Brugge and Silko to receive honorary degrees
Major General Alfred A. Valenzuela, United States Army retired, will deliver the commencement address at the University of New Mexico's spring commencement Saturday, May 14, at 9 a.m. in University Arena.
Valenzuela is ranked among the "100 Most Influential Hispanics" by Hispanic Business magazine. Founder of an educational foundation, he oversees several charter schools for at-risk children in San Antonio, Texas. He also serves on the board of directors for the Cuban American National Council for Education. He has more than 33 years experience overseeing military forces and is a consultant for Fortune 500 companies.
Author/scientist David Brugge and author Leslie Marmon Silko will receive honorary degrees at the ceremony.
UNM President Louis Caldera will confer a projected total of 2,625 degrees upon UNM main campus graduates – 1,749 bachelor's degrees, 552 master's degrees, five post-master's degrees, 99 doctorates, 92 juris doctorates, 57 medical doctorates, 70 pharmacy doctorates and one education specialist.
UNM Board of Regents President James Koch, administrators, deans, faculty and staff are among the platform group. Richard W. Holder, deputy provost, is master of ceremonies, and Vivian Valencia, University Secretary, chief marshal.
Benito Martinez III, graduating with a bachelor's of science in chemical engineering, is the student speaker. A peer mentor with the Amistades Program, Martinez was president of the student's Hispanic Engineering and Science Organization.
The University Band, conducted by Eric Rombach-Kendall will play a selection of music for the ceremony's prelude and processional. Cody Wesner will sing the national anthem and alma mater. F. Chris Garcia, former UNM president, will recognize honors graduates and award the Tom L. Popejoy Dissertation Prize to Karmen Lenz, English, for “Images of Psychic Landscape in the Meters of King Alfred's ‘Book of Consolation.'”
Following the ceremony, the UNM Alumni Association, in conjunction with President and Mrs. Louis Caldera, invite graduates, their family and friends, to a reception on the University House lawn from 1 to 3 p.m.
The association will hold an open house for graduating seniors Monday – Friday, May 9-13, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Hodgin Hall.
Convocation ceremonies will be held at departments and colleges May 13-14.
Honorary Degree Recipients
David Brugge, Honorary Doctor of Letters
David Brugge, class of 1950, is a pillar in Southwestern studies and a legend in anthropological circles. As author, scientist, curator, researcher and consultant, he has contributed to the body of knowledge on anthropology, archaeology, material culture, land use, rock art, ethnobotany, linguistics, intercultural dynamics, repatriation, bibliography and more. A prolific scholar, he has coauthored with every major Southwestern archeologist during the past half century.
Known internationally for books on the ethnohistory of the Chaco Navajo, Brugge's literature is focused on the material culture of peoples of the Southwest. Work with the Navajo/Diné led to complex studies that influenced the thinking and research of others, in terms of both Navajo studies and intercultural relations. He is co-founder of the Navajo Studies Conference, a multidisciplinary gathering that began at UNM in 1986 and continues in the Southwest.
Leslie Marmon Silko, Honorary Doctor of Letters
Life affirming stories woven by Laguna Pueblo elders shaped the early education of brilliant writer and intellectual Leslie Marmon Silko, class of 1969. One of the foremost authors to emerge from the Native American literary tradition of the 1970s, she is widely recognized for prose that encapsulates Native American people, places and culture.
Silko graduated magna cum laude from UNM with a bachelor's in English. She briefly attended law school before deciding to pursue a writing career. Her first novel “Ceremony” (1977) is a college syllabi staple. Also a prominent poet, in 1973 she won the Chicago Review and Pushcart Prizes. Honored with the MacArthur Foundation “genius award” in 1981, she has been named a Living Cultural Treasure by the New Mexico Endowment of the Humanities. Silko has taught at Navajo Community College, UNM and the University of Arizona.
Contact: Laurie Mellas Ramirez, (505) 2775915