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The University of New Mexico announced the five finalists to be its next president following a national search. The new president will start before the beginning of next school year and will replace President Garnett Stokes, who will retire after eight years in July.

The finalists are:

• Eric L. Barker, vice president for health affairs at Purdue University

• Dr. Steven Goldstein, vice chancellor for health affairs at the University of California, Irvine

• Eric Link, provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of North Dakota

• Ashwani Monga, executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer, University System of Georgia

• Elizabeth “Liz” Watkins, provost and executive vice chancellor, University of California, Riverside

The candidates have a range of experience leading health sciences programs and large state universities. 

Barker has spent the last 28 years at Purdue working in leadership and as a professor of medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology, UNM officials said. He was responsible for overseeing all health and life science programs at the university in Indiana, said a 2024 .

Barker was a finalist for provost at the University of Arizona in March 2025. At a forum for candidates at the Tucson campus, he  of a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion amid a rapidly changing federal landscape.

Goldstein has led the College of Health Sciences at UC Irvine in California since 2019. He holds an M.D. and a Ph.D. in immunology from Harvard University and is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, according to a university news release.

At UCI, Goldstein oversaw the creation and growth of various health sciences programs. UNM has similar expansions planned — the university intends to double the size of its medical school in the coming years. 

Link — a two-time Fulbright scholar — has a background in literature and has served as provost at UND in Grand Forks, North Dakota, since 2021. He came to North Dakota from the University of Houston-Downtown, where he served as provost. Link is the author of four books.

Monga leads academic affairs for 26 public universities at the University System of Georgia, where he led efforts to improve career-ready competencies. He is a tenured marketing professor at Georgia Tech and served for one year as the interim president at the University of West Georgia.

Watkins has a background in health education — she held leadership roles at the University of California, San Francisco, the UC system’s health sciences campus, before becoming provost at UC Riverside, a Hispanic-serving institution. Watkins has authored multiple books on the histories of birth control and hormone replacement therapies.

The finalists will visit campus in the coming weeks for open forums with students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members in Ballroom C of the Student Union Building.

The Board of Regents will make a final decision after the campus visits are complete, according to UNM spokesperson Ben Cloutier.

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