Notables
Dr.
Karen Carlson, professor and executive associate dean for
Academic Affairs at the College of Nursing, has been elected
to the Sigma Theta Tau International (SSTI) Honor Society of
Nursing board of directors.
She was
elected at the international meeting held in Toronto earlier
this month and will serve for a four-year term.
Dr. Carlson
is one of those directors newly elected to the six-member board
at the meeting. She has been a leader in SSTI both in local
and international business.
Sigma Theta
Tau International has 115,000 members from 87 different countries,
and 433 chapters in 10 different countries and on five different
continents.
***
The National
Academic Advisement Association (NACADA) recently recognized
UNMs Engineering Student Programs Office (ESPO)
in the School of Engineering (SOE) as one of the nations
outstanding institutional advising programs.
ESPOs
certificate of merit was awarded at NACADAs national conference
in Dallas, Texas. ESPO Director Elaine Borrelli accepted the
award on behalf of UNM, the School of Engineering and the Engineering
Student Programs Office.
ESPO was
recognized for instituting a variety of events and techniques
to increase student retention and success in progress toward
Engineering and Computer Science degree programs, said
Charles B. Fleddermann, SOE associate dean, who nominated ESPO
for the award. He cited data that demonstrates ESPO students
have a 15 percent higher retention rate than that of
the overall university student body.
***
The UNM
Foundation/Development Office is ranked at No. 350 in The
Chronicle of Philanthropys annual ranking, The Philanthropy
400.
We
jumped in the national rankings [from No. 379 to 350], so I
think this is an indicator of a long-term emphasis of reaching
out to the community and connecting it to the great things the
University of New Mexico is doing, said Leslie Elgood,
Development director and president of the UNM Foundation, Inc.
The Philanthropy
400 ranks the nations largest nonprofit groups by how
much money they raise from private sources.
***
UNM Professor
of Law Suedeen Kelly has been confirmed a member of the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the entity responsible
for transmission of electricity and natural gas in interstate
commerce, wholesale sale of electricity and natural gas and
licensing of hydroelectric facilities.
I
am honored that the U.S. Senate has confirmed me to this position,
and I am looking forward to working with the other four commissioners
on the many energy issues pending at the commission that are
of concern to New Mexico and the country, she said.
Kelly,
an Albuquerque resident, replaces an outgoing commissioner and
will serve the remainder of a five-year term, expiring June
2004. She will move to Washington and hopes to be appointed
to another term.
On leave
from UNM until fall 2005, Kelly teaches energy law, public utility
regulation, legislative process and administrative law and practice.
***
A member
of the UNM staff and two students received Rising Star
awards from the National Association of Student, Personnel,
Administration (NASPA).
Ryan
Lindquist, Student Activities staff, Mariah Heredia,
a graduate student working with El Centro de la Raza, and Chrisele
Heredia, an undergraduate student also working with El Centro,
received recognition for making contributions to the well-being
of students on the UNM campus.
The regional
conference, held in Santa Fe recently, attracted participants
from 11 western states.
***
UNM Professor
of Law Margaret Montoya was recently honored with a Lifetime
Achievement Award at the 7th annual National Latina/o Law Student
Conference held at the University of California at Los Angeles.
The first
such award presented by the newly formed National Latina/o Law
Student Association, it credits Montoya for passionate
support, dedication and contributions to Latino law students.
On faculty
with the School of Law since 1992, Montoya examines issues of
race, ethnicity, gender and language, along with cross-cultural
discourse.
Montoya
is currently interim director of the UNM Southwest Hispanic
Research Institute.
***
Robert E. Sapien, M.D., FAAP, was recently appointed
to the Advisory Committee on Infant Mortality of the Health
Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
U.S. Secretary
of Heath, Tommy Thompson, appointed Sapien to the HRSA committee
for a two-year term. Sapien will advise Thompson on programs
that are directed to reduce infant mortality and improve the
health of pregnant women and infants.
Sapien
has been with UNM since 1991. He serves as an associate professor
of emergency medicine and pediatrics.
He is also
the state medical director for emergency medical services for
children, and serves on several local, state and national committees.
***
The Tribal
Virtual Network (TVN), a UNM developed consortium of Native
American museums and centers that uses technology to overcome
the digital divide, was among a handful of special
technology projects featured at Supercomputing Global (SC2003),
an international conference highlighting developments in high-performance
computing and networking.
Created
by researchers at the Arts of the Americas Institute
(AAI) in the College of Fine Arts, TVN connects members
using a low-bandwidth connection over an inSORS Access Grid
allowing two-way, real time communication via the Internet.
Consortium
members include High Performance Computing @ UNM.