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NMSU Board of Regents Closer to Selecting New Chancellor

Garrey Carruthers

New Mexico State University's Board of Regents is in the final stages of finding a replacement for current Chancellor Garrey Carruthers after the board did not extend his contract last year. Carruthers has said he plans to retire after his contract period ends on July 1.

To help with the process, the board approved a 19-member search committee in November made up of stakeholders within and outside of the university.  NMSU Regent and Committee Chair Mike Cheney said a large committee was necessary to help narrow down the pool of more than 100 applicants.

“We needed a big number and so the 19 people that came to bear had experience in agriculture, they had experience in engineering, they had experience as faculty members, staff members, living in New Mexico, living out of New Mexico, research and so on and so forth. So, depending on who you are as a search committee member, your expectations of what’s most important to New Mexico State is going to differ,” Cheney said.

Cheney said the committee valued candidates who know how to fulfill the university’s land-grant mission of teaching, research and public service.

"People with experience and the culture of New Mexico or land grant universities in other places would be valuable. People with leadership skills, people who can speak Spanish would be helpful. People with an appreciation for diversity and not only in the student population but at the faculty and administrative levels,” Cheney said.

Cheney said the committee has given its recommendations to the Board of Regents, which is scheduled to announce its top five finalists for the job in mid-April.

Michael Hernandez was a multimedia reporter for KRWG Public Media from late 2017 through early 2020. He continues to appear on KRWG-TV from time to time on our popular "EnviroMinute" segments, which feature conservation and citizen science issues in the region.