NMSU names new provost

Alan R. Shoho, dean and professor emeritus of the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), has been named New Mexico State University’s new provost and chief academic officer (CAO) following a national search, NMSU Chancellor Dan Arvizu announced Feb. 20. Shoho begins his new role April 17.

 “Dr. Shoho has tremendous experience both as an administrator and as a researcher in the fields of education and social justice,” Arvizu said. “His vision for NMSU aligns with the progress we’ve made toward the goals outlined in our LEADS 2025 strategic plan, and I am sure he is the best fit to help elevate our research and social mobility initiatives.”

 “The search committee for the provost and CAO did its due diligence, and worked very hard and in a very professional, cordial and dedicated manner. We are delighted that the hard work ended with the hiring of Dr. Alan Shoho. We stand ready to work with Dr. Shoho and assist him during the transition,” said Rolando A. Flores Galarza, dean and chief administrative officer for the NMSU College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences and chair of the provost search committee.

Before serving as dean at the UWM for five years, Shoho was associate vice provost for academic and faculty support at the University of Texas at San Antonio for two years. He started his academic career as an assistant professor in the University of Portland’s School of Education in 1991. Previously, he worked as a high school math teacher in Hawaii after working as an electrical engineer for Hughes Aircraft Company and Rockwell International. Shoho’s father, a Korean War veteran who grew up on the island of Kauai in Hawaii as the seventh of 11 children, earned a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois using the G.I. Bill.

 “I have personally experienced how families are transformed with the opportunities created through access to higher education,” Shoho said. “Had he not been able to attend and earn his degree in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, my life would likely have been very different. Consequently, I am very passionate about providing students with the same opportunities.”

Shoho said he was interested in becoming NMSU’s provost because of its status as a Hispanic-serving institution and a land-grant university, and because of the university’s mission to improve student success and advance equity, inclusion and diversity.

“Improving student success is critical to NMSU’s future, and similarly equity, inclusion and diversity is integral to creating a healthy culture, where NMSU can re-achieve its R1 status and address grand challenges like racism and generational poverty, and borderland, environmental, health and social issues, to improve the quality of life for all New Mexicans and beyond,” Shoho said.