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There’s a new interim dean at the University of New Mexico’s Anderson School of Management.
On Tuesday, UNM announced that Julie Coonrod will fill in as interim dean until a full-time replacement is hired. Coonrod will replace outgoing Anderson Dean Mitzi Montoya, who is leaving in January to the University of Utah. Coonrod has been with UNM for more than two decades, most recently serving as the dean for Graduate Studies and as a professor in the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, according to UNM. This semester she has been working in the president’s office at the University of Maryland College Park as a fellow with the American Council on Education.
Coonrod received a Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Texas in 1998. She previously received a master’s degree in civil engineering from UNM in 1991 and a bachelor’s degree in the same field from Vanderbilt University four years prior.
“Dean Coonrod is an exceptional academic leader and I have great confidence in her ability to support the Anderson School during the transition to the next dean,” UNM Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs James Holloway said in a statement.
When Montoya announced her departure earlier this month, Holloway said UNM would search for a full-time replacement for the fall 2023 semester, with the interim dean filling in for the spring 2023 semester.
He reiterated Tuesday that the university is forming a committee to launch a national search for a permanent replacement, adding that recommendations for the committee are still being accepted. Coonrod will begin in her new position Jan. 1 and Montoya – who has served as dean since 2020 – will begin in her new role with the University of Utah as a provost and senior vice president for academic affairs on Jan. 3.
“I’m looking forward to working with the faculty, staff, students and friends of Anderson while the search for a permanent dean takes place,” Coonrod said in a statement. “The (Anderson) School of Management has so many ties to the local community. As a long-time New Mexican, it will be an honor to serve the University in this role.”
