Joe Kee named UNM-Gallup interim dean of instruction

Joe Kee’s move into UNM-Gallup’s top academic post could shape what students see this fall in classrooms, advising offices and workforce pathways across McKinley County. The longtime Navajo language and government professor was named interim dean of instruction on June 18, effective July 1, as the campus enters a broader leadership shift. At a branch campus that serves many Native students and adult learners close to home, the change carries real stakes for course access, transfer programs and day-to-day continuity.

As interim dean of instruction, Kee will take on the campus’s chief academic role. UNM-Gallup says the dean is a member of the Executive Team and works closely with faculty leaders to strengthen academic programs and support faculty professional activities, a job that reaches into faculty development, student success and the operational health of instruction. For students choosing whether to stay in Gallup for college or commute elsewhere, that leadership affects how smoothly classes run and how well the campus can meet local demand.

The appointment comes as UNM-Gallup prepares for two more changes at the top. Chancellor Sabrina Ezzell said she will retire June 30 after nearly four years in the role, and John Zimmerman will become interim chancellor on July 1. A competitive search for a permanent chancellor is set to begin during the fall 2026 semester. Zimmerman, who has served as dean of instruction since July 1, 2023, said Kee had years of administrative experience and broad support from the campus community.

Kee arrives in the job with deep ties to the campus and to the region it serves. UNM-Gallup has profiled him as an associate professor of Navajo language and government and a former division chair, work that has included teaching on Navajo language, Navajo government, history and community-based language preservation. In a 2022 campus feature, Kee said about 175 Native languages are still spoken in North America and stressed the importance of daily use and community involvement in keeping Diné bizaad alive.

That perspective matters at UNM-Gallup, which describes itself as a bridge between ambition and achievement for a diverse population that includes students from the Navajo Nation and Pueblo of Zuni. Kee, who a 2026 Diversity Summit program identified as originally from Steamboat, Arizona, said he looks forward to working with colleagues, students, the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and the Gallup community. For families across Gallup and the rest of McKinley County, the question now is whether the leadership transition keeps the campus steady while it prepares for the next academic year.