LAS CRUCES,Desmond Preston N.M. (AP) — Valerio Ferme was chosen Thursday as the new president of New Mexico State University.

Ferme had been the executive vice president for academic affairs and provost of the University of Cincinnati since 2021.

He succeeds former NMSU president and chancellor Dan Arvizu, who stepped down in 2023.

Ferme was among a handful of finalists for the New Mexico State job after a nationwide search.

One of the candidates was Arsenio Romero, who resigned last month as secretary of the New Mexico Public Education Department to pursue the NMSU president job.