Finalists for NMSU President search to visit campus

The New Mexico State University Board of Regents announced that the five finalists vying for the open president position will be on campus next week.

In a message to faculty, staff and students on Tuesday, the Board of Regents announced each finalists will participate in public forums, including evening sessions designed to allow members of the campus community and the public to hear from candidates directly about what they would bring to NMSU.

The University also announced the Board of Regents will hold a closed meeting from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sept. 9 to interview finalists.  In Tuesday’s message, Regents Chair Ammu Devasthali emphasized that anyone is welcome to participate in any of the forums, and questions are not limited to topics specific to those audiences. Participants can also livestream and participate in the forum remotely via Zoom. Additional details about the schedule are online at nmsu.edu/president-search/candidate-forums.html .

More: New Mexico State University names finalists for president post. Who are they?

Who are the five finalists?

• Valerio Ferme, Ph.D., executive vice president for Academic Affairs and provost at University of Cincinnati. In his current role, Ferme manages a $1.2 billion budget, is chief academic officer and provost for 12 main campus colleges. Ferme has a Ph.D. in comparative literature from California-Berkely and a master's degree from Indiana. He has been a dean of the arts at Cincinnati, Northern Arizona and Colorado-Boulder.
• Brian Haynes, Ph.D., vice chancellor for Student Affairs at University of California, Riverside. In his current role, Haynes is responsible for managing a budget of $75 million and leading a staff of more than 450. He has been in his current role since 2018. According to his biography, Haynes helped develop strategies to recruit a diverse student population, resulting in a record number of applications in 2023, and managed the design, finance, and construction of facilities totaling $1 billion.
• Monica Lounsbery, Ph.D., dean of College of Health and Human Services at California State University, Long Beach. Lounsbery has been in her current position since 2016. She also currently sits on the California State strategic planning council for education and research in biotechnology and is president of the National Academy of Kinesiology. She has oversight of a $50 million budget, 159 tenured/tenure track faculty, 72 full-time lecturers, 400 part-time faculty. She holds a Ph.D. and a master's degree from Nebraska-Omaha and a bachelor's degree from Dakota Wesleyan.
• Neil MacKinnon, Ph.D., School of Public Health professor, immediate past executive vice president for Academic Affairs and provost at Augusta University. MacKinnon is a first-generation university graduate and immigrant to the United States. He graduated from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada. MacKinnon has been at his current post since 2021, which is Georgia’s fastest growing research or comprehensive university with a 11.9% increase in enrollment year-over-year to 10,546 students.
• Arsenio Romero Ph.D., New Mexico Secretary of Public Education. Romero was appointed by New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in 2023, where he is responsible for a $5.2 billion budget. He was a NMSU Board of Regents vice chair from 2020 to 2022. Romero experience in education from across New Mexico, including roles as superintendent in Los Lunas Schools, superintendent at Deming Schools and as principal in Las Cruces Public Schools.

Candidate visit schedule

Each finalist will participate in a forum for faculty and staff, students and the community throughout the week.

Members of the campus community and the public can share feedback with the board through an online feedback form found on the presidential search website , or by sending an email to regents@nmsu.edu . Arsenio Romero, Monday, Sept. 9

• Faculty and Staff Forum: 10 a.m. to 10:50 a.m., Corbett Center Auditorium
• Student Forum: 1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m., Corbett Center Auditorium.
• Community Forum: 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., Las Cruces Convention Center

Brian Haynes, Tuesday, Sept. 10

• Faculty and Staff Forum: 10 .a.m. to 10:50 a.m., Corbett Center Auditorium
• Student Forum: 1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m., Corbett Center Auditorium
• Community Forum: 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., Las Cruces Convention Center

Neil MacKinnon, Wednesday, Sept. 11

• Faculty and Staff Forum: 10 a.m. to 10:50 a.m., Corbett Center Auditorium.
• Student Forum: 1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m., Corbett Center Auditorium.
• Community Forum: 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., Las Cruces Convention Center.

Monica Lounsbery, Thursday, Sept. 12

• Faculty and Staff Forum: 10 a.m. to 10:50 a.m., Corbett Center - Ballroom West
• Student Forum: 1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m., Corbett Center - Ballroom West
• Community Forum: 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., Las Cruces Convention Center

Valerio Ferme, Friday, Sept. 13

• Faculty and Staff Forum: 10 a.m. to 10:50 a.m., Corbett Center Auditorium
• Student Forum: 1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m., Corbett Center - Doña Ana Room
• Community Forum: 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., Las Cruces Convention Center

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Finalists for NMSU President search to visit campus