University of New Mexico President Bob Frank is delaying a plan to unify email addresses among departments on campus.
“After carefully considering these concerns, it has become apparent to me that an effort meant to unify our campus has instead had the opposite effect, growing into something that risks moving us further apart,” Frank said in an email sent to everyone with a university email address late Wednesday night.
“As such, I have decided not to move forward with the transition at this time.”
Currently, the main campus uses the email format “name@unm.edu,” while Health Sciences Center employees and students use the format “name@salud.unm.edu.” Other UNM programs, such as the UNM law school, also have domains that differentiate them.
Frank’s plan called for moving to one domain name. He had previously said that a single email address is important for the university’s recent branding efforts.
HSC employees had been adamantly opposed to the change. They said the change would cause confusion and is another sign of UNM arbitrarily making changes that involve HSC without seeking feedback.
Dr. Corey Ford, who organized a petition drive, said that nearly 500 people joined the protest.
Ford said Thursday that he and others were happy with Frank’s decision.
“I think the bottom line is the president listened, finally, and he heard us and made a decision reflecting the strong sentiment people had about salud,” he said.
In his email, Frank requested that the @unm domain be used for new faculty, staff and students when they join the university.
