A group of leading river scientists published a paper in the journal Science today, presenting first-of-its-kind research on the state of river restoration in the United States. Following on the heels of a related article published in the Journal of Applied Ecology that describes the five fundamental standards for ecologically sustainable river restoration, the papers document the maturing effort to reverse rising pollution levels and declining ecological health of rivers in the United States and around the world.
Photo: The Rio Grande was named one of America's Most Endangered Rivers in 2003. Photo courtesy National Park Service.
“It’s important to establish measurable goals at the outset of a project against which success can be evaluated,” said Jennifer Follstad Shah, University of New Mexico Ph.D. candidate. “Monitoring of project results needs to be tied to the goals of the project. For example, a restoration group may plant riparian vegetation for a variety of reasons such as erosion control or improved habitat for fish. The best monitoring in these cases would focus on water quality or fish populations, rather than solely on the percentage of vegetation that survives.”
Project records were obtained by a dedicated team of graduate student researchers from around the country led by University of Maryland Professor Margaret Palmer and post-doctoral researcher, Emily Bernhardt. The students combed agency databases and file cabinets and made hundreds of phone calls to resource managers and restoration practitioners.
“According to our research, river restoration is growing exponentially in this country,” said Palmer. “There is enormous demand for this kind of work to improve water quality, restore wildlife habitats, and create natural spaces that people can enjoy.”
The five criteria Follstad-Shah and the researchers developed for river restoration in the Journal of Applied Ecology article include: a guiding image; improving ecosystems; increasing resilience; doing no lasting harm; and completing an ecological assessment.
In the southwest, which includes Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah, the database contains nearly 600 project records. Along with UNM’s Cliff Dahm and Steve Gloss from the University of Arizona, Shah’s role in the project involves the collection of data for restoration efforts in the southwestern states.
Shah, who studies in the IGERT Freshwater Sciences Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program, utilizes a variety of sources to acquire the data including the Internet, heads of organizations funding restoration projects, databases, summaries of project reports from agencies as well as books and peer reviewed literature. Shah has more than 38 southwest data sources from among city, county and federal agencies.
“We’re focusing on positive standards for monitoring and reporting results,” Shah said. “It might seem intuitive, but you can gauge success in many ways. We’re looking to create a standardized definition for ecological success.
“Many groups have good motivations for river restoration, but their plans didn’t work. We want to find out what methods did work and create standards to measure success of restoration projects.”
Arizona and New Mexico led the way in river restoration projects with almost 200 each. The number of projects over the course of a 10-year period (1990-2000) in the southwest has also grown exponentially. Common types of restoration in the southwestern U.S. involve riparian management, water quality management and improvement of in-stream habitat for fish.
Projects in the southwest have been driven by a variety of issues including conservation of native species, eradication of non-native species and erosion control. The median costs of the project is typically small at $69,000 or less. Follstad-Shah says, based on the information available, an estimated $500-700 million has been spent on river restoration projects in the southwest, excluding Colorado River projects.
“River restoration is evolving from an art into a science. A critical first step in this evolution has been to document what is being done in the name of river restoration.” said Duke University’s Emily Bernhardt, the lead author of the Science paper that created the nation’s first comprehensive database of river and stream restoration projects.
The term river restoration applies to activities such as restoring wetlands to filter pollution, reforesting riverbanks to curb erosion, recreating the natural river channel to reduce downstream flooding, and removing dams to allow fish to migrate freely up and downstream. According to the authors of the paper, at least $14 – 15 billion has been invested in river restoration since 1990 – an average of $1 billion per year. That’s a lot of individual efforts – the average cost per project is just $45,000. California, the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the Pacific Northwest are hotspots of restoration work.
“It’s no mystery why river restoration is booming,” said Andrew Fahlund, vice president for Protection and Restoration at American Rivers. “Rivers in good condition more readily meet the needs of the surrounding community than polluted and degraded rivers.”
According to the authors of the Science article, more consistent monitoring of projects after they are completed and sharing this data with other practitioners is the next step in the evolution of the river restoration field. Only 10 percent of the 37,000 projects in the database include any mention of monitoring effectiveness although some states are investing more in evaluation than others. Estimates of monitoring for the Southwest paint a rosier picture, where 29 percent of restoration projects have been monitored.
*** Note: A Web site for reporters is available at: http://www.nrrss.umd.edu/press.htm. Additional information may also be found at the following Web sites:
http://www.nrrss.umd.edu/NRRSS_INDEX.htm
http://www.americanrivers.org/nrrss
http://nrrss.nbii.gov/
Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821
April 2005 is Heritage month in Albuquerque’s Tricenntenial celebration and UNM Bookstore is a part of this 18-month city wide event. In conjunction with the "UNM Salutes the Albuquerque Tricentennial" celebration, the UNM Bookstore is hosting a book event Saturday, April 30, at 2 p.m. featuring authors Cheryl J. Foote and Sharon Niederman.
“Women of the New Mexico Frontier, 1846-1912” by Cheryl J. Foote
Women of the New Mexico Frontier, 1846–1912 is a collection of essays that include biographical sketches and writings from women of all walks of life who helped bring about the Americanization of the New Mexico Territory,
from the Mexican War until statehood in 1912. These women were wives of missionaries, soldiers and military officers, and government officials who came from the eastern part of the United States. For this edition, Cheryl Foote has provided a new Introduction, which highlights information uncovered since the book’s original publication in 1990.
Cheryl J. Foote received her doctorate from the University of New Mexico. She teaches at Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute. Publisher - UNM Press
“Return to Abo” by Sharon Niederman
Called home to a funeral in Monte Alto, a small ranching community in New Mexico, journalist Maggie Chilton finds herself face to face with everything she left behind when she graduated from high school. Against the harsh beauty of the landscape and the memories it holds, three generations of women—Maggie, her mother, and her teenage daughter—struggle to make peace with each other and the land they love.
“What a read! Sharon Niederman has a real genius for illuminating the lives of individuals seeking one last shot at redemption in a landscape that demands too much. . . . Niederman has given us a global tale, one of place and displacement, where love and hope somehow persist whenever people dare to call a place home.”—Demetria Martinez, author of Mother Tongue
Sharon Niederman is the author of several books of travel and history, including The Santa Fe and Taos Book and A Quilt of Words. She lives in Albuquerque, and this is her first novel. Publisher - UNM Press
For more information call (505) 277-8752
Did Davy Crockett help define the early American character? How do you handle the generation gap in a workplace environment? Where and how did New Mexican food originate?
If you’ve ever had great conversation and a wonderful meal at the same time, you know what a satisfying experience that can be. University Libraries invites you to sit down for a thought-provoking evening of discussion on these topics and an elegant reception and dinner on Saturday, May 21 in the historic west wing of Zimmerman Library.
Proceeds from this fundraising event will benefit the University Libraries Center for Southwest Research/Special Collections. Tickets are $125 per person, and $200 per couple. For more information contact Dina Ma’ayan, University Libraries, at (505) 277-7197.
Table Hosts
Each table will be hosted by a local expert such as UNM Professor of History Paul Andrew Hutton, who will lead a discussion about Davy Crockett and early American heroes.
Noted Hispanic author Rudolfo Anaya will discuss why humans are driven to tell our stories, and whether writers are born or made.
Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez will talk about where we have been as a community, and the possibilities he see for the future of the city.
Associate Dean of the College of Education Breda Bova, who oversees undergraduate programs and does research on mentoring and generations in the workplace will discuss how different generations work together in a day-to-day work environment.
Jane Butel has written sixteen books, and hosts the syndicated PBS show, “Jane Butels’s Southwestern Kitchen.” She will lead a conversation about Southwestern cooking traditions.
UNM Athletics Director Rudy Davalos will share insights into the politics of college sports and the way Title IX has impacted women’s sports.
George Lugar, a professor in the UNM Computer Science Department, and the Psychology and Linguistics Departments will host a discussion about artificial intelligence and whether it is possible for scientists to build a brain.
Judith Phillips has written “Southwestern Landscaping with Native Plants,” “Natural by Design,” “Plants for Natural Gardens,” and “New Mexico Gardener’s Guide.” She is a landscape designer and horticulturist who works with native and arid-adapted plants and teaches native and xeric plant classes at UNM and will share her insights in this special field.
KRQE-TV anchor and journalist Dick Knipfing has 41 years of experience in the Albuquerque media market, and has watched the changing scene in New Mexico politics and public issues. He will host a discussion about news and how it changes.
Historian, author and retired executive director of the National Hispanic Cultural Center Thomas E. Chávez will discuss how we can learn from New Mexico’s right history the messages of survival, inclusiveness, disagreements, misunderstandings and avoidance of war.
Dean of the UNM School of Law Suellyn Scarnecchia is an expert on adoption in American and the legal problems that can accompany it. She will lead a discussion on the problems that lead to difficult and emotional adoption cases and ways in which to prevent problems.
Dr. Anne Simpson, Chair of the Bio-Ethics Committee at University Hospital, and an Associate Professor with the Department of Internal Medicine/Division of Geriatrics at the UNM School of Medicine is also a practicing physician who specializes in long term care, hospice and palliative medicine issues. She will discuss the issue of tissue banking and the ownership or control of biological materials contributed for research.
About the Center for Southwest Research
Money raised from the event will go to the Center for Southwest Research. This special collections department for University Libraries at the University of New Mexico contains extensive collections of archival materials, music and rare books, with specialties in the American Southwest and Latin America.
The manuscripts collection contains more than 600 collections from individual, business, organizational and ranch records. There are more than 40,000 books in the collection, many of them rare and out of print, along with 38 collections of personal music materials, a pictorial archive with more than 80,000 images dating from the mid-1850’s and the personal and architectural papers of John Gaw Meem.
These sponsors are underwriting the “Tables of Content” fundraising event for the Southwest Center for Research/Special Collections:
RMCI, Inc.
Daniel T. Kelly Jr., The Gross Kelly & Company and Kelly Family Archival Collection
Albuquerque Printing Co.
First State Bank
Doris Rhodes & David Reyes
Nancy Meem Wirth
Xerox of New Mexico and Xerox Global Services
Contact:Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627
The UNM student chapter of the American Society for Civil Engineers (ASCE) will display a steel bridge that recently won second place in a regional competition. The bridge will be on display on the SUB mall, Friday, April 29 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Photo: Civil Engineering Steel Bridge team members Chris Grgich and Chris Johnson.
A UNM team took fifth place overall, competing against 12 other schools at the ASCE Rocky Mountain Regional Conference in Salt Lake City. This was the second year that UNM entered the competition. Students participated in four of six categories: steel bridge, technical paper, pre-design, and mystery design. The steel bridge, which won second place in its category, ranked first in the weight division and second in aesthetics.
UNM’s Sarah Shannon, a native of Aztec, N.M., won first place for her technical paper on evaporation in soil. The mystery design team also won first and Tandy Freel and Carlos Segura tied for third in the pre-design competition
Shannon is happy with the competition’s outcome. “We’re competing against really big schools that have huge civil engineering departments. This year we’re graduating 12 seniors, so it’s really amazing for us to do so well in the competition,” she said.
Shannon hopes to work as an environmental engineer when she graduates. As a civil engineering student, she spent last summer conducting research at the Rio Grande River on evaporation through the soil. She used her research to write a 3,000-word paper that she presented to the judges at the competition.
“We’re very proud of Sarah”, said Tim J. Ward, chairman of Civil Engineering.
UNM’s steel bridge team will travel to Orlando, Fla. on May 28 for the AISC National Student Steel Bridge Competition where they will compete against 30 other colleges and universities. “We have almost no money, and it’s expensive to send everyone out to nationals,” said Shannon.
People interested in sponsoring the team should contact Walter Gerstle at 277-3458.
Contact: Greg Johnston, 277-1816
The Office of Transportation Information & Project Facilitation will converge with the Mid-Region Council of Governments, ABQ Ride, ABQ Bike and UNM Parking and Transportation Services in a collaboration of transportation education. A synergy of key players in New Mexico transportation will assemble for the inaugural UNM Transportation Fair on May 5, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at UNM's Smith Plaza.
UNM students, staff and faculty purchased approximately 17,000 parking permits last year. Roughly translated—during regular business hours, 17,000 vehicles are concentrated in the university area. This number does not denote one-day permits, visitor parking, illegally parked vehicles and the fleet of shuttle buses and official university automobiles. It goes without saying that the university area is a melting pot of vehicular congestion.
Representatives from Rapid Ride, the new Rail Runner commuter rail system and other community-wide transportation organizations will be available to talk to observers about the alternatives to personal vehicle transportation.
Students, staff and faculty will be able to plan ABQ Ride trips, view information on Park & Ride services, ask questions about UNM parking permits and shuttle systems, learn more about New Mexico transportation incentives and educate themselves about alternative transportation.
“The Transportation Fair is a proactive approach in dealing with future problems with transportation around New Mexico. Many roads have already reached full capacity and will continue to get worse with the growth of our state,” said Steve Machado, Coordinator of the Transportation Fair. “There will come a time when we must either take action or take a spot in traffic jams.”
New Mexico officials recently announced the production of the New Mexico Rail Runner, a commuter rail that will run from Belen to Bernalillo. The system is expected to be in operation and serving the UNM community by December 2005.
Albuquerque Ride is also initiating the Rapid Ride After Dark (RAD) program, which will run the Rapid Ride hybrid buses from the Downtown entertainment district to the Uptown Transit Center through 3 a.m. The program will operate Friday and Saturday nights from May to September 2005. Members of the UNM community and area residents will have easy, fast and inexpensive access to the dining and entertainment venues along the RAD corridor.
“The high price of gasoline is going to force us to start thinking about alternate forms of transportation to and from school or work,” Machado said. “It is easy and affordable to take the bus, commuter train or bike.”
Way to Go, a sector of the university’s Strategic Communications and Marketing Department, is committed to providing the UNM community with information about campus projects and events that affect daily commutes and traffic patterns. For up-to-date information on any campus project, log on to Way to Go or call (505) 277-7590.
Steve Machado (505) 277-7590
The Maxwell Museum of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico will host a free celebration of traditional cultural approaches to health and healing, Saturday, April 30, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will be held at the Hibben Center, directly south of the museum.
Included will be demonstrations, food, product sales/samples, and children's and family activities. Vendors participating in the celebration include Whole World Botanicals, Holistic Kinestiology, Hawaiian Healing, Amy Butal’s Healing Hands, Chinese Cultural Center, Arbonne International, White Cloud Institute, Shakyamuni Buddhist Center, Hunger Grow Away, Petals and Pages, Southwest Acupuncture, Center for Hypnosis, New Mexico Midwives Association, Divine Light Angelic Healing, Annapurna Vegetarian Cuisine and several others.
A fire engine will visit the festival so children can learn about rescue work.
The celebration is sponsored by the Ortiz Center for Intercultural Studies and the City of Albuquerque Urban Enhancement Trust Fund.
Contact: Martina Gutierrez, (505) 277-2924.
Joseph P. Sánchez, director of the Spanish Colonial Research Center, a joint project of the University of New Mexico and the National Park Service, was inducted into the Orden de Isabel la Católica in a ceremony held in Albuquerque’s Old Town Plaza recently.
The accompanying medal, bearing the Knight’s Cross, is one of Spain’s most important decorations conferred by King Juan Carlos of Spain to a foreigner.
Consul General of Spain Julio Montesinos presented Sánchez with the medal. Following the ceremony, Sánchez presented, “Governor Francisco Cuerbo y Valdés and the Founding of Albuquerque” as part of Albuquerque’s Tricentennial (1706-2006) lecture series.
Of the award, Sánchez said, “I am pleased and honored to receive this award for my work and efforts to preserve and protect cultural resources related to Spanish Colonial Heritage sites managed by the National Park Service, as well as the various states, for truly they form a significant part of our national story.”
Sánchez received the honor for his life-long educational and scholarly accomplishments in promoting Spanish Colonial heritage within the United States and internationally in Spain, Mexico and Latin America. Aside from his many historical studies about Spanish colonialism, Sánchez established the Spanish Colonial Research Center at UNM in 1986, as a partnership with the National Park Service. He is also the founder and editor of the Colonial Latin American Historical Review (CLAHR), a journal dedicated to the history of the Spanish Colonial period.
He is also the recipient of the Medalla de Acero al Mérito Histórico Capitán Alonso de León by the Sociedad Nuevoleonesa de Historia, Geografia y Estadistica, Monterrey, Mexico, for his lifelong work in Colonial Mexican history.
Throughout his varied career, Sánchez has taught at several colleges including the University of Arizona, the University of New Mexico, Santa Ana College and the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara in Mexico. He has also researched in 30 archives in Spain, Mexico, France, Italy and England, and has published several studies on the Spanish frontiers in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Alaska.
Among his books are: “The Rio Abajo Frontier, 1540-1692” (1987); “Pecos: Gateway to Pueblos and Plains” (1988), co-edited with John Bezy; “Spanish Bluecoats: The Catalonian Volunteers in Northwestern New Spain, 1767-1810” (1990); “História de la Nueva México, 1610 by Gaspar Pérez de Villagrá” (1992) co-edited with Miguel Encínias and Alfredo Rodríguez; “The Aztec Chronicles: The True History of Christopher Columbus by Quilaztli of Texcoco” (1995); “Explorers, Traders, and Slavers: Forging the Old Spanish Trail, 1678-1850” (1997); and, “Don Fernando Duran y Chaves’s Legacy: A History of the Atrisco Land Grant, 1693-1968” (1999).
One of his books, published in Mexico City, is “Memorias del Coloquio
Internacional de El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro” (2000) co-edited with José de la Cruz Pacheco. His most recent book, “Exploradores, Tratantes y Comerciantes de Esclavos” was published in Barcelona, Spain in 2001.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920
UNM's Center for the Advancement of Scholarship in Teaching and Learning (CASTL) hosts their annual teaching awards ceremony on Wednesday, May 4 from 2 to 4 p.m. in SUB Ballroom C.
Members of the Faculty Senate Teaching Enhancement Committee and previous award winners selected those to be honored. Previous award winners will also be recognized.
UNM President Louis Caldera will present Timothy Moy, associate professor, history, with the Presidential Teaching Fellow award, 2005-07.
Nick Flor, assistant professor, marketing information/decision sciences, Anderson Schools of Management, and Anita Obermeier, associate professor, English, will receive the Outstanding Teacher of the Year, 2004-05. Acting Provost Reed Dasenbrock and Gary Smith, chair, Faculty Senate Teaching Enhancement Committee, will present the awards to Flor and Obermeier.
Smith and Dasenbrock will also present awards to Robert Busch, lecturer III, chemical and nuclear engineering; Kathryn Dimiduk, lecturer III, physics and astronomy; Margaret MacTavish, lecturer II, early childhood education, Taos Branch; and Bruce A. Noll, lecturer III, educational leadership and organizational learning, College of Education. They will receive the Outstanding Adjunct Teacher/Lecturer of the Year awards, 2004-05.
Jocelyn H. DeHaas, anthropology; Elisa Grimm, physical performance and development, College of Education; Lisa Ragsdale, English; Elizabeth Root, communication and journalism and CASTL; Qin Zhang, communication and journalism, will receive the Outstanding Teaching Assistant of the Year award, 2004-05. Teresita Aguilar, dean, Office of Graduate Studies, will present these awards.
"As the new director of CASTL, it has been my pleasure to be involved in the teaching awards process this spring. Reading the nominations and packets that were carefully prepared by all our applicants reminds me why we're here: We saw over and over again evidence supporting the quality of teaching on our campus. Our role at CASTL is to promote and encourage the best teaching possible to improve student learning. The recipients of today's awards are indeed among the best at UNM and should feel especially honored that they were selected by their colleagues," said Caitlin Anderson, CASTL director.
The event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided following the award presentations.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920
Wynn Goering has been appointed Associate Provost of Academic Affairs at the University of New Mexico, Acting Provost Reed Dasenbrock announced today. Goering, who currently serves as Special Assistant to UNM President Louis Caldera, will begin his new duties July 1.
“I am very pleased that Wynn will be returning to his roots in academic administration,” said Dasenbrock. “His unusually broad range of experience at UNM should serve him well in this role.”
Goering’s portfolio as associate provost will include UNM’s Evening and Weekend Degree Programs and the Graduation Project, which were founded by retired associate provost David Stuart. “It is both inspiring and intimidating to be stepping into ‘the house that Dave built,’” said Goering. “Fortunately his legacy includes a great professional staff. I hope that together we’ll be able to add a few more rooms to the structure.”
Goering has held the position of Special Assistant to the President since September 2003, including a six-month appointment as Interim Vice President for Advancement from May to November 2004. Prior to joining the president’s staff he served as a development officer at UNM’s Anderson Schools of Management, and as the interim executive director of UNM’s branch campus in Taos.
Goering came to UNM from Bethel College in Kansas, where he was Academic Dean from 1991 to 1997. He has taught English and American literature at Bethel College, McPherson College, and the University of Chicago; and business ethics and strategy at the Anderson Schools. Goering is an MBA graduate of the Anderson Schools and holds masters and doctoral degrees from the University of Chicago (English) and a bachelor’s degree from Bethel College (English and Music).
Contact: Susan McKinsey, (505) 277-1989
Two new mural-sized images taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope will be on display at the LodeStar Astronomy Center through June 30, 2005. The stunning photographs of well-known spiral galaxy M51 (a.k.a. "Whirlpool Galaxy") and an eerie-looking tower of gas in the Eagle Nebula (a.k.a. "Pillars of Creation" ~ pictured) commemorate Hubble's 15 years of viewing the heavens.
The highly detailed, large-format images were unveiled to the public recently in conjunction with the 15th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope.
The image M51 reveals striking details of how clusters of stars are born in the galaxy's long, curving spiral arms. The Eagle Nebula image shows a gaseous landscape sculpted by ultraviolet light from a group of massive, hot, young stars. These views are among the largest and sharpest images ever taken by the Hubble Telescope.
The LodeStar Astronomy Center is located in the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science at 1801 Mountain Rd., NW, in Old Town. LodeStar is a UNM community outreach project operating in partnership with the Museum of Natural History and is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week.
For more information call (505) 841-5955 or visit: LodeStar Astronomy Center.
The University of New Mexico Arts of the Americas Institute, National Hispanic Cultural Center and UNM ARTS Lab will host a one-day conference “Moving Pictures: Hollywood to New Mexico” addressing Latino/Hispanic film. The conference is free and open to the public and will be held Friday, May 13, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the NHCC Wells Fargo Auditorium.
Conference proceedings will explore Latinos/Hispanics in the film industry – past, present and future. Scholars will look at roles in New Mexico’s film industry and offer new insights on cultural technology and inroads made in film and media.
The one-day conference features nine scholars and/or filmmakers on three panels, incorporating experts from the film industry, academia and technology. It concludes with a screening of “The Bronze Screen,”presented by filmmaker and producer Susan Racho.
UNM Professors Steven Loza and Dorothy Baca of the UNM Arts of the Americas Institute planned the conference.
A sampling of conference presenters include University of Southern California’s Curtis Marez, Los Angeles filmmaker and producer Susan Racho, UNM History Professor Linda Hall, UNM English Professor Jesse Alemán, documentary filmmaker and producer Arcie Chapa and filmmaker Mara Holguin.
Sponsors include the UNM Office of the President, UNM College of Fine Arts, UNM Center for Regional Studies, UNM Ibero American Science & Education Consortium (ISTEC), UNM Latin American and Iberian Institute, UNM Southwest Hispanic Research Institute, New Mexico Humanities Council and Southwest Airlines.
For more information, contact the UNM Arts of the Americas Institute, 277-2286 or bevortiz@unm.edu.
Contact: Laurie Mellas Ramirez, (505) 277-5915
Members of Beta Alpha Psi, the national honor fraternity for financial information professionals, and students in tax classes at The Anderson Schools of Management at UNM, recently prepared more than 200 individual tax returns for clients of ARCA, an organization that provides job training and literacy skills for people with mental retardation and developmental disabilities in the Albuquerque area.
“This partnership is a great way for students to put into practice the concepts they have been learning in class and at the same time see a large benefit resulting from their work,” said Craig White, faculty advisor for the UNM Beta Alpha Psi chapter. “The program is student-based with 35 volunteers. They work with the IRS coordinator in town for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.
“The IRS is very supportive of work we do for ARCA. They provide everything we need to complete the returns including forms, logistics materials and training for students take online course to qualify as online volunteers.”
Each year, ARCA caseworkers collect tax information from each of its group home residents. The information usually includes a W-2 wage statement, Social Security information, and a summary worksheet that is prepared by the caseworker. Packets are assembled and brought to The Anderson Schools for federal and state tax preparation by student volunteers. Many of ARCA’s clients qualify for the federal earned income credit and the New Mexico low-income comprehensive tax rebate. This year’s preparation work facilitated total refunds of at least $40,000.
“It really helps us out a great deal,” said ARCA’s Cindy McDuff. “Our caseworkers are loaded with paper work from the day-to-day things they need to do. It really helps us to have UNM volunteers assist us with the returns. The returns are not that difficult but it helps the students go through the
procedure of preparing tax returns and it helps our individuals by getting this service done for them correctly.
“I can’t imagine having to do it with out the help of the volunteers. It is such a successful program for us. We want to make it easy for students and we’re glad it benefits them. It’s infinitely easier to have the students work with us this way,” she added.
Beta Alpha Psi is a national fraternity that encourages and recognizes scholastic and professional excellence in the business information field. The organization was founded in 1919 and has since grown to nearly 230 chapters on college campuses across the country with over 230,000 members initiated since its founding.
Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821
President Louis Caldera and some of UNM’s vice presidents who are Project LINK Executive Sponsors will join the LINK Project Directors and others to discuss the progress, status of and plans for the LINK project implementations during a “LINK Campus Update,” Friday, April 29, from 3 to 4:45 in Woodward Lecture Hall.
All UNM faculty, staff and students are invited to participate in the event, which will include an open question-and-answer session.
Light refreshments and “prizes” will also be part of the “LINK Campus Update,” which will be fed live to UNM’s branch campuses and graduate centers and webcast to room 303 of the Health Sciences Center Basic Medical Sciences Building.
“We invite all members of the campus community to come with their questions, concerns and suggestions,” said Project LINK Coordinator Fred Youberg. “This will provide an excellent opportunity to learn about the LINK Finance, Student/Academic, Financial Aid and Human Resources/Payroll implementations.”
Vice President for Research and Economic Development at the University of New Mexico Terry Yates participated in an international discussion of climate, health and nutrition at Bio Vision 2005 in Lyons, France last week. Yates’ invitation to the conference, which brings together nearly 4,000 leading representatives from science, society at large and industry, is a first for a UNM researcher.
BioVision 2005
Biovision is a world life sciences forum that functions as an international platform for reflection, dialogue, debate and proposals regarding the major challenges of life sciences. The conference facilitates broad discussion in health, nutrition and the environment and examines how they react. This year’s conference attracted 11 Nobel Laureates. It attempts to answer questions about what science can do, what society is willing to accept, and what industry can ethically produce.
Climate and Health Panel
Yates’ keynote address at the Climate and Health session focused on predicting the spread and risk of infectious disease, using his work with Hantavirus as a case study. He said his current research indicates that climate fluctuation may have triggered ecological changes that increases risk for humans to catch Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome.
He also discussed ongoing research that indicates a reduction in biological diversity in the ecosystem favors the species that harbor the disease and also significantly increases human risk for HPS, a condition that is fatal in more than 50 percent of cases.
Current Activities
Yates has published more than 130 papers in refereed outlets, completed 17 Ph.D. and nine Masters Students, and serves on the Boards of the Council on Research Policy and Graduate Education, National LambdaRail Inc., La Semilla Institute, the Science & Technology Corporation @ UNM, the New Mexico Technology Research Consortium, and is President of the Manzano Conservation Foundation. He is also Vice –President of the Natural Science Collections Alliance, a member of the board of directors and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American Society of Mammalogists, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Society of Systematic Biology and a trustee of the Southwestern Association of Naturalists.
Yates has ongoing funded research projects on ecology and evolution of Hantaviruses in natural populations of mammals for the Center for Disease Control, National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, and for the, Bioscience Center for Informatics, University DTRA Partnerships and the Sevilleta Long-Term Ecological Research Project.
Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627
Paul Biderman, associate director for the Institute of Public Law in the UNM School of Law, has received the State Bar Public Law Sections’ Public Lawyer of the Year award. A ceremony will be held Monday, May 2, at 4 p.m. in the State Capitol Rotunda in Santa Fe, followed by a reception.
Chief Justice Richard Bosson and State Bar President Charles Vigil will speak at the event along with Attorney General Patricia Madrid.
Biderman directs IPL’s award-winning Judicial Education Center. His writing and teaching in judicial ethics earned an appointment by the New Mexico Supreme Court to the Advisory Committee on the Code of Judicial Conduct.
Biderman is the tenth New Mexico attorney to receive this recognition. The Public Law Section states that the award is made “to recognize the accomplishments of an attorney in the public sector, including significant length of service in government, excellence as an attorney, acting as a role model for other public lawyers and serving charitable institutions or nonprofit entities connected with the practice of law. Additionally, a recipient's character and dedication to public law and public service furthers the integrity and repute of the legal profession.”
Biderman’s previous public service includes four years as the cabinet secretary of Energy and Minerals, seven years in the attorney general's Consumer Division, and four years in legal services programs on the Navajo reservation and in Northern New Mexico. He also has served on numerous community non-profit boards.
Contact: Laurie Mellas Ramirez, (505) 277-5915
The Kiva Club at the University of New Mexico is proud to announce Native Filmmakers Showcase 2005, highlighting Native American filmmakers from the U.S. and Canada. The showcase will run April 26 to 29 as part of the 50th Anniversary of Nizhoni Days. All showings April 26 to 28 will be in the Student Union Building Southwest Film Center at UNM. April 29 showings will be in Student Union Building Ballrooms A and B.
This event offers the finest in Native American cinema to date, including Sundance Film Festival directors and upcoming Native filmmakers:
Tuesday, April 26, 7:30 p.m.
* In Laman's Terms: Looking at Lamanite Identity,” 2.5 minutes, Angelo Baca (Diné, Hopi)
* Oakland RNMC Support ,” 7 minutes, Marcella Alexiz E.
* Going Native ,” 10 minutes, Karen L. Suyama ( Blackfeet, Cherokee)
* 5th World” (Albuquerque Premiere), 75 minutes, Blackhorse Lowe (Diné)
* Flat ,” 8 minutes, Nanobah Becker (Diné)
* Good Night Irene,” 14 minutes, Sterlin Harjo (Creek, Seminole)
* The Snowball Effect,” 55 minutes, Klee Benally (Diné)
Wednesday, April 27, 4 p.m.
* Our Nationhood,” 97 minutes, Alanis Obomsawin (Abenaki)
* Native Aspect Ratio ,” 15 minutes, Alan Natachu ( Zuni, Diné) and Deron Twohatchet (Kiowa)
* G: Methamphetamine on the Navajo Nation,” 59 minutes, Shonie De La Rosa (Diné)
* Stanley: A Rocumentary ,” 10 minutes, Cameron Lee (Apache)
Thursday, April 28, 6 p.m. (films may be subject to change)
* Throw Heart Over the Bar ,” 5 minutes, Leahn Cox (Diné)
* Red Streak Sculptor ,” 12 minutes, Ty Headman (Diné)
* Cold Feet ,” 3 minutes, Blackhorse Lowe (Diné)
* Running with Tradition ,” 20 minutes, Angelo Baca (Diné, Hopi)
* Our Future ,” 5 minutes, Shonie De La Rosa (Diné)
* Happy Boy ,” 5 minutes, Blackhorse Lowe (Diné)
* The Muse” (World Premiere), 10 minutes, Corey Allison (Diné)
* Hush,” 10 minutes, “ Composure,” 7 minutes, ( Live spoken word performance) Tazbah Chavez, (Bishop Paiute, Diné, San Carlos)
* Trudell,” 75 minutes, Heather Rae (Cherokee)
* Pura Lengua,” 11 minutes, Aurora Guerero (Xicana)
* From Cherry English,” 10 minutes, Jeff Barnaby (Mi'kmaq)
* Rezpect ,” 11 minutes, Jaycee Beyale (Diné)
* A Call for Action ,” 10 minutes, Carey Tully (Diné)
* Bloodties ,” 10 minutes, Leahn Cox (Diné)
* Shush ,” 7 minutes, Blackhorse Lowe (Diné)
* His Light ,” 13 minutes, Pierre Barrera (Sioux, Klamath) and Migzi Pensoneau (Ojibwa)
* Four Generations of Wisdomkeepers ,” 6 minutes, Nick Halsey (Lakota)
Friday, April 29, 3 p.m. (films may be subject to change)
*Al'keme 1345 ,” 14 minutes, “ Yellow Dust ,” 7 minutes, Shonie De La Rosa (Diné)
*Fidelity ,” 5 minutes, Thomas Andrews (Diné/Nez Perce)
Beverly Singer (Tewa/Diné)
Dustinn Craig (White Mountain Apache, Diné)
Randy Redroad (Cherokee)
The Kiva Club at UNM recognizes the value of Native Americans recapturing their stories and repairing the damage caused by Hollywood's neglect of these stories. The Native Filmmakers Showcase has been established to give independent Native filmmakers a place to spread their love for the moving picture art while inspiring the next generation to pursue careers in film.
The showcase is sponsored by the Kiva Club, Trajectory X Media Club and Native American Studies Indigenous Research Group. All events are free and open to the public.
Contact: Sari Krosinsky, (505) 277-5813
More UNM students study abroad
The number of international students studying at the University of New Mexico decreased by 2.2 percent in fall 2004 from fall 2003, reported Linda L. Melville, international advisement specialist in UNM's Office of International Programs and Studies.
During the same period, the number of international scholars (visiting researchers and professors), and study abroad participants (UNM students going abroad) has increased.
“International students currently represent approximately 3.3 percent of the total UNM population. Approximately 1.1 percent of UNM main campus students participated in some type of study abroad experience last year,” Melville said.
In fall of 2004, 857 students from 86 countries were studying at UNM. Currently, the top five sending countries for international students are India, China, Mexico, Japan and South Korea respectively.
More than 73 percent of all international students at the university are graduate students and the top fields are engineering, computer science, chemistry and physics.
Close to 20 percent of all UNM engineering students international. International students represent approximately 58 percent of all doctoral students in engineering, 57 percent of all graduate students in chemistry, 47 percent of all graduate students in computer science, and 39 percent of all graduate students in physics.
Between June 2003 and July 2004, 220 visiting scholars from 46 countries engaged in research and/or teaching at UNM. The top six sending countries for international scholars during that period were Spain, Germany, Argentina, China, India and Mexico with the largest groups working in health sciences, physical sciences, engineering, visual and performing arts, life sciences/biological sciences and computer and information sciences, respectively.
Approximately 300 U.S. students traveled abroad on either short-term or semester programs from UNM between January and December 2004, a 20 percent increase over last year. The top destinations were the United Kingdom, Costa Rica, Spain, Australia, Germany, Japan and Russia, respectively.
For more information or a copy of the report, visit the Office of International Programs and Studies at www.unm.edu/oips or call 277-4032.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920
Join the University of New Mexico's celebration of Native American culture and heritage at the 50th annual Nizhoni Days April 24 to 29. Sponsored and organized by the UNM Kiva Club since the 1970s, Nizhoni Days demonstrate the wealth of Native American achievements in the arts, activism, politics, academics and culture.
On April 24, the celebration opened with the 50th Anniversary Honoring Our Alumni Pow Wow in Johnson Field. Upcoming events include:
Monday, April 25:
** 7 p.m., Student Union Building Ballroom C: Miss Indian UNM Pageant
Tuesday, April 26:
** 5:30 to 7 p.m., Zimmerman Library Willard Reading Room: IFAIR Grant Award Reception
** 7:30 p.m., SUB Southwest Film Center: Native Filmmakers Showcase 2005
Wednesday, April 27:
** 11:30 a.m., SUB Ballroom C: 2005 Miss Indian World Contestant Reception
** 12 to 1 p.m. and 3 to 5 p.m., Zimmerman Library Willard Reading Room: Kiva Club, Then & Now: Celebrating 53 Years of History, Leadership and Activism
** 4 to 6 p.m., SUB Luminaria Room: Alaska Native Linguists and Traditional Performers
** 4 p.m., SUB Southwest Film Center: Native Filmmakers Showcase 2005
Thursday, April 28:
** 9 to 10 a.m., Mesa Vista Hall 3082: Office of the New Mexico Secretary of State Presentation
** 3 p.m., Smith Plaza: Southern California Intertribal Birdsingers
** 3 to 5 p.m., Mesa Vista Hall East Courtyard: Mutton King Contest
** 1 to 4 p.m., SUB Scholars Room and 6 to 7:30 p.m., Kiva Lecture Hall: Dr Viola Cordova Memorial Symposium
** 6 p.m., SUB Southwest Film Center: Native Filmmakers Showcase 2005
Friday, April 29:
** 3 to 7:30 p.m., SUB Ballrooms A and B: Nizhoni Days Reception
** 3 to 4 p.m., SUB Ballrooms A and B: Native Filmmakers Showcase 2005
** 4 to 7:30 p.m., SUB Ballrooms A and B: Native Xperienze Concert
All events are free and open to the public. Nizhoni Days 2005 is sponsored by UNM Kiva Club, Alpha Pi Omega, American Indian Business Association, American Indian Student Services, American Indian Science & Engineering Society, Associated Students of UNM, Graduate & Professional Student Association, Indigenous Nations Library Program, Institute for American Indian Research, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, KUNM Singing Wire, Miss Indian UNM 2004-2005, Native American Studies, Native American Studies Indigenous Research Group, Native Cinema 2005, Trajectory X Media Club, Tribal Sovereign Tees, Southwest Film Center and UNM SUB.
Contact: Sari Krosinsky, (505) 277-5813
A new portal will make its debut when faculty, staff and students return for the 2005 fall semester. The SCT Luminis Platform III portal will provide the UNM campus with a solid foundation of infrastructure, enterprise applications and features required to support an institution’s digital campus.
The infrastructure, enterprise applications and portal features will provide common software services leveraged by all systems integrated into the platform, including single sign-on, system administration, security and future technology choices while streamlining user management.
“When Luminis is launched this summer, Banner users will access the same Banner functionality through the new portal without having to sign in a second time,” said Laurie Schatzerg, UNM assistant academic vice president of MIS. She also said greater Banner use will be available during
implementation of the portal project.
Over time, portal features will allow users to create an online environment that can be customized by every member of the campus community. Administrative offices concerned with attracting and retaining students can also offer a customized, service-oriented online environment that today’s students increasingly expect. As the rollout continues, more aspects of the new portal will continue to evolve.
“The important thing with portals is bringing a single interface for online services that’s easy to use,” said Linda Miller, associate director, Information Technology at CIRT. “It targets individual groups with information pertinent to them.”
Features of the new portal include channelized content and layout; publish-and-subscribe channel model; end-user customization; separate channels for e-mail, calendar, personal and campus announcements, and a channel for My Courses.
“From a technological standpoint, it involves CIRT deploying a new infrastructure using the Sun Operating System,” said Matt Carter, CIRT technological support analyst. “Technologically, nothing will impact students because all that will take place behind the scenes.”
One of the exciting new functions of the Luminis portal is called Group Studio, which provides an increased and efficient communications avenue. Group Studio provides group collaboration including chat and message board functions, group-targeted announcements and Group Maker, which gives certain users the ability to generate ad hoc groups from student information system attributes.
“Group Studio is a new service that gives a group collaboration tools,” said Miller. “Groups and teams could all potentially utilize new functions such as chat, message boards, and file and photo sharing areas to communicate more effectively with their individuals groups or departments. People are fairly excited about it. There is a lot of enthusiasm for the project.”
The Luminis portal will replace UNM’s existing portal and will also retain the URL: "http://www.my.unm.edu."
For more information, visit the CIRT Web site at: Luminis.
The Department of English began its Writing Across Communities (WAC) initiative in January. A series of three, semester-long conversation building events and culminating colloquia were planned, with the first colloquium scheduled for Monday, April 25 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Student Union Building.
Dr. Juan Guerra, associate professor of English at the University of Washington, will deliver the keynote
Guerra was born in and raised in the Mexicano barrio in the “borderlands” of South Texas. He taught writing for 15 years in an educational opportunity program at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he also earned his bachelor's, master's and Ph.D. Guerra is the recipient of the Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship Award, Ford Foundation Fellowship and the Martin Luther King Jr. Award from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
A former director of the Expository Writing Program at the University of Washington and the current co-director of the Washington Center for Teaching and Learning, Guerra's principal areas of research are highlighted in two recent books, “ Writing in Multicultural Settings,” (1997) and “Close to Home: Oral and Literate Practices in a Transnational Mexicano Community” (1998). His current book project, “Transforming Cultures of Writing: The Role of the University in the Teaching of Writing in the Disciplines,” is forthcoming.
Guerra will address the values of academic literacy and how these relate to access and success in higher education, as well as in professional and community settings. His keynote address will center on effective approaches to teaching writing that help students move among their different communities of belonging with authority. Guerra will examine how an understanding of cultural diversity enhances students' ability to write appropriately (with an awareness of discourse conventions), productively (achieve desired aims), ethically (attune to the cultural ecology around them), critically (engage inquiry and discovery), and responsively (responsibly negotiate the tensions of exercising authority).
The goal of the WAC project is to help UNM, graduate teaching instructors, administrators and staff understand the many contexts in which students need to read and write effectively, and to provide instruction to meet those needs. UNM, a federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution with a diverse student body, enrolls approximately 5,000 freshmen each year. The presence of diverse discourse communities represents a source of strength in our classrooms as we educate students for global lives in the new century, lives in which the ability communicate fluently across boundaries is essential.
The WAC project, which works closely with the Rhetoric and Writing Program in the Department of English, engages students and teachers together to examine and explore the linguistic, rhetorical and literacy resources brought to the classroom by UNM students. WAC seeks innovative approaches to developing literacy resources, and helping students gain the knowledge needed for leadership in academic, professional and community contexts.
An outline of the questions that will be posed each semester follows:
Spring 2005 “Knowing Our Students”
What are the characteristics of the discourse communities—personal, civic, and academic—that our students bring to the university? How diverse are these practices, and how does that diversity affect curriculum and teaching?
Fall 2005 “Inviting Our Students to Academic Literacies”
How do disciplinary discourses at the university build on what students learn in writing courses? How can we bridge academic and community discourses, to help our students enter the disciplinary communities they seek to join?
Spring 2006 “ Preparing Paths to Professional Literacies”
How can we prepare all our students for access to and success in the professional and workplace discourse communities they will enter after graduation?
For more information about Writing Across Communities, visit: www.unm.edu/~wac.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920
The April 11, 2005 issue of Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education rates the top graduate schools and programs for Hispanics. The source for the data is NCES, Digest of Educational Statistics, 2002-03.
“As the nation's only state flagship research university that is also a Hispanic Serving Institution, UNM is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of Hispanic students and the nation's need for increasing the numbers of Hispanic doctors, lawyers, MBAs and PhDs,” said President Louis Caldera.
UNM is ranked among the top 25 for conferring master's degrees to Hispanics with 60 of the institution's 424 male master's students being Hispanic; 109 of the 622 female master's students being Hispanic. The combined number of Hispanic master's students, 169, represents 16 percent of UNM's total master's student population.
UNM is ranked among the top 25 institutions for conferring doctoral degrees to Hispanics with six of the institution's 81 male doctoral students being Hispanic; eight of the 81 female doctoral students being Hispanic. The combined number of Hispanic PhD students, 14, represents nine percent of UNM's total doctoral student population.
NCES, Digest of Educational Statistics for fall, 2003, notes that UNM is ranked among the top 25 institutions for Hispanic graduate student enrollment. Of UNM's 2,860 male graduate students, 443 are Hispanic. UNM's female Hispanic graduate student enrollment is 803 of the total female graduate enrollment of 3,915. Total Hispanic graduate enrollment, 1,246, represents 18 percent of the institution's total graduate student enrollment.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920
University Libraries and the Indigenous Nations Library Program are hosting a brown bag lunch and panel discussion on Wednesday, April 27. The brown bag lunch will be from noon to 1 p.m. in the Willard Reading Room of Zimmerman Library. The panel discussion will be from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Willard Reading Room.
The distinguished panelists will discuss the UNM KIVA Club 1952-2005. Presenters include State Senator Leonard Tsosie, KIVA Club member; Regents’ Professor of Architecture & Planning and former director of Native American Studies; Theodore Jojola; Department of Labor Secretary Conroy Chino; Dottie Tiger, representative from the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center; and Patrick Willink, KIVA Club president.
Both events are free and open to the public.
Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627
The University of New Mexico won three first place awards and a total of 11 awards in the New Mexico Press Women 2005 Communication Contest. Winners were announced April 15 at an awards banquet held in Albuquerque. This year’s contest included categories such as writing, editing, photography, advertising, public relations and books.
UNM staff from Alumni Relations, Public Affairs, and Strategic Communications and Marketing entered several categories.
A first place award was presented to the team of Steve Carr, Greg Johnston, John Sumrow and Karen Wentworth for their work in producing the UNM Today Web site. Johnston also received first place for a campaign or project designed to improve an organization’s relationship with key publics. The project involved publicity work for two UNM students who were given roles in a national cable TV program, “Mummy Autopsy.”
Carolyn Gonzales won a first place award for a feature story in a specialized publication. Gonzales wrote about preservation of Apache language for Campus News. UNM’s first place winners now advance to the national awards competition.
Others at UNM who received awards are Laurie Mellas Ramirez, editor of Campus News and Mary Conrad, editor of Mirage magazine.
UNM tied for second place with New Mexico State University for overall awards (11) received by an institution. The Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper was first. Third place went to Sandia National Laboratories.
New Mexico Press Women is open to both men and women and has established chapters throughout New Mexico.
Contact: Greg Johnston (505) 277-1816
The Anderson Schools of Management (ASM) recently completed its fifth year in collaboration with the Samaritan Counseling Center with the announcement of the 2005 New Mexico Ethics in Business Award recipients. The awards recognize three for-profit businesses, one not-for-profit organization and one individual who promote ethical conduct in the workplace and in their interaction with customers, suppliers and within the community.
Photo: Professor John Ackerman
The awards were founded for three reasons including:
* to foster a climate of ethical integrity in New Mexico;
* to heighten awareness of the Samaritan Center within
the business community;
* to raise funds for the Samaritan Center's healing work.
The 2005 award recipients are: Avila Retail Development & Management in the for-profit large business category; Baca Valley Telephone Co., for-profit medium business; Bobby Joe's Auto Service, for-profit small business; PB&J Family Services Inc., not for profit; and Judy Zanotti, individual.
The Anderson Schools have been in collaboration with the Samaritan Counseling Center since 1999 when Samaritan approached The Schools about the collaboration. The program began in 2000. Involvement from the Anderson School of Management students is an integral part in the process to select award recipients from a large pool of highly qualified nominees. It is the only recognition/award in New Mexico to include such an in-depth evaluation process.
“It’s the only component in the state with the kind of independent research we provide,” said Professor John Ackerman, who oversees The Schools’ participation. “The students travel to cities across the state to conduct interviews with nominees and stakeholders. The interviews take an average of hour-and-half. They also perform media and Internet research as part of the process. It’s a great opportunity for students. It gets them out of the classroom and into the community.”
About 125 students enrolled in ASM’s Ethical, Political and Social Environment of Business course comprised of two different sections get together in teams and interview 35-40 nominees statewide. Twenty percent of the winners come from some else in New Mexico other Albuquerque.
During the semester, students work cooperatively in small groups to research public information sources, conduct interviews, and compose a comprehensive final report containing evaluation, analysis and qualifications. To provide a balanced analysis and well-supported conclusion, students interview not only the award nominee, but also the nominator and many stakeholders who are familiar with the nominee.
Stakeholders may include suppliers, customers, competitors, board members, and employees who are able to provide the students with evidence and examples of exemplary ethical conduct demonstrated by the nominees.
Students interviewed this year’s nominees (19 businesses, 10 nonprofits and nine individuals) about their attitudes regarding ethical behavior and workplace practices and wrote 12-16 page reports on each one.
The final student reports are provided to the selection committee to assist members by offering background information, stakeholder perspectives and student input. The reports were passed on to an 11-member selection committee of business and community people in December. In January, they held two four-hour meetings to discuss and pick the recipients.
“There is also monetary success for The Schools from the banquet,” said Ackerman. “Ten percent of the net proceeds from the banquet go to The Schools. We’re endowing financial support for student scholarships and programs. The Anderson Schools also benefit in that aspect. It’s great program.”
The awards banquet will be held at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday at the Sheraton Old Town in Albuquerque. For more information, call 842-5300 or visit: Ethics in Business Banquet.
Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821
The University of New Mexico will host an open house grand opening celebration of a new state-of-the-art mass spectrometry facility housed in the Department of Chemistry on Friday, April 22, in Clark Hall, rm. 253. A ribbon-cutting is set for 11 a.m. with President Louis Caldera, acting Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Reed Dasenbrock and Vice President for Research Terry Yates scheduled to be on hand. The open house concludes at 4 p.m.
The mass spectrometry facility is a key component in basic research support for any university involved in research. UNM’s new, $1.2 million mass spectrometry facility will provide mass measurements for newly developed molecules and drug compounds, analysis of protein patterns in disease and cancer diagnosis and characterization of materials to name a few of its capabilities.
The facility is directed by Chemistry Professors John Engen and Chris Enke. The facility is supported by federal funding from the National Institutes of Health and by more than 12 entities throughout UNM and the State of New Mexico including, but not limited to: the College of Arts and Sciences, the UNM Health Sciences Center, the UNM Cancer Center and the office of the Vice President for Research.
Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821
Nemesio Paredes will be the subject of a Faculty Acknowledgement lecture by Dena Thomas Kinney. The lecture, “Dancing the Three-Cornered Hat: The Life and Work of Nemesio Paredes,” will be given Thursday, April 21, from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Willard Reading Room of Zimmerman Library as part of University Libraries Faculty Acknowledgement Series.
Photo: Nemesio Paredes
Kinney is the interim director of the Fine Arts Library and the subject specialist for theatre and dance. She is pursuing the goal of becoming a dance researcher and has presented papers at the Congress on Research in Dance and at the International Dance Conference in Taipei, Taiwan.
She has studied many forms of dance including ballet, modern, jazz, tap and flamenco and is inspired by ethnographic dance research, oral history and other methods of qualitative research.
Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627
Join the University of New Mexico for the third annual Viola Cordova Memorial Symposium April 28. There will be two sessions – the first from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Student Union Building Scholars room and second from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the UNM Kiva Lecture Hall.
Manulani Aluli Meyer, author of “Ho'oulu: Our Time of Becoming, Hawaiian Epistemology and Early Writings,” will speak from 1 to 2 p.m. and 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Meyer's afternoon talk will be followed by a panel discussion from 2 to 4 p.m. A book signing will follow the evening talk. Meyer is a writer, artist and student of Indigenous, Vedic, Buddhist and Taoist philosophies.
Panelists include Gregory Cajete, Native American Studies director, Theodore Jojola, regent professor in architecture and planning, and Anne Waters, adjunct lecturer in Native American Studies. The second session will open at 6 p.m. with a talk by Sarah James of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and a performance by the Arctic Village Gwich'in people.
In spring 2003, Cajete, Jojola and others created the symposium in honor of Cordova, who died in 2002, for her contributions to the field of philosophy . When Cordova graduated from UNM in 1992, she was one of the first Native Americans to receive a Ph.D. in philosophy in the United States.
As a Rockefeller Foundation Fellow at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario in 1996-1997, she helped to found the first graduate program in Native American philosophies and Ayaangwaamizin : The International Journal of Indigenous Philosophy. She was also founding co-editor and later editor of the American Philosophical Association Newsletter on American Indians in Philosophy.
The symposium is sponsored by Native American Studies and the Native American Studies Indigenous Research Group. All events are free and open to the public.
Contact: Sari Krosinsky, (505) 277-5813
Professor of History Paul Hutton received his fourth Western Heritage Award, this time for his article, “It was but a Small Affair: The Battle of the Alamo,” in the Feb. 2004 issue of Wild West magazine.
Photo: Professor Paul Hutton
“It was but a small affair,” declared General Santa Anna as he surveyed the ghastly carnage within the shattered walls of the Alamo on the morning of March 6, 1836. He could not have been more wrong. The battle inspired the Texans under Sam Houston to shatter Santa Anna’s army at San Jacinto on April 21. The forces the Alamo set in motion insured that victory, the independence of Texas and its eventual annexation to the United States, as well as the Mexican-American War that followed--leading to the creation of a continental nation.
Hutton’s evocative article addresses the powerful and timely theme of heroic sacrifice embodied in the Alamo saga, while also placing the famed battle within a national and even international context.
Hutton has won three previous Western Heritage Awards for his work in both print and in documentary filmmaking.
He received his award at a black tie gala at the National Cowboy Museum and Western Heritage Center in Oklahoma City recently.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920
EASi Therapy and Diagnostic Services will award $1,000 scholarships to graduate students in the fields of speech language pathology and physical and occupational therapy as part of its 25th anniversary celebration.
“We have been supporting students at UNM throughout our 25 years, and want to encourage those who plan to stay in New Mexico to provide services to children and adults with special needs. It’s also a way of saying ‘thank you’ because so many of our 150 employees are graduates of UNM,” said Gail Beam, chief administrative officer for EASi.
The students receiving the supplemental cash scholarship are within a year of finishing their program and plan to stay in New Mexico to work after graduation. Three occupational therapy, four speech language pathology and five physical therapy students from UNM will be presented with scholarships Tuesday. April 19 at the UNM Health Sciences Center.
Based in Albuquerque, EASi is the largest private provider of therapeutic and diagnostic services and serves communities throughout New Mexico. EASi’s staff is comprised primarily of occupational therapists, physical therapists and speech language pathologists who serve special needs children and adults in New Mexico.
EASi’s mission is to help children and adults with special needs live, work and play in their New Mexico communities by providing individuals, agencies and schools with quality therapeutic, diagnostic and professional development services.
Contact: Angela Heisel, (505) 272-3651
Tuition and fees for undergraduate students on the main campus will increase by 9.9 percent next fall. The decision by the UNM Board of Regents came at the end of two days of discussion about budget options.
Student representatives to the board agreed to the increases on the condition that the board adequately fund academic expansions such as hiring new faculty, improving student advisement and increasing funding for the freshman learning experiences. The board asked university administrators to find ways to fund those items and present a formal budget plan at their June meeting.
The tuition resolution included additional tuition charges for graduate students enrolled in the Anderson Schools of Management and the School of Law. Those increases of $770.20 per year are in addition to the 9.9 percent tuition hike. Deans of both the Law School and Anderson Schools of Management said they had discussed the possibility and need for those fee increases with students. The money will be used to fund operations for the departments.
Regents also voted to give faculty and staff a 3.25 percent salary increase. The salary increases will be given to departments, which may choose to allocate some of the funds for merit raises, for market competitive salary levels and to address salary inequities for individual employees.
In addition to that, the university will pay a .75 percent increase in the educational retirement contribution for each employee. The increase in retirement fund contributions is required by law to strengthen the long-term viability of the education retirement fund.
The university administration now has the difficult job of trying to find money to pay for hiring enough new faculty members to teach the projected increase of 500 students in the fall freshman class, along with other funding priorities.
Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627
Professor Margo Milleret from the Spanish and Portuguese Department and Associate Professor Susan Dever from the Media Arts Department will read from their new books in a lecture Thursday, April 28, at 2 p.m. in the Willard Reading Room of Zimmerman Library. The title of their presentation is “Off Camera and Back Stage: Women Dramatists and Directors in Latin America”.
Milleret’s “Latin American Women On/In Stages” studies play written by women that critique the social conventions of marriage, mother-daughter relations, and aging. She has taught at UNM since 1996, developing courses in digital filmmaking, and working on projects in which students speak Spanish or Portuguese.
Dever’s “Celluloid Nationalism and Other Melodramas: From Post Revolutionary Mexico to fin de siglo Mexámerica” looks at representation and rebellion in times of national uncertainty in both movies and politics. She has created and taught numerous Media Arts courses regarding race, class, gender and sexuality in U.S. and foreign cinemas.
The reading and discussion event is free and open to the public.
Contact: Karen Wentworth (505) 277-5627
Clara Bargellini, professor and senior research scholar from the Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, will meet with students and faculty in the University of New Mexico’s Latin American and Iberian Institute, through LAII and its student organization SOLAS, the Department of Art History and University Libraries.
Additionally, she will present, “Artistic Frontiers in Northern New Spain: Spirituality and Identities” a public talk at the National Hispanic Cultural Center on Wednesday April 27, at 4 p.m. The talk will be held in the Wells Fargo Auditorium at the NHCC, 1701 4th Street SW, corner of 4th and Bridge.
Bargellini’s professional career spans Europe, Latin America and the United States, where she has worked and studied at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Florence, Harvard University, the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University and the University of Chicago.
Bargellini’s publications include more than 20 single and co-authored titles on topics of architecture, art and artists of Mexico’s baroque era, a subject of universal interest and research. Of particular relevance to UNM and New Mexico, Bargellini has specialized in the colonial art of northern New Spain, focused on the towns and missions of Nueva Vizcaya, particularly Chihuahua.
This distinguished visiting scholar program is supported by the UNM Office of
the Provost, the College of Fine Arts, the College of Arts & Sciences, the University Libraries, the Anderson Schools of Management, the Latin American and Iberian Institute, the National Hispanic Cultural Center and the Instituto Cervantes.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales (505) 277-5920
Vickie Nelson (505) 277-4821
Amy Goodman, of "Democracy Now," will speak at the Student Union Building on Saturday, April 16 from noon to 1 p.m. Doors will open at 11:30 a.m. for the free event organized by KUNM 89.9 FM and Cable Channel 27.
Goodman and the broadcasters join to honor students, volunteers, contributors, listeners and viewers who help make independent media possible. No tickets are required.
"This is a terrific opportunity for KUNM and for us to say thank you to the UNM and broader community members as well as our donors and listeners for supporting our work," said Richard Towne, KUNM general manager.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920.
The City of Albuquerque has launched its Tricentennial celebration. The University of New Mexico, a partner in the celebration, gets in on the act Friday, April 22 with Historical Campus Tours.
Terry Gugliotta, university archivist, and Joe McKinney, recently retired university planner, will facilitate the tours leaving from Hodgin Hall at 2:30 p.m. The tours are free and open to the public. Make your reservations at 277-1989.
Following the tours, Chris Wilson, J.B. Jackson Professor of Cultural Landscape Studies, will offer a lecture about “Albuquerque's Architectural Identity Crisis” at 4:30 p.m. in Northrop Hall, rm. 122.
The tours will kick off UNM's salute to the Albuquerque Tricentennial. Participants can learn about the evolution of UNM buildings beginning with its oldest - Hodgin Hall. Enjoy UNM's award winning Spanish pueblo revival style architecture and WPA era buildings, and sneak a quick look at the new Welcome Center as you enjoy refreshments.
Gugliotta's tour theme will cover the unlikely birth of UNM on the mesa, far from the existing town. This was not a roadblock to the Father of UNM, Bernard Rodey, nor to the early "settlers" of the campus who faced constant sandstorms, muddy roads and lack of water. They solved their problems in creative ways resulting in today's campus of 153 buildings with 5 million square feet of space and a 187-acre arboretum.
McKinney's tour will cover the founding of UNM in1889 and how it now occupies 600 acres along old Route 66 in the heart of Albuquerque and is considered unique in its architectural style. His tour will concentrate on the evolution of the Spanish Pueblo Revival architectural theme that echoes the buildings of the nearby Pueblo Indian villages.
Highlights of these tours will include the first building on the campus, Hodgin Hall (1892), one of nine buildings on the National Registry of Historic Places; the old Chemistry Building (circa 1916) reputed by some architectural historians to be the first building of "Modern Architecture" in the United States; and some of 30 John Gaw Meem-designed structures that begin in the WPA era and ended in the mid 50's.
The UNM Tricentennial committee plans to offer additional tours each month to highlight more of UNM's treasures including the national arboretum, sculptures, museums, galleries, libraries, arena and athletics' complex.
For more information on UNM's Tricentennial celebrations visit: UNM Salutes the Albuquerque Tricentennial.
Contact: Eleanor Sanchez, (505) 277-1813
The Maxwell Museum of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico will offer a summer children's program for 8-12 year-olds. Camp dates are June 13-17, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The program will include educational and craft activities, recreation, games and snacks.
Theme days are:
· Music From Around the World - children learn about a variety of musical and dance traditions and play musical instruments from many cultures
· Archaeology Day - children find out how archaeologists learn about the past and go on a field trip to an active "dig."
· Spanish Colonial Life and Arts Day - learn about Spanish colonial life, culture and art and go on a field trip.
· Making A Living the Ancient Way Day - children learn about native Southwest cultures and life, including how to make and use ancient tools.
· "Skulls & Skills" Day - discover what scientists learn from bones, including forensic anthropology, osteology and the theory of evolution.
Advance registration is required. Call 277-5963 or 277-2924. Twenty children per day is maximum enrollment.
The cost is $30 per day per child or $125 for the week with early registration (before May 13) and $35 per day per child or $150 for the week for late registration. There will be an additional $5 transportation fee for both Archaeology Day and Spanish Colonial Day and a signed parental release is required.
Lunch is not included, however two snacks each day will be provided. Due to financial commitments to support services, there will be no refunds for cancellations.
Contact: Greg Johnston, (505) 277-1816
Three staff members will be recognized for their outstanding contributions to student life on April 14 at 7 p.m. at the Student Union Building Ballroom. Recipients are: School of Law Placement Director John Feldman; Mary Alice Tsosie, outreach and liaison librarian with the Indigenous Nations' Library Program at University Libraries; and Maria Williams, assistant professor of Native American Students and Department of Music.
Feldman will be honored for his work in raising the quality of services provided to students at the School of Law and for serving as the school’s first real counselor who can address student concerns about their careers and aspects of law school. He has contributed to the implementation of an effective orientation program, brings in speakers on a regular basis, fosters mentorship and internship opportunities, and coordinates a law career fair. He has also played a significant role in proposing a loan assistance repayment program to the legislature for new public interest lawyers who are saddled with low public sector salaries.
Tsosie will be recognized for her work in helping to create a positive environment for Native American students at UNM, particularly in her capacity as the KIVA Club’s advisor. The mission of the KIVA Club is to preserve the cultural values of American Indian students by promoting education, emphasizing cultural growth and awareness, and providing a safe social environment. Tsosie has embodied these ideals in her service to Native American students.
Williams has worked tirelessly to promote the cause of Native American students through her position as assistant professor of Native American Studies. She conceptualized and established the Tribal Virtual Network (TVN), which connects New Mexico tribes in rural areas via virtual capabilities. This network helps students in rural areas gain access to educational opportunities at UNM. She is also an advisor at the Native American Studies department.
For further information, please contact Susan Corban at 277-4706.
Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627
The University of New Mexico Latin American & Iberian Institute was awarded an $800,000 grant from the US Department of Education Technological Innovation for Foreign Information Access program (TICFIA).
The four-year grant, “University of New Mexico Harvester for Building Knowledge Streams in the Americas,” starts in October 2005.
“The project builds a harvester for open archived information from Latin America and UNM collections to form interdisciplinary knowledge communities and address the digital divide between the US and Latin America,” said Cynthia Radding, director of the Latin American and Iberian Institute and co-principal investigator. The other co-PI is Johann Van Reenen, assistant dean of University Libraries.
The project archives and disseminates:
• UNM Latin American collections in social medicine/public health, in conjunction with the Universidad de Guadalajara,
• current news reports of LAII's LADB news service ( http://ladb.unm.edu/ ),
• historical collections covering social history and political independence from the Universidad Simón Bolívar in Venezuela,
• K-12 teaching materials on LAII's Resources for Teaching About the Americas
• (RetaNet) web site http://retanet.unm.edu/ ,
• Brazilian PhD theses working with the Universidade Estadual de Campinas,
• and pre-print working paper scholarship in an open archive protocol.
The project supports and trains content providers at UNM and Latin American sites to establish open archive repositories for scholarly access to their collections. The project is a collaboration among the principal outreach programs of LAII -- LADB, ISTEC and RetaNet -- the Latin America Social Medicine project at the UNM Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center, University Libraries, the Consortium of the Americas for Interdisciplinary Science and the Latin American partners.
“This is the first TICFIA grant to be awarded to the University of New Mexico and its success is thanks to the strong staff support of LAII, the UNM Office of Research Services, and all the institutions that participate in this exciting and innovative project, bringing together information technologies and cutting-edge Latin American content,” Radding said.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920
University College Dean Peter White says 75 percent of freshmen who entered UNM in the fall of 2002 came back to school in 2003. The number is a point of pride for the institution, which is using an expanding series of Freshman Academic Choices to bring a very diverse student body of freshman into the mainstream of a large university.
Freshman Academic Choices try to match the interests of incoming freshmen so that new students are able to develop a group of friends and study partners to assist them in making the transition to a large university setting. In fall 2004, 81.6 percent of freshmen were enrolled in at least one of the Freshman Academic Choice Programs.
Freshman Learning Communities
Freshman Learning Communities is a group of two or more classes taught by a team of faculty members who coordinate their classes. Freshmen take the learning communities as a group, and choose from 29 general areas of interest. That can include anything from a group focused on human/insect interactions through culture, ecology and literature to Spanish heritage and identity, to roles in professional nursing.
Freshman Interest Groups
Students interested in a different choice, the Freshman Interest Group, can enroll in a one-credit, theme-based seminar in a block scheduled with one or two classes, which are usually part of the core curriculum. Students in classes of 25 or fewer, meet weekly with faculty mentors. Once focus of the Freshman Interest Groups is how to succeed in a large institution.
Freshman Living and Learning Communities
Freshman Living and Learning Communities combine a one-credit seminar with a major interest. Students share a residence hall and attend some classes as a group. In fall 2005, students can enroll in Living and Learning Communities in the areas of fine arts, engineering, management, architecture and planning, language and culture, and health professions.
Engineering Freshman Programs
Engineering Freshman Programs give freshmen an overview of the engineering and computer sciences degrees offered at the university. Students learn the individual and team study skills needed for success in the field.
University College also offers an honors program for freshman students interested in expanding their experiences in special areas. White believes the Freshman Academic Choices help contribute to the large numbers of freshmen who are qualifying for New Mexico Lottery Scholarships. In 2004, 71.5 percent of freshmen achieved a 2.5 grade point average, making them eligible for the full-tuition scholarships.
Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627
Gov. Bill Richardson toured the state last fall seeking public support and input on higher education reform. During a stop at the University of New Mexico, law student Debra Haaland asked Richardson to support a bill that would extend resident tuition at New Mexico's post-secondary education institutions to members of Indian nations, tribes and pueblos located wholly or partially in New Mexico.
The bill passed and Gov. Richardson on Monday signed SB482, Native American Resident Student Definition.
“Last year, I approached Senator Leonard Tsosie with my idea and he introduced the bill. Unfortunately it was a short session and my bill went nowhere,” Haaland said. “The senator introduced it again this year. UNM Law Professor Kip Bobroff and I went to the capitol building each time it was in front of committee until it passed both houses. The lawmakers were very supportive.”
A graduate of Highland High School, she is a New Mexican and enrolled member of Laguna Pueblo. After attending a graduate program at the University of California-Los Angeles, she was accepted to the UNM law school but assessed out-of-state tuition. The new law provides for resident tuition regardless of the residence of the member prior to acceptance at a post-secondary educational institution.
The law allows New Mexico to retain talented Native Americans and is a win-win for tribe members and the state, said UNM Law Professor Gloria Valencia-Weber.
“Removing the barrier to returning members of New Mexico's tribes and pueblos allows the UNM law school to train more persons who have an understanding of the state, its history and who have commitments to improving the lives of New Mexicans,” Weber said. "The legal profession will benefit from the inclusion of persons with perspectives that improve the quality of representation of individuals, business, nonprofit organizations, and governments. Ultimately, the law school can increase the pool of American Indians and provide the knowledge and skills qualifying them to serve as judges.”
Contact: Laurie Mellas Ramirez, (505) 277-5915
Spring is a great time for a play about the magic – and the mess – of love. UNM’s Department of Theatre and Dance offers that, and more, with its upcoming production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Denise Schulz, in Rodey Theatre on the UNM campus April 15-30, 2005. Performances will be held April 15-16, 21-23, 28-30 at 7:30 p.m. and April 17 and 24 at 2 p.m.
Considered the loveliest of Shakespeare's romantic comedies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream draws us into a dark forest, where love loses its way, where the King and Queen of the fairies battle over a child, and where a group of well-meaning workmen bumbles through rehearsals for a play. Soon, the fairies' magic leads to chaos, with couples changing partners and the Queen in love with an ass.
In A Midsummer Night's Dream, we are transported to a world where night is a time for mischief and merrymaking and love’s transforming power takes hold. Shakespeare's enchanted comedy triumphantly entwines passion, poetry and the lunacy of love. "Lord, what fools these mortals be!" proclaims the goblin Puck!
The creative team for A Midsummer Night's Dream, led by director Denise Schulz, includes all faculty artists. The choreographer is the new head of dance at UNM, Donna Jewell. The production features a multi-level set designed by John Malolepsy, Art Nouveau inspired costumes designed by Dorothy Baca and the wood’s magic evoked by lighting designer William Liotta. World Stage Design 2005 recently honored John Malolepsy, Dorothy Baca, and William Liotta for inclusion in their inaugural exhibition, which was held in Toronto this March.
The transforming power of dreams is one of director Schulz’ themes for this production. This is an especially potent image for her cast of student actors, with half of them graduating this spring to pursue their own dreams!
The April 16 performance is a benefit for Department of Theatre and Design Scholarships, with a pre-performance Champagne reception honoring Barbara Talbot. Talbot was a gifted student in the department, graduating in 1951. She and her husband Lyle are loyal supporters of UNM and the Department of Theatre and Dance.
Proving that romance is in the air, all Friday evening performances will feature special “Date Night” rates with all tickets two for the price of one with many local restaurants offering patrons specials.
All tickets are $12 general, $8 faculty/staff/seniors, $6 Students and are available through the UNM ticket office at 925-5858, Tickets.com outlets, or online at www.unmtickets.com. Tickets for the benefit are $50, which includes the champagne reception in the UNM Fine Arts Museum at 6 p.m., and $20, which includes a post-performance reception.
Contact: Kathleen Clawson, (505) 277-4332
Raymond Cross, a champion of Native American rights in the legal system, will speak at the University of New Mexico on April 14 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in Woodward Hall 149. The presentation, titled “Reclaiming Aboriginal America: The Role of Indian Tribes and Peoples in Restoring and Preserving ‘The Heart of America,'” is part of the Native American Studies spring 2005 lecture series.
Currently a professor of law at the University of Montana - Missoula, Cross has a history of legal activism as a tribal attorney for the Three Affiliated Tribes — Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nations — and as a staff attorney for the Native American Rights Fund.
Among other cases reaffirming tribal sovereign immunity, Cross represented the Three Affiliated Tribes in a just compensation claim for the federal taking of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. The land, once home to nine North Dakota Native American communities, was flooded in 1949 when Congress authorized the building of Garrison Dam.
“Cross won his landmark legal battle for Indian sovereignty and in so doing earned the gratitude of not only his own people but of all who live in Indian Country,” William Lang said in a Dec. 5, 2004 Albuquerque Journal review of “Coyote Warrior,” a book which details the history from the building of the dam to the successful conclusion of Cross' efforts, resulting in a 1992 Congressional payment of $149.5 million in just compensation to the Three Affiliated Tribes.
The presentation is free and open to the public.
Contact: Sara Krosinsky, (505) 277-5813
Visiting professor David J. Meltzer will present the 20th Journal of Anthropological Research Distinguished Lecture “The 70 Year Itch: Controversies over Human Antiquity & their Resolution.” The lecture will be held Thursday, April 14, at 7:30 p.m. in the UNM Anthropology lecture hall, room 163.
Meltzer is the Henderson- Morrison professor of pre-history at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Meltzer will show how excavations at Brixham Cave in Southern England and Monte Verde in Chile have – after considerable controversy and debate – fundamentally changed views and knowledge of human antiquity.
He will also present a special seminar titled “In the Belly of the Beast: A New Look at the Folsom Site,” Friday, April 15, at noon in Anthropology room 178.
Both events are free and open to the public. For more information call (505) 277-4544.
The University of New Mexico in the interest of general anthropology has published the Journal of Anthropological Research quarterly since 1945. Editor of the journal is UNM Professor of Anthropology Lawrence Guy Straus.
Contact: Greg Johnston (505) 277-1816
The University of New Mexico ranks among the best in the nation when it comes to graduate programs in education, engineering, law and medicine. U.S. News and World Report first ranked graduate schools in 1987, and has done so annually since 1990. This year, 12 UNM programs were cited among the best in the country.
For the 11th consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report's “America's Best Graduate Schools,” has ranked UNM's Rural Medicine program second nationally, while the School of Medicine's Family Medicine program moved up a spot from last year to ninth place in primary care-oriented medical schools. It's the 15th consecutive year the Family Medicine Program has placed in the top 10.
The magazine also ranked UNM's Primary Care curriculum 27th, tying with the University of Maryland and University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. This year's rankings also placed UNM's College of Pharmacy Doctor of Pharmacy program in an eight-way tie for 46th out of 90 schools. In addition, the UNM School of Medicine's Occupational Therapy program, last rated in 2001, was ranked 23rd, which put it in the top third of the OT programs nationwide.
All 125 medical schools and 19 schools of osteopathic medicine accredited in the United States were considered for this year's ranking. The schools were ranked according to selected measures of academic quality. These include academic reputation, student selectivity, faculty resources, and the percentage of graduating physicians who go into the primary care specialties of family practice, internal medicine and pediatrics. Medical school deans and senior faculty nationwide ranked UNM's primary care curriculum sixth among primary care-oriented schools in terms of academic reputation.
Other new rankings involving UNM specialty programs include the clinical law training program at 8, electrical and engineering tied at 64, and mechanical engineering, breaking the rankings for the first time and tied at 85.
Overall at UNM, the History Department is ranked tied at 59; College of Education tied for 62 and ranked for the first time; the School of Engineering tied for 68; School of Law tied for 69; English tied for 89 and Research Psychology tied for 136.
Every year the magazine ranks graduate programs in medicine, law and business. Other graduate programs are evaluated every three years. New rankings this year were produced in education, social sciences and humanities. The rankings in these fields, plus those from previous years in health-related fields, public affairs, fine arts and sciences are based solely on the ratings of academic experts.
Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821
Twenty people will enjoy a meal and conversation with Amy Goodman in a private setting in Santa Fe on Saturday, April 16, at 3 p.m. with all proceeds benefiting community radio KUNM 89.9 FM.
Amy Goodman is the journalist and co-host, with Juan Gonzales, of the program Democracy Now from Pacifica Radio. Goodman will be in Santa Fe on Saturday, April 16 for a live Peace Jam NM event at St. John's College.
Prior to her public event, 20 lucky bidders will gather for an intimate meeting with Goodman to include conversation, an excellent meal and wine.
This opportunity will take place from 3-5 p.m. in a private dining room disclosed only to the auction winners after the close of bidding on April 14. Individuals can help KUNM by bidding on this charity auction at www.kunm.org and join us “at table” with Goodman in Santa Fe.
Proceeds will benefit community radio KUNM-FM while the winning bidders will benefit from time spent with today's leading progressive journalist and advocate for independent media.
“The minimum bid for the KUNM auction is $125.00. If you make a generous contribution of $1,000 we will automatically reserve a seat at the table for you, with no other bid required. There are a maximum of 20 winners to keep the afternoon with Amy as intimate as possible,” said Richard Towne, general manager, KUNM.
Goodman will be in Santa Fe on April 16 through the work of Peace Jam NM. She will join East Timor native and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Jose Ramos Horta in a conversation about East Timor, and the vitality of democracy and peace around the globe.
Peace Jam takes place on Saturday, April 16, starting at 7 p.m. at St. John's College Gym in Santa Fe. Tickets are available at the Lensic Box Office in Santa Fe - 988-1234. Tickets are $15 in advance, $12 in advance for students, or $20 at the door. Public events with Goodman usually sellout quickly, so individuals are encouraged to buy tickets early.
“Thanks in advance for your participation and generosity in KUNM's first ever benefit auction online. The very notion that Amy is so willing to help us and meet with you is terrific. We look forward to being with you on April 16 with Amy Goodman,” Towne said.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920
MBA students at UNM’s Anderson Schools of Management prepare high school students for event
New Mexico teens will compete in the JA Titan New Mexico student competition on Monday, April 11, on the University of New Mexico main campus. More than 125 area high school students and volunteers from UNM’s Anderson Schools of Management MBA program will gather at 1 p.m. in the Student Union Building to participate in the JA Titan program, an interactive high-tech, web-based business simulation model that introduces critical economics and management decisions to high school students.
The statewide competition is being presented by Sandia National Laboratories. Supporting sponsors include the University of New Mexico, Intel Corporation and Graphic Connections.
At the statewide competition, students apply concepts of operating a business as they compete online in the highly competitive industry of the fictional Holo-Generator™. The MBA student volunteers serve as mentors during the competition. Area high schools involved include Albuquerque, Eldorado, Highland, Rio Rancho, Robert F. Kennedy Charter, Sandia, Valley and West Mesa. In conjunction with Junior Achievement of New Mexico, graduate students from the Anderson Schools have been preparing the high school students for the competition throughout the spring semester.
The top teams will move onto the nationwide regional competition with the opportunity to advance to a national competition. Each student of the winning team will be the recipient of a new notebook computer.
“Working with Junior Achievement allows you to personally invest into students’ lives, share your experiences and help acquire some skills needed for college and the business world,” said UNM student Geoffrey Bennett. “It’s a great opportunity.”
“For me as a professor, this is a great experience and opportunity to have MBA students learn as they teach because you always learn the most when you teach,” said Anderson Schools’ Assistant Professor Doug Thomas. “The program benefits high school students at the same time in a very meaningful way. This is a real win-win and a great relationship between the Anderson Schools, Junior Achievement and the local high schools. Additionally, these types of K-12/University partnerships are very important to recruiting high schools students to college.”
"The JA Titan New Mexico student competition could not have the profound impact they do on young people without the support of dedicated volunteers from the Anderson Schools of Management," said Kevin R. Hattery, President, Junior Achievement of New Mexico. “The partnership with the Anderson Schools of Management is a great example of how both organizations are collaborating to prepare the future workforce of New Mexico.”
According to a study completed by the Western Institute for Research and Evaluation, results show that Junior Achievement’s high school programs have a significant impact on student learning. Students who participate in JA Titan demonstrate better problem-solving skills when making critical business decisions than their non-participating peers. For full evaluation results, visit newmexico.ja.org.
For more information about the collaborative partnership between the Anderson Schools of Management and Junior Achievement of New Mexico or the JA Titan program, contact Junior Achievement of New Mexico at: (505) 344-0861 or visit: newmexico.ja.org.
Contacts: Kevin Hattery, Junior Achievement, (505) 344-0861 or Steve Carr, UNM, (505) 277-1821