Gerald May: His time to support Engineering’s evolution to greatness

His story

Gerald May and his wife Mary Joyce arrived at UNM as a young couple in 1967, where, with eyes wide open, he joined the faculty as an assistant professor of civil engineering. The campus was just 6,000 students, but he had a sense that great things were going to happen.

“I saw a lot of potential here,” he said.

Born in Kenya (his parents were missionaries), he grew up in a farm in Illinois, earning his bachelor’s in civil engineering from Bradley University in 1962, then his master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Colorado at Boulder. At UNM, he rose quickly through the ranks, from a professor to associate dean to dean of engineering for six years, then as 14th president of UNM, from 1986 to 1990.

Having served a variety of roles in academia — including the top role at UNM — May said his favorite job was inside the classroom.

“The most rewarding role was teaching, especially undergraduate teaching,” he said. “I was always refreshed working with students.”

His passion for teaching and education undoubtedly impacted his priorities in administration. He continuously fought for more money for faculty, and as dean, oversaw the construction of two new buildings — the Mechanical Engineering Building in 1981 and the Electrical Engineering Building in 1986. Among his legacies as president, he implemented the Regents’ Scholarship, which provides UNM students a full-ride education.

May said during his years at UNM, he witnessed a quiet, incremental growth, not just in numbers of students and faculty, but in prestige.

“Engineering has grown in sophistication, with the quality of faculty and research,” he said. “It wasn’t a revolutionary change, but an evolutionary change.”

He notes that that growth and evolution has happened even though resources in New Mexico have always been limited, especially when compared to peer institutions.

“I have been impressed that both the School of Engineering and the civil engineering department have been able to build such high-quality programs on a modest economy.”

He said that change has been bolstered by the School’s much greater connection to industry and involvement in technology transfer.

“We have a much larger mission and are much more complex than we used to be,” he said.

How he is giving back

May has chosen to fund the Dr. Gerald and Mary Joyce May Civil Engineering Excellence Endowed Fund, which will be used, at the discretion of the department chair, to provide a wide range of support to the department, including lab equipment, student fellowships, faculty recruitment and retention, academic initiatives, and promotion and advancement of the department.

He points out that as resources from the state have been declining, the School of Engineering has been increasing its involvement in research, which generates income.

“We are very much an economic hub.”

But in order to maintain the quality of faculty and resources to ensure that success, support is still needed, which is why he is motivated to give back.

“UNM provided me a wonderful, fulfilling career,” he said. “I’m happy to be here, and I see wonderful things in the future. It’s important to provide support that otherwise wouldn’t be there.”