UNM-Gallup asks local voters to be mindful of the college’s contributions to the local community when they go to the polls Tuesday, Feb. 3 to vote on an $8 million General Obligation Bond issue.
Barry Cooney, interim executive director, is taking the campaign to the community, speaking to local service organizations and urging media support.
“UNM-Gallup’s most obvious service to the community is in providing education. Not only do we offer certificates and associate degrees to ready our graduates for the local work force, we also prepare those students who wish to go on to a four-year university,” Cooney said.
Cooney’s other thrust in the campaign concerns the estimated $20 million the college generates in the local community. With an annual budget of more than $16 million, UNM-Gallup is one of the area’s largest employers. The college and its employees fuel tax dollars, tuition and grant money back into the local economy by buying local goods and paying for local services.
The college also acts as a community center, offering free space to nonprofit organizations for meetings, workshops and conferences. Further, the college allows the community to use its library and computer labs at no charge. UNM-Gallup also provides a number of free concerts, cultural events and art exhibitions each year.
The bond money, if approved, will go toward several projects to improve the campus facilities, including rehabilitation of Gurley Hall, razing and replacing the aged Lions’ Hall, building a new childcare facility and a new maintenance facility.
It is not expected that the general obligation bond will increase taxes; it will simply replace the bonds set to expire in the near future.
“UNM-Gallup recently celebrated its 40th year of providing educational opportunities to the local community,” Cooney said. “While we have much to be proud of in our facilities, we realize the current economic downturn may offer challenges to our ability to maintain the excellence the community has come to expect in the campus complex.
"That’s why we want local voters to understand how important it is to continuously improve our campus. Buildings age, and need rehabilitation and replacement. This rather modest bond request, if approved, will go a long way in helping us maintain and improve the level of service our students and other patrons have enjoyed in the past.”
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu