David Schmidly
President, UNM – Ex-Officio

David Schmidly was installed as the 20th president of the University of New Mexico on October 7, 2007. President Schmidly brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to UNM having led Oklahoma State University as its system CEO and president from 2002 to 2007. In addition to his work at OSU, he was previously the president of Texas Tech University after having served as vice president for research, graduate studies, and technology transfer, and as dean of the graduate school. He also spent 25 years at Texas A&M University, including five years as CEO of the Galveston campus and six years as head of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences. President Schmidly is an internationally respected researcher and scientific author and has been inducted into the Texas Hall of Fame for Science, Mathematics, and Technology, which recognizes individuals who have played a major role in significant scientific accomplishments. As a noted scientific naturalist, he has authored nine natural history and conservation books about mammals and more than 100 scientific articles.  President Schmidly earned a doctorate in zoology from the University of Illinois, following a bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas Tech.