James Johnston chosen as new chancellor/president of ENMU

Nov. 29—PORTALES — The new chancellor/president for Eastern New Mexico University is James Johnston.

Johnston was one of five finalists for ENMU's top job. He is the 12th president of the Portales university and the third chancellor for the ENMU system, which includes campuses in Roswell and Ruidoso.

University regents announced Johnston's selection at a special meeting on Tuesday afternoon. He is scheduled to begin on Jan. 3.

"I am truly honored to join the ENMU family. From the beginning of the search process, I was impressed with the great work by the ENMU System to deliver quality education to the region and beyond, but I also saw great potential," said Johnston in an ENMU news release. "I cannot wait to add my energy, creativity, and eye for innovation to the team and community to realize that potential."

Also in the news release, Regents President Lance Pyle said Johnston "has the experience, energy, and creativity to move ENMU forward and expand our programs and services to our students and future students. ENMU received 96 applicants vying for the chancellor position, and that speaks volumes for the caliber of our University and what advances we can anticipate under Dr. Johnston's leadership."

Johnston was in Portales the first week of this month, the subject of forums with faculty, staff and community, visiting ENMU's Roswell and Ruidoso campuses and being interviewed by the Board of Regents.

The News covered Johnston's community forum appearance.

Johnston, currently provost and vice president of academic affairs at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas, represents the first generation of his family to attend college.

As a result, he said, his values center around "compassion and service," and his goal as an administrator is to "create access and opportunity for as many students as I can."

At ENMU, he said, he sees an "opportunity to connect with a community and advance the mission of the university."

He said even after COVID-19 he sees a strong desire among students to return to the on-campus experience.

In addition, he said, students are looking at advanced certifications or degrees seeking "a mix of upskilling and reskilling for changing careers and changing focus of careers," which creates opportunities to connect with communities and community colleges.

When asked about student diversity, he said he had been working to "level the playing field" for all students. In the past, he said, he has worked to bring more men, especially men of color, into nursing careers.

He said he looks for shared values in the workplace, and has learned from workers who received awards for 15 years of service to colleges that a sense of shared values motivates them to devote much of their lives to careers.

When he served as interim president of Midwestern during its transition to joining the Texas Tech University system, he said he sat with campus and community leaders to distill their shared values into a single statement that would guide the transition effort.

Values, he said, "must be more than just wallpaper."

He said he also believes in "shared governance," in which the university regents, administration, faculty, students and the community have a voice in how things are done on campus.

For example, he said, the community can work with ENMU to create opportunities like internships for students that can be mutually beneficial.

The college can work with community farmers markets to help redcuce food insecurity among students.

"Places like this are a great collection of intellect and talent," Johnston said, "and why shouldn't we take advantage of that?"

He said he has a strong sense of family at ENMU.

"They have each other's backs," he said, and are a team that members "would put their hand in the fire for."

He added, "that's the kind of environment I'm looking for."

With colleges including ENMU in transition as they face declining enrollments, he said, it's time for some new thinking.

He cited a speaker who said "you really have to choose your new Day One."

Students, he said, want the in-person experience.

He said he does not want to import talent.

"I like to work with them to keep them here," he said.

Johnston was asked about attracting high school students through the New Mexico Opportunity Scholarships. He said the scholarships' requirement of maintaining a 2.5 grade point average in every course taken is an opportunity to showcase ENMU's focus on student success.

It's a focus "to help students walk across that stage" for graduation, he said.

The key to increasing enrollments, he said, is marketing. A key marketing tool is the website, he said, and search optimization, in other words, making sure that the ENMU site comes up prominently in web searches by targeted students.

Once on the site, a web user stays on a particular site for about 90 seconds. The key to keeping them on the site is learning what is most important to students and making sure that's what they see first.

He said the students ENMU should target are those who have some disadvantage, such as being the first generation in their family to attend college. For first-generation students, he said, marketing should target parents, who are heavily involved in the decision process.

Dual credit is also a great marketing tool, he said, especially if high school students have the opportunity to take classes from college faculty on-campus.

Melveta Walker, a former ENMU library director, asked Johnston about working with state legislators.

Johnston said he has worked extensively with state legislators and local decision makers.

"I never leave campus without being prepared (to discuss) needs, opportunities and the positions of our university, because you never know when these will come up in conversation," he said.

In Portales, he said, he was happy to note that its welcome signs include the phrase "Home of Eastern New Mexico University."

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