University of New Mexico regents today are expected to select Kent State University Provost Bob Frank as the university’s 21st president.
Regents plan to meet in a closed session today on campus before taking a final vote and presenting Frank, a UNM alumnus, as the successor to David Schmidly. Schmidly is stepping down as president when his contract expires in May.
Regent Gene Gallegos confirmed Tuesday that Frank will be selected, and Regents President Jack Fortner confirmed the board had brought its No. 1 pick to Albuquerque to be available today when the announcement is made, although he would not confirm who that was.
Frank was staying in an Albuquerque hotel Tuesday and was expected to attend a Lobo basketball game with Fortner on Tuesday night.
When a reporter approached him Tuesday at Embassy Suites and asked him about the presidential selection, Frank said, “I wouldn’t know about that. You’d have to talk to the board about that kind of issue. I’m just visiting New Mexico, and I’m real pleased to be here.”
Fortner said he expects today’s vote will be unanimous.
Bob Frank shows off his UNM ring in the lobby of an Albuquerque hotel Tuesday. Frank, in an interview last month, said he identifies himself as a New Mexican. (ADOLPHE PIERRE-LOUIS/JOURNAL)
“I think the basic feeling was that he has had the best range of experience with the size of universities close to UNM’s, and also with a university that has some health sciences components to it,” Gallegos said. “I think the feeling was that some of the others were really qualified and really well-liked, but maybe just didn’t have that depth to bring to it that he does.”
He said regents are still negotiating with Frank, so it was unclear Tuesday how much the new president will earn and when he will start. However, regents said last week he likely will earn less than Schmidly, whose total compensation is more than $594,000.
The other presidential finalists included Douglas Baker, provost at the University of Idaho; Meredith Hay, former provost of the University of Arizona; Elizabeth Hoffman, Iowa State University provost and past president of the University of Colorado; and Elsa Murano, former president of Texas A&M University.
During a series of campus visits last month, each finalist met with the faculty and students and was interviewed by the regents in executive session.
Frank, 59, earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees from UNM in the 1970s and taught at the University of Florida in the fields of public health and clinical psychology.
Since 2007, Frank has been chief academic officer at Ohio’s Kent State University, where he improved retention and established a school of public health. He developed a reputation for aggressively pushing change that was sometimes opposed by faculty leaders.
Responding to that Kent State reputation, a group of UNM faculty members said Frank was one of two candidates it deemed “unacceptable” because of his perceived approach toward faculty relations. The other was Hay. Faculty leaders emphasized the comments did not reflect the group’s formal recommendation, and Faculty Senate President Tim Ross declined to reveal the faculty’s top choices.
Gallegos said he’s concerned about the faculty members’ perceptions of Frank but hopes they will be open-minded as Frank prepares to take the university’s top office.
“If there’s some reasons that faculty members – and I think they were very few in number – had objections, then let’s see what that’s all about and see if that can’t be worked through,” Gallegos said. “I certainly want him to get off on a good footing with faculty, with students and with staff, and I think he’s intending on doing that.”
Fortner said the “No. 1 candidate” was selected, in part, because of his strong connection to New Mexico. Fortner would not confirm Frank by name, but Frank is the only finalist with family ties to the state. He attended Mayfield High School in Las Cruces before studying at UNM.
In an interview with the Journal last month, Frank said he identifies himself as a New Mexican even though he’s lived out of state for decades.
“An important part in coming to the University of New Mexico is understanding the university culture, understanding the culture of New Mexico, the culture of Albuquerque and the culture of the communities that lie outside of Albuquerque,” Fortner said. “… And I believe the candidate who’s my No. 1 choice fits that bill.”
Bob Frank Is Likely Successor to SchmidlyJOURNAL FILEBob Frank, expected to be named today as the University of New Mexico’s new president, is shown here during an appearance on campus last month. Frank is the provost at Kent State University in Ohio and a UNM alumnus.See KENT STATE on PAGE A4Kent State Provost To Lead UNMfrom PAGE A1ADOLPHE PIERRE-LOUIS/JOURNALFrom left, Bob Frank, expected to become the 21st president of UNM, is shown here Tuesday with Regents President Jack Fortner and Frank’s wife, Janet Frank.”Some of the others were really qualified and really well-liked, but maybe just didn’t have that depth to bring to it that he does.”UNM REGENT GENE GALLEGOS
— This article appeared on page A1 of the Albuquerque Journal
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