As Vice President for Research, Creativity and Economic Development, Cifuentes endeavors to grow research and creative activity programs, to enable faculty, scholar, researcher, and student success, to provide steadfast stewardship of sponsor funds, to promote research compliance, to translate learning, discovery, and outreach to economic development, and to help communicate the value of NMSU research to all stakeholders. Cifuentes is a professor of geology whose research interests include estuarine oceanography, stable isotope geochemistry, and sustainability. He previously served the Texas A&M University System for over 29 years, including 14 years of administrative service. At Texas A&M  University-Corpus Christi where he served as Vice President for Research, Commercialization and Outreach, Cifuentes led the effort to bring one of six FAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems test sites to Texas, the Lone Star UAS Center of Excellence and Innovation.

As Associate Vice President for Research Administration, Giron supports the research, creativity and economic development missions of the New Mexico State University system by overseeing central research development, pre-award and non-financial post-award administration, and research integrity and compliance. Research Administration staff are responsible for the final approval and submission of all externally-sponsored grant and contract proposals, negotiation and execution of agreement terms and conditions, coordination of research involving human subjects and animals, and biosafety and export control research considerations. Giron promotes significant engagement with state and federal initiatives through existing professional affiliations and new endeavors benefiting the competitive posture of NMSU's vast research portfolio. She is a graduate of NMSU having earned a Bachelor of Social Work and a Master of Arts in Government. Giron began her career at NMSU as a Grants & Contracts Administrator.

Assistant Vice President for Research Tanner Schaub leads the Infrastructure and Partnerships unit, which manages the sustainability and growth of research centers, institutes, and programs, and facilitates a unified flow of momentum and collaboration between internal and external partners. Schaub is a Research Professor whose research focuses on the application of advanced and high-resolution mass spectrometry systems to complex problems in water/environmental research, biological systems, alternative fuels, and materials science. The Infrastructure and Partnerships unit ensures the availability of research resources by aligning them with the university's broader goals, providing strategic oversight, and evaluating research priorities, budgets, and feasibility. Schaub also works with the colleges to manage faculty start-up, cost-sharing, and the postdoc matching funds program. 

Kathy serves as Director of Arrowhead Center, an organization whose mission supports economic development through enhancement of entrepreneurship and innovation, creating economic opportunities and social mobility for New Mexicans.  She provides direction for Arrowhead Center programs, initiatives, strategies, goals, and performance in support of the organization’s mission; leads development of public-private partnerships for economic development; champions new business development opportunities; provides management oversight of programs and organizational performance; and develops and monitors operational and programmatic budgets. Kathy serves on boards and committees dedicated to economic development, entrepreneurship, and education, including the Las Cruces Economic Development Policy Review Committee. Arrowhead supports the economic development function of RCED through efforts to realize the economic development goals of NMSU.

As Director of Workforce and Strategic Engagement, Sullivan is leading efforts to reimagine the role of higher education to support current and emerging high-wage, high-skilled, high-demand (H3) career opportunities through strategic public-private partnerships and engagement with government agencies. The unit is focused on building partnerships within and external to the NMSU system to create a collaborative workforce ecosystem that brings alignment with state economic development target industries and workforce needs, fosters early-career awareness (K-16), supports economic development efforts to attract and retain high-wage, high-skilled, high-tech (H3) career opportunities across the state, and in collaboration with the NMSU Global Campus, works to integrate relevant and relatable professional development to upskill, reskill and new skill the current workforce. An overarching goal is to build collaborative partnerships with employers to shorten onboarding time in the workplace post-graduation, making NMSU the university partner of choice for employers.