Flagstaffsooner
2/20/2007, 12:42 PM
OSU to start president search
Regents will meet Wednesday, may set timeline and criteria for seeking successor.
By Susan Simpson
Staff Writer
STILLWATER OSU-A&M Regents will meet Wednesday to start the search for a new Oklahoma State University president.
The OSU-A&M Board of Regents may set a timeline and criteria for selecting a replacement for David Schmidly, who was named Saturday to lead the University of New Mexico. They'll meet at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the OSU Student Union.
Details of Schmidly's new contract, including his start date, were being worked on this week, said UNM spokeswoman Susan McKinsey.
Schmidly, who owns a home in New Mexico, will succeed Louis Caldera, who resigned last year. Schmidly was one of five finalists considered for the post.
In a letter to the University of New Mexico, Schmidly said he would start no later than June 1, and will conduct a "listening tour with meetings on all UNM campuses.
"Let's now have the commitment, the energy and the drive to make UNM America's flagship university for minorities and women, a place of signature research and scholarship, whose degrees are respected in every part of the world, whose graduates stand tall in every walk of life, he wrote.
Schmidly was named president and chief executive of the 32,000-student OSU system in November 2002. Before that, he served as president at Texas Tech University.
University of New Mexico regents pointed to Schmidly's track record of improving retention and graduation rates, and fundraising in naming him to UNM's top post.
"This is our opportunity to select a sitting president from a major university, said UNM Regent Jack Fortner. "There will be no need for on-the-job training. Dr. Schmidly will step right in.
The largest single donation given to a public university in Oklahoma $70 million from OSU alum and Texas billionaire Boone Pickens in 2003 came under Schmidly's watch. Pickens subsequently increased his donation to $165 million.
At OSU, Schmidly, 63, had annual compensation of $407,870, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. Of that, $276,117 is salary, $75,000 is deferred compensation, $31,753 is retirement pay and $25,000 is for a vehicle.
"David Schmidly has been very good for OSU, said OSU Regent Doug Burns, who praised Schmidly's work in developing an expansion plan for the university.
But that same plan has caused ill feelings with many in the community. Dozens of homes near the university were bought and razed under threat of eminent domain so that the land could be used to create a $316 million athletic village.
"There's probably not a lot of lost love with him going, said Tom Phillips, an entomology professor who leads the OSU Faculty Senate. Based in Albuquerque, the University of New Mexico, with a budget of $1.68 billion, serves 33,000 students systemwide.
May I suggest....
http://growabrain.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/alfred_e_newman_1.jpg
He would be a good fit.
Regents will meet Wednesday, may set timeline and criteria for seeking successor.
By Susan Simpson
Staff Writer
STILLWATER OSU-A&M Regents will meet Wednesday to start the search for a new Oklahoma State University president.
The OSU-A&M Board of Regents may set a timeline and criteria for selecting a replacement for David Schmidly, who was named Saturday to lead the University of New Mexico. They'll meet at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the OSU Student Union.
Details of Schmidly's new contract, including his start date, were being worked on this week, said UNM spokeswoman Susan McKinsey.
Schmidly, who owns a home in New Mexico, will succeed Louis Caldera, who resigned last year. Schmidly was one of five finalists considered for the post.
In a letter to the University of New Mexico, Schmidly said he would start no later than June 1, and will conduct a "listening tour with meetings on all UNM campuses.
"Let's now have the commitment, the energy and the drive to make UNM America's flagship university for minorities and women, a place of signature research and scholarship, whose degrees are respected in every part of the world, whose graduates stand tall in every walk of life, he wrote.
Schmidly was named president and chief executive of the 32,000-student OSU system in November 2002. Before that, he served as president at Texas Tech University.
University of New Mexico regents pointed to Schmidly's track record of improving retention and graduation rates, and fundraising in naming him to UNM's top post.
"This is our opportunity to select a sitting president from a major university, said UNM Regent Jack Fortner. "There will be no need for on-the-job training. Dr. Schmidly will step right in.
The largest single donation given to a public university in Oklahoma $70 million from OSU alum and Texas billionaire Boone Pickens in 2003 came under Schmidly's watch. Pickens subsequently increased his donation to $165 million.
At OSU, Schmidly, 63, had annual compensation of $407,870, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. Of that, $276,117 is salary, $75,000 is deferred compensation, $31,753 is retirement pay and $25,000 is for a vehicle.
"David Schmidly has been very good for OSU, said OSU Regent Doug Burns, who praised Schmidly's work in developing an expansion plan for the university.
But that same plan has caused ill feelings with many in the community. Dozens of homes near the university were bought and razed under threat of eminent domain so that the land could be used to create a $316 million athletic village.
"There's probably not a lot of lost love with him going, said Tom Phillips, an entomology professor who leads the OSU Faculty Senate. Based in Albuquerque, the University of New Mexico, with a budget of $1.68 billion, serves 33,000 students systemwide.
May I suggest....
http://growabrain.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/alfred_e_newman_1.jpg
He would be a good fit.