New Mexico Council of Graduate Deans

The New Mexico Council of Graduate Deans (NMCGD) is a collaborative assembly of graduate deans from various higher education institutions across New Mexico. The council’s primary function is to review new graduate program applications in New Mexico for program quality, readiness to offer the curriculum, and overall fit within the State of New Mexico. The NMCGD enhances the quality and accessibility of graduate education within the state through this process and by overseeing general policies related to graduate study in New Mexico. By fostering inter-institutional cooperation, the NMCGD addresses common challenges, shares best practices, and advocates for policies that support graduate students and programs. The council convenes meetings as needed, typically organized by the chair through the dean of graduate studies at each member’s campus.

The NMCGD also includes two ex-officio members from the New Mexico Higher Education Department (NMHED) who offer the perspective of state government on all graduate education matters, as well as information about the degree approval process through the New Mexico Higher Education Advisory Committee (NMHEAC), the NMHED Cabinet Secretary, and the New Mexico Board of Finance.

Through their collective efforts, strengthen graduate education statewide, ensuring that programs are responsive to the evolving needs of students and the broader academic and professional communities.

The current members of the NMCGD include:

Dr. Ian Williamson, NMCGD President, New Mexico Highlands University
Dr. Aly El Osery, NMCGD Vice-President, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Dr. Ranjit Koodali, Member, New Mexico State University
Dr. Maria Lane, Member, University of New Mexico
Dr. John Montgomery, Member, Eastern New Mexico University
Dr. Patricia West-Okiri, Member, Western New Mexico University
Mark Chisholm, Ex-Officio Member, New Mexico Higher Education Department
Jodi Weber, Ex-Officio Member, New Mexico Higher Education Department

NMCGD Members

Dr. Ian Williamson, NMHU - President

Ian Williamson, Ph.D., has served as the associate vice president of academic affairs, for New Mexico Highlands University since 2018 and the graduate dean since 2019. His primary work either involves creating collaborative teams to win grants, managing those grants, or proposing new Highlands graduate programs to the State of New Mexico and the Higher Learning Commission. Before becoming an administrator, he worked for fourteen years as a psychology faculty member whose primary research interests converged around interpersonal forgiveness. Williamson received his B. A. from Macalester College in psychology and Spanish, and his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

i williamson@nmhu.edu

Dr. Aly El Osery, NMT - Vice President

Aly El-Osery, Ph.D., has served as the Dean of Graduate Studies at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology since 2019. He is a tenured Professor in the Electrical Engineering department and has been at the university since 2002. He served as the Department Chair of the Electrical Engineering Department from 2015 to 2019. As the Dean of Graduate Studies, his work focuses on improving the quality of life for graduate students, support them in successfully completing their degrees at the institution, help grow graduate enrollment, and help initiate new graduate programs. Additionally, he is still active in both teaching and research in the areas of inertial navigation and RF based aiding sensors, electronic warfare, navwar, multi-agents robotics, wireless communications, control systems, sensor networks and soft computing. He has over 65 journal, book chapters, and conference publications in these areas.

aly.elosery@nmt.edu

Dr. Ranjit Koodali, NMSU - Member

Ranjit T. Koodali, Ph.D. serves as the Dean of the Graduate School and Associate Provost for International Affairs at New Mexico State University. He is in-charge of administration of all graduate programs, including admissions, enrollment management, and degree certification. Additionally, he is responsible for matters pertaining to immigration support of international student and exchange visitors. Koodali is a trained physical chemist with research interest in nanoscience and nanotechnology. Koodali obtained his Bachelors from Loyola College Chennai, and Master’s and Ph.D. from Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai.

rkoodali@nmsu.edu

Dr. Maria Lane, UNM - Member

Dr. Maria Lane has serves as the Dean of Graduate Studies at the University of New Mexico since 2023. She arrived at UNM in 2006, joining the faculty of the Department of Geography & Environmental Studies and serving since then in leadership roles including GES Department Chair, GES Director of Graduate Programs, Chair of the Faculty Senate Task Force on General Education, and founding director of the R.H. Mallory Center for Community Geography. Lane received her bachelor’s degree at the University of Virginia in Latin American Studies, her master’s degree at the University of Texas at Austin in community and regional planning, and her PhD in Geography, also from UT-Austin. She is a past editor of the Journal of Historical Geography and current convenor of the Standing Committee of the International Conference of Historical Geographers.

mdlane@unm.edu

Dr. John Montgomery, ENMU - Member

montgomery@enmu.edu

Dr. Patricia West-Okiri, WNMU - Member

Dr. Patti West-Okiri, LCSW, EdD currently serves as the Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dean of the College of Professional Studies, and Graduate Division Director at Western New Mexico University. She also leads WNMU’s Academic Advising, Adult Education Services, and Community and Workforce Development. She joined WNMU in 2012 and has served as faculty within the School of Social Work, BSW Program Director, and Associate Dean of the School of Social Work. Prior to that, she worked in public education as a Level II School Social Worker. She is past president of NASW-NM, current president of the New Mexico Social Work Workforce Consortium, and an appointee to the New Mexico Governor’s Commission on Disability. She received her first bachelor’s degree at NMSU in Journalism and Mass Communications, her BSW and MSW at WNMU, and received her EdD in Higher Education Leadership at Wilmington University.

Patricia.West@wnmu.edu

Mark Chisholm, Director of Academic Affairs & Policy Division, NMHED - Ex Officio Member

Academic Affairs and Policy Director

New Mexico Higher Education Department

I’ve been in this position for five years. Previously I worked as the Director of Institutional Research at the University of New Mexico. I’ve also worked at the Colorado Higher Education Department and for the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS). All but Dissertation in Research and Evaluation Methodology at the University of Colorado – Boulder. MS in Computer Science, University of Colorado – Boulder and BS in Mathematics, Michigan State University

mark.chisholm@hed.nm.gov

Dr. Jody Weber, Education, NMHED - Ex Officio Member

Dr. Jody Weber received a Ph.D. in Dance History from Boston University in 2005. She is the author of The Evolution of Aesthetic and Expressive Dance in Boston connecting early female dance pioneers to the women’s movement in Boston. Currently, she is working on a new research project on the advent of dance is early physical education programs for women. She enjoyed many years as a tenured full professor and Chairperson of the Dance Department at Bridgewater State University. Dr. Weber was also an active artist with a professional nationally touring company for over 25 years connecting science and artistic expression. She was a selected speaker on the intersection of dance and science at MIT and the Broad Institute in Cambridge Massachusetts and the subject of an independent film about her work. Dr. Weber has recently settled here in the beautiful southwest and joined the NMHED as an Education Administrator.

jody.weber@hed.nm.gov