NMSU announces five finalists in presidential search
Feb. 2—New Mexico State University's board of regents on Friday announced five finalists in the institution's search for a new president, including top university officials from Utah, Texas, New Hampshire, Illinois and Maine.
NMSU's presidential search — an endeavor board of regents Chairwoman Ammu Devasthali called "one of the most important processes that our institution undertakes" — will continue with campus visits by each candidate and opportunities for input from the Aggie community.
The chosen candidate will replace former NMSU Chancellor Dan Arvizu, who announced over a year ago he would not seek to extend his contract, which expired in June. Former NMSU President Jay Gogue has served as interim chancellor since April.
"We look forward to getting to know each of the candidates and learning how they fit our vision for the next leader of the NMSU system," Devasthali said during the meeting Friday.
The candidates for New Mexico State's next president are:
* Michael Galyean, a professor in the Department of Veterinary Sciences at Texas Tech University.
* Wayne Jones Jr., provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of New Hampshire.
* Austin Lane, chancellor of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.
* John Volin, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of Maine.
* Richard Williams, former president of Utah Tech University.
Two of the candidates are Aggies themselves: Galyean received his bachelor's degree in agriculture from NMSU — and returned as a professor from 1977 to 1996 — while Williams earned his doctorate in curriculum and instruction from the university, according to their résumés.
Several of the candidates have backgrounds in the sciences, consistent with New Mexico State's history as a college of agriculture.
Volin spent a decade as head of the University of Connecticut's Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, conducting research on invasive species and habitat restoration around the world. Jones is an inorganic chemist with more than a decade of experience leading university departments in chemistry, engineering and physical sciences. Galyean has been a professor in animal and food sciences for decades, most recently researching beef cattle nutrition and management.
Lane and Williams, meanwhile, have more traditional backgrounds in university administration.
Lane holds a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Alabama, where he completed his dissertation in scholarship aid and support for African American and Hispanic students at large public and rural colleges.
Williams had led Utah Tech University since 2014, expanding the campus' diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and guiding it through a controversial name change from Dixie State University.
As the search for NMSU's next president continues, Devasthali said the board of regents will update university stakeholders.
Members of the Aggies community will be able to learn more about the candidates, provide feedback and view schedules of campus visits through the institution's presidential search website at nmsu.edu/president-search.
