NMSU Board of Regents appoints new chancellor, president
New Mexico State University regents Friday announced the appointment of Dr. Dan Arvizu as the university’s new chancellor and the appointment of Dr. John Floros as the next university president.
“After much discussion, deliberation, thought (and) angst, the board concluded the institution will be best served by both a chancellor of the NMSU system and a separate president for the NMSU Las Cruces campus,” said Regent Chair Debra Hicks.
“Having gone to school here, it’s like coming home,” said Dr. Arvizu, the new chancellor. “More importantly, I think I see tremendous opportunities. Both John and I are very passionate about what this institution can be for the future, and we’re just looking forward to partnering with a lot of the community, the faculty, the students and the staff.”
Floros was not present for the announcement because he was attending commencement ceremonies at Kansas State University, where he is the dean of the agriculture department.
Salary negotiations are still underway for the two selections. Chancellor Garrey Carruthers made $385,000 for holding both roles.
Here is the pool of the five candidates the board considered for the positions:
New Mexico State engineering alumnus. Eighth director of the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Appointed by two successive U.S. presidents to serve six-year terms on the National Science Board. Degrees in mechanical engineering from New Mexico State and Stanford.
New Mexico’s secretary of higher education. Former UNM nursing associate professor. Worked on U.S. Senate Committee for Health, Education and Labor.
Dean of the college of agriculture at Kansas State University. Former head of food science department at Pennsylvania State University.
Missouri University of Science and Technology’s provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs. Previous engineering faculty member at Montana State University.
Former president and vice-chancellor of Lakehead University in Ontario, Canada. Former provost and vice-president academic at the University of Winnipeg.
On Thursday, outgoing Chancellor Garrey Carruthers reflected on his time as president of the university.
“You ought to do what you enjoy most,” Carruthers said. “When push came to shove, my real love was to be at New Mexico State University.”
