DAILY LOBO new mexico
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thursday November 8, 2012
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
Obama’s margins smaller than in ‘08
THE FORCE IS STRONG WITH THIS ONE
by John Tyczkowski news@dailylobo.com
Adria Malcolm / Daily Lobo / @adriamalcolm David Munck shows off his lightsaber, “the imperial claw,” outside Mitchell Hall. Munck said he’s a versatile fighter who can use one or two sabers at a time. See full story on Page 8.
This year’s Electoral College looks almost identical to the 2008 Electoral College that propelled Barack Obama to victory for his first term. The only difference between the Electoral College maps was that Indiana and North Carolina went for the GOP in 2012 but for the Democrats in 2008. This year, all Nebraska’s electoral votes were awarded to the GOP candidate with none of the district splitting that occurred four years ago. The Congressional District system, or split district system, present in both Nebraska and Maine, awards electoral votes proportionally, based on which candidate wins a majority of votes in a particular congressional district, rather than the system in place in the rest of the country. The Electoral College is a system in which American citizens vote for electors, who in turn pledge to cast their
see Voting PAGE 3
Profs go to administration school Librarian records lives Too few instructors qualified to work as administrators by Zuzanna Kajzer news@dailylobo.com
UNM Provost Chaouki Abdallah had little administrative experience when he took over as provost last year. Abdallah’s experience of moving from chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department to provost inspired the creation of the Academic Leadership Academy. The program aims to equip faculty members with the skills necessary to climb the administrative ladder. Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Michael Dougher said Abdallah knows just how challenging a move from professor to administrator can be. “He had the same situation — one day he was a professor, the next one he was a chair,” Dougher said, referring to Abdallah. “He didn’t have any experience in the upper administration. He saw how difficult this transition can be if you don’t have any experience.” Abdallah was unavailable for comment. The program aims to remedy a shortage of
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employees qualified for administrative positions. The provost’s chief of staff Melissa Vargas said the program, which is open to full-time faculty members, will act as a training system. The deadline for applications was Oct. 31, and the provost’s office will select four applicants to participate. She said the program received about 10 applicants who will be screened and selected by a committee composed of members from the offices involved in the program. “We are trying to train the next generation of the academic leaders,” she said. Vargas, who will administer the project, said participants will spend one to two years working in as many as four executive offices, where they will learn upper administrative decisionmaking skills and decide whether they are interested in administrative positions. She said participants can work in the provost’s office, the president’s office, the vice president for administration’s office and the vice president for research office, depending on their interests. Program participants who reduce their course loads to make time for training will not
receive pay cuts because they will be compensated in the form of Special Administrative Components. According to the terms of the ALA application, program participants will be eligible for the SACs, which are additional pay added to their base salary. Vargas said each of the four fellowships will cost the provost’s office about $30,000. She said resources for each professor’s department, such as a replacement for the professor, will be provided if necessary. “We don’t want to harm the department,” she said. “We just want to give them a glimpse to what’s going on in the administration.” Vargas said that because the provost is responsible for working with multiple offices, boards and committees across campus, a reliable and experienced staff is necessary. Dougher said UNM has a rich talent pool in its faculty and that internal promotion is ideal. “We have a lot of talent on this campus, we try to identify that talent, cultivate that talent and put that talent to use in the administration,” he said. “New Mexico is unique so there is a real value in working with our people.”
of American Indians by Antonio Sanchez news@dailylobo.com
Mary Alice Tsosie looks to add a long-unwritten chapter to UNM’s history — one interview at a time. Tsosie is the program manager of UNM University Libraries and is composing the “Native American Oral History Project.” The project will include recorded interviews with past and current American Indian professors, faculty members and alumni. Tsosie’s project began in January when she noticed a lack of information available about American Indians who have attended the University. Tsosie said her project helps give a tangible historical record to those whose history has gone undocumented. “I think everybody wants their history recorded and written down. Everybody has a perspective, UNM has a perspective, the Native Americans have a perspective,” Tsosie said. “I think everybody wants their viewpoint to be acknowledged, to know that we exist, to know that we went through UNM. If we don’t have that recording, who’s going to do it?” Tsosie has interviewed 14 participants so far, with a wish list of future interviewees that includes faculty members who used to be students. She said that while she wants to hear from a wide range of subjects, she also wants to focus on specific periods of history. Tsosie said she would like to interview students who studied throughout the protests in the 1950s, as well as focusing on the
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past directors of UNM’s Native American Studies department. This is the first compiled history of its kind at UNM. In that light, Tsosie said she feels inspired to share the stories of past students and faculty members who often did what they could to pave a path for the current generation of American Indian students and faculty members here today. “I’m very proud of these Native Americans who have gone through and had a connection with UNM in some way, who have worked here for a long time,” she said. “And that dedication, their want to really make a difference for Native Americans and how they want to go beyond what’s expected so they could make a pathway for Native Americans to succeed and achieve and graduate, to go on, that’s one thing I think is not seen.” Tsosie enlisted assistant professor Lloyd Lee’s help on the project. Lee is in charge of historical research to provide context to Tsosie for future interviews. Lee said he is trying to decide how to compose Tsosie’s interviews in such a way that future historians could contribute and add to the work after it’s published. He said his work is one contribution among the many that ensure that history remains properly archived. “Personally, I think it’s about making sure the legacy of Native students and Native people who have come to the University that they’re documented, written down to their experience here, and I’m just helping that process,” Lee said.
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