MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 14, 2008

(11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.)

Members Present: Mozella Garcia (Chair), Viola Fuentes (Vice Chair), Anthony Casaus (Treasurer), Eduardo Arellano (Secretary), Carlos Posadas (Executive Committee Member At-Large), Dulcinea Lara (Executive Committee Member At-Large), Antonio Lara, Nellie Quezada-Aragon, Delia Valles, Maria Mariani, Lucy Camacho, Diana Quintana, Karim Martinez, Karen Villaverde, Bertha Cordova, and Ida Baca.

Guest: Laura Conniff, NMSU Regent

I. Welcome: Dr. Mozella Garcia welcomed everyone to the meeting and recognized Ms. Laura Conniff, NMSU Board of Regents’ Member.

II. Round Table Introductions: Members and Guest introduced themselves.

III. Approval of Minutes: Dr. Viola Fuentes moved to accept the minutes of July, September, and October 2008. Ms. Nellie Quezada-Aragon seconded the motion and the motion carried.

IV. Treasurer’s Report: Mr. Anthony Casaus gave the treasurer’s report and explained why the

budget was not up to date which is that a new account was created and that funds from the old account need to be transferred. Ms. Quintana asked how the scholarship fund was reported in the treasurer’s report. Mr. Casaus responded that the fund is managed by the Chicano Programs Office and is separate from the treasurer’s report.

V. Committee Chair Reports

A. Scholarship: Dr. Posadas reported that the Danny Villanueva Scholarship was awarded to Adam Hernan. He also reported that the Narcisa Zarate Scholarship will be awarded in the spring 2009.

B. HSI Latino Summit: Dr. Lara reported that the summit committee met yesterday (November 13, 2008). Seven members were in attendance. The committee set a tentative date of March 17, 2009 for the summit. The committee discussed whether the summit should last half a day or a full day. The committee will meet again the Thursday after Thanksgiving. The committee is attempting to contact the director of HSIs to come to the summit.

VI. Regent Laura Conniff

Ms. Conniff mentioned that to her NMSU being an HSI is more than a federal designation or category. What is more important is whether NMSU is doing a good job of serving Hispanic students in terms of access, comfort, and retention. She stated that NMSU is serving without compromising excellence. Ms. Conniff mentioned that NMSU is the only land-grant institution that is also an HSI, meaning that NMSU serves the whole state of New Mexico. She stated that numbers do matter, that in terms of recruitment, NMSU should reflect the population of the state of New Mexico.

Dr. Garcia asked Ms. Conniff whether she believed that NMSU’s faculty should reflect New Mexico’s populations. Ms. Conniff mentioned that the number of Hispanics in higher education are not great, which makes a representative faculty challenging. Dr. Dulcinea Lara mentioned that NMSU does a poor job of recruiting Hispanic students and that the climate of support for Hispanic students is poor.

Ms. Conniff’s perception is that retention is improving; she claimed that NMSU’s retention rate is the highest in New Mexico. Ms. Conniff urged the membership to provide suggestions on how to address retention. She also stated that the board of regents has tried to make retention a priority. In terms of faculty, she feels that it is difficult to attract faculty due to competition of other institutions.

Dr. Dulcinea Lara shared that she had joined an outreach effort and found it be disorganized and lacked representation from other colleges other than the College of Arts and Sciences. She suggested more support for outreach efforts. Ms. Delia Valles talked about the efforts of the Engineering College and how it needs more support. Dr. Mariani mentioned that retaining minority students is challenging and that any support would be appreciated.

Dr. Dulcinea Lara mentioned that a problem is the transition into college, which is adjusting to college. She claimed that the biggest drop out rate is with Chicano students. Ms. Conniff mentioned that some “barrier” courses have been identified.

Dr. Dulcinea Lara mentioned that subject matter is not the major issue and that summer programs are insufficient. Dr. Fuentes has found that freshmen do not go to class.

Dr. Garcia mentioned that a recommendation has been to the Governor’s office to allow part-time students to be eligible for the lottery scholarship. Ms. Conniff urged the caucus to organize and have ideas for programs or to lobby the state legislature to help with retention. Dr. Fuentes mentioned that because there are so few Hispanic faculty, Hispanic students come to Hispanic faculty and it should not be that way. She felt that the board of regents should support alternative ways of teaching, learning, and assessment.

Ms. Conniff mentioned that that area is difficult for the board to venture in, but the board has been promoting learning communities. Ms. Conniff stated that that board does advocate for diversity, but reiterated that there are not a lot of Hispanics in higher education and so we may need to “grow our own”.

Ms. Valles mentioned participating in a workshop about involving undergraduate students in the research of faculty, yet a lot of faculty resisted the idea. Dr. Posadas agreed that NMSU does not value working with undergraduate students. Ms. Conniff responded that what Dr. Posadas was describing is true of all higher education.

Ms. Conniff addressed the presidential search. She mentioned that it was challenging. She mentioned that the board hires the president and the secretary of agriculture. Ms. Conniff explained the process. The search firm provides a list of candidates. The search committee narrows the candidates’ list, references are called, and the list is pared down more. Off-site interviews are conducted and the list is pared down even more. According to New Mexico law, the five finalists have to publicly say that they are candidates. However, sitting presidents and provosts do not like that provision. She mentioned that the board of regents will be asking the legislature to change this law. However, Dr. Conniff stated that she cannot talk about the current search.

Dr. Dulcinea Lara asked how the search committee was selected. Ms. Conniff stated that there was a call for committee members and that 40% were Hispanics. Dr. Fuentes asked whether the search committee shares one finalist or a list to the board of regents. Ms. Conniff responded that a ranked list is provided. The board then selects a candidate.

Dr. Fuentes stated that the regents should select someone who will address issues that have been discussed in today’s meeting. Ms. Conniff stated that the board does have that kind of influence with selecting the president. Ms. Baca stated that she did not think that the board should have the flexibility to only one candidate will compromise community input. Ms. Conniff stated that having five finalists makes it difficult and that the search committee is very involved. Mr. Casaus asked who selects the search chair. Ms. Conniff responded that the chair of the board does. Ms. Conniff reported that the board of regents will meet on Monday and may announce the five finalists then. Dr. Dulcinea Lara mentioned that she has seen Dr. Cruzado in many events and that she understands HSIs, and has appreciated the Monday Morning Memos. Dr. Fuentes asked whether the board is strategizing to address inequity in pay between UNM and NMSU. Ms. Conniff mentioned that the board lobbies constantly on this issue. Dr. Garcia asked about increasing tuition at the community colleges. Ms. Conniff was not aware of this issue.

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