Notables
The New Mexico Association for Bilingual Education has honored
Rebecca Blum Martinez, associate professor in the College
of Educations Department of Language, Literacy and Sociocultural
Studies, with the Matias L. Chacon Hall of Fame Award, given
annually since 1982 to recognize a New Mexican who made significant
contributions to bilingual education at the state level.
Blum Martinezs work is concerned with how languages are
learned, used and retained in bilingual communities and families
principally Spanish/English and southwestern indigenous
communities.
She has been a member of the Bilingual Advisory Committee to
the New Mexico State Department of Education for many years.
As chair of the task force on the Four Skills Test, she worked
closely with legislators and other task force members in developing
a proposal, which eventually funded the new Prueba, and the
Spanish summer immersion institutes for Spanish/English bilingual
teachers.
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Gary Scharnhorst, professor of English, was recently
notified that he is the recipient of his fifth Fulbright to
study and teach in Germany next spring.
Scharnhorst will teach at the University of Heidelberg in an
exchange with Dieter Schulz who will come to UNM to teach. Both
are professors of American literature. This is Scharnhorsts
third time at the German institution and Schulz, who taught
at Yale University, has come to New Mexico many times over the
last 30 years, Scharnhorst said.
I would certainly be amazed if anyone has
received more prestigious Fulbright awards than Professor Scharnhorst,
said Ken Carpenter, study abroad advisor in UNMs International
Programs and Studies.
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Deborah Ulinski Potter, research assistant
professor in both the Biology and Earth and Planetary Sciences
departments, is one of 20 women selected to receive the 2003
Governors Award for Outstanding New Mexico Women, announced
by the New Mexico Commission on the Status of Women.
The recipients will be honored at an awards ceremony
Saturday, May 3, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Albuquerque.
As a result of the award, Potter will also be nominated for
induction into the New Mexico Womens Hall of Fame.
Appointed by the governor, judges awarded women for their extra
efforts to improve the status of women in our state. The nominations
are rated on community leadership, effectiveness of advocacy
for positive change for women and families and leadership in
their careers.
My nomination for this award was made by
New Mexico Network for Women in Science and Engineering (NMNWSE),
Ulinski Potter said. I am proud to be a member of this
organization, and of their work to encourage young women to
be academically prepared for careers in math, science and engineering.
Network members serve as mentors to encourage females to pursue
professional careers in these fields, and celebrate the success
of students and one another.
Ulinski Potter works full time for the federal
government in addition to her faculty appointments at UNM. She
is one of few women certified as senior ecologist with the Ecological
Society of America.
My parents had a limited grade school education,
said Potter. When I was in grade school, teachers assigned
mentors to help me with science fair projects. I had some great
experiences with both science teachers and mentors, and as a
result I want to help encourage other young women to be successful.
Through her work on the Expanding Your Horizons
conferences, Potter has impacted nearly 1,200 girls and 300
adults and increased the number of women currently working in
math, science and engineering. Potter was nominated by Adelaide
Collins, president of NMNWSE.