Senate confirms Koch as UNM regent

SANTA FE (AP) - University of New Mexico Regent Jamie Koch was confirmed by the Senate on Monday to a second term despite opposition from UNM faculty.

Critics of Koch complained about a growing administrative payroll at UNM when there's been a decline in tenured faculty and an increasing student-faculty ratio.

"This administration needs to be reined in. Administrative costs need to come down," said Sen. Eric Griego, D-Albuquerque, who opposed Koch's confirmation.

The Senate voted 31-5 in favor of Koch serving a second six-year term.

Several faculty members testified against Koch during a hearing earlier Monday before the Senate Rules Committee.

UNM faculty last year approved a vote of no confidence in Koch, university President David Schmidly and another top school official. Faculty were upset about what they call a top-down management style and increasing salaries of top administrators.

Koch is a former state legislator and the president of an insurance business in Santa Fe. He has been a regent since 2003, when he was appointed by Gov. Bill Richardson. Koch is a former Democratic Party chairman and long-time political supporter of Richardson.

The seven-member regents serve as a governing and oversight board that sets policies and goals for the university. The school's president, who is hired by the regents, is responsible for day-to-day management.

Richardson appointed Koch to a second in late 2008, but the Senate didn't consider his confirmation last year.

At the committee's confirmation hearing, faculty members complained about growing political influences in the university's operation.

"In my most humble opinion, regents in this day and age are selected simply to pay back political favors for elected officials. In this case, the governor," said Loyola Otero Chastain, a former president of the UNM Staff Council. "This is a disappointment because it is a great disservice for a university as you may end with regents that do not know or understand the mission of a research university."

She said, "There was a time when regents were selected not for who they knew or who they helped get elected, but for what they knew."

Kevin Stevenson, a former UNM student body president, supported Koch, saying he had sought student opinion on university matters and "ushered in a new wave for opportunity of student engagement."

Koch told the committee he supported streamlining the university's administrative ranks and was willing to meet with faculty and others upset with the university's governance.

"I can be blunt on occasion but I am a fair man," said Koch.

Koch stepped down as president of the regents last year after Richardson met with UNM faculty leaders about their concerns and the vote of no confidence.

The Senate voted 33-2 to confirm J.E. "Gene" Gallegos, a Santa Fe lawyer, as a UNM regent and unanimously confirmed the appointment of Emily "Cate" Wisdom as a student regent.