Portales, NM – April 25, 2022 – The Eastern New Mexico University Board of Regents has approved a committee of faculty, staff, students, alumni and community members to assist with the nationwide search for the University’s next president/chancellor. Organizations across the ENMU System appointed representatives to serve on the Presidential Search Committee.

The regents plan to hire the University’s 12th president at the conclusion of the search, which should be sometime in the fall of 2022.

 “We are pleased with the strength and diversity of this advisory committee,” commented Board President Lance Pyle. “They know the University well, and they understand what ENMU seeks in its next best leader.”

The presidential search committee members include:

  • Elizabeth Acosta, Assistant Athletic Director, Student Success, Senior Woman Administrator, ENMU Athletics, ENMU-Portales
  • Mary Ayala, Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, ENMU-Portales
  • Stephanie Beinlich, President, ENMU Faculty Senate, Assistant Professor of Music, ENMU-Portales
  • Phillip Bustos, Vice President, ENMU Board of Regents, Search Committee Chair
  • John Crates, President, ENMU Professional Senate, Budget Analyst, ENMU-Portales
  • Todd DeKay, Executive Director, Institutional Effectiveness, ENMU-Roswell
  • Patricia Dobson, Chair, Department of Communication, Professor, Communication, Graduate Coordinator, Communication ENMU-Portales
  • Steve Doerr, President, ENMU Foundation
  • Alan Garrett, Professor, Secondary Education and Education Foundations, ENMU-Portales
  • David Hemley, Professor, Finance, College of Business, ENMU-Portales
  • Russell Johnson, President, ENMU Support Senate, Executive Assistant to System CIO, ENMU-Portales
  • Jamie Laurenz, Vice President, Academic Affairs, ENMU-Portales
  • Trish Maguire, President, ENMU Alumni Association Board of Directors
  • Stephen Miller, Professor/Director, Information Technology/Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, ENMU-Ruidoso
  • Oscar Robinson, City Councilor, Portales
  • Trish Ruiz, Member, ENMU Board of Regents
  • Tamia Smith, Student Body President, ENMU-Portales 
  • Suzanne Swift, Chair, Department of Health and Human Services, Professor, Communicative Disorders, Director and Coordinator, CDIS Graduate Program, ENMU-Portales

Executive search firm EFL Associates of Kansas City, Missouri, has been selected, pending a finalized contract agreement, to work with the search committee and the regents to identify and review candidates.

Chancellor and President Patrice Caldwell has been serving since spring 2020 and will continue in her current position until a new president is chosen.