Garnett Stokes Will Be the First Woman President of the University of New Mexico

Garnett S. Stokes has been chosen to be the 22nd president of the University of New Mexico. When she takes office on March 1, she will be the first woman president in the 128-year history of the university.

In accepting the position, Dr. Stokes said “I am honored to be selected as the University of New Mexico’s new president. I am enthusiastic about what we can accomplish together to benefit UNM’s faculty, staff, students, and alumni.”

The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque enrolls about 21,000 undergraduate students and nearly 6,000 graduate students. Women make up 56 percent of the undergraduate student body.

Since February 2015, Dr. Stokes has been serving as provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Before joining the administration at the University of Missouri she was provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Florida State University in Tallahassee. Earlier, Dr. Stokes was dean of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Georgia.

Dr. Stokes is a graduate of Carson-Newman University in Jefferson, Tennessee, where she majored in psychology. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology from the University of Georgia.