Privacy Worries Cancel New Mexico State U.’s Presidential Search

With no finalists left in the hopper, New Mexico State University’s governing board voted on Monday to terminate the search for a new president, the Associated Press reports.

A search committee had settled on five finalists. But state law requires that their identities be made public 21 days before a hiring decision. Four of the candidates pulled out because they did not want their names disclosed. The fifth was hired elsewhere.

The university had paid a search firm $90,000 to find a replacement for Michael V. Martin, who in May was named chancellor of Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge. The search yielded a list of 43 candidates, which was trimmed to five by the committee.

The disclosure requirement was adopted after a 1998 presidential search at the University of New Mexico resulted in a lawsuit and a canceled search, according to the AP. University officials said Waded Cruzado would continue in her role of interim president until a new search could begin.