Professor Emeritus Peter Pabisch has won the Outstanding German Educator Award and Checkpoint Charlie Foundation Scholarship from the National American Association of Teachers of German (AATG). Pabisch will receive the award at the AATG annual national meeting in Baltimore on Nov. 19. The event will likely draw approximately 500 AATG members from all over the United States.
Photo: Peter Pabisch (r.) stands with fellow German Summer School co-founder George Peters and Elisabeth Brownell, owner of Thunderbird Lodge, at the 2005 German Summer School in Taos Ski Valley.
Pabisch is professor emeritus of German and German Studies of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures in the College of Arts and Sciences at UNM.
“It is gratifying to see that we, from the University of New Mexico, are gaining national recognition for an innovative branch of language instruction that is offered not just through language and literature, but through the versatility of cultural studies,” Pabisch said.
Pabisch noted the success of such programs as German weekends, 30 years of the German Summer School in Taos Ski Valley and various transatlantic programs, including dual-vocational and journalism seminars, as key to spreading knowledge about the German speaking world.
“I feel rewarded by those who helped in the pioneering efforts of German Studies in this country,” he added.
Three of these awards are given at the annual meeting – one to an
elementary, middle school or junior high school instructor; one to a high school instructor; one to a college/university instructor. Pabisch is the first to receive this award in the state at the university level.
The Outstanding German Educator Award is given in recognition of personal innovation, talent and leadership, which reflect uncommon excellence. The prestigious award, AATG’s highest national honor, has been presented annually since 1989.
Recipients are nominated by their colleagues in recognition of: Service to the language teaching profession; participation in professional organizations; contribution to German language education; and continued growth as a German educator in the field of German Studies, including literature and interdisciplinary cultural affairs.
In the past, recipients also received a one-week scholarship for a Berlin seminar as well as roundtrip transportation sponsored by the Checkpoint Charlie Foundation of the Berlin State House of Representatives, which started this foundation to support friendly German-American ties in the future. It was named for the location of Checkpoint Charlie, which had such an important political function in the German capital city’s history. The Foundation supports projects, including teacher exchange, and is non-partisan.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920
The University of New Mexico’s International Studies Institute presents “Human Rights in a Global Context” as the theme for its second annual fall lecture series, Monday, Sept. 12, through Thursday, Sept. 15 on the UNM campus in Woodward Hall, room 101.
Distinguished speakers from UNM and across the continent will present a series of lectures to introduce New Mexicans to the complex issues of human rights in today’s increasingly globalized and polarized world. According to the United Nations, “human rights have gained prominence as a universally recognized set of norms and standards that increasingly inform all aspects of our relations as individuals and as collective members of groups, within communities and among nations.”
“The lectures in this series will examine these norms and standards from various perspectives, including law, politics, business, ethics, modern communications and foreign policy,” said Christine Sauer, interim director, International Studies Institute.
All lectures are free and open to the public.
Monday, Sept. 12
4 p.m. “China’s Information Revolution and its Democratic Future.” Xiao Qiang, director of the China Internet Project, Graduate School of Journalism, University of California, Berkeley.
7 p.m. “Bait and Switch: Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy.” Julie Mertus, associate professor, Division of International Peace and Conflict Resolution, American University.
Tuesday, Sept. 13
5 p.m. “Dangerous Transitions: How Extremists Used Mass Murder to Prevent Compromise in El Salvador and Rwanda.” William Stanley, associate professor, Department of Political Science, University of New Mexico.
7:30 p.m. “Priming the Pump: First Steps in the Escalation of Political Violence.” Carole Nagengast, professor, Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico.
Wednesday, Sept.14
4 p.m. “Remembering the Golden Rule: Humane Treatment in the War on Terror.” Jennifer Moore, professor of law and director of Peace Studies, School of Law, University of New Mexico.
Thursday, Sept.15
5 p.m. “The Complicated Story of Business and Human Rights.” Harry Van Buren III, assistant professor, Anderson Schools of Management, University of New Mexico.
7:30 pm. “Human Rights and the Quest for Human Integrity.” Steven Poe, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of North Texas.
For more information, visit ISI's website at www.unm.edu/~isi/.
The International Studies Institute in the UNM College of Arts and Sciences serves as an umbrella organization for three undergraduate area studies programs: European Studies, Asian Studies (including the Middle East), and Russian Studies.
The institute’s goal is to pursue broad-based initiatives involving all three subgroups, such as coordination of lecture series, provision of summer scholarships, outreach to secondary schools, and grant writing for international or interdisciplinary study, research and outreach programs.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920
Diana Northup, librarian, microbiologist and associate in the university’s Museum of Southwestern Biology, will be featured the Nova episode “The Mysterious Life of Caves,” on Tuesday, Sept. 6 at 8 p.m. and again on Friday, Sept. 9 at 9 p.m. on KNME-TV Channel 5.
New Mexico’s Carlsbad and Lechuguilla Caverns are featured. Toxic caverns teeming with strange life forms spark a radical theory of how certain caves take shape.
For more on this episode, visit Nova’s website at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/caves/ or listen to Nova’s interview with Northup at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/caves/extremophiles.html.
Contact: Evy Todd, (505) 277-1218
“Thinking about business school? You’ll need to take the GMAT first.”
Thinking about an MBA? Or maybe a Master of Accounting? If you’re planning on getting it at UNM, you’ll need to take the GMAT (Graduate Management Admissions Test).
This year, for the first time, Anderson is hosting a special, three-hour GMAT prep seminar open to UNM students and employees. The seminar will be held on Friday, Sept. 16, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Anderson Schools of Management. Reservations are required and may be sent to rsvp@mgt.unm.edu.
At the GMAT prep seminar, participants will go through each of the question types included in the test. Sophie Martin, an Anderson staff member and a former master tutor with the Princeton Review, will lead the seminar and dispense test-taking strategies taught by the biggest and best test prep companies in the country. Participants will leave the seminar with a clear, six-week program for self-guided study for the test.
“We know that the test is hard, and encourage anyone who’s thinking about a graduate degree at Anderson to begin their preparation for the GMAT well in advance of our application deadlines,” says Loyola Chastain, Anderson’s Graduate Programs Manager.
The Anderson Schools offer three options for graduate education: the Master of Business (MBA), the Master of Accounting, and the Executive MBA. Upcoming deadlines for the Anderson MBA and Master of Accounting programs are November 1, 2005 (for the Spring 2006 semester) and April 1, 2006 (for the Summer 2006 semester). Anderson’s Executive MBA program has a rolling admissions policy, with acceptances beginning in January.
UNM’s Anderson Schools of Management isn’t the only school that requires the GMAT – top-tier business schools across the country include the test in their admission decisions.
“The GMAT is only one of a handful of criteria we look at, including undergraduate GPA, work experience, and letters of recommendation,” says Chastain. “It’s a little bit like taking the SAT or the ACT for admission to college – it’s one of the hurdles you have to clear.”
Contacts: Sophie Martin, (505) 710-9325 or Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821
The UNM Department of Theater and Dance is hosting the third annual “A Celebration of Community Dance” on Friday, Sept. 9, at 7:30 p.m. at Rodey Theater. The event includes performances and a silent auction to benefit UNM dance scholarships.
Dance students from various local studios, area professionals as well as UNM students and alumni will perform.
Dance Studio and the Dance Collective, a new company of professional dancers, are two of the studios represented at the celebration.
The silent auction will feature original art by sculptor Brian Ostrom Fishbacks. The piece is a sculpture of Mary Wigman, a German dancer, choreographer and teacher performing the Witch Dance. Wigman was one of the most influential German exponents of expressive movement. Her school in Berlin was the center of European modern dance for 20 years.
“A Celebration of Community Dance” is co-sponsored by UNM’s theatre and dance and the Friends of Dance, an organization founded in 1988 to create and fund dance scholarships at UNM. The Friends of Dance was also instrumental in creating the Carlisle Performance Studio, a new theatre located in Carlisle Gym on the main campus, designed for dance performances.
All tickets are $25 and available through the UNM ticket office at 925-5858, tickets.com outlets, or online at www.unmtickets.com.
All proceeds from the evening will benefit dance scholarships at UNM.
Contact: Laurie Mellas, (505) 277-5915
The University of New Mexico’s student-run Theatre X launches their Fall 2006 season with performances of References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot by Jose Rivera, Sept. 1-3 and 7-10 at 7:30 p.m. Rivera dedicated References to his four soldier-brothers. The play is set just after the end of the Persian Gulf War.
Though the play is a love story at heart, its dialogue about Iraq, freedom, justice and Islam now have a heightened poignancy. Rivera was recently nominated for an Oscar for his screenplay of The Motorcycle Diaries.
UNM’s production is a collaboration between director Asae Dean, choreographer Cynthia Boles-Montoya and designer Patricia Goodson. References marks Asae’s sixth solo directorial outing. Her mentor, local director Michael D. Blum, exposed her to Rivera’s playwrighting and together they have brought many of his works to Albuquerque audiences. Goodson graduates this December. She signed onto References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot because it offered her the chance to create a complete stage design.
The production draws together diverse talent from UNM Theatre and Dance Department and Albuquerque Academy. Babak Gharaei-Tafti, last seen as Lysander in UNM’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, plays Benito and the Moon. Gabi Rojas, a UNM dance major on the performance roster for Cirque du Soleil, makes her acting debut as Gabriela. Other cast members include Joanna Furgal, Kanani Fricke and Albuquerque Academy senior Luis Ballesteros.
Tickets are $10, $8, and $7 and available at Tickets.com or by calling the UNM Box Office at 277-4569.
Contact: Sari Krosinsky, (505) 277-5813
University Libraries is hosting an event on Wednesday, Aug. 31, from 3 to 5 p.m. to commemorate the re-opening of Centennial Science and Engineering Library. The library was closed late last year after a leak from a frozen water pipe flooded the lower level on Christmas Eve.
A graduate student who was also working in the library reported the leak and library administrators, workers and volunteers put together an emergency effort to remove and relocate the books and maps that were in danger. Some of the maps had to be freeze dried in order to preserve them. The library reopened after spring break.
Library Dean Camilla Alire will have the opportunity to thank everyone who worked so hard to preserve the collection. CSEL Director Johann van Reenan will also speak and there will be a chance to ask questions about the preservation effort.
Contact: Karen Wentworth (505) 277-5627
Grab a game of golf and earn CLE credit while catching up with former classmates during the UNM School of Law Reunion Weekend honoring the classes of 1950, ’55, ’60, ’65, ’70, ’75, ’80, ’85, ’90, ’95 and 2000. Events are scheduled Friday and Saturday, Sept. 16-17.
On Friday, Sept. 16, put together a team of classmates to play at the UNM Nostalgic (9 hole) on the north course. The outing is $50 and includes lunch, green fees (for 18 holes) and a cart.
On Saturday, Sept. 17, the CLE program begins with a lunch at noon in the forum, followed by a lecture from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Law Professor Sherri Burr will present “The Global Film and Television Industry: New Mexico's Role.” Burr will also moderate a panel discussion “Intellectual Property Law Opportunities in New Mexico” with guest speakers Saul Cohen and Alberto León.
The class reunion dinner and no-host reception begins Saturday at 5 p.m. Dinner is served at 7 p.m. Cost for the evening event, held at the Embassy Suites Albuquerque Hotel at I-25 and Lomas is $50.
For information and reservations, contact Carmen Rawls, 277-8184, rawls@law.unm.edu or Claire Conrad, 277-0080, conrad@law.unm.edu.
Contact: Laurie Mellas, (505) 277-5915
The University of New Mexico School of Law will offer an MCLE board- approved course for 3.3 general CLE credits on Saturday, Sept. 17, in conjunction with an alumni reunion.
Dickason Prof. of Law Sherri Burr will present “The Global Film & Television Industry: New Mexico’s Role.” Drawing on recent interviews with European film commissioners, lawyers and producers, Burr will discuss the growing effort to globalize film and television production across states and countries.
Burr will also moderate a panel discussion, “Intellectual Property Law Opportunities in New Mexico,” featuring attorneys Saul Cohen and Alberto León who will discuss their respective intellectual property practices and opportunities for New Mexico attorneys.
Cohen began practicing law in 1954. He has represented Hollywood luminaries such as Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable and Steven Spielberg.
León, law school class of 1990, also received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from UNM.
Burr is the author of numerous law review articles and three books including Entertainment Law in a Nutshell (Thomson West, 2004). A graduate of Yale Law School, she has taught at UNM since 1988.
The cost of the CLE is $15, and includes lunch. For registration and alumni reunion information, call Carmen Rawls at 277- 8184 or e-mail rawls@libra.unm.edu
Contact: Laurie Mellas, (505) 277-5915
The Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA) of the University of New Mexico sponsors an Albuquerque mayoral candidate debate Thursday, Sept. 8 at the UNM Student Union Building Ballroom from 6 - 7:30 p.m.
Dr. F. Chris Garcia, former UNM president and professor emeritus in political science will moderate.
All four mayoral candidates, Eric Griego, David Steele, Brad Winter and incumbent Mayor Martin Chavez, have accepted the invitation to participate. The debate is open to all UNM students, faculty, staff and the public. For more information, call the GPSA office at (505) 277-3803.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920
Robert E. Fleming, University of New Mexico professor emeritus of English, is co-editor of the first scholarly edition of a book by Ernest Hemingway. "Under Kilimanjaro," an account of Hemingway's 1953-54 African safari, was never published by the author during his lifetime. It provides a companion piece to his earlier "Green Hills of Africa" (1935).
Fleming and his co-editor Robert W. Lewis, University of North Dakota, have worked on the 850-page manuscript for the past two years. By agreement of the Hemingway Estate and the Ernest Hemingway Foundation, the book has been
published by Kent State University Press.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920
Ed Angel, University of New Mexico professor of computer science, electrical and computer engineering, and media arts, and director of the Arts Technology Center in the College of Fine Arts, has been appointed to the Governor’s Council on Film and Media Industries. His duties commence immediately and expire Jan. 1, 2007.
Formerly the New Mexico Film Advisory Board, the think tank was renamed by Gov. Bill Richardson last year to better reflect his commitment to emerging digital media, audio recording, post-production, and other technologies that support the film industry.
Some 30 key players and experts from the creative arts, technology and business communities in New Mexico make up the council.
Members of the board coordinate with the New Mexico Economic Development Department and with technological leaders to develop and promote the wealth of technology, infrastructure and support for film and media in the state.
Angel directs UNM's new Art, Research, Technology, and Science Laboratory (ARTS Lab) seeded by a $3 million grant from the state as part of the Governor's Media Industries Strategic Project (MISP).
ARTS Lab is building a unique interdisciplinary research and education facility that will share space with UNM’s Center for High Performance Computing in the old Lee Galles building near Central and University NE. Construction will finish this fall. The new facility will include a black box studio, a motion capture system, an experimental immersive dome, sound equipment and computing support, including access to UNM's new blade server, a rendering farm, and storage for digital content.
For more information, visit www.artslab.unm.edu. # # #
The Bernalillo County Commission is holding a groundbreaking for phase two reconstruction of Isleta Boulevard on Friday, Aug. 26, 11 a.m. at 2920 Isleta Blvd. SW. County Commissioner Teresa Córdova, associate professor in the School of Architecture and Planning, and students from the school's Resource Center for Raza Planning (RCRP), which she directs, have been involved in the Isleta Blvd. project from the start.
“The first phase included the realignment of Deadman's Curve and a widening of Isleta from Bridge to Arenal. Phase II will address curb and gutter and widening from Arenal to Rio Bravo,” said Maggie Adams, RCRP project manager.
RCRP continues with other work along Isleta. Córdova and her students put together a sector development plan for Isleta Boulevard. “The community made it clear they want to retain the area's semi-rural environment and sense of place while also looking at ways to grow the economy,” said Jacobo Martinez, RCRP project manager.
Through site design and land use, the sector plan calls for a series of seven village centers along Isleta Blvd. from Bridge to Isleta Pueblo. “They will be places of synergy, places to gather, much like the plazas and squares throughout New Mexico,” Martinez said.
Martinez said the village centers also direct where development should occur. He said that the goal is to put the businesses close to the street. “The village centers will be walkable, pedestrian friendly and attractive to local and small business. Parking will be adjacent to the amenities,” he said. He added that through zoning, open spaces will be preserved to maintain the rural character
“Instead of developing a comprehensive master plan, we've put together a small scale plan that is set in ordinance and regulation for land use,”
“The community expressed a need for a sector plan. The county provided funding that came to RCRP for the advanced planning studio to conduct it. Previously, the county had completed a Southwest Area Plan that provided guidelines and principles that the students used in the sector plan to establish ordinance and policies,” Martinez said.
“This project is part of a broader South Valley strategy the community has participated in every step of the way,” Córdova said.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920
The Tricentennial Committee is proud to present the fourth installment in the “All Roads Lead to Albuquerque: A Tricentennial Colloquium Series,” on Saturday, Aug. 27 from 9 a.m. to noon at the KiMo Theatre, located at 423 Central Ave. NW. Railroads are the theme of this installment. This event is free and open to the public.
“This fourth colloquium celebrates the U.S. Territorial and Statehood eras with a cultural presentation, images, photographs a book exhibit, as well as historical lectures on “Railroads,” said Dr. Joseph Sanchez, chair, Albuquerque Tricentennial Strategic Planning Task Force, colloquium organizer and director of the Spanish Colonial Research Center.
The speakers will be:
Mo Palmer , faculty, New Mexico History, Sandia Preparatory School, presenting, “Albuquerque in the Days of the Alvarado”
Dr. Jere Krakow , National Park Service, presenting, “Southwestern Indian Detours: Partnership of the Santa Fe-Fred Harvey System, ‘A New Departure in Railroading'”
Leba Freed , president, WHEELS Museum, “ History of the Railroad in Albuquerque with a Look to the Future of Transportation”
Dr. Monika Ghattas , historian, Technical Vocational Institute, “The Railroad: A Critical Catalyst in Economic Development”
“All Roads Lead to Albuquerque” is a series of monthly educational colloquia that highlight our city's 300-year history and inspire a renewed pride in New Mexico's multicultural history. Each free half-day special event features speakers who, under the overall theme of transportation, will explore the history of Albuquerque throughout the five eras: Native American, Spanish Colonial, Mexican Republic, U.S. Territorial and Statehood.
The colloquium will also feature images, photographs and slides as well as a book exhibit and cultural event. Light refreshments will be served.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920
The University of New Mexico is offering an accelerated master's degree program in public administration (MPA) in Gallup and Santa Fe effective this September. The first six-week course is slated to begin Sept. 19.
Students can register non-degree for the first semester while completing the application packet. Students can earn the MPA in two years because of the way the schedule is established. The following courses are available this fall:
Public Management and Policy, Mondays, Sept. 19 through Oct. 26.
Public Institution Organizational Behavior, Mondays, Nov. 7 through Dec. 14.
Public Budgeting, Friday evenings and Saturday mornings, Sept. 23 through Dec. 16.
“Classes will be provided in a variety of formats. Some will be taught by UNM faculty on-site in Gallup and Santa Fe. Some will be taught by practitioners in the field bringing professional experience into the classroom. Other classes will be taught via instructional television and video conferencing,” said John Cornish, senior program manager, Extended University.
Bruce Perlman, director, UNM School of Public Administration, said, “Carrying nine hours each semester, students can earn the full 42 credit hours required for the MPA in just two years.”
“This makes the degree attractive and accessible to working adults who are already balancing family and careers,” said
Made available by UNM's Extended University, the program is in response to requests and community needs.
“State government, state agencies, tribal and health administrators asked us to make this degree available,” said Jerónimo Domínguez, vice provost, Extended University.
Perlman, said, “The program is being made available in Santa Fe and Gallup because of the need for it, and because both communities play key, but different roles within the state.”
Cornish said that Extended University is providing the “behind the scenes” support, while Perlman and the School of Public Administration faculty is making it happen.
For more program information, visit http://eu.unm.edu . In Gallup, call 863-7618 or in Santa Fe call 428-1246.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920
The Institute of International Education and the U.S. Fulbright Commission announced that three University of New Mexico students have been awarded grants for international exchange programs as part of the U.S. student Fulbright program.
Catron Allred, a graduate student in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) in the UNM College of Education, has been selected to help establish a new English teaching program in Brazil. A New Mexico native, Allred has lived and worked in Puerto Rico and Mexico. She participated in student exchange programs in Spain and Brazil, and is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. Allred has taught ESL courses at UNM and in the Albuquerque Public Schools, and has worked with a number of New Mexico community organizations. She received both her bachelor's and master's degrees from UNM.
Sue Taylor received a grant to spend the coming academic year in Venezuela. A doctoral student in the Department of History, UNM College of Arts and Sciences, Taylor will be conducting research on female slaves, female slave owners and free women of African heritage during the Spanish colonial period in Venezuela. A non-traditional student, Taylor left her long-time business career in 2000 to pursue her interests in Latin American history at UNM. She earned a master's degree in Latin American Studies at UNM in 2002.
John White, also a doctoral student in the Department of History, received a Fulbright grant to Paraguay. White will be doing research for his doctoral dissertation studying the working-class communities established during construction of the massive Itaipu hydroelectric dam, which was built on the Parana River between Paraguay and Brazil. A native of North Carolina, White received a master's degree in Latin American Studies at UNM in 2001.
Ken Carpenter, interim director of UNM's International Programs & Studies, and the campus Fulbright advisor, “It is very unusual for UNM to get three Fulbright student grants in the same year. It is a real testament to the quality of our students and our academic programs, especially in fields related to Latin America. The UNM community, and all New Mexicans, can be very proud of these three outstanding students.”
The Fulbright Student Program awards approximately 1,000 grants annually from a pool of 5,000 to 6,000 applicants. The program, funded by the U.S. Congress and more than 140 other countries, was established in 1946 by the late Senator J. William Fulbright, to foster student exchanges as an alternative to war and conflict.
Carpenter also announced that applications for the 2006-07 student awards are due by September 30. Applications are available at Fulbright Applications.
For more information visit the Office of International Programs & Studies, Mesa Vista 2111, or call Carpenter, at 277-4032, or via email carpenk@unm.edu.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920
Four University of New Mexico graduate students recently received prestigious School of Public Administration scholarships. Gayleen Laselute and Willie Begay Jr. received the Harold Kious Scholarship. Christopher Bakas and Mizel Garcia received the Donald C. Rider Memorial Scholarship.
“This year’s recipients are not only deserving students, but also distinguished public servants,” said Bruce Perlman, director of the School of Public Administration. “The Rider scholarship winners, Chris Bakas and Mizel Garcia, are Albuquerque police officers who put their lives on the line every day. Willie Begay, one of the Kious winners, is an Assistant Director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Gayleen Laselute, the other Kious recipient, works with the Zuni Pueblo school district as an administrator. We are proud of them.”
Both scholarships are awarded to students who excel in UNM’s graduate public administration program. Harold Kious, president of Kious & Company Investment Securities, established the Kious Scholarship in 1993 for MPA students concentrating in the field of finance and budgeting.
The New Mexico League Board of Directors established the Rider scholarship in honor of Donald Rider, who served as the first executive director of NMML from 1958 to 1971. In the tradition of Rider’s public service, the scholarship promotes excellence and professionalism in Public Administration in New Mexico.
Contact: Sari Krosinsky, (505) 277-5813
University of New Mexico President Louis Caldera announces the appointment of Scot Sauder as interim university counsel. Sauder replaces Robert Bienstock who has been serving as interim university counsel for the past year.
Bienstock will be returning to his previous position of deputy university counsel, specializing in technology, research and intellectual property. A search is currently underway to fill the university counsel position on a regular basis.
Sauder has been with UNM since December 2004, most recently serving as interim senior associate university counsel for health law. “I’m looking forward to working with Scot and supporting him and the rest of the legal team during this interim period,” said Caldera. “Scot’s familiarity with the university community will allow him to be able to quickly get up to speed and to meet the challenges facing the University Counsel Office.”
Sauder was admitted to practice law in Texas since 1983 and New Mexico since 2004, specializing in health law for the past ten years. He received his law degree, cum laude, from Whittier College School of Law and his bachelor’s in American politics from Whittier College in Whittier, California. Prior to coming to UNM, Sauder was in private practice. He has also served as general counsel for Horizon/CMS Health Care Corporation in Albuquerque, N.M., and as co-founder of and general counsel for Peak Medical Corporation.
During his interim tenure, Bienstock oversaw the legal department’s reorganization, returned the office to full staff, organized the litigation process and initiated a comprehensive legal review of all new legislation. Caldera thanked Bienstock for his service saying “I greatly appreciate Robert’s accomplishments in making the University Counsel Office stronger over the last year.”
Contact: Susan McKinsey (505), 277-1989
University of New Mexico School of Law Professor Ted Occhialino was selected to receive the State Bar of New Mexico’s Pinnacle Award in the category of general–continuing legal education. The bar’s Center for Legal Education and Professional Development will present the award at the State Bar Annual Meeting Sept. 23.
Photo: UNM School of Law Professor Ted Occhialino
Occhialino was noted for his presentation on changes in New Mexico law resulting from changes in the New Mexico rules of civil procedure and judicial opinions at the State Bar’s 2004 Annual Review of Civil Procedure.
Occhialino was also the overall highest rated presenter this year. He has taught at the UNM School of Law since 1977.
“Continuing legal education for attorneys is an important part of the educational mission of the law school,” Occhialino said. “This award signifies that the law school is accomplishing that goal.”
The awards, which include the categories of general, ethics and professionalism in continuing legal education, were selected from over 250 presenters on the basis of presentation ratings, seminar attendance and participant responses.
Contact: Laurie Mellas Ramirez (505) 277-5915
Lisa Kuuttila, president and CEO of the UNM Science and Technology Corporation, and Wilmer Sibbitt, a physician/inventor from the UNM Health Sciences Center will be the guests of talk radio host Larry Ahrens on Wednesday, August 24th at 8:20 a.m. Ahrens appears on KAGM-FM at 106.3 on the radio dial.
Photo: Lisa Kuuttila, president and CEO, Science and Technology Corporation
Kuuttila will discuss the way the Science and Technology Corporation patents ideas and devices from faculty and student inventors and will discuss ways the STC worked with Sibbitt to market and patent his reciprocating safety syringe. Sibbitt will discuss his experience, and his company AVANCA Medical Devices, Inc. The company was formed to manufacture and market the syringe and other hand-held medical devices.
Kuuttila says this is the first of a series of interviews Aherns plans to do with UNM inventors.
Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627
Strengthening relationships with tribal leaders statewide is the goal of the University of New Mexico Tribal Summit on Higher Education scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 7 in the SUB ballroom.
“We are looking at where the university needs to support Native American students, and then more broadly, the Native American community,” UNM Regent Sandra Begay-Campbell said. “The summit will help us begin the long term dialogue that is needed to move UNM forward.”
Begay-Campbell will give the welcome at 9 a.m. Santo Domingo Pueblo Governor Everett Chavez will deliver an opening prayer followed by the introduction of tribal leaders.
UNM President Louis Caldera will give opening remarks at 9:45 a.m. followed by facilitated dialogue between tribal leaders and UNM administrators.
UNM Athletics Director Rudy Davalos will speak during lunch. Student-led campus tours for tribal leaders are also scheduled.
Regent Begay-Campbell chaired the Tribal Summit Planning Committee, comprised of senior administrators, faculty and staff, program directors and three former tribal governors. The committee recommended that a comprehensive assessment be conducted to determine UNM's strengths and weaknesses in educating Native Americans. Based on the results, a 10-year strategic vision was developed.
Recommendations include suggestions for unprecedented partnerships, designed to achieve the university's goals, objectives and mission.
“UNM administrators are taking these objectives very seriously and are putting money into Native American programs,” said Begay Campbell, noting that $50,000 of UNM's annual budget has been allotted to the nationally recognized Native American pre-law program, which has existed on “soft money” since the 1960s.
Specific goals under consideration at UNM include:
• Vastly increase Native American retention and graduation rates
• Recruit Native Americans to top administrative positions
• Develop a master's program in Native American Studies
• Develop a Living and Learning Community for Native American freshmen
For the next two years, UNM's Native American Strategies include:
- Embrace and engage Native American culture at UNM
- Build a sustainable, responsive leadership structure on indigenous issues
- Align the academic mission to relevant tribal priorities
- Develop partnerships to leverage resources
These strategies and others will serve as a starting point for discussion with New Mexico's tribal leaders during the summit, which concludes at 4:45 p.m.
Contacts: Laurie Mellas, (505) 277-5915 or Cindy Foster, (505) 272-0260
More than 3,100 freshmen are expected to hit the campus on Monday morning as the fall semesters launches into full swing. Campus administrators believe this will be one of the largest freshman class ever, although numbers won’t be final until mid-September.
A rapid response team composed of deans, department chairs, advisors and others at the institution is working to make sure everything is ready.
“We are exploring every option available to us to satisfy demand,” according to Associate Provost Wynn Goering. In some cases, class sizes have been increased; in others, new sections have been added.
More graduate assistants have been assigned to the largest classes, additional part-time instructors have been hired, and some full-time faculty members have taken on overloads.
The university is experimenting with new approaches to scheduling as well. This is the first year that some biology laboratory classes will be offered on Saturday mornings. The biology department is juggling more than 60 lab sections a week and scheduling for the lab time is tight.
Several departments have had to hire additional part-time faculty to meet the demand, and student advisors across campus are meeting to try to better coordinate advisement so that students are able to schedule the classes they must have as smoothly as possible.
Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627
The University of New Mexico’s Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Addictions (CASAA) Runaway and Homeless Youth Program will host an open house in conjunction with The Life Link on Monday, Aug. 22, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. A press conference will also be held at 3 p.m.
The open house and press conference, which will be held at CASAA’s drop-in facility located at 317 Washington S.E., will mark the transition of CASAA’s Homeless and Runaway Youth Program to The Life Link, a non-profit organization offering supporting housing and behavioral health services. The program specializes in best-practice treatment models and extensive homeless outreach and prevention services.
Various special guests are tentatively scheduled to attend, including: Rep. Sheryl Stapleton; State Senator Cisco McSorley; Mary Dale Bolson, secretary, Children, Youth, Families Department; Dorian Dodson, director, Protective Services; and U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman.
CASAA’s Homeless and Runaway Youth Program began as a research grant to determine whether providing different forms of assistance to homeless and near homeless youth between 14 and 24 years old, including pretreatment and follow-up assessments, would be successful. For years, CASAA has provided a future for troubled youth through its evidence-based therapeutic technique known as Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA) developed by CASAA’s Dr. Robert Meyers. Even though funding for the project is ending, UNM has committed to working with a local agency to ensure that services will continue to this underserved population.
The Life Link, a Santa Fe based organization, will continue many of the components of the CASAA program and will have services available in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Researchers at UNM say this is a good transition. The CASAA program is research based rather than an ongoing operational program. The Life Link in Santa Fe has been running Homeless Adult and Family Programs for years and is using the same treatment modality that UNM-CASAA has been using with youth and homeless adults.
Founder and Executive Director Carol Luna-Anderson operates The Life Link, an organization that was awarded the “Best in America” seal of approval from the Independent Charities of America Association.
“This is an exciting endeavor for us,” said Luna-Anderson. “Expanding services and bringing our 18 years of experience addressing all aspects of homelessness into the Albuquerque community will be a challenge, but one that will provide successful outcomes. Reaching the youth, influencing their lives today, so that they can have a future. This is our motivation.”
Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821
UNM Freshmen and their families will gather at Popejoy Hall on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 21, to hear speeches from President Louis Caldera, Interim Provost Reed Dasenbrock, and to meet for the first time as a group at Freshman Convocation.
The ceremony begins at 4 p.m. Students who attend the convocation receive free UNM t-shirts and can get free hamburgers, hot dogs and ice cream at the duck pond and university house after the ceremony. A local band, “Felonious Groove Foundation” will provide entertainment on the west lawn of Zimmerman Library.
The convocation is a formal beginning of the fall semester at UNM. Classes start Monday, Aug. 22.
Contact: Karen Wentworth (505) 277-5627
UNM President Louis Caldera announced Tuesday that he has appointed Dr. Paul Roth, dean of the UNM School of Medicine, to serve as the interim executive vice president for Health Sciences, effective immediately. Roth, who has been dean of the medical school since 1994, will serve in this position until the search for a new executive vice president is completed, while continuing to serve as dean.
Photo: Dr. Paul Roth
He replaces Dr. Phil Eaton, who retired July 1. Eaton will continue to serve as executive vice president emeritus to bring to completion a number of projects he started during his tenure.
Caldera said Roth’s first priority will be New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson’s call for a statewide summit on UNM Hospital. “It is critical that we focus on the issues we face with the hospital,” Caldera said. “Dr. Roth will work closely with the entire HSC leadership team to make sure we are doing everything we can to address those issues,” he added.
In accepting the appointment, Dr Roth said “I am honored to be named to this position, while realizing that we have a lot of work to do. I look forward to working even closer with the Regents, the UNM and HSC leadership, and the faculty and staff during this period to support the research, education and patient care mission of the Health Sciences Center.”
Contact: Sam Giammo, (505) 272-3682
University of New Mexico Chief Information Officer (CIO) Bill Adkins has announced three new appointments associated with a recent reorganization of Project LINK.
“With this reorganization, we’re hoping to have a broader, more accurate view of Project LINK’s overall health so as to have more responsive and responsible management that extends beyond the implementation level all the way up to the institutional level,” he said.
Adkins said Bonnie Young, who last September was named as the Director of the LINK Human Resources/Payroll Project, was recently identified in a search process to become the Project LINK Executive Director. As LINK Executive Director, Young will have oversight of the three LINK projects— Student/Academic, Financial Aid, and HR/Payroll—that are still in various stages of implementation. The LINK Finance Project went “live” in July 2004.
“In her new role, Bonnie has been charged with managing those three LINK project implementations at the institutional level and collaborating with the individual project directors to ensure consistency and overall success of the project implementations,” Adkins said.
The CIO’s announcement complements another recently issued story by Associate Director of Human Resources Helen Gonzales stating that Fred Youberg will join Employee and Organizational Development (EOD) to “work on a number of EOD initiatives including implementation of Plateau, our new Learning Management System.”
Until recently, Youberg had served as Project LINK Coordinator. “Fred’s organizational skills will be missed in Project LINK, but his leadership in supporting the implementation of the Plateau software system will ensure the success of that project,” Adkins said.
He added that John Ortiz, who has been working on the Student/Academic Project, has been selected to succeed Young as Director of the LINK HR/Payroll Project. Before coming to UNM, Ortiz led IT organizations at the Public Service Co. of New Mexico and State Farm Insurance.
Adkins also announced the appointment of David McGuire as Project Director/LINK Technical Infrastructure. Until recently, McGuire as served as Associate Director, Information Technology, CIRT Administrative Information Systems.
“David will report to Bonnie and will collaborate with the LINK project directors and with CIRT to ensure that we have a coherent, robust technical infrastructure to support application development, maintenance and use of Banner modules,” Adkins said. “He’ll also work on budget issues and have direct responsibility for the technical functionality of all Banner modules and applications, among other duties.”
Adkins said the new appointments, “will ensure that the Project LINK implementations are consistent with the institution’s overall goals and directions as they are described by the University’s leadership.”
David Dunaway, professor, Department of English, received a bronze world medal at the 2005 International Radio Festival for his National Public Radio documentary, "Christiania, Denmark?" Christiania is located on the outskirts of Copenhagen.
Dunaway, a regular host on KUNM 89.9 FM, the local NPR affiliate, recently spent part of a sabbatical leave in Denmark. Dunaway has produced other acclaimed radio series including "Writing the Southwest" a series on Southwest writers, and "Across the Tracks," a three-part series on the influence of Route 66.
The 49-year-old New York Festivals produces six annual international awards competitions including Film & Video, Television Programming and Promotions, Radio Programming and Promotions, Television and Radio Advertising, Design, Print & Outdoor Advertising, and Interactive Media.
Entries for each competition are judged both in the United States and overseas by panels of peers in their respective industries. Founded in 1957, the Manhattan-based NYF now has representation in 62 countries.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920
The University of New Mexico will host more than 1,000 prospective students and their families on main campus during “Senior Day,” designed to introduce high school seniors to campus life, Saturday, Sept. 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Tours of campus and the residence halls will be provided along with information about admission, financial aid, scholarships, academic programs and student activities.
Prospective students will be treated to lunch at 12:30 p.m. To top off the day, discounted football tickets for the UNM Lobos vs. New Mexico State Aggies game are available to students and families. The game begins at 6:05 p.m. in University Stadium.
Sponsored by the UNM Division of Student Affairs/Office of Recruitment Services, the event serves as the major fall visitation day for high school seniors.
“We are pleased to host prospective students and their families for this annual event, which allows us to showcase UNM's excellent academic programs and outstanding student support services,” said Lawrence Roybal, UNM Recruitment Services associate director.
For information, call 505-277-2260 or 1-800-CALL UNM (225-5866), ext. 3.
Contact: Laurie Mellas Ramirez, (505) 277-5915
UNM President Louis Caldera responds to local concern
When University of New Mexico President Louis Caldera traveled to Los Alamos National Laboratory this spring, he heard that UNM was not offering enough computer science courses in the region.
In response, Caldera announces that effective this fall, UNM is offering 10 courses, from undergraduate mathematical foundations of computer science, all the way through graduate level courses on statistical data structures and algorithms.
Three courses feature LANL instructors providing live classes. An additional seven courses are being offered through instructional television (ITV), which provides one-way video and two-way audio; and through video conferencing, which provides two-way video and audio.
The courses are made available by the UNM School of Engineering's computer science department and are facilitated by UNM's Extended University.
Jerónimo Domínguez, vice provost, Extended University, said that faculty are pleased to be able to teach these courses since they will now be able to interact in real time with them. We have installed the necessary technology and are excited about making these courses available,” Domínguez said.
The live courses will be taught at UNM-Los Alamos. Those courses are:
CS 351L Design of Large Programs
CS 375 Introduction to Numerical Computing
CS 460 Software Engineering
Courses being offered via ITV and video conferencing are:
CS 261 Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science
CS 361L Data Structures and Algorithms
CS 362 Data Structures and Algorithms II
CS 530 Geometric & Probabilistic Methods in Computer Science
CS 580 The Specification of Software Systems
CS 591 Special Topics: Statistical Data Structures & Algorithms II
CS 592 Colloquium
“Distance education is a critical component of meeting educational needs in the state of New Mexico. We are pleased to be able to respond to this community request,” Caldera said.
For registration information, visit http://eu.unm.edu or in Los Alamos call Cindy
Leyba at 661-4686.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920
Deborah Fisher, associate professor of civil engineering at the University of New Mexico School of Engineering, has been selected to receive the 2005 Society of Women Engineers Distinguished Engineering Educator Award. The award will be presented to Fisher at the SWE Awards Banquet at the Anaheim Convention Center on Nov. 4.
The award is presented to a woman who has shown excellence in her contributions as a teacher, scholar and engineering professional. Fisher has contributed to engineering research for over 30 years, specializing in computer modeling of constructability and manufacturing applications to improve the construction industry. She has taught for 25 years, first at the University of
Houston and then at the UNM School of Engineering since 1994.
Fisher’s ideal as an educator is “that learning should be fun,” she said, and “that education should be relevant — that you can apply it the very next day to your profession or career.”
“I get letters and e-mails from former students that say, ‘Now I know why we had to learn that. It makes sense now. Thank you. I use it everyday in my job,’” Fisher said. “These I post around my office to remind me why I’m in education.”
Fisher will be leaving UNM to consult in industry. “I know that I won't stay away from education forever,” she said. “I just think that faculty need to reenter the ‘real world’ periodically so that they can recharge and come back into the classroom to become more effective educators.”
Contact: Sari Krosinsky, (505) 277-5813
The Ibero-American Science and Technology Education Consortium (ISTEC) at UNM has received a $250,000 donation from Xilinx, a supplier of programmable chips and technology. The equipment will be donated to qualifying ISTEC member institutions to enable development of Digital Signal Processing research projects. It will also be used to set up a laboratory at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana of Cali-Colombia.
UNM electrical and computer engineering students under Dr. Ramiro Jordan, ISTEC director, and Dr. Marios Patticcis will provide Xilinx training based on their own research at the ECE Xilinx laboratory and the ISTEC research program at ECE at an upcoming Digital Signal Processing workshop at the Xilinx lab at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana.
"This contribution is important in that it is the first of its kind coming from Xilinx and it will serve close to 20 universities in Latin America, mostly in the Andean region. It is important for UNM because it creates, through the faculty at ECE, a direct connection and link to researchers in the most prestigious universities in Latin America," said Jorge Garcia, program manager, ISTEC.
For more on the ISTEC R&D initiative at UNM-ECE, visit: http://rdlabs.istec.org/.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales (505) 277-5920
A free jazz concert by the David Parlato Quartet will be Friday, Aug. 12, noon to 1 p.m. on the lower plaza southeast of the Student Union Building. The group is comprised of some of the finest jazz musicians in New Mexico. This band will feature David Parlato on bass, Michael Anthony on guitar, Paul Gonzalez on trumpet and John Trentacosta on drums.
Photo: Musician David Parlato
David Parlato - bassist, composer, bandleader, and educator - was born and raised in a musical family in Los Angeles. He has performed and recorded with such great artists as Frank Zappa, Jerry Lee Lewis, Barbara Streisand, Henry Mancini, Burt Bacharach, and Peter Allen and Helen Reddy.
He performs with a wide variety of classical and improvisational musical luminaries such as Frank Morgan, Doug Lawrence, Mose Allison, Greg Abate, Straight Up and Solstice. Parlato is also the director of The Outpost Repertory Jazz Orchestra in Albuquerque.
Plan to bring a lunch and sit in the shade for an hour of cool music. For those who can’t attend, the concert will broadcast live on KUNM-FM, 89.9.
The concert is presented by the UNM Staff Council and its Work + Life Committee. It is hoped that UNM workers will take respite from their offices for an hour of fun and relaxation. The UNM Office of Institutional Advancement provides concert funding.
For more information contact Greg Johnston, Public Affairs Department, at 277-1816.
The LodeStar Astronomy Center and The Albuquerque Astronomical Society (TAAS) will co-host the fourth annual "Astro-Images of New Mexico: Portraits from the Foothills of Space" astrophotography contest and exhibition. The contest invites amateur photographers to submit their celestial images for an exhibition celebrating the beauty of New Mexico's skies.
Up to 30 works will be selected for display at the LodeStar Astronomy Center, located in the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science in Albuquerque. The exhibition will hang from October 2005 through February 2006.
Images submitted for consideration must have been created in New Mexico. The four submission categories are: Land and Sky; Plate/Film/Digital; CCD (very light-sensitive digital imaging); and Photo Illustration. The submission deadline is Friday, September 9,
2005.
Prizes will be awarded in all four categories. The grand prize for Best of Show is a stay at the internationally acclaimed guest observatory New Mexico Skies, located in Mayhill, New Mexico, near Cloudcroft. Prizewinners will be announced at the TAAS monthly lecture on Saturday, Oct. 15, to be held at LodeStar. Images chosen for exhibition and recognition will be selected by blind judging.
The panel of five judges consists of:
· John Sefick, a CCD imager of many years who has imaged at Chaco Canyon, on Mauna Kea, and in Australia. He has had his work published in national magazines such as Sky & Telescope.
· Judy Stanley, head of education, LodeStar, and a Project Astro astronomer, was awarded the 2004 John Dobson Award for Excellence in Public Astronomy Education.
· John Fleck, science writer, Albuquerque Journal, has written prolifically about all aspects of science, from dinosaurs to black holes, supercomputers to supernovae.
· Dr. Richard Rand, associate professor, UNM's Department of Physics and Astronomy. His research areas include galactic halos, interacting galaxies, starbursts, and magnetic fields in the Milky Way.
· Kris Haskins, photography instructor, New Mexico Tech, and amateur astronomer. His specialty is macro-photography.
Sponsors of the contest and exhibition include: AP-T Camera Repair, Camera & Darkroom, Forms Plus, Kurt's Camera Corral, New Mexico Skies and TJ's Camera & 1 Hour Photo.
Contest rules and entry forms are available at:
www.lodestar.unm.edu/events.html and www.taas.org/astroimages.html. For more information, contact Karen Keese at (505) 261-0040 or pr@taas.org.
Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821
Students April Hale and Mervyn Tilden are among a dozen college students nationally awarded scholarships to attend the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA) Student Print Project August 7-14 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communication.
NAJA also hosts its 21st annual convention “A Free Press, A Free People” this week in Lincoln.
Hale, of Iyanbito, N.M., attends the UNM main campus. Tilden is from Church Rock, N.M., and attends UNM-Gallup. Both are journalism students and members of NAJA as well as alumni of the American Indian Journalism Institute, located in Vermillion, S.D.
NAJA’s 2005 print project is "designed to give college students a glimpse of what it is like to work in a real newsroom while working with Native professionals," said Kim Baca, NAJA interim executive director.
Participants will produce three newspapers called the Native Voice to be distributed during the convention. Several will have their work posted on NAJA's Web site at www.naja.com.
Dr. Alice Letteney will serve as president of NMACC during 2005-06 year
Dr. Alice Letteney, executive director of the UNM-Valencia Campus, was recently elected president of the New Mexico Association of Community Colleges for the 2005-2006 fiscal year.
She served as vice president of the NMACC during the 2004-2005 term. This election is her second election as president of the NMACC; she served her first term as president from 2000 to 2001.
“The community colleges are a vital and vibrant sector in our system of higher education in New Mexico,” Letteney said. “Our colleges, located conveniently in communities all around the state, provide working men and women and recent high school graduates with convenient, low-cost, student-friendly educational institutions for them to pursue career, technical and transfer education. I am honored to have been elected by my colleagues to this critical leadership position.”
The NMACC represents all two-year public colleges in the state, and the organization consists of executive directors of New Mexico’s two-year institutions.
Letteney, who has been the executive director of the UNM-Valencia Campus since 1995, was elected in Santa Fe during a recent business meeting of the NMACC.
The Department of Energy Office of Science recently awarded the University of New Mexico $375,000 for suspension flow research. UNM will team up with Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories and the University of California, Santa Barbara for a total award of $2.4 million over three years. This award is one of 13 selected from approximately 170 proposals.
The DOE program aims to develop complex multiscale mathematics to enable scientists and engineers to simulate problems that span broad time and length scales. “Brute force computational simulation, even on the most powerful present-day computers, cannot handle these ranges, so new mathematics is needed,” said Dr. Raymond Orbach, director, Office of Science. “This initiative is meant to surmount this barrier to our understanding of nature.”
Current simulations of suspension flows typically lack a universal set of parameters that can be applied to a wide range of simulating situations, so parameters must be adjusted for different particle types and flow geometries.
UNM's team will approach simulations of suspension flows using predictive methods and a multidisciplinary approach that can be applied to a wide range of physical sciences, applied technologies, numerical formulations and computational issues. UNM's research could improve efficiency and reduce waste in such areas as the transport of muds and cements, manufacture of semiconductors, energy conservation and treatment of nuclear sludges.
The program also includes an educational component. UNM will give graduate students the opportunity to work in a multidisciplinary team environment, supervised by faculty and national laboratory advisors. In addition, all simulation codes will be made open source and all course materials and research results will be made available to interested industry, universities and research laboratories.
Professor of Mechanical Engineering Marc Ingber is the principal investigator for UNM's award.
Contact: Sari Krosinsky, (505) 277-5813
Explore recreational trails in the fourth installment of “All Roads Lead to Albuquerque: A Tricentennial Colloquium Series” on Saturday, Sept. 24, from 9 a.m. to noon at Petroglyph National Monument Visitor Center, located at 6001 Unser Blvd. NW.
The morning event includes a cultural presentation, images, photographs, a book exhibit, and a series of fascinating historical lectures on area trails.
Following the lectures the musical group Festival will perform featuring marimba, light jazz and salsa.
The event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.
Scheduled Speakers:
Dr. Matt Schmader, superintendent, Open Space Division, City of Albuquerque, “Walking through Time: The Historic Dimensions of Albuquerque’s Open Space Trails”
Jay Blackwood, Sandia Peak Tram, “Sandia Peak: Shall We Walk up La Luz or Drive around the Mountain? The Trail Systems along Albuquerque's Eastside”
Diane Souder, Petroglyph National Monument, National Park Service, “The Bosque, the Conservancy, and Petroglyph National Monument: The Trail Systems along Albuquerque’s Westside”
Judith Espinosa, director, The Alliance for Transportation Research Institute, University of New Mexico, “Albuquerque in the 21st Century: Expanding Our Views for Future Recreational Development”
The University of New Mexico dance and music programs are ranked among the top for graduating Hispanics, according to a report in the August 1 issue of Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education.
The magazine places UNM's dance program in a nine-way tie for the 17 spot, while the music program is tied with three other schools for 20. In both programs, 22 percent of UNM graduates in those programs in 2004 were Hispanic. Statistics were compiled by the National Center for Education Statistics.
In addition to dance and music, film/video and photographic arts, fine arts and arts studies and drama/theater arts/stagecraft were ranked.
Dance rankings featured the greatest number of states represented in the top 25 list. New York led the pack with six schools; California and Texas each had five, while Florida, Arizona, Oklahoma, Utah, Nevada and New Mexico were also listed.
UNM's dance program prepares students to pursue both graduate work and professional careers in dance education, dance history/criticism and dance performance. UNM's dance program is unique in the United States because it provides a fully developed curriculum in flamenco technique.
Jim Linnell, senior associate dean, UNM College of Fine Arts, said, “The ranking represents a focus within the college to develop curriculum and programs in these areas. Our tie with the world class Festival Flamenco has attracted students to the dance program. They discover the degree and make their way to graduation.”
Schools in the music ranking came from eight states with seven Texas schools represented, five each from Florida and California, New York had three, while Massachusetts, Ohio and New Mexico each were listed.
UNM offers bachelor degrees in music in string pedagogy, jazz studies and composition and theory. Performance degrees are offered in vocal, keyboard and instrumental performance as well as jazz studies. Students can also earn a degree in music education. For students seeking a solid foundation in the study of music, the areas of musicianship, performance and history provide the core of courses toward a basic intellectual grasp of the art.
UNM also offers graduate music degrees with concentrations on music history and literature, theory and composition, performance, conducting, piano accompanying and music education.
Linnell said, “The music department has brought in new faculty. Among them, UNM Symphony Orchestra conductor Dr. Jorge Perez-Gomez, who works with Mexican artists. His efforts, and those of his colleagues, have impacted and attracted students to the program.”
He added, “In all Fine Arts programs, once students declare, we pay close attentin to their progress."
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920
The University of New Mexico has sold $125,575,000 in revenue bonds to finance a major campus building renovation and construction effort. The sale went better than regents and financial managers had initially anticipated with a final interest rate set at 4.5 percent.
The 30-year fixed rate bonds are being financed by an increase in student fees. Students agreed to support the fee increase with the stipulation that the projects would be used to improve the learning environment in classroom and campus buildings.
“This was a phenomenal success,” says UNM Executive Vice President for Administration David Harris. “We thank the financial community for supporting us. However, we could have even begun to pull this off without the support of our students. All of the projects that these bonds fund will improve our students’ learning environment.”
After underwriting and issuance expenses, UNM will have $125 million for use on actual projects.
The first projects to be financed by the bonds are the School of Architecture and Planning and the Centennial Engineering Center. UNM plans to issue Requests for Proposals for architectural and engineering services within the year for the balance of the projects, with the ultimate goal being to complete all of the proposed projects within three years.
The bond sale was featured on the cover of industry publication “The Bond Buyer” this week as its pick of the week. Moody’s bond rating service gave UNM an “As3” rating and Standard and Poor’s gave the university a “AA” rating.
Contact: Susan McKinsey, (505) 277-1989
Donnie Chase from KPEK-FM, The Peak, will broadcast live from UNM Continuing Education Wednesday, Aug. 10 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., to promote the new digital arts lab and the digital arts program. There will be free Blue Bunny ice cream for those who attend.
The graphic design, web design and multimedia programs at Continuing Education have evolved into a full spectrum digital arts curriculum to include filmmaking, video/audio, animation and digital photography.
Facilities can meet all the training needs of the digital arts enthusiast, from the hobbyist with a new digital camera, to the aspiring design professional or filmmaker. There are courses for those wanting to improve established careers as well as for those just getting started.
Courses are ongoing. Fall offerings begin August 22. For information, call 277-0077 or visit the Web site at dce.unm.edu.
Contact: Greg Johnston (505) 277-1816
The University of New Mexico’s new portal, Luminis, is set to make its debut Monday, Aug. 8. 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 university is very excited about the new portal,” said Chief Information Officer Bill Adkins. “It will bring together the university community with a technology that will enhance the users experience and provide a unified way to bring all our applications together with a common interface. This is the first step in developing a real sense of on-line community at UNM."
Over the past several years, Luminis has become the predominant portal used by universities running Banner. The new portal will provide a single point of contact for many Banner services available at UNM. Banner staff users will access the same Banner functionality through the new portal by clicking on the “Employee Life” tab, while faculty users will utilize the “Faculty Life” tab.
Banner users will find the same functions located on the far right column. On the right side of the page, Banner users may then access three channels: “Banner Applications,” “Banner Announcements” and “Banner Training/Support.”
Although the content of these channels is being developed, links from the Banner Applications channel will connect Banner users to Internet Native Banner, Higher Markets, E-Print, Hyperion, Electronic Forms and Security/Authorization Requests, among others.
The Banner Training/Support channel will link users to Training Databases, Job Aids and Standard Operating Procedures. Users may also access a LINK Job Aid that describes how to access my.unm.edu portal by clicking:
http://link.unm.edu/Training/Finance/FIN_Job_Aids/UNM-018%20PortalAccess1.pdf
In addition to Banner integration, features of the new portal include channeled content and layout; publish-and-subscribe channel model; end-user customization; separate channels for e-mail, personal and campus announcements, and a channel for My Courses. Luminis provides other portal channels such as group collaboration tools that can be used by departments, organizations and clubs. Administrative offices concerned with attracting and retaining students can also offer a customized, service-oriented online environment that today’s students increasingly expect.
Over time, portal features will allow users to create an online environment customized by every member of the campus community. Luminis also comes with a calendar, SunOne, which will be available to faculty, staff and students. 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.”
“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 tools 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.
“In Group Studio, 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,” said Miller. “People are fairly excited about it. There is a lot of enthusiasm for the project.”
The Luminis portal, which will replace UNM’s existing portal, will retain the URL: my.unm.edu. The new portal can also be accessed from the UNM home page by clicking on the myUNM button on the upper right hand of the page beginning Aug. 8.
For more information, visit the CIRT Web site at: Luminis.
Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821
Grand opening celebration planned
KUNM-FM 89.9, has met its $700,000 fundraising goal to cover the cost of a recent remodel and expansion of its space within Oñate Hall on the University of New Mexico campus.
A public grand opening is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 27 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. KUNM staff will provide free tours. Reservations are not required and children are welcome.
The Santa Fe-based Lannan Foundation, a family foundation dedicated to cultural freedom, diversity and creativity, provided a $100,000 challenge grant, matched by $120,000 from business foundations, faculty and friends.
“We asked a lot of good folks to help make a special gift for this once-in-a-lifetime project. I have been continually amazed at the kindness and generosity of our listeners, area businesses and the foundation community. Our new facilities will allow us to make the best radio possible,” said Richard Towne, KUNM general manager.
The McCune Charitable Foundation in Santa Fe provided major funding, as did UNM students and almost $80,000 of designated giving by listeners was received.
In-kind contributions from a number of area businesses helped bring the remodel to completion. Area contributors included drywall supplied by Amestoy Drywall, while Chaparral Materials provided metal wall studs and supplies. OGB Millwork and Paramount Custom Cabinets contribution accommodated the station’s new space needs for audio equipment and ease of operations, including plenty of wheelchair access.
Contract Associates, Jaynes Corporation, First State Bank and Business Environments also provided in-kind contributions.
“The project included an entire redesign of the KUNM studios, a new broadcast studio, new public meeting rooms, reception and volunteer offices, as well as upgrade of analog and digital wiring,” Towne said.
Community public radio KUNM-FM 89.9 is dedicated to serving communities in central and northern New Mexico. KUNM occupies the third floor of Oñate Hall, located at the corner of Campus and Girard Blvd. on the UNM campus.
Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920
County jail populations nationally and in New Mexico continue to grow while crime rates continue to fall. University of New Mexico researchers who recently conducted a length of stay study presented findings to county commissioners, county managers and detention administrators at the New Mexico Association of Counties annual meeting held in July. The association funded the research project.
The report “Length of Stay for Arrestees Held on Felony Charges: A Profile of Six New Mexico Detention Facilities” is authored by Paul Guerin, Ph.D. and Linda Freeman, M.A., of the New Mexico Sentencing Commission at the UNM Institute of Social Research.
The researchers find that the overall length of stay varies in each of the six counties – Bernalillo, Dona Ana, San Juan, Curry, Eddy and San Miguel. Arrestees held in these facilities comprised 60 percent of all arrestees held in New Mexico detention centers on June 30, 2003. Nearly 70 percent of those arrested and held were charged with at least one felony.
Jail population is a consequence of two factors, researchers noted, jail admissions and length of stay. Felony arrestees comprise the majority of the jail population and stay longer than those arrested for misdemeanors. A typical felony arrestee spends 167 days in jail before being sentenced. A typical felony arrestee’s overall length of stay both pre and post sentence is 224 days.
Researchers point out that detention center administrators do not control jail admissions or length of stay and so cannot directly affect jail populations. But administrators should work with courts, district attorneys, public defenders, government and law enforcement to improve administrative processes, they said.
A copy of this and other Sentencing Commission reports, printed directories and information are available at http://www.nmsc.state.nm.us . The Web site receives more than 50,000 hits per month from those in New Mexico government and private citizens.
Ted A. Garcia, general manager and chief executive officer of public television station KNME-TV, Channel 5 (PBS – Albuquerque / Santa Fe), has been elected chair of the Board of Directors of the Pacific Mountain Network (PMN). Formerly a regional program distributor, PMN now invests in public television programs and services. PMN is governed by a nine-person executive council, elected for three-year terms by the 33 member public television stations.
“I am honored to have been selected by my peers to chair this board,” said Garcia. “Leadership in public service media is critical to meeting the needs of the people of New Mexico and throughout the Western United States, through the creation and distribution of the highest quality programming and educational services.”
Garcia also serves on the national Board of Directors of PBS (Public Broadcasting Service). Elected by general managers of the 170 PBS licensees across the country, the PBS Board of Directors is responsible for governing and setting policy for the Public Broadcasting Service. Board members serve without pay.
Garcia serves as chair of the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) Board of Directors. NETA is a professional association serving public television licensees and educational entities in all 50 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, and is headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina. NETA-delivered programming reaches 98 percent of television households in the United States.
He is also one of only six business executives from across the nation named to a team of 19 advisors - the “2020 Vision Committee” of the Southern Illinois University (SIU).
Contact: Evy Todd, (505) 277-1218
The state’s Justice Information Sharing Council has a new lead agency, the New Mexico Sentencing Commission, which will distribute the JISC’s state appropriation this fiscal year. The JISC maintains an integrated system to support the efficient sharing and use of critical justice information at the municipal, county and state levels to help ensure public safety.
The JISC consolidated “offender look-up” enables justice personnel to obtain court, prison, domestic violence, DWI and probation status from one screen. This system makes New Mexico a national leader in single Web portal access to multiple criminal justice databases.
The JISC has members from the New Mexico Sentencing Commission – established in early 2003 at the University of New Mexico Institute for Social Research – Administrative Office of the Courts, Administrative Office of District Attorneys, Department of Public Safety, Corrections Department and Public Defender Departments. Advisory agencies are the Children, Youth & Families Department, and American Indian Development Associates, representing the views of several tribes in New Mexico.
For more information, visit http://www.nmjustice.net.
Contact: Laurie Mellas Ramirez, (505) 277-5915