LOCAL COLUMN
OPINION: UNM Law School needs new leader
As leaders in New Mexico鈥檚 legal and nonprofit communities, we believe our institutions must reflect the communities they serve. The University of New Mexico School of Law, as our state鈥檚 only law school, has a sacred obligation: to educate lawyers who will serve New Mexico's diverse families, tribes and neighborhoods. That obligation is being abandoned.
Today, we urge UNM Provost Barbara Rodriguez, the board of regents and incoming President Steve Goldstein not to renew Dean Camille Carey's contract. After four years as the UNM Law dean, the evidence is clear: Under Carey, UNM Law has drifted from its mission and our communities are paying the price.
New Mexico is home to 23 federally recognized tribes. Our state is majority Hispanic and people of color. Our communities face urgent legal challenges 鈥� from water rights to immigration to criminal justice reform 鈥� that demand lawyers who understand our lived experiences.
Yet the numbers tell a troubling story. Only 216 New Mexicans applied to UNM Law this year, down from approximately 600 applications from state residents in previous years. Where did those applicants go, and why? With only 310 students enrolled across three classes, UNM Law is not admitting New Mexico residents at a level proportional to the applicant pool.
Traditionally only 12% of admissions for each class of students were not residents of New Mexico. Now one-third of the class for the first year Class of 2026 and Class of 2027 are nonresidents. Our state's only law school is turning away its own people.
Of the roughly 300 total students at UNM Law, only 10-14 students identify as Native American. Northern New Mexico Chicanos also remain largely absent from the student body. When our pueblos, tribal nations and rural communities cannot see themselves in our law school, we lose the lawyers who would return home to serve.
Proactive faculty members are leaving. Under Carey's tenure, seven full-time faculty members have departed UNM Law, including those teaching American Bar Association-required courses essential to accreditation and bar passage. Only three full-time faculty members are Native American at a school that used to be a national leader in Indian law.
This instability and underrepresentation matters. When faculty leave, students lose mentors. When courses shift, bar passage rates suffer. When institutional knowledge is forced out the door, everyone pays the price.
We are not alone in calling for change. UNM Law faculty have repeatedly voiced their concerns. The New Mexico Hispanic Bar Association wrote a letter voicing concern as to the state of admissions at the law school and urging that Carey鈥檚 contract not be renewed. The ACLU of New Mexico, the UNM Graduate & Professional Student Association and 14 UNM Law student organizations have all spoken out against Carey as well.
When students, faculty and community organizations unite around a concern, shouldn鈥檛 leadership listen?
UNM Law School can be a beacon of justice and opportunity for New Mexico. But that requires leadership that understands this mission is not optional 鈥� it is existential.
To UNM leadership, you have a decision to make. Will you renew a contract that has overseen declining New Mexico enrollment, faculty instability and student voice suppression? Or will you choose leadership that will recommit UNM Law to serving New Mexico as it is meant to?
Our communities are watching.
It is time to choose leadership that values, invests in and serves our people.
Sarah Gorman is president of the New Mexico Hispanic Bar Association and a 2005 University of New Mexico Law School graduate. Ahtza Chavez is executive director of NM Native Vote and Naeva, a UNM Law MSL alum, and a citizen of Din茅 and Kewa Pueblo.
