Last week, the University of New Mexico seven-member governing board announced five finalists, all holding higher education administration positions outside of the state, to succeed outgoing UNM President Garnett Stokes. Stokes, who has held the position since 2018, will retire in July 2026.
UNM is New Mexico’s largest university, with a budget of $4.6 billion, nearly 24,000 students attending school at the main campus and another 4,000-plus attending four branch campuses around the state.
Students and university staff are invited to attend public forums during campus visits by the five finalists:
Purdue University Vice President for Health Affairs Eric L. Barker; University of California Irvine Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs Steven Goldstein; University of North Dakota Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Eric Link; University System of Georgia Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer Ashwani Monga; and University of California Riverside Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Elizabeth “Liz” Watkins.
Each finalist will take questions from the audience in the forums, held in the ballrooms at the Student Union Building on main campus through mid-May. Participants can fill out questions and participate virtually or in-person.
The first candidate, Watkins, appeared on Monday. The next forum will be held on April 21, and the three remaining candidate forums are scheduled for May 11-13.
The Board of Regents will make a selection after the conclusion of the campus visits, anticipating naming a replacement later in May.
UNM is the third university undergoing a leadership transition this year, as New Mexico Tech announced the hiring of its new president last week. Western New Mexico University, another of the state’s public universities, also recently hired a new president, more than a year after its former president resigned and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham replaced its board of regents.
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