Saturday, June 13, 2009

Post Too Good To Pass Up, VP Says

By Rosalie Rayburn
Journal Staff Writer
          UNM's vice president for Rio Rancho operations says his move to Arizona is an opportunity he couldn't turn down.
        UNM announced this week that Marc Nigliazzo has resigned to take an appointment as president of Arizona Western College in Yuma.
        The University of New Mexico hired Nigliazzo about a year ago to be its vice president for Rio Rancho Operations and Branch Academic Affairs with responsibility for the Rio Rancho campus under construction in the city's new downtown. His last day will be June 30.
        Nigliazzo stressed that his decision did not indicate any change in UNM's commitment to opening its Rio Rancho campus next year.
        "It was a personal choice — an opportunity I couldn't miss," Nigliazzo said.
        He came to New Mexico from a job as president of a community college in Temple, Texas.
        Nigliazzo said he enjoyed his experience in getting the Rio Rancho campus off the ground but missed being involved in daily operations.
        When a consultant asked him a few months ago if he would consider looking at Arizona Western College, Nigliazzo said he was not interested initially. After another request by the consultant, he agreed to take a look and was impressed by what he saw.
        Offered the job, Nigliazzo said he "did a good bit of soul searching and decided to accept it."
        UNM President David Schmidly has appointed Beth Miller to serve as acting executive director for the Rio Rancho campus. Miller has been serving as special assistant to Nigliazzo.
        UNM spokeswoman Susan McKinney said UNM has not yet announced plans for a search to fill Nigliazzo's position.
        UNM broke ground on the first building for its Rio Rancho campus in February. The building is slated to open for operations in January 2010.
       

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