EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — New Mexico State University (NMSU) welcomed its new president, Dr. Valerio Ferme, on Thursday evening, Dec. 5, in a meet and greet at the university’s Art Museum.
Ferme spoke on what would be his priority when he officially steps into the role of president in January.
“So top of mind, really, with regards to the university itself, is student success. I’m a firm believer that we need to do a better job for the state as a land grant institution to graduate our students. With regards to community building, it is certainly to participate in the opportunities that are given to me, sit in the chamber, do things where I am communicating with the mayor, finding out ways in which we can collaborate moving forward,” Ferme said.
NMSU has been under interim leadership for over a year since former Chancellor Dan Arvizo stepped down in the spring of 2023, and without a university president since 2022 when John Floros resigned.
Both Arvizo and Floros began their tenures at NMSU in 2018, serving as the top leaders in the university. Neither of them finished out their 5-year contract after a slew of controversies and intense scrutiny that plagued the university.
Ferme spoke on how he intends to change that and establish continuity throughout his tenure.
“The most important thing with regards to stability is having a long-term vision. And I do think I bring a long-term vision. I think we sometimes lose sight of what the mission of this university is as a land grant and as a representation of the state. And in order to do that, you need a long-term plan, because it’s not going to change in two days,” said Ferme. “We need to be a team, a culture of team ship needs to be at the basis of what we do moving forward. And you build teams slowly, and eventually, you get the right people on the team to work together in the same direction.”
Ferme was selected out of a national pool of candidates and four finalists.
His last stop was serving as chief academic officer for the University of Cincinnati.
When asked about how he believes NMSU could improve its recruitment of students locally and abroad, Ferme said there are opportunities to better leverage the university’s extension team to promote that NMSU’s research has “very practical approaches.”
“It’s really important to work with the community, so students can actually learn in the classroom, but then apply their learning into other communities and at the same time gain tangible monetary benefits that keep them enrolled. And at the same time, they figure out where they want to work,” Ferme said.
Ferme said they could use that same approach to continue to attract students from the neighboring city of El Paso which has formed a large part of their student body throughout years past.
“If we start thinking about who our alumni are there (El Paso), how do we connect with them, how do we create that? If (NMSU) becomes a magnet for that kind of learning (practical research) for many many fields, like engineering, agriculture, the STEM fields, and I’m not discounting the humanities, the social sciences, because I think there’s really a big need for many of those health professions. If we can do that better, I think we will slowly build a reputation for being a place to prepare students for life after university,” Ferme said.
Chair of NMSU’s Board of Regents, Ammu Devasthali, said this is one of several meets and greets they will be hosting for Dr. Ferme so that he gets better acquainted with the community.
“We will be including different sections of our community. The business community, people who support athletics, people who are at the front of the public schools, for instance, and in different parts of the community so that everybody will have a chance to meet the new president and get to have a little bit of a connection with the new president,” Devasthali said.
As Dr. Ferme steps into his role in 2025, Devasthali said they will be working closely together to form their vision for the university through their strategic plan “Leads 2025.”
“We know that we are going to have to re-revamp that (Leads), maybe change it, tweak it. There are different things that would need to be done, and he will articulate his vision along with everybody, all of the stakeholders at the university, he will get together with everybody and they will come to a mutual decision on what are the priorities for this university moving forward,” Devasthali said.
Read: Read More