By KRWG News
Las Cruces – New Mexico Gov.-elect Susana Martinez has nominated a professor from New Mexico State University to head the Higher Education Department.
Martinez on Thursday described Jose Z. Garcia as a talented educator who will help her streamline the state's higher education system.
She says Garcia will be charged with ensuring that New Mexico universities and colleges provide students with all they need to be competitive here and abroad.
Garcia has been a professor at NMSU since 1975 and served as the director of the NMSU Center for Latin American and Border Studies from 1991 to 2003.
He holds a bachelor's degree from Occidental College, a master's degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a doctorate in political science from the University of New Mexico.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.