University of New Mexico Professor and Dean of Graduate Studies Julie Coonrod has been named interim dean for the Anderson School of Management. Coonrod begins her appointment on Jan. 1, 2023, and will serve until the next permanent dean takes the helm.

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Julie Coonrod

An Albuquerque native with a civil engineering background, Coonrod has been with UNM for 26 years, has been graduate dean for 10 years, and has consistently worked successfully with faculties across UNM as well as with the upper administration and external stakeholders. She is an active and strong voice on the Dean’s Council and with the Office of Academic Affairs. This semester she is on special assignment as an ACE Fellow working in the president’s office at the University of Maryland College Park.   

“Dean Coonrod is an exceptional academic leader and I have great confidence in her ability to support the Anderson School during the transition to the next dean,” said UNM Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, James Holloway.

“I'm looking forward to working with the faculty, staff, students and friends of Anderson while the search for a permanent dean takes place,” said Coonrod. “The School of Management has so many ties to the local community. As a long-time New Mexican, it will be an honor to serve the University in this role.”

Current Anderson Dean Mitzi Montoya is slated to become senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. She will begin her new position Jan. 3, 2023.

“This was a very difficult decision for me because I believe deeply in the great work we are doing here at Anderson and in the community,” said Montoya. “At the same time, the Provost position at the University of Utah is an exciting opportunity for me to continue making a difference in my leadership journey in higher education.” 

“The Anderson School of Management has been moved in positive directions under [Dean Montoya’s] leadership, and all UNM has benefited from her positive energy and her challenging of the status quo. I look forward to working with her as a fellow provost at a school that is as important to Utah as UNM is to New Mexico,” added Holloway.

Holloway is forming the search committee to launch a national search for a new permanent dean for Anderson. Recommendations for members of the search advisory committee can be sent to provost@unm.edu