Anderson School of Management (University of New Mexico) - History

History

The school was founded as the College of Business Administration in 1947 under Dean Robert Rehder. It has been accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) since 1975. UNM the third university to gain professional AACSB accreditation for both their bachelor's and master's degree programs management programs. In 1974, the school was named for Robert Orville Anderson, a New Mexico oilman and longtime CEO of the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO). The school was the first at a state college or university in New Mexico to be named in honor of a prominent citizen.

The school has grown from 15 tenured or tenure-track faculty members when it was established to 42 tenured or tenure-track faculty members today. The current dean is Douglas M. Brown, former New Mexico State Treasurer, President/CEO of Talbot Financial Services, principal of Brown and Brown Ventures, LLC, and former regent of the University of New Mexico.

Dr. Charles Crespy was named dean of the Anderson School in August 2004. During Crespy's tenure, professors were asked to teach additional classes to maintain a ratio of tenured faculty and undergraduate students in the classroom. The school was received a six-year extension of its accreditation for business administration and accounting from the AACSB and in December 2005. During the period, the school administration began a "mobile initiative" to encourage student computer use in classrooms, offering students discounts on laptop purchases, on-site service for some models, and free laptop checkout for students who could not afford their own computers. The school also began to provide high-speed wireless Internet access at the school.

In the summer 2006, faculty members held a no-confidence vote on Crespy, which narrowly passed with 23 of 42 voting faculty approving. Following this, the University initiated an audit looking into outside employment by faculty members. Some faculty felt that the audit was a result of the no-confidence vote and may have been a retaliatory tactic. Auditors focused on outside management consulting work exceeding policies established by the university. Auditors found that in 2006, three Anderson faculty members may have violated university policy regarding the number of days allowed for work outside the department, though calculations were based on the amount of money earned rather than on the number of extra work days reported. Auditors noted that all three faculty members had met or exceeded expectations on their previous performance evaluations and that all of the extra work appeared to have been satisfactorily completed. They also noted that all extra compensation had been approved by university management. The UNM Board of Regents subsequently approved a clarified policy on work outside the university. The new version keeps limits on outside work but gives faculty members greater freedom if the extra work they do is performed within the university, giving them the opportunity to earn more money. In February 2007, Crespy resigned as dean. \