","title":{"rendered":"Core identity should decide the next NMSU president"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a9 2009 By Michael Swickard, Ph.D.<\/p>\n

There is a huge controversy at New Mexico State University<\/a> about its core identity. Last week, NMSU Interim President Waded Cruzado<\/a> was removed amid a firestorm of protest while a second presidential search started. The first search terminated suddenly last year amid charges Cruzado was the choice before the search began.<\/p>\n

For the record, I have spoken with Cruzado and personally like her, though I cannot see how her attributes align with NMSU\u2019s core identity. Her supporters say her attributes are that she is liked by the faculty and students and is both a Hispanic and a woman.<\/p>\n

The choice of Cruzado would signal a changing identity for the university.<\/p>\n

A year ago, then-NMSU President Mike Martin decided to take a better position and suddenly left the university. Since, some New Mexico legislators and university leaders have made the search harder by espousing Cruzado as the best candidate without a wide-ranging national search or a serious dialog about what she, as president, would mean to NMSU\u2019s core identity.<\/p>\n

Martin was a strong president with a clear, uncompromising view of NMSU\u2019s identity. He saw NMSU as a world leading agricultural and engineering university with three missions: scientific research specializing in agriculture and engineering, such as in the area of arid lands; cooperative extension service for the State of New Mexico; and providing educational opportunities on the main and branch campuses.<\/p>\n

I asked Mike Martin about NMSU\u2019s identity. He said, \u201cOur core identity is agriculture and engineering. We have secondary missions supporting other needs in the state, so we are like a chameleon who changes colors constantly but always knows it is a lizard. We blend in as a so-called comprehensive university with our many diverse missions. But inside we always know our core is principally agriculture and engineering.\u201d<\/p>\n

Institutional identity must be clear<\/span><\/p>\n

Louisiana State University called and Martin left. In an instant, the NMSU of one strong identity became an NMSU of multiple possible core identities depending on the choice of the next president.<\/p>\n

We must start with NMSU\u2019s core identity. Before the next president is chosen or even a search begins, the institutional identity must be clear. NMSU cannot be all things to all people in all ways and at all times. There must be an expressed institutional core identity.<\/p>\n

Journalist Heath Haussamen reports on this site<\/a> that state Rep. Mary Helen Garcia expressed frustration that the percentages of Hispanics and women on NMSU\u2019s presidential search committee do not match the demographics of the NMSU population. Should they? Or should the committee match the institutional core identity of agriculture and engineering with some economics, which it does?<\/p>\n

We cannot preclude gender or ethnicity in the presidential choice, nor base our decision upon it. NMSU recently labeled itself a Hispanic-serving institution. There are no institutions in New Mexico that are not. It is a public-relations term outside of NMSU\u2019s core land-grant identity established by the 1862 Morrill, 1887 Hatch and 1914 Smith-Lever congressional acts.<\/p>\n

Supporting the land-grant mission<\/span><\/p>\n

I was a student senator at NMSU in 1970 when Gerald Thomas was selected to be president. I liked him but was surprised when this little-known dean of agriculture at Texas Tech, specializing in arid lands, was chosen. I did not understand at that time the need to match NMSU\u2019s core identity.<\/p>\n

Thomas served directly 14 years and then, to this day, as president emeritus. Many people, including myself, see Thomas as the best NMSU president ever. He matched and understood NMSU\u2019s core identity. His actions throughout his leadership tenure boosted NMSU\u2019s statewide, national and international prominence.<\/p>\n

The next NMSU president should have an agricultural or engineering background directly supporting NMSU\u2019s core land-grant mission. Or ag economics like Mike Martin, who fit in nicely with NMSU\u2019s core identity.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, since they are in charge, the NMSU Regents could discard NMSU\u2019s core land-grant identity and select the person they already want. They can attempt to change NMSU\u2019s agriculture and engineering core identity, if they dare.<\/p>\n

Swickard<\/a> is a weekly columnist for this site and graduated from NMSU in May 1998 with a doctorate in educational administration. You can reach him at michael@swickard.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a9 2009 By Michael Swickard, Ph.D. There is a huge controversy at New Mexico State University about its core identity. Last week, NMSU Interim President Waded Cruzado was removed amid a firestorm of protest while a second presidential search started. The first search terminated suddenly last year amid charges Cruzado was the choice before the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-swickard-columns"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4575\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}