New Mexico State University chancellor named to Biden-Harris transition team

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — New Mexico State University Chancellor Dan Arvizu has been chosen as part of the transition team for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

Arvizu was approached to help the U.S. Department of Energy in the upcoming transition from the outgoing Trump administration to the Biden administration, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported. He is also expected to review the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

“Please know this is strictly a volunteer position and not associated with my employment here at NMSU. I am doing this work on my own time,” Arvizu said in his most recent university system-wide email, Dan's Dispatch.

The transition team announced the members of the agency review teams in a statement.

“The agency review teams will proceed by meeting with former agency officials and experts who closely follow federal agencies, and with officials from think tanks, labor groups, trade associations, and other NGOs (non-governmental organizations)," the statement read.

Before Arvizu became chancellor in June 2018, he worked in the energy field at Bell Laboratories, now known as Nokia Bell Labs, and Sandia National Laboratories. Arvizu also served as director of the Department of Energy's Renewable Energy Laboratory from January 2005 until his retirement in 2015.

He will be joined on the transition team by at least three other people who worked for the state of New Mexico.