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The last of five candidates vying to be the 24th president of the University of New Mexico visited campus Wednesday with promises to bring a locally driven leadership approach to the state鈥檚 flagship university.

Eric Link came to UNM from Grand Forks, North Dakota, where he is the provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of North Dakota.

Link previously served as provost at the University of Houston Downtown and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Purdue University Fort Wayne. His background is in English and American literature.

Link told the crowd at UNM on Wednesday that he was suited to serve the school鈥檚 diverse student body because of his experience at UND 鈥� North Dakota鈥檚 largest research university with a high population of low-income students 鈥� and at UHD 鈥� a minority- and Hispanic-serving institution in Texas.

鈥淭he stakes are not low for institutions like the University of New Mexico or the University of North Dakota,鈥� Link said. 鈥淲e are the flagship R1 institutions of our states, and we have statewide responsibilities and opportunities.鈥�

Link 鈥� not to be confused with Lobo football special teams Erik Link 鈥� has a bachelor鈥檚 degree in communications from Evangel University, a private Christian college in Missouri, a master鈥檚 in English from Southwest Missouri State University and a Ph.D. in American literature from Purdue. He is a two-time Fulbright scholar.

If selected as the president of UNM, Link said his plan would involve improving UNM鈥檚 lower-than-average graduation rates and increasing the university鈥檚 national visibility through alumni engagement and student and faculty recognition.

UNM should serve the state of New Mexico as a leading agent in solving some of the country鈥檚 most challenging problems, Link said 鈥� healthcare shortages, sustainability, water, energy, national security and cultural knowledge.

鈥淲hat distinguishes UNM is fundamentally tied to the institution's respect for and love of New Mexico and New Mexicans, the place and the people,鈥� he said.

When asked by an audience member about his thoughts on academic freedom, Link said it was 鈥渁 core value of the work that we do.鈥�

鈥淥ur ability to defend, advocate for and sustain academic freedom is absolutely integral,鈥� he said.

Gender and women鈥檚 studies professor Sarah Davis-Secord has attended almost every presidential candidate's visit, asking each finalist this question. Davis-Secord told the Journal in an email she doesn鈥檛 consider academic freedom a matter of partisan politics, but rather the 鈥渃ore mission鈥� of a university to support and defend free speech and intellectual inquiry.

鈥淓very day we read about another university in the U.S. that has restricted the freedom of speech of its students or faculty, and I consider it imperative that UNM not follow that path,鈥� she said.

When asked about his experiences serving diverse populations, including a heavily Indigenous student body, Link said he had formed 鈥渓ongstanding, meaningful鈥� relationships with tribal governments while at UND.

鈥淲e are very, very sensitive to the needs and the concerns and the cultural understandings of Indigenous peoples in North Dakota, and it's a central part of the work that we do,鈥� he said.

As provost at UHD and later at UND, Link said he had worked with school leadership to conduct market analyses to make sure faculty and staff 鈥渉ad an opportunity to be compensated fairly.鈥�

Link said he worked with the Legislature in North Dakota to negotiate more than $1 million to be distributed to university employees 鈥渢o bring everybody up to a livable standard.鈥�

The graduate students at UND are not represented by a union, Link said, so he has not negotiated directly with them, but he has worked in 鈥渦nionized environments鈥� and believes in 鈥渟hared governance.鈥�

鈥淢y entire career, I have been an advocate for quality of life and for work-life balance,鈥� he said.

The other four finalists vying for the presidency are Eric Barker, vice president for health affairs at Purdue University; Ashwani Monga, executive vice chancellor at the University System of Georgia; Dr. Steve Goldstein, vice chancellor for health affairs at the University of California, Irvine; and Liz Watkins, provost at the University of California, Riverside.

The new president will succeed President Garnett Stokes, who will retire this summer after eight years at UNM.

The Board of Regents will convene in a closed session Friday morning, and an announcement is expected in the coming days.

Natalie Robbins covers education for the Journal. You can reach her at nrobbins@abqjournal.com.