The University of New Mexico has reappointed Camille Carey as dean of its law school after months of some students, alumni and faculty calling for her removal.
The public concern — levied often in the form of open letters to and from UNM leadership — has largely revolved around admission standards, diversity in enrollment, faculty retention rates and student support at the law school. UNM Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Barbara Rodriguez announced the decision to renew Carey’s five-year contract Monday evening.
The only law school in the state, the Albuquerque school serves about 300 students with about 30 faculty members.
“The School of Law plays a vital role in preparing lawyers who serve communities throughout New Mexico. … I am committed to supporting Dean Carey in advancing the School’s priorities while working collaboratively with faculty, staff, students, alumni, and our legal community partners to build on the School’s strengths,” Rodriguez said in a statement.
Carey has served as dean since 2022. Her reappointment is effective July 1, 2027.
“We’re disappointed,” Sarah Gorman, a criminal defense attorney, UNM alum and president of the New Mexico Hispanic Bar Association, said in an interview. “This was not the outcome we wanted. We had hoped that the provost would take not only our concerns but the concerns of other community members, alum [and] legislators seriously and consider new leadership for the law school.”
Diversity and test scores
In a March letter, Gorman’s association critiqued what it said was a declining rate of UNM law attendees who are Hispanic or from New Mexico.
Faculty members of the UNM School of Law Admissions Committee pushed back in a June 28 open letter, wherein they wrote New Mexico residents make up 266 out of 296 of the school’s attendees including those who established residency after they enrolled. For the 2025 first-year class, the committee received 214 in-state applications, up from 167 the previous year, the letter states.
Over the past 15 years, in-state applicants peaked in 2011 at 345.
“We continue to admit New Mexico residents at a rate much higher than their representation in the applicant pool; we do this through the same holistic, mission-driven review that has always defined this school,” the letter reads.
Of those awarded law degrees during the 2024-25 school year, 43 UNM law graduates were white, and 42 were Hispanic of any race, according to an American Bar Association report. Three graduates were American Indian or Alaska Native; one was Asian; four were Black or African American and three were multiracial.
Some alumni have also criticized what they see as an unfair emphasis on LSAT scores in the admissions process.
“It seems that students with high LSAT scores now get preference,” immigration attorney and UNM alum Jessica Martínez wrote in a June op-ed in The New Mexican. “This shift doesn’t serve New Mexico. It serves rankings and a vision of excellence that measures students by standardized tests instead of the whole picture, including their background and commitment to communities that need them most.”
The UNM School of Law Admissions Committee has rebuked this idea, too. In the letter, members wrote they consider “the full range of who a person is: academic achievement, life experience, Tribal affiliation, commitment to public service, obstacles overcome, and the potential to contribute to the profession and the communities that need them.”
Gorman said the Hispanic Bar Association will continue to advocate for a transparent admissions process. The group also believes recruitment efforts should focus on New Mexico students, particularly those at smaller colleges or in rural areas.
“I would hope that the dean now understands that communication with the students and with the alum and with the New Mexico Hispanic Bar and other community members is important, and that she will be open to conversations,” Gorman said.
‘We love our school’
A February letter to the school, penned by the New Mexico chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, stated the organization had been contacted by numerous students and staff over alleged civil rights abuses.
The ACLU has recently represented at least two clients in cases against the school. One, which was settled last year, alleged a student was denied her due process rights during a “retaliatory” disciplinary investigation in the aftermath of her sexual assault report about another student.
Another alleged a student faced disciplinary proceedings after she publicly responded to an email about the slaying of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. That investigation was dismissed in February.
Leon Howard, the executive director of the ACLU of New Mexico, said in a statement the organization has expressed “serious concerns” about the treatment of UNM law students.
“We hope to see a path that rebuilds trust, protects students’ well-being, and ensures that the future of the legal profession in New Mexico reflects the diversity of our beautiful state,” Howard said. “Based on the concerns that have been raised, that path may be difficult to see right now, but it must remain the priority.”
More than a dozen law student groups issued an open letter in March urging UNM leadership not to renew Carey’s contract. Professor emerita Margaret Montoya sent another on June 17.
Gorman hopes these actions sent a message, regardless of Carey’s reappointment.
“We love our school and we want to see it thrive and we want to see our students thrive, and we have felt that that hasn’t been happening,” Gorman said.
