David J. Schmidly
Encyclopedia
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
on October 7, 2007.
On April 22, 2011, Schmidly announced his decision to retire as UNM's President at the end of his five year contract in 2012.
Previously, Schmidly served as CEO and 17th president of the Oklahoma State University System (2002–2007). Before coming to OSU, he was the President of Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the...
, where he also served as Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School.
A native of Levelland, Texas
Levelland, Texas
Levelland is a city in Hockley County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 13,542. It is the county seat of Hockley County. It is located on the Llano Estacado, west of Lubbock. Major industries include cotton farming and petroleum production...
and an accomplished zoologist
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
, he earned his B.S.
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
and M.S.
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
in zoology at Texas Tech University, where he was a member of the Sigma Nu
Sigma Nu
Sigma Nu is an undergraduate, college fraternity with chapters in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Sigma Nu was founded in 1869 by three cadets at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia...
fraternity, and his Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
. He has been inducted into the Texas Hall of Fame for Science, Mathematics and Technology and has a species of deer mouse named for him, Peromyscus schmidlyi
Peromyscus schmidlyi
Schmidly's deermouse, Peromyscus schmidlyi, is a recently described species of deer mouse from the mountains of western Mexico. It is part of the highly complex and well-studied Peromyscus boylii species complex. The uniqueness of Peromyscus from this area had long been suspected, but was only...
.
Controversies
Schmidly was criticized while at OSU for his decision to use eminent domainEminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
to raze a low-income neighborhood in Stillwater
Stillwater, Oklahoma
Stillwater is a city in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. 177 and State Highway 51. It is the county seat of Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 45,688. Stillwater is the principal city of the Stillwater Micropolitan Statistical...
to build a new athletic village using a gift of $165 million from Boone Pickens. For some in the OSU community, the emphasis that Schmidly placed on athletics far outweighed his concern about academics.
The Oklahoma State University Faculty Senate called for Schmidly's resignation over the size of severance packages offered to former staffers from Texas Tech that Schmidly had hired at OSU.
One of Schmidly's first acts as president of the University of New Mexico was to halt an official investigation into complaints of a hostile learning environment in the University's English Department. The investigation involved Associate Professor Lisa D. Chavez, who had been moonlighting as a phone sex worker on various bondage and sadomasochism websites with current and former graduate students. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, Schmidly authorized the use of an outside attorney, who was tasked with investigating Chavez's complaints against faculty members she accused of discrimination and slander.
At UNM, accusations of cronyism arose within the first 18 months, when he hired long-time friend, John Stropp, a senior executive at the Texas A&M Foundation, with a compensation package of $325,000. According to the Albuquerque Journal
Albuquerque Journal
-History:Its earliest predecessor, the Albuquerque Daily Journal, was first published on October 14, 1880. The newspaper is owned by the Journal Publishing Company, a family-owned business headed by president/publisher T.H. Lang; it is operated by the Albuquerque Publishing Company...
, Schmidly acknowledged he has known Stropp for years but said he wasn't hired because of their friendship, saying "This is not a crony hire." On January 31, 2009, the Albuquerque Journal reported that at least 233 of the approximately 1,800 eligible university faculty had signed a petition of no confidence in President Schmidly's leadership.
Also at UNM, on October 25, 2011, Schmidly denied the renewal of a permit for (un)Occupy Albuquerque, a protest movement in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street, which had been encamped at Yale Park since October 1. The protesters were subsequently forced out of the park by UNM Police, the Albuquerque Police Department, and New Mexico State Police during the night of October 25, resulting in dozens of arrests as some protesters refused to leave, citing their First Amendment right to "peaceably assemble". Other arrests were made as hundreds of protesters were forced into Central Avenue, which bounds Yale Park on the south. UNM students were among the arrested individuals. At least one UNM student left the University in response to Schmidly's action, citing the denial of First Amendment rights, and several other students, including Sebastian Pais, engaged in a hunger strike to demand that Schmidly allow the protesters to return. Schmidly has also been criticized for closing Yale Park to the public, and ordering UNM Police to arrest any protesters or students who violated the closure. Relenting to pressure from supporters on campus and in the community, including multiple UNM faculty members, on October 26, Schmidly's office issued a new, modified permit which will allow the protesters to return to Yale Park during strictly defined periods.