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UNM selects Kent State provost as new president

Robert G. Frank speaks Wednesday Dec. 4, 2012 at a University of New Mexico press conference in Albuquerque, N.M., Kent State Provost, Frank promised to listen to faculty concerns and work on diversifying the faculty. The UNM Board of Regent voted unanimously Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012 to select Frank as the school's next president to replace outgoing UNM President David Schmidly. (AP Photo/Russell Contreras)

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By RUSSELL CONTRERAS, The Associated Press Updated 3:36 PM Wednesday, January 4, 2012

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The provost for Ohio's Kent State University was named Wednesday as the University of New Mexico's new president.

The UNM Board of Regents voted unanimously to select UNM graduate Robert G. Frank as the school's 21st president over four other finalists after a brief special meeting. The selection comes after a six-month search and concerns over rising salaries for New Mexico college presidents.

The 59-year-old will replace outgoing UNM president David Schmidly, who took over in 2007 and announced in April that he would step down.

"It's a very thrilling moment for me personally," said Frank, after being introduced as the new president with his wife. "Janet and I are happy to be back in the arms of the Lobos."

Frank, an administrator who oversaw improved retention rates at Kent State where he also served as senior vice president for academic affairs, was an NCAA All-American swimmer as a student. He earned his bachelor's, master's and doctor's degrees from UNM. Frank attended high school in Las Cruces.

He called the decision to leave Kent State "heartbreaking" but said he was proud of his accomplishments there as provost. He recently announced plans to resign his position by next summer to seek a college presidency.

That school's president, Lester A. Lefton, complimented Frank on his tenure as provost. "The University of New Mexico is fortunate to have Dr. Frank and we wish him well," he said in a statement.

Under his leadership at Kent State, Frank improved the school's freshmen retention rates by more than 6 percent and increased the number of international students from 450 to 1,800. The retention rate for UNM freshmen is around 74 percent, the lowest for the school in 10 years.

But Frank also clashed with Kent State faculty over faculty rankings and "experience-based learning" programs such as internships for students. Those public fights prompted some UNM faculty members last month to openly "reject" Frank as one of the finalists for president because of his relationship with faculty.

UNM anthropology professor Lawrence Straus told the Albuquerque Journal that Frank was an "unacceptable" choice since he was known for bullying the faculty members.

Asked about the faculty reaction, Frank said he intended to listen to all concerns from faculty and would seek to gather their input. He also promised to improve diversity among faculty.

Before naming Frank as president, the regents said that the new president will likely receive a smaller compensation package to cut cost. Schmidly earns close to $600,000 in salary and various allowances.

Frank said he will earn around $355,000 and live in university housing. "He suggested that he should be paid less," said Jack Fortner, president of the University of New Mexico Board of Regents.

Ralph Arellanes, state director of the New Mexico League of United Latin American Citizens and a member of the UNM presidential search committee, said he was pleased with the selection.

Arellanes and other Latino activists had been pushing for former Texas A&M president Elsa Murano, a Cuban American, as the next UNM president. But Arellanes said he was impressed with Frank's commitment to diversify the faculty and recruit Latino students.

"He can identify with our community quite well," said Arellanes. "He has deep ties to New Mexico, so we are excited."

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January 04, 2012 08:30 PM EST

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