Dr. Peter White, Cabinet Secretary

Department of Higher Education

Dr. White has been at the University of New Mexico since 1977. In addition to his many years in the classroom, he has served as Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (2006-2008) and Dean University College (2000-2008).

During his leadership tenure, Dr. White helped raise freshman enrollment to the highest in UNM history and the university set a freshman retention record. He established and expanded programs that fostered recruitment and retention, including Freshman Learning Communities, and has been instrumental in securing funds to support these efforts. In 2006, he was honored as Outstanding Student Advocate by the Center for the First-Year Experience.

Dr. White created the first major in Native American Studies at UNM. He also established the Research Service Learning Program and organized the first Undergraduate UNM Research and Creativity Symposium.

Before moving to the New Mexico Higher Education Department Dr. White was the Director of the New Mexico Musical Heritage Project in which he taught violin making. In addition, he is an award winning author, co-authoring titles such as "The Lore of New Mexico" and "Solving Problems in Technical Writing."

Dr. White earned a Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University in 1976, his Master of Arts from Bowling Green State University in 1971 and a bachelor's degree from St. Bonaventure University in 1969.