According to a new survey the UNM Anderson School of Management is one of the top ten business schools in the nation when it comes to the number of courses offered on managing social sector organizations.
A recent survey by the Bridgespan Group ranked the Anderson School as having the third highest number of social-benefit management courses behind the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School and the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado.
The MBA Drive for Social Value: Five trends boosting social benefit content at U.S. business schools places Anderson among some impressive educational institutions including Harvard Business School, Cornell Business School and the Yale School of Management.
Faculty teaching in the Policy and Planning concentration emphasize social, environmental, and ethical concerns in the social-benefit courses. Professor Jeanne Logsdon has been instrumental in pushing the Anderson School to the forefront of this growing trend. "Nonprofit organizations as well as for-profit businesses and government agencies need good management," says Logsdon. "The Policy and Planning concentration offers courses to develop effective leaders who understand the importance of ethical values and good stakeholder relationships."
Associate Dean for Enrollment Management Michelle Arthur says the high number of courses offered at Anderson benefits our students, "Bridgespan survey results illustrate Anderson's commitment to curriculum innovation which integrates social and environmental stewardship in MBA education. We are seeing an increase in the number of students interested in our MBA programs due to our focus on social issues in management."
UNM Anderson was one of only 15 graduate business schools asked to participate in the Bridgespan survey. All of the schools are well-known for their academic coursework and attention to social concerns. The survey also found the number of courses with social and environmental content is rising sharply in U.S. MBA programs.
These results follow the findings of the Aspen Institute's biennial Beyond Grey Pinstripes survey of over 110 schools showing a striking 79 percent increase in offerings that integrate social and environmental issues from 2005-2007. Anderson ranked 18th on the 2007-2008 Aspen list of the Global Top 100 schools and sixth among small schools for demonstrating significant leadership in integrating social and environmental issues into its MBA program.
This week, “New Mexico in Focus,” KNME-TV, channel 5’s weekly one-hour public affairs show will take a look at and grade the first 100 days in office for not just President Obama, but also the New Mexico Congressional delegation. “New Mexico in Focus” will air on Friday, May 1 at 7 p.m. on channel 5/5.1 and repeat on Sunday, May 3 at 6:30 a.m.
Additional topics up for discussion on this week’s episode are the handful of prominent New Mexicans that President Obama has tapped to assist his administration in Washington, D.C., the latest on the Albuquerque Mayor’s race, and the New Mexico connection to a presidential scandal in New York City.
David Alire Garcia will be joined this week by Deanna Archuleta, who will leave her position as a Bernalillo County Commissioner to work in the Interior Department, and Taos artist Cristina Sporrong, while Gene Grant and regular “The Line” panelists Whitney Waite Cheshire and Jim Scarantino will be joined by Carter Bundy, spokesman for the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, and Teresa Cordova, professor with the UNM School of Architecture and Planning.
Producers of ‘New Mexico In Focus’ are Kevin McDonald and Kathy Wimmer. Closed captioning has been made possible by a gift from Mrs. Elspeth G. Bobbs.
Proceeds donated to local charities
At the beginning of the spring 2009 semester operations and marketing students at UNM’s Anderson School of Management were challenged to do something that over half of all new business owners can’t do - succeed and make a profit. Professor Howard Kraye presented the students in his Management 490 class with the following syllabus instructions: Using only limited financial resources, create a profit-making business that buys raw materials from at least two overseas companies to create a profit making business by the end of the semester.
Now just three months later these students have answered the challenge, proving that by using what they have learned while at UNM it is possible to create a successful business even in today’s poor economy.
At the first class meeting students were told that they had to meet the syllabus goal of creating a profitable business before the end of the semester or they would receive a failing grade in the class. They had the option to drop the class or accept the challenge unconditionally. Twenty-eight students accepted the challenge.
At the next class, students were divided into two groups - each receiving $1,000 in cash as their starting capital. Their task was to apply everything that they had learned while at Anderson (marketing, product design, manufacturing, global supply chain management, operations, and finance/accounting) to meet the challenge they had agreed to undertake.
After some extensive market research, one group named their business “Reign” and decided that their product was going to be custom designed drawstring backpacks with raw materials from Pakistan and Hong Kong. The market they wanted to sell to was young children and adults who wanted a Southwestern theme drawstring backpack. Their product sold for $10 and had a cost of $6.66. Their initial production run was 150 drawstring bags and all were sold at full price giving them a profit of $501 or a 50 percent return on the $1,000 initial investment.
The second group, named their business “Thread Lightly.” They developed a product around a 100 percent organic t-shirt made in Hong Kong and a “Thread Lightly” tag from Taiwan. Their marketing plan embraced the green movement and used the slogan “RENEUE: A six letter word for going green.”
The initial production run of 100 shirts were sold on the UNM campus and in Albuquerque in advance of Earth Day on April 22. The RENEUE shirts sold for $15 and cost $9.30 yielding a profit of $570 or a 57 percent return on Investment.
Professor Kraye believes in the Paul Newman model of business where profits are given back to the communities that the business is in, so all the profits will be given to two local charities, EarthShare and the American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.
The Thread Lightly Group believes this project will give them an advantage over their contemporaries when entering the work force because they have actually demonstrated that they “can start, operate, and maintain a profitable business”.
Gabe Krause, a student in the class, called the project a success.
"We have literally taken our knowledge and created a product from scratch,” said Krause. “We marketed our t-shirts, sold them and made a respectable profit. This type of experience of combining classroom theory and real world implementation is what will give us an edge over others in the job market."
Both groups will discuss the theories and approaches they used and how they applied them to the global business world on Tuesday, May 5 at 2pm at the Anderson School of Management in classroom 1065 on the UNM Campus. The public is invited to attend and learn more about the successful business models ASM students developed. Additional presentations will take place on Thursday, May 7 and Tuesday, May 12 also at 2pm. Admission is free.
For more information contact Joseph Aragon at (505) 321-6975 or jlaragon@unm.edu.
Now more than ever education is key. UNM’s Parent Connection Workshop, for adult learners, parents and family members who need to retool, is Wednesday, May 6, from 6-7 p.m. in the Dean of Students’ Conference Room, rm. 290, Student Services Building, main campus.
The presentation will include information on earning undergraduate and graduate degrees, online courses and continuing education.
Presenters include Mary Jane Heinrichs, associate director, graduate school recruitment and admissions; Debby Knotts, director of UNM New Media & Extended Learning (online programs) and representatives from undergraduate school admissions and UNM Continuing Education.
Parent Connection Workshops are held the first Wednesday of each month. The series is sponsored by UNM’s Dean of Students’ Family Connection Program, Parent Relations Office, Parent Association and Extended University. Check-in begins at 5:30 p.m. Parent Association members are on hand to visit with you about their experiences.
Parking is free in the “patient parking” on the north side of Mesa Vista Hall after 5 p.m. or for $1.75 per hour in the Cornell Parking Struture near Central and Cornell NE. To get to the Student Services Center (SSC) from the Cornell Parking Structure walk north on Cornell Mall. Pass by Popejoy Hall and the Student Union (SUB). At the SUB’s north end, go east to the SSC.
Alice King, the former first lady of New Mexico, will be honored for her role in modern New Mexico public policy at a public reception and panel presentation, Thursday, May 21 from 4:30 – 6 p.m. at the UNM School of Law Forum. King, wife of Gov. Bruce King, died in early December 2008 after suffering a stroke. She worked tirelessly throughout her adult life to improve the lives of New Mexico's children.
Photo: Alice King
She is credited with creating the state's Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD), was chair of the New Mexico Children’s Trust Fund and was a major supporter of the Carrie Tingley Children’s Hospital.
The event features a panel discussion focusing on Alice King’s contributions to the state. Laura Threet, co-chair of the Bruce King Reading Room and Archives Committee, will chair the panel. Threet served as cabinet secretary of the New Mexico General Services Department during the 1991-1995 King Administration.
Panelists include:
· Nancy Jo Archer, CEO of Hogares, Inc. and chair of Voices for Children. She also served on the task force that created CYFD.
· Caroline Gaston, a consultant with the Annie E. Casey Foundation. She was an assistant to Alice King in the last King Administration.
· Jolene Maes, an Early Childhood Program consultant for the City of Albuquerque. She was staff director for the task force that created CYFD.
· Wayne Powell, associate director of the Office of the Vice President for Community Health at the UNM Health Sciences Center. He was the first cabinet secretary of CYFD.
· David R. Schmidt, director of the New Mexico Council on Crime and Delinquency. He worked with Alice King on rewriting the Children's Code.
The reception will follow the panel presentation. Both events are free and open to the public. Parking will be available in the L lot.
For more information contact Ramona Garcia at 277-8649.
Media Contact: Benson Hendrix, (505) 277-1816; e-mail: bhendrix@unm.edu
An interactive lecture on chocolate for children and their parents
Where does chocolate come from? Why does some chocolate melt in your mouth but not in your hand? What makes a chocolate bar smooth and creamy? The public is invited to attend a free interactive lecture from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. on Friday, May 8 in the UNM Continuing Education Auditorium, 1634 University Blvd. NE.
The presentation, recommended for children ages 7 and up and their parents, will include experiments, taste tests, and interactive demonstrations to investigate what makes the perfect chocolate bar.
Attendees will learn how to get chocolate from cocoa beans, how chocolate melts and can be formed into a solid bar, and what makes chocolate taste gritty or smooth.
The lecture is presented by the UNM School of Engineering and Harvard University and is part of their National Science Foundation's (NSF) "Partnership for Research and Education in Biomaterials" (PREM).
This five-year, $2.5 million effort is intended to increase the participation of minorities and females in materials science-related careers, and to stimulate general interest in science and technology. For more information visit: UNM-Harvard PREM.
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
Charles Eastman will give a free lecture on the Impacts of Building Information Modeling on Design and Construction on Thursday, May 7, 2009, at 5:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Centennial Engineering Center on the UNM Main Campus. This lecture, sponsored by Brycon Construction, should be of interest to engineering and architecture and planning students as well as the community at large.
Eastman is a professor in the Colleges of Architecture and Computer Science at Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, and one of the pioneers of BIM. He is co-author of the book, "BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers and Contractors."
Building Information Modeling uses three-dimensional modeling and intelligent design information to integrate the design and construction process. According to The Associated General Contractors of America, technology improvements and integration fostered by the expanded use of BIM are dramatically increasing efficiency in the industry.
A 20-minute tour of the new laboratories and facilities in the Civil Engineering Department will be conducted before the lecture. Attendees who would like to go on the tour should meet at the interior courtyard in the Centennial Engineering Center at 4:30 p.m.
All attendees are invited to a reception in the Robert J. Stamm Commons in the Centennial Engineering Center after the lecture.
Limited parking passes are available; for more information or to request a parking pass, please call (505) 277-3222.
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
University Libraries will host an opening reception for “Yuyanapaq: Para Recordar” (to remember) on May 7, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Herzstein Gallery and 2nd floor lobby of Zimmerman Library. The exhibit will run through June 12, 2009.
Yuyanapaq includes 40 well-traveled and sobering photographs chosen from over 1700 taken throughout the 20-year civil conflict between the Peruvian military, the Shining Path and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement. The Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission estimates that 70,000 people were murdered or disappeared in Peru during this conflict.
There is no denying the international attention “Yuyanapaq” has garnered since 2003, when the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission published its report on the atrocities suffered in Peru. Germany recently gifted the Peruvian government $2 million to design and build a permanent monument honoring Peruvians who have suffered terrorism, repression and unimaginable loss. Some of them are depicted in these travelling photographs.
University Libraries will also host several intersession brown bags with information on “Yuyanapaq”. Dr. Jo-Marie Burt will open this series in the Herzstein Reading Room at 12 p.m. on May 18, 2009. Dr. Burt, who has worked closely with the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission and with the ex-Peruvian President -- Alberto Fujimori’s --trial, will discuss her work in Peru.
She is the author of Silencing Civil Society: Political Violence and the Authoritarian State in Peru and various comments in popular news media, including BBC World, The Washington Post, Democracy Now, and Pacifica Radio.
Inter-American Studies within the University Libraries is proud to host this important and emotionally moving exhibit, as well as Dr. Burt’s visit, with sponsorship from University Libraries’ Division of Iberian & Latin American Resources & Services (DILARES), the Latin American & Iberian Institute, SOLAS and the Southwest Institute for Religion and Civil Society.
For additional information visit: Yuyanapaq or the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
For questions regarding the exhibit, please contact Suzanne Schadl at schadl@unm.edu or visit DILARES.
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
Phase II of successful program set to begin
The Program in Interdisciplinary Biological & Biomedical Sciences or PiBBs, a program at the University of New Mexico developed in the Biology Department, has received a five-year, $970,000 grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to initiate Phase II program development. UNM was one of eight institutions selected to move onto Phase II.
"The University of New Mexico has put together an interdisciplinary training program focused on the uses of computational and techniques in applied and theoretical biology”, said Dr. Richard Baird, director, Division of Interdisciplinary Training at NIH-NiBiB. “This training program, which uses an innovative team-mentoring approach, has successfully attracted a number of students from the biological and physical sciences interested in exploring the interdisciplinary boundaries among these disciplines."
PiBBs is a cross-departmental, college and institutional collaboration of students and faculty interested in interdisciplinary biological research. The interdisciplinary collaboration involves the UNM departments of anthropology, biology, computer science, electrical and electrical and computer engineering, physics, math and statistics, and Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Santa Fe Institute. The program began in 2005 when UNM was one of 10 institutions out of 132 applicants selected to receive $1million in grant funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
“We are moving forward rapidly with the program,” said Distinguished Professor of Biology and Program Director James Brown. “The Phase II funding indicates this program is working. The faculty involved have done a great job and the students have all been very successful.”
The stimulus for PiBBS was the recognition that continued progress in fundamental problems in biology and biomedical science requires the input of new ideas, methodologies, and investigative strategies from the physical sciences, engineering, and mathematics. Few scientists are trained or possess the necessary skills to conduct effective interdisciplinary work and PiBBs was created to help initiate fundamental changes in the way Ph.D. scientists are trained.
“The UNM program teaches students to think broadly, deeply, and creatively - just as the program directors did when they developed this curriculum,” said Dr. Maryrose Franko, Howard Hughes Medical Institute. “HHMI was immediately impressed by the flexibility and individuality of the opportunities available to the Interfaces Scholars, as well as the strength and diversity of the institutional partnerships UNM has forged in the local scientific community.”
PiBBS was designed to pick up where earlier interdisciplinary training left off; to solidify and institutionalize highly successful informal programs already in existence at UNM and to promote, establish and maintain a vibrant culture of highly interactive interdisciplinary scholars.
In addition to the 10 “HHMI Interfaces Scholars at UNM” supported directly in Phase I, more than 50 graduate students from seven different departments are affiliated with the program, participating in courses and other enrichment activities.
The program will ultimately lead to an interdisciplinary Ph.D. concentration in Integrative Biology. It will provide an innovative set of courses and activities designed to develop a common baseline of mathematical, computational and biological knowledge and skills necessary for successful interdisciplinary collaborations and expose students to the disparate ways in which various scientific disciplines tackle and solve scientific problems.
“The development of the program has been invigorating and different,” said Dr. Felisa Smith, PiBBs co-director. “The support from the Howard Hughes Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the University to get the program going has been phenomenal. This demonstrated level of institutional commitment was essential in getting the program funded and established, and will continue to be a major evaluation criteria of Phase II. UNM is one of eight universities selected to move into Phase II, which will help to involve and provide more support to students seeking an interdisciplinary Ph.D.”
Phase II funding will enable eight new students to be selected for the program; six will be funded by NIH and two by UNM. It will also provide for dedicated program space on the first floor of the new Biology building including a furnished office and conference rooms, a full-time program coordinator, dedicated release time for the director and co-director, one dedicated TA line, and a small amount of annual operating funds to cover educational and programmatic expenses.
“Three students in Phase I are defending their dissertations this semester,” added Brown. “All three have already been accepted to really prestigious and excellent post-doc institutions. We’re doing the right thing. The program is innovative and challenges the next steps in biological integration across the country.”
“We have great faculty participating in the program,” said Smith. “The students who have been involved in PiBBS so far have been incredibly productive. They are the movers and shakers. They are students who are thinking outside the box.”
Media Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
The UNM Collegiate Chapter of the American Marketing Association presents UNM’s first-ever Undie Rock ‘n’ Run on Thursday, May 7 at Johnson Field. The Undie Rock ‘n’ Run is an event where participants shed their clothes and run one mile through main campus in their underwear (or comfortable clothes).
The festivities get underway at 8:30 p.m. at Johnson Field with rock music and a community social followed by clothing donations at 8:50 p.m. The run starts at 9:05 p.m. at Johnson Field and will continue along a prearranged route that will take runners by campus landmarks such as the Student Union Building, Duck Pond, and Zimmerman Library. The event will conclude at Johnson Field with a closing celebration.
The purpose of the run is to promote school spirit and relieve stress before finals while collecting clothes for charity. The event is free and is open to all UNM students.
“Undie runs are fairly common at college campuses across the country,” says Michael Curry, one of the event organizers and a graduating senior in marketing. Curry says he got the idea after attending a similar event at UCLA last month.
Clothes shed by the participants will be donated to Joy Junction, a local shelter providing both emergency and longer-term food, shelter, clothing, transportation, and an array of other services for homeless women and families.
“While we would prefer that the students keep their clothes on, the local homeless community will benefit greatly from the clothing donation,” said Dr. Jeremy Reynalds, CEO and founder of Joy Junction.
For safety reasons, all participants are required to wear running or cross training shoes.
Parking is available in A Lot near Redondo Road (South). UNM Police will be out to enforce university policies, and state and local laws.
The event is co-sponsored by ASUNM Student Special Events.
For more information visit: UNM American Marketing Association or call (505) 507-5521.
UNM Provost Suzanne Ortega says “Antonio’s Gun and Delfino’s Dream" by acclaimed Los Angeles Times journalist Sam Quinones will be the inaugural work of the Lobo Reading Experience, a summer reading program for UNM Freshmen. Ortega commissioned the development of a freshman reading program at UNM after seeing its positive effects at peer campuses like the University of Missouri and the University of Washington.
“When a significant number of faculty, staff and students begin the year with a common academic experience, it transforms the campus in a host of ways,” said Ortega. “I hope it will help freshmen in particular, to develop a sense of affinity with our UNM community and introduce them to a part of the academic life they are beginning.”
“We worked very hard to select a book of particular relevance to New Mexico and the Southwest,” added Vice Provost Wynn Goering, who is coordinating the project. Sam Quinones has an especially keen eye for the ways that Mexican/U.S. immigration patterns are shaping communities on both sides of the border.”
“Antonio’s Gun and Delfino’s Dream” will be recommended, not required, reading for freshmen enrolling at UNM in the fall of 2009. The book will be used in numerous discussion groups and selected class assignments early in the semester, and a further series of events is being planned around a visit by the author later in the term. Copies of the book are available at the UNM Bookstore and other retail outlets.
More information about the program and opportunities for participation visit: Lobo Reading Experience.
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
The Anderson School of Management will host an open meeting of its Investment Management Program for anyone wishing to learn more about courses that allow students to manage millions of real dollars under the guidance of Anderson faculty members. The meeting will take place on Thursday, May 7, at 6 p.m. in Anderson’s Jackson Student Center.
At this meeting, students currently in Anderson investment management courses will present stock and portfolio recommendations to investment professionals. These professionals serve on Anderson’s Investment Advisory Committee and represent the New Mexico State Investment Council, local investment firms and other business community partners.
Committee members offer valuable first-hand feedback to students throughout the fall and spring terms, and this semester-end meeting will include the full committee’s guidance on recommendations made by student analysts.
Four candidates have been selected to interview for executive director of the University of New Mexico-Gallup. All will visit Gallup over the next two weeks to determine which best fits the campus and the community. The candidates are Robert A. Anderson Jr., Sylvia Rodriguez Andrew, Anselm G. Davis Jr. and Homer Garcia.
“I think we have some strong candidates, and I’m excited about that,” said Kate O’Neill, executive director of UNM-Taos and the chair of the search committee.
UNM-Gallup employees, the Gallup community and the search committee will meet each candidate at the Gallup branch during a series of meetings. The candidates will tour the campus as well as Gallup, and will also travel to Zuni for a tour of the south campus. Following, they’ll go to Albuquerque to meet with O’Neill and UNM administrators, branch directors, deans and Extended University administrators.
“The candidates that emerged are strong professionals and I think they bring a range of backgrounds and experiences from two- and four-year schools. They also have experience in the Southwest and in a range of programs, and have focused on student success,” O’Neill said.
Anderson, of Heber, Ariz., has been in private business since 2005. He was vice president for student services at the Community College of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas from 2002-04, prior to that, president of Colorado Northwestern Community College in Rangely from 1995-2002. Other administrative positions he’s held include executive vice chancellor from 1991-95 of the Houston Community College System in Texas; superintendent from 1987 to 1991 of Sevier Valley Applied Technology Center in Richfield, Utah; and president from 1978-87 of New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs. He received a Ph.D. in educational administration and an M.S. in educational psychology from the University of Utah, and a B.S. in elementary education from the College of Southern Utah.
Andrew, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Antioch University Los Angeles since August of 2008, has a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work, and a J.D. from Lincoln Law School of San Jose, Calif. She was dean and professor of the College of Social Work at San Jose State University (Calif.) from 1994-2006. She was also interim chancellor of San Jose/Evergreen Community College District from 2004 to 2005, and acting president of Evergreen Community College from August to September of 2004. Andrew held teaching positions at Texas Lutheran College in Seguin and our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio.
Davis, of Gaithersburg, Md., holds an Ed. D. from Pennsylvania State University in University Park, and an M.A. from Northern Arizona University. Of Navajo-Choctaw descent, he was the executive director of the White House Initiative in Tribal Colleges and Universities for the Department of Education, Washington, D.C., from May of 2008 to January of this year, and prior to that, was special assistant for the same organization from 2004 to 2008. Other positions he has held include program director for the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Va., for the Rural Systemic Initiative; principal investigator for an RSI grant for the Navajo Nation; associate director for the North Central Association-Navajo State Office; and dean of instruction and assistant to the executive director of Navajo Preparatory School, Farmington, from 1991 to 1997.
Garcia currently resides in Pearland, Texas, where he has been a consultant since 2006 to tribes, churches, and the League of United Latin American Citizens and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He was president/professor of general studies at Henry Cogswell College from 2004-2006, and dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and professor of sociology, University of Texas-Pan American, from 2001-04. Other positions he has held include vice president for academic affairs, University of Saint Francis from 2000 to 2001 and professor of sociology at Baylor University from 1990 to 2000. He has a Ph.D. in sociology, a master of philosophy and a master of sociology from Yale University.
Schedules for the four candidates are as follows:
Anselm G. Davis Jr.
Arrive in Gallup Wednesday, April 29, 9 a.m., for a series of meetings and a community forum in Calvin Hall 248A at 5:15 p.m. Davis will travel to Zuni on Thursday, April 30 for a tour and a meeting with faculty, staff and students. He will participate in a community forum in the commons area from 1 to 2 p.m. and will return to Albuquerque that afternoon, and meet with UNM administrators, branch directors, deans and O’Neill on Friday, May 1.
Robert A. Anderson Jr.
Arrives in Gallup Monday, May 4, for a series of meetings with faculty, staff, administrators, students and the search committee, starting at 9 a.m., with a community forum set for 5:15 p.m. in Calvin Hall 248A. Anderson will travel to Zuni on Tuesday, May 5 to meet with faculty, staff and students and will participate in a community forum from 1 to 2 p.m. in the commons. He will depart for Albuquerque at 3 p.m., and on Wednesday, May 6, will meet with UNM administrators, branch directors, deans and O’Neill.
Homer Garcia
Arrives in Gallup Tuesday, May 5 at 9 a.m. for a day of meetings with faculty, staff, administrators, students and the search committee with a community forum set for 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. in Calvin Hall 248A. Garcia will travel to Zuni on Wednesday, May 6 for a meeting with faculty, staff and students and will participate in a community forum from 1 to 2 p.m. in the commons. He will depart for Albuquerque that afternoon and meet on Thursday, May 7 with UNM administrators, branch directors, deans and O’Neill.
Sylvia Rodriguez Andrew
Arrives in Gallup Wednesday, May 6 at 9 a.m. for a series of meetings with faculty, staff, administrators, students and the search committee with a community forum set at 5:15 p.m. in Calvin Hall 248A. Andrew will travel to Zuni on Thursday, May 7 to meet with faculty, staff and students and will participate in a community forum from 1 to 2 p.m. in the commons. She will depart for Albuquerque that afternoon and on Friday, May 8, to meet with UNM administrators, branch directors, deans and O’Neill.
“I hope the campus will turn out for this,” O’Neill said. “Everyone is encouraged to fill out evaluation forms, which they can turn in and which will be tabulated carefully. The more specific people can be about why they think a particular candidate would be a good director, the more helpful their opinions will be to the hiring officer.”
Marc Nigliazzo, vice president of Rio Rancho operations and branch academic affairs, will be the hiring officer. He will make his selection in consultation with the UNM Gallup Local Board.
Media Contact: Linda Thornton, (505) 863-7565; e-mail: lthornton@gallup.unm.edu
Two UNM Press authors were honored at the Zia Award Luncheon recently as part of the New Mexico Press Women’s Association annual conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Las Cruces author Paula Moore won the 2009 Zia Award for her account of the Cricket Coogler case, Cricket in the Web: The 1949 Unsolved Murder that Unraveled Politics in New Mexico.
Moore’s book revisits a longtime mystery of the southern New Mexico desert for a fascinating account of true crime, political intrigue and a girl too young to die.
Arguably 20th-century New Mexico’s best-known unsolved case and a source of fascination for more than 50 years with its elements of rough sex, politics and payoffs, and unforgettable characters that some people are still afraid to talk about, Cricket in the Web takes readers into the wild, sometimes lawless atmosphere of 1949 New Mexico.
Moore, a native of eastern New Mexico, is the former executive assistant to the president of New Mexico State University. Her short stories and poetry have appeared in several literary journals, and her first book, One Man’s Word, won the 1989 New Mexico State University Book Award. She holds a master’s degree in English from NMSU and her MFA from Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, NC. Since 1974, she and her husband have lived in Doña Ana County in southern New Mexico.
Mary Beath of Albuquerque, NM, received the first ever Zia Chair Award for her book, Hiking Alone: Trails Out Trails Home.
In Hiking Alone, Beath, an award-winning poet, offers a collection of personal essays that explore the tensions between the myths of the Old West, the realities of the New West, and the complexities of a natural world that includes humans. Whether on a solo hike in the San Juan Mountains weighing the risk and choice in unexpected encounters, diving in the Sea of Cortez hoping to make peace with traditional biology, or lobbying for wilderness on Capitol Hill, Beath addresses the natural world not only as a resident and activist, but from a personal level of self-exploration that claims a deeper involvement of mind with nature.
Beath’s book, Refuge of Whirling Light (UNM Press), received the 2006 Wrangler Award for Poetry from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, and was a finalist for both the WILLA Award from Women Writing the West and a Spur Award from Western Writers of America. Beath is also an award-winning artist and naturalist.
This is the third year in a row that a UNM Press title or distributed title has won the Zia Award. In 2007, The King’s Lizard by Pamela Christie won the award for fiction and The Voyage of the Beetle by Anne Weaver received the award for children’s literature in 2008.
New Mexico Press Women, an affiliate of the National Federation of Press Women, is an organization of professional journalists and communicators that promotes the highest ethical standards while looking to the future in professional development, networking and protecting First Amendment rights.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
With reports of swine influenza confirmed in several states, the UNM Health Sciences Center and UNM Hospitals are preparing for the potential incidence of the flu here. There are precautions that UNM medical professionals say everyone can take.
For more information visit: Swine Influenza Brochure - English or Swine Influenza Brochure - Spanish.
Currently there are no reported cases of swine flu in New Mexico. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has the most current information about the latest numbers of human infections in the U.S., signs and symptoms, prevention tips, medical treatment, etc. To learn more from the CDC visit: CDC Swine Flu.
Individuals can also visit the UNM Student Health Center website at, SHAC Announcements or call (505) 277-3136.
Local high school scholars were surprised recently with news that they were named Daniels Scholars and will have the opportunity to attend any college or university in the nation. Derek Maestas sprung the news on Jose Miranda, Rio Grande High School; Rachel Kindell, West Mesa High School; and Ray Francia, Highland High School. Maestas is a UNM graduate student and director of a college prep program at UNM in which these scholars participate.
Photo: Rachel Kindell and Jose Miranda.
UNM officials nominated the students for the scholarship. The recipients are among 44 New Mexican high school scholars to receive the award this year.
The Daniels Scholarship may be used at any two- or four-year not-for-profit accredited college or university in the nation. Recipients must intend to complete a bachelor’s degree.
The scholarship is a supplemental award to all other financial resources, including estimated family contribution, available to the student. After other financial aid resources have been applied, the Daniels Scholarship covers remaining tuition and fees, room and board, transportation, study abroad programs, books and supplies and a variety of other miscellaneous expenses. Students also receive a laptop computer and printer.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Elizabeth Strout, one of the instructors for UNM’s Taos Summer Writers’ Conference, is the winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for her novel in stories, “Olive Kitteridge.” The conference will be held July 12-19 at the Sagebrush Inn.
Strout is also the author of “Abide with Me” and New York Times bestseller “Amy and Isabelle.” Her weeklong workshop, “Getting Started: Finding the Sound,” is designed help writers find the way to begin a story or novel.
The conference offers small, intensive weeklong workshops and master classes and weekend workshops. Agents and editors are available for consultation. Workshops still open as of Monday, April 27 include:
Weeklong Workshops, July 12-17
Fiction Workshop for Serious Writers – Robert Boswell
The Memoir: Challenges and Struggles – Minrose Gwin
The Writer’s “I” – Jesse Lee Kercheval
Poetry Miscellany – Dana Levin and Greg Glazner
The Art of the Sentence, the Art of the Paragraph – Priscilla Long
Beginning Memoir – Barbara Robinette Moss
Fiction as Art Form – Daniel Mueller
Organic Unity: The Marriage of Form and Content in the Short Story – Antonya Nelson
Getting Started: Finding the Sound – Elizabeth Strout
The New Nonfiction: What Everyone is Reading but M.F.A. Programs Aren’t Teaching – Mark Sundeen
Writing the Where of It – Summer Wood
Poetry Master Class – Valerie Martínez
Weekend Workshops, July 18-19
Playing With Your Inner Child: The Art of Children’s Book Writing – Ana Baca
Finding Your Voice, Writing Your Life: On Memoir – Rus Bradburd
Creative Journaling: The Collection of Soulful Stirrings – Charlene Geiss
The Process of Publishing – Elizabeth Hadas
Secret Hearing: Revision as a Transformative Art – Carol Moldaw
Writing Around Taos – Summer Wood
For more information or to register, visit Taos Summer Writers Conference.
Media Contact: Sari Krosinsky, (505) 277-1593; e-mail: michal@unm.edu
Participants in a fundraiser for the UNM Harwood Museum of Art in Taos will be treated to star quality. The Artist Reunion Dinner party on Sunday, May 3 celebrates the 40 years of friendship of six important artists of the west coast contemporary art movement featured in the “Hopper at the Harwood” exhibition, May 8-Sept. 20. The exhibit, curated by Dennis Hopper, shows the work of Larry Bell, Ron Cooper, Ronald Davis, Ken Price and Robert Dean Stockwell, as well as Hopper.
Photo: Dennis Hopper
The dinner, which sold out almost as quickly as tickets were available, is sponsored Antonio’s Taste of Mexico, Eight Modern Gallery in Santa Fe and the Heritage Trust Company of New Mexico. Many guests from New York and Los Angeles are flying in just to get a sneak preview of the exhibition and join the celebration.
On Tuesday, May 5, the Harwood Museum in conjunction with the Mandelman-Ribak Foundation presents a lecture with art historian and scholar Douglas Dreishpoon at 5 p.m. The program focuses on the Taos Oral History Project, with a preliminary discussion of the “Hopper at Harwood” exhibit. The lecture is free to Harwood Alliance members, UNM community and participating artists of the Oral History Project, or $8 for all others.
The Oral History Project originated in 1999 as a collaboration between the Mandelman-Ribak Foundation in Taos and Douglas Dreishpoon, chief curator at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, N.Y. The project’s initial concept called for a series of video-taped interviews with individuals who had been associated with the Taos Moderns, a group of artists living in Taos during the 1940s and 1950s, including Beatrice Mandelman and Louis Ribak. As the Oral History Project evolved, the objective for the interviews broadened to encompass subsequent generations, the influx of artists and writers who came to Taos in the 1960s and 1970s, and others who contributed to culture and arts in Taos.
Dreishpoon will discuss his involvement with the Oral History Project, while also touching on “Hopper at Harwood.” In addition, film footage from a number of the interviews will be shown during the presentation.
The Harwood Museum of Art is located at 238 Limoux Street, Taos, N.M., and is open Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday, noon-5 p.m. Admission $8, or free on Sundays to New Mexico residents. Visit Harwood Museum or call (575) 758.9138 for more information.
Media Contacts: Juniper Manley, (575) 758-9138 or Lucy Perera-Adams, e-mail: lperera@aol.com
Anderson alum and Chairman of the Board of Charter Companies, an Anderson National Advisory Board member, and a respected community leader Robert Wertheim presented the "Robert Wertheim Junior Faculty Research Award" to Professor Harry Van Buren at a recent faculty meeting. Wertheim called Van Buren's research "outstanding" in presenting the award.
Photo (l. to r.): Robert Wertheim, Shelly Arthur and Harry Van Buren.
Van Buren conducts research in several areas including the involvement of religious institutions in shareholder activism, issues related to race/ethnicity and gender in organizations, the ethical implications of low-wage work and the ethics of human resource management.
The nominees for this one-time award were selected by department chairs. The Dean's Office reviewed all of the nominations before making the final selection. Van Buren says he will use his award winnings for research-related purposes and plans to spend part of the summer at the University of Essex in the U.K. taking a class on case-study research.
Media Contact: Leslie Venzuela, (505) 277-7117; e-mail: venzuela@mgt.unm.edu
University Libraries is honoring employees who have exceeded expectations and demonstrated excellence in their service to students, fellow employees, and the University as a whole. The employees were nominated by other library employees, and then chosen by a committee.
The Exemplary Employee Award was given to employees who showed commitment to principles of trust, service, collaboration, and accountability, and the Bright Idea award, given to those interested in creating and implementing procedures and solutions to help improve the overall customer service, and effectiveness of the library system at UNM.
This year, the Exemplary Employee Award was presented to two recipients: Rik Burkard, a hard working and dedicated employee always willing to take on more than his expected workload to provide students and staff with greater service and support at the library, and Christine Nelson, a terrific colleague and dedicated staff member, who demonstrates leadership and initiative in all of her endeavors.
The Bright Idea Award was presented to the entire Interlibrary Loan Department, including: Randy Moorehead, Bernadette Anglada, Bonne Burton, Wanda Day, Joe Lane, and Frances Lopez-Smith. This group worked incredibly hard to implement and to launch Library Express, a new service offered by University Libraries that delivers UNM Library material and resources to patrons electronically. The service has been well received by the University community.
Media Contact: Patricia Campbell, (505) 277-1010; e-mail: pcamp@unm.edu
Scientists at the Mind Research Network (MRN) are able to predict aspects of creativity by measuring quantities of certain molecules in the brain. This same technique can be used to predict cognitive function decline in mental illness and brain disease.
Photo: Rex Jung, MRN research scientist and assistant professor, Department of Neurosurgery, UNM
“Differences in the creative process of a ‘normal’ human brain could ultimately show us how these functional differences affect brain disease, treatment and delivery,” said Rex Jung, research scientist at MRN and assistant professor, Department of Neurosurgery at the University of New Mexico.
Jung conducted the studies with a 2008 research grant from the John Templeton Foundation for “The Neuroscience of Creativity.” The first report of the MRN study is published in the April 22 edition of the Journal of Neuroscience .
Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans, Jung and his colleagues say their research demonstrates how biochemical mechanisms can influence creativity in the human brain. Fifty-six college-aged students were studied. Dr. Jung and his team discovered that a particular brain chemical, N-acetylaspartate (NAA), predicted creativity differently in people with higher levels of intelligence as compared to those with average intelligence.
“The key to unlocking brain disease is directed by understand normal brain function, and we feel fluctuating chemistry could lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment of dementia and other neurological and psychiatric disorders,” Dr. Jung added.
The Mind Research Network is dedicated to the discovery and advancement of clinical solutions for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of mental illness and other brain disorders. Headquartered in Albuquerque, MRN consists of in-house scientists working in collaboration with Harvard, Yale, MIT, the University of Minnesota, the University of New Mexico and other research centers across the nation. For more information visit: Mind Research Network.
Media Contact: Lisa Breeden, (505) 272-5028
The University of New Mexico Department of Theatre and Dance’s award-winning dramatic writing program announced the debut of the New American Plays Initiative, a partnership with the Drama League of New York City. Three young Drama League directors shape the premieres and readings of new plays during the ninth Annual Words Afire Festival, Friday, April 24-Sunday, May 3, in Rodey Theatre and The Experimental Theatre, UNM Center for the Arts, and the Wells Fargo Auditorium at the National Hispanic Cultural Center.
The Words Afire Festival is the centerpiece of UNM’s nationally acclaimed dramatic writing program. This year’s festival presents three fully-staged productions by dramatic writing M.F.A. students: “The Big Come” by Mars Mráz, “Living Purgatory” by Patricia Crespin, and “Deception Pass” by Kamarie Chapman. All three playwrights have received national and international recognition for their work.
The festival also includes readings of humorous new plays by Erin Phillip, Aaron Frale and Beth Iha, as well as screenplay readings and a late night undergraduate cabaret.
Dramatic writing undergraduate students will be showcased in two late night performances of 10 minute plays, acted and directed by The Blackout Theatre Company. The Blackout Theatre Company is known for its use of physicality and a dedication to staging new works. They will perform six ten-minute plays: “Looking for Nihil” by Theodore Jackson, “The Burglar” by Shannon Flynn, “Eti” by Barney Lopez, “The Great Cactus Battle” by Simon Blair, “Child’s Play” by James Blessing, and “Good-bye” by Danaë Lopez.
The 2009 Words Afire Festival marks the start of a new direction for the festival and the dramatic writing program. For the first time, UNM will collaborate with the Drama League, an association of emerging professional directors from New York City. Guest directors Michael Goldfried, Lauren Keating and Kerry Whigham are part of the Directors Project of the Drama League of New York.
Tickets are $15 general, $10 seniors and $8 students for Rodey Theatre; $10 general, $8 seniors and $7 students for the Experimental Theatre; and $5 for directed readings. Screenplay readings at the National Hispanic Cultural Center are free. Tickets are available at the UNM Ticket Offices located at the UNM Bookstore or University Arena (The Pit), by calling (505) 925-5858, or at UNM Tickets.com.
For a complete schedule and other information, visit Theatre and Dance. Some plays are appropriate for adult audiences only due to content and language.
Media Contact: Kathleen Clawson, (505) 238-6029, kclawson@unm.edu
The University of New Mexico recently celebrated Earth Day with an inaugural Sustainability Expo featuring exhibits and information from UNM’s Parking and Transportation Services, the UNM Physical Plant Department, Lobo Energy, the Sustainability Studies’ Lobo Grower’s Market and the City of Albuquerque among other organizations.
Photo: PATS Program Planning Manager Cynthia Martin talks with Lt. Gov. Diane Denish.
“I think the sustainability expo was a huge success and really an important event for the university, due to the fact that people from in the community as well as UNM departments participated. It’s a great way for UNM to get the message out about sustainability,” said Mary Vosevich, director of the UNM Physical Plant.
The Expo showcased everything from electric-powered cars, to tips that everyone can use to reduce energy use around their offices and homes, to locally grown, organic vegetables. The UNM Police Department held a bike auction while other UNM departments gave demonstrations of their own sustainability initiatives.
This inaugural Sustainability Expo was developed out of collaboration between Parking and Transportation Services, the Physical Plant Department, and Sustainability Studies. In previous years Parking and Transportation Services held an alternative transportation fair on Earth Day, but this year the fair was rolled into the larger Expo.
“The Expo was a great opportunity to showcase all the different ways one can participate in sustainability. The broad scope of ideas represented was very engaging said Cynthia Martin, program planning manager for UNM PATS. “It provided an opportunity to enlist people who maybe came for one part of the event to learn more about other concepts of sustainability.”
The Expo received its share of VIP visitors as well. New Mexico Lt. Governor Diane Denish (who took a moment to share her views on Earth Day and the Expo with UNM Live, seen here) and Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez were seen checking out many of the exhibits and talking with the groups taking part in the Expo.
In addition, over 50 fourth-graders from local elementary schools were also on hand, taking part in a program to teach them about the importance of saving energy around the house, bicycle safety, and eating locally grown foods. The program, called SustainABILITY, was developed by UNM Parking and Transportation Services. Presentations at the program were given by members of Lobo Energy, the City of Albuquerque Bicycle Safety Education program and UNM Sustainability Studies.
“It was so exciting to host the fourth-grade students on campus. They were so interested in the topics and had such a good time. Reaching out into the community and engaging young people in issues of sustainability is really what it is all about. It is a very important role that the University can play for the entire community,” Martin said.
Media Contact: Benson Hendrix, (505) 277-1816; e-mail: bhendrix@unm.edu
The University of New Mexico’s new Interdisciplinary Film and Digital Media Program presents the first Film and Digital Media Summit and Mini-retreat at the Los Poblanos Cultural Center on Friday, May 1. This invitation-only event brings top New Mexico film and digital media academics, administrators and industry professionals together to brainstorm the future of UNM’s film and digital media curriculum, research, industry and community partnerships and more.
The event features a keynote address from Larry Smarr, founding director of CalIT2, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications and the National Computational Science Alliance and Harry E. Gruber professor in the Jacobs School’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of California, San Diego. He has driven major contributions to development of the national information infrastructure. His views have been quoted in Science, Nature, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Time, Newsweek, Fortune and Business Week. He serves on the Advisory Committee to the Director of the National Institutes of Health and the NASA Advisory Council.
The summit is hosted by IFDM Director Andrea Polli, who relocated to UNM from Hunter College in New York City in earlier this year, and the IFDM Faculty Council, an interdisciplinary group of faculty from UNM’s College of Fine Arts, School of Engineering, Department of Communication and Journalism, School of Architecture and Planning, and Anderson School of Management.
IFDM is a model of interdisciplinary education for the 21st century that gives students necessary critical, creative and technical skills to apply digital technologies in innovative and productive ways. The program builds on ARTS Lab (Arts Research Technology and Science Laboratory), established in 2005 under Governor Bill Richardson’s Media Industries Strategy Plan.
Polli is an associate professor in fine arts and engineering. She has developed new media programs at Robert Morris College and Columbia College in Chicago, where she was voted 2000-01 Teacher of the Year, and from 2005-08 she served as the director of the Integrated Media Arts Masters of Fine Arts Program at Hunter College, City University of New York.
She served on review and curatorial boards for SIGGRAPH, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Electronic Music Foundation and others and co-authored CUNYcolab, CUNY’s Collaborative Media Communications Lab, a project designed to bridge CUNY campuses and departments working in emerging media. She is currently co-chair of the Leonardo Education Forum, an affiliate of the College Art Association of America that promotes the advancement of research and academic scholarship at the intersections of art, science and technology.
UNM is a member of Sony Imageworks Professional Academic Excellence program, or IPAX.
Media Contacts: Sari Krosinsky, (505) 277-1593; e-mail: michal@unm.edu or Andrea Polli, apolli@unm.edu or Beverly Ortiz, bevortiz@unm.edu
Undecided about a major? Need summer or fall work? Come to the "Explore A Major Fair" at the UNM Student Union Building, Ballroom B on April 27 from 12 to 5 p.m. The event is designed to help students make academic and work connections in a one-stop environment.
Gaining on-the-job experience relevant to a student’s major and raising student awareness regarding the multitude of UNM academic opportunities, helps to give graduates an edge during the inevitible job search. Representatives and advisors from several departments will be available to share detailed information about majors and minors.
“This is a great opportunity for students to have face time with advisors and to get information on the different majors and programs available. It is especially beneficial for students who have not selected a major,” said Sarah Kieltyka, academic advisor, University College Advisement Center.
UNM students are also invited to participate in a Student Job Fair, sponsored by the UNM Graduation Task Force Student Engagement Committee. UNM departments as well as community organizations with work-study contracts will be on hand in the ballroom to discuss the benefits of student employment and to recruit UNM students for summer and fall employment.
The 3rd Annual Native American Career Fair will take place on Thursday, April 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Jackson Student Center located west of the Anderson School of Management on the UNM Campus.
The career fair will include recruiters from Native American organizations and tribal entities, which are sometimes absent from mainstream career fairs, giving them the opportunity to recruit from a large number of highly qualified individuals who will soon receive their college degrees. The fair will also feature Non-Native organizations looking to hire new employees.
Employers scheduled to attend the fair include: the Pueblo of Laguna, Sandia Pueblo, Jicarilla Apache Energy Corporation, Chickasaw Nation, Hewlett-Packard, Transportation Security Administration, and Verizon Wireless.
The career fair is open to all people regardless of race or ethnicity. Participants are encouraged to bring a resume and professional attire is recommended.
The event is sponsored by the New Mexico Human Services Department Working Disabled Individuals Program, the Department of Interior Office of the Special Trustee, and the American Indian Business Association at the Anderson School of Management. For more information, visit: AIBA.
A free educational Comadre platíca (talk) titled, “How Cancer Affects Hispanic/Latinos: How to Take Better Care of Ourselves,” will be held Saturday, April 25 from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon at the West Mesa Community Center located at 5500 Glenrio Rd., NW in Albuquerque. Door prizes and refreshments will be available. The Comadre platíca is sponsored by the Comadre A Comadre in the College of Education at the University of New Mexico, the UNM Cancer Center and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure of Central New Mexico.
The Comadre platíca will feature several guest speakers including Maria D. Otero, National Cancer Institute; Richard M. Hoffman, School of Medicine, UNM Cancer Center; Zoneddy Dayao, UNM Cancer Center; and Liz Dillman, UNM Pediatric Hematology and Oncology.
The Comadre a Comadre program serves Hispanic/Latina women and their loved ones through advocacy, education, information, resources, and support about breast health and breast cancer. Its services are free and provided in both Spanish and English by experienced staff. The Comadres are breast cancer survivors who are trained to access services and lend support from someone who "has been there."
Educational platícas are held regularly by Comadre A Comadre and are open to the public. They are typically held at the Casa Comadre, located at 1909 Lomas NW in Old Town. For a complete list of the spring schedule visit: Comadre Educational Platícas.
Other sponsors of the platícas include The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Information Service, the Breast Cancer Resource Center and the New Mexico Department of Health.
The West Mesa Community Center can be reached off the Coors exit, south of 1-40, turn left before Fortuna Road or north on Coors from Central, turn right at Pizza Hut. For more information pre-registration, transportation, childcare needs or special assistance contact Margaret Duran at Comadre A Comadre, (505) 242-1222.
Media Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
UNM’s Kiva Club celebrates Native American Heritage this week with the 54th annual Nizhoni Days. The festivities culminate with the Honoring Our Alumni Pow Wow on Sunday, April 26, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. at Johnson Field.
Sponsored and organized by the Kiva Club since the 1950s, Nizhoni Days demonstrate the wealth of Native American achievements in the arts, activism, politics, academics and culture. Nizhoni is a Diné (Navajo) word meaning “beautiful.”
Throughout the week, the Kiva Club is holding social, cultural and educational events and entertainment with numerous co-sponsors from UNM and the community.
For more information contact kiva@unm.edu or (505) 277-8922.
Media Contact: Sari Krosinsky, (505) 277-1593; e-mail: michaal@unm.edu
Ebony Jones is one of 15 scholars nationwide selected to receive a prestigious scholarship from the Gilder Lehrman Institute for American History. As a Gilder Lehrman fellow, Jones will spend five weeks in New York City this summer, where she will meet with prominent historians, conduct archival research, and prepare primary source documents related to President Abraham Lincoln for publication. Jones, a senior at the University of New Mexico, is currently writing a senior honors thesis about enslaved African American women and free labor during the Civil War.
Photo: Ebony Jones
The Gilder Lehrman fellowship is intended to foster the next generation of American historians, who are identified and selected for the scholarship based upon the demonstration of "superb research and writing skills in the field of American history."
Jones said, “It is an amazing opportunity as a student in history to interact with some of the leading scholars of American history. The skills gained from this type of scholarly engagement are invaluable. Second, I hope that my unique personal experiences of being a multi-racial young female from New Mexico, can contribute further to the diversity in approaching research, and facilitating discussions and lectures.”
Sarah Cornell, assistant professor of history; and Kimberly Gauderman associate professor of history; recommended Jones for the fellowship.
“I have had Ebony in two courses and am her honors thesis advisor. I can say with no hesitation that Ebony's scholarship is of the highest caliber. In fact, she is one of the top students, if not the very best, that I have had the pleasure of teaching over the past seven years, here at University of New Mexico or at New York University. I was shocked to learn that she performs at such a high level while also working full time as a night-shift nurse,” Cornell said.
Jones’ work is on enslaved African American in contraband camps and the genesis of free labor during the Civil War. While there is a large body of scholarship on black men's actions and experiences during the war, there is very little scholarship about these women because they left very few documents and few other historical actors specifically sought to record their experiences.
“Ebony approached this difficult subject by innovatively using a tremendous array of sources, reading them against the grain and carefully mining them for every detail pertinent to women in contraband camps. While she is just finishing her research and beginning to write, she argues that African American women's actions helped hasten the destruction of the slave labor system,” Cornell said.
Cornell said that Jones is a “promising scholar” who isn’t afraid to offer an interpretation that differs significantly from the classmates’ views. She has the ability to articulate sophisticated analyses and do so in a way that often draws other students, even shy ones, into a productive dialogue.
Jones, who initially planned to pursue a nursing degree, now plans to graduate this December and then go on to graduate school, in history of course.
“My ultimate goal is obtain my Ph.D. and teach, hopefully not only contributing to the field of history in ways that allow us to better understand the past but to also influence the lives of young undergraduates – and graduate students – similar to how several professors here at UNM have influenced me,” she said.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Leiv Marsteintredet, Department of Comparative Politics at Bergen University in Norway, presents, “Presidential Interruptions in Latin America: Social Origins and Implications,” Wednesday, April 29, noon, SUB Lobo B.
Photo: Leiv Marsteintredet
Since 1978, 12 Latin American presidents have failed to make it to the end of their constitutional terms – they were impeached or forced from office early by large protest movements. This presentation addresses what these presidential “interruptions” have in common and what they tell us about how well presidents function in Latin America.
Marsteintredet, currently a Fulbright scholar at the University of California at Berkeley, focuses on the political nature of the interruptions, and how they constituted important turning points for the regimes in question.
This event, sponsored by the UNM Latin American and Iberian Institute, is free and open to the public. For more information, call 277-7390.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
The Green Gallup Home and Garden Show, sponsored by the University of New Mexico-Gallup Construction Technology program, is scheduled for May 1-2, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Gurley Hall.
Eighteen presenters will be set up in Gurley Hall Commons to provide information on green building methods, lifestyle, environmental concerns and wellness. On Saturday, several seminars are scheduled on: solar adobe and rammed earth block construction, rainwater harvesting, drip irrigation, building with structural insulated panels and green building.
“We’re trying to showcase local businesses that are doing some kind of green effort,” said Construction Technology Instructor Chris Chavez. “At the same time, we’re taking the opportunity to show off some of the programs we’re teaching on campus.”
Over the past year, Chavez and fellow instructor Rick Krouth have been concentrating on developing programs to teach building methods that are not only more harmonious with the environment but that will save the homeowner money through reduced fuel costs.
Among presenters are City of Gallup Joint Utilities; Four Directions Wellness Resources; Gallup Lumber and Supply Co.; Gallup Small Business Development Center; Green Horizon; Habitat for Humanity of Gallup; Holiday Nursery; Humane Society of Gallup; Krouth Construction; Otero’s Cellular and Alarm Co.; Polysteel Forms of Gallup LLC; Project Green Build; Reliv-Nourishing Our World; Sandoval Woodworks; Shelter + Design; UNM-G Digital Design and Media Program; UNM-G Cosmetology Program; and When the Rains Come.
The Home and Garden Show is free and open to the public. Call UNMG Construction Technology at (505) 863-7560 for more information.
The UNM Office of Student Affairs presents a special reception and talk by Sherry Mueller, president and CEO, National Council for International Visitors and co-author of “Working World: Careers in International Education, Exchange and Development,” Tuesday, April 28, at 3 p.m. in Hodgin Hall’s Bobo Room, located on the 3rd floor. Refreshments will be served.
Photo: Sherry Mueller
Mueller had her first international experience as a student on an Experiment in International Living program in Germany. Several years later she led an Experiment group to the then-USSR. Her work abroad ranges from serving as a State Department speaker on NGO leadership in Saudi Arabia to teaching English in Brazil.
If interested in attending, RSVP by April 27 to, Lauren Fowler Young lfowler@unm.edu or 277-0906.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
F. Chris Garcia, former UNM president and distinguished professor emeritus in political science, is among the Silver Horizons New Mexico, Inc. 2009 Senior Hall of Fame inductees, who will be honored at a luncheon on May 21. The luncheon will be held at the Albuquerque Marriott Pyramid North Hotel and will begin with a silent auction at 10:30 a.m., followed by the luncheon and award ceremony at 11:30 a.m.
Photo: F. Chris Garcia
In 1982, Silver Horizons began the Senior Hall of Fame to honor outstanding individuals over the age of 65 for their lifetime commitments to the community.
Silver Horizons will induct four individuals for 2009, including: F. Chris Garcia, Betty-Mae Hartman Richard W. Kirschner and Anne M. Nokes.
F. Chris Garcia, born on April 15, 1940, in Albuquerque, N.M., earned his bachelor's degree in government and citizenship in 1961 and his master's in political science and education in 1964 from UNM. He earned his Ph.D. in political science from the University of California at Davis in 1972.
He returned to UNM in 1970 as an assistant professor in political science, a subject he still teaches.
During his professorial career at UNM, Garcia has also held various administrative positions, including:
· assistant director of the Division of Government Research (1970-72)
· assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (1975-1976)
· associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (1976-1980)
· dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (1980-1986)
· vice president for Academic Affairs (1987-1990)
· provost and interim vice president for Academic Affairs (1993; 1998-2000)
Garcia sought a stronger relationship with the state’s congressional delegation, which increased the UNM’s federal funding in 2002-2003.
In 2002, Garcia was named president of the university, during which the university grew in record-setting numbers in both students in attendance and diplomas received.
By 2003, the Graduation Project, which Garcia had inaugurated in 1997 to encourage students who had dropped out to complete their degrees, had brought 1,684 students back, 1,124 of whom graduated.
His served as a member of numerous boards, committees, and task forces in and around the Albuquerque area. Garcia was also active in many organizations that promoted education and economic development, including:
· the Golden Key International Honor Society
· the Phi Beta Kappa Society
· the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi
· Pi Sigma Alpha, the national honor society for political science
Garcia’s career is one of service to the community, education, development and UNM.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Phillip Gonzales, senior associate dean, College of Arts & Sciences, recently announced the recipients of the college’s 2009 Awards for Teaching Excellence. The award is given competitively to college faculty members and graduate teaching assistants who have made contributions to the college's instructional mission.
Photo (l. to r.): 2009 Awards for Teaching Excellence - Margaret Connell-Szasz, professor of history and Mary Domski, assistant professor of philosophy.
Faculty nominees, who receive $2,000, are evaluated on the breadth and the quality of their instructional contributions with preference given to those who have demonstrated instructional excellence at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, through classroom instruction and supervision of student research, and have integrated their research and scholarship into their teaching.
Graduate students, who receive $1,500, are evaluated on the quality of their undergraduate teaching and the strength of their contributions to their department's instructional mission.
This year's winners are:
Faculty: Margaret Connell-Szasz, professor of history
Mary Domski, assistant professor of philosophy
Graduate Students: Jennifer Richter, American Studies
Leigh Johnson, English
The winners will be acknowledged at this year's TOYA award ceremony.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
UNM brought home 14 prizes from New Mexico Press Women’s 2009 Communications Contest. All first place winners are entered in the National Federation of Press Women contest. In addition, two UNM students received NMPW scholarships.
Africana Studies Director and Law Professor Sherri Burr received first place awards in two categories: in informational columns for “Minding Finances for Writers,” her monthly column in Southwest Sage, and in instructional nonfiction books for her audio book “Sum & Substance on Entertainment Law.” She also received a second place award in the speech category for “Live Your Life in Search of Material,” delivered to Southwest Writers.
KUNM Associate Producer Megan Kamerick garnered two awards in the radio interview category: second place for an interview with UNM History Professor A.K. Sandoval-Strausz on his book, “Hotel: An American History,” and an honorable mention for an interview with Courtney Martin, author of “Perfect Girls.”
The University Communication and Marketing Department netted nine awards, including four in first place.
Senior Communication Representative Carolyn Gonzales received the most awards, sharing first place with Journalism Professor Richard Schaefer in the prepared radio report category for “Perspectives on Mexican Immigration” on KUNM and taking first place in news podcasts for a UNM Live interview with History Professor Ferenc Szasz on Abraham Lincoln and Robert Burns, third place in photographer-writer for UNM Today story “Cross Border Group Travels to Chiapas,” and an honorable mention in personality profiles under 500 words for UNM Today story “Brown Receives Scholarship for Navajo Language Study.”
Web Site Administrator Matt Carter and Web Designer John Sumrow received second place in the nonprofit Web site development/creation category for UNM’s Flickr Site and an honorable mention in Web site editing for UNM’s MySpace page.
Public Relations Specialist Benson Hendrix and Senior Communication Representative Karen Wentworth took first place in Web site development for UNM’s Political Experts page, created to facilitate media requests during the 2008 elections. Hendrix also took second place in news podcasts for UNM Live’s “Geek Talk,” along with Continuing Education Teacher Mark Hinton and Communication Associate Sari Krosinsky.
For the second time in three years, UNM Today garnered a first place award in the four-color magapaper/tabloid category. The award was accepted by Krosinsky, Gonzales and Senior Graphic Designer Jana Fothergill.
UNM junior and Daily Lobo Photo Editor Vanessa Sanchez received NMPW’s first Cary Herz Photojournalism Scholarship. Jennifer Vieth, senior studying advertising, received the Doris Greg Memorial Scholarship.
For information visit: New Mexico Press Women.
Can traditional media compete with new media? With the quickening pace of news outlets closing down or reducing staff members, what’s the future of journalism in the United States? On this week’s “New Mexico in Focus” co-host David Alire Garcia sits down with broadcast journalist and author Amy Goodman to discuss the future of the media. “New Mexico in Focus,” KNME-TV’s weekly one-hour news show, will air on Friday, April 24 at 7 p.m. on channel 5/5.1 and repeat on Sunday, April 26 at 6:30 a.m.
Alire Garcia will also talk about the changing New Mexico media landscape with Gwyneth Doland, a reporter for the New Mexico Independent and Benito Aragon, a reporter with LocalDialogue.net.
Then co-host Gene Grant and regular panelist Whitney Cheshire will be joined by guest panelists Teresa Cordova, with the University of New Mexico School of Architecture and Planning, Rebecca Jo Dakota, executive director for the Albuquerque Independent Business Alliance, and Jim Williams, news director for KUNM to talk about the media and sound off on the possibility that some non-profits are becoming too political, and the recent move to remove Manny Aragon’s name from the National Hispanic Cultural Center tower.
Producers of ‘New Mexico In Focus’ are Kevin McDonald and Kathy Wimmer. Closed captioning has been made possible by a gift from Mrs. Elspeth G. Bobbs.
The UNM Bookstore’s Annual Children’s Book Fair is set for Saturday, May 9 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the UNM Bookstore, on Cornell and Central NE. This year’s theme is Summer Camp Adventure and the bookstore will host a number of activities related to those lazy days of summer, friends and fun.
This year’s featured author is New Mexico’s Neecy Twinem, an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator with over 26 published books. Most notably, she expresses her admiration for New Mexico with her vibrant illustrations in E is for Enchantment: A New Mexico Alphabet, a WILLA Literary Award recipient and nominated for the Land of Enchantment Book Award. Twinem is a regular speaker at schools, conferences and literacy festivals across the country.
Another special guest this year will be the Albuquerque BioPark’s Incredible Insects display and presentation. Incredible Insects is the Rio Grande Botanic Garden's newest outreach program. This display includes a 40-minute presentation and features live arthropods and hands-on biofacts. Kids of all ages will enjoy learning firsthand about these amazing creatures.
The UNM Bookstore “Camp Counselors” will have lots of interactive projects and crafts for kids to play and create. Free refreshments, goody bags, balloons and face painting – a hands-down favorite thanks to our talented art students – will also be provided. This one-of-a-kind experience is for kids and the audience grows larger each year as more and more parents see what a great learning experience the UNM Bookstore provides.
The UNM Bookstore is located at 2301 Central Ave. NE at the intersection of Cornell and Central. Parking will be validated in the parking structure for up to one hour with purchase. Please call Lisa Walden at 505-277-7494 for more information.
For more information, contact: Lisa Walden, general book manager, 505-277-7494 or e-mail: lwalden@unm.edu.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) granted the University of New Mexico School of Medicine Accreditation with Commendation. Only five medical school continuing-education providers in the U.S. received the special designation. Ninety-seven providers have been reviewed under the 2006 ACCME Accreditation Criteria.
The University of New Mexico has a long-standing commitment to the full continuum of medical education. An important mission of the School of Medicine is to improve and enhance health for the diverse populations of New Mexico through education. Key to achieving this accreditation recognition has been the partnership efforts with the Department of Health, the Indian Health Service, Envision New Mexico, Rios Net and Project ECHO.
Since 2006, the ACCME has maintained a focus on supporting a well-organized transition to a 22-criterion-based system for the accreditation of CME providers that matches the gaps in physician competence, performance, and patient outcomes (i.e., professional practice gaps) with practice-based learning and change.
The accreditation period extends to March 2015.
University Libraries will host the 2009 Center for Southwest Research and Regional Studies Fellows presentations on April 27, April 30 and May 1 in the Willard Reading Room in Zimmerman Library.
Monday, April 27 - Noon
Sarah Wentzel-Fisher, Community and Regional Planning
“Moving Media--The Challenges of Digitizing Audio and Video Tape.”
Sue Taylor - History and James E. Dory-Garduño, School of Law
“Raiders of the Colonial Archives: The Papers, Research and Contributions of France V. Scholes, Eleanor B. Adams and Ward Alan Minge to New Mexico History.”
Thursday, April 30 - 11 a.m.
Katie Galauska, Art Education
“Artists’ Books and Preservation.”
Brian King, History
“A Long and Winding Road: Discovering, Deciphering, and Digitizing New Mexico’s Struggle for Statehood 1848—1912 and Beyond”
Jane Sinclair, American Studies
“Then and Now: The Many Faces of The Santa Fe Post Office, The Wool Factory and The Montezuma Hotel.”
Lavinia Nicolae, Anthropology
“UNM History and Politics 1894-1970: A University Archives Digital Collection Project.”
Friday, May 1 - 11 a.m.
Char Peery, Anthropology
“Is All Publicity Good Publicity? Public Services at the CSWR,”
Eric Castillo, American Studies
“La Academia de la Nueva Raza: A Quest for Social and Psychic Change,”
Max Fitzpatrick, Sociology
“Principled Republican Legislators in New Mexico: The Steve Schiff and Ken Kamerman Collections,”
Kari Schleher and Laura York, Anthropology
“Meandering through Time: Preserving History through Digitization of the CSWR Pictorial Collections.”
The public is welcome to attend all of the presentations. The Fellows are sponsored by the Center for Regional Studies and the Center for Southwest Research.
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
University of New Mexico Distinguished Professor of Biology Eric Charnov has been elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Professor Charnov's research combines ideas from ecology, economics, and evolution to understand the life history, reproductive, and foraging decisions of plants and animals, including humans. For the past 30 years Charnov has been a world scientific leader, and his ideas have produced many of the most cited publications in evolutionary ecology.
Photo: Distinguished Professor of Biology Eric Charnov
Charnov is among 210 new Fellows and 19 Foreign Honorary Members elected in 2009 as leaders in the sciences, the humanities and the arts, business, public affairs, and the nonprofit sector. The Academy is one of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies, and includes a center for independent policy research.
This year's scholars, scientists, jurists, writers, artists, civic, corporate and philanthropic leaders come from 28 states and 11 countries, and range in age from 33 to 83. They represent universities, museums, national laboratories, private research institutes, businesses, and foundations. The group also includes Nobel laureates and recipients of the Pulitzer and Pritzker prizes, MacArthur Fellowships, Academy, Grammy, and Tony awards, and the National Medal of Arts. Charnov received a MacArthur Fellowship in 1997.
The Academy, established in 1780 by founders of the nation, undertakes studies of complex and emerging problems. Current projects focus on science, technology and global security; social policy and American institutions; the humanities and culture; and education. The Academy’s membership of scholars and practitioners from many disciplines and professions gives it a unique capacity to conduct a wide range of interdisciplinary, long-term policy research.
“Since 1780, the Academy has served the public good by convening leading thinkers and doers from diverse perspectives to provide practical policy solutions to the pressing issues of the day,” said Leslie Berlowitz, Chief Executive Officer and William T. Golden Chair. “I look forward to welcoming into the Academy these new members to help continue that tradition.”
“These remarkable men and women have made singular contributions to their fields, and to the world,” said Academy President Emilio Bizzi. “By electing them as members, the Academy honors them and their work, and they, in turn, honor us.”
The new class will be inducted at a ceremony on October 10 at the Academy’s headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Since its founding in 1780 by John Adams, James Bowdoin, John Hancock, and other scholar-patriots, the Academy has elected as members the finest minds and most influential leaders from each generation, including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin in the eighteenth century, Daniel Webster and Ralph Waldo Emerson in the nineteenth, and Albert Einstein and Winston Churchill in the twentieth. The current membership includes more than 250 Nobel laureates and more than 60 Pulitzer Prize winners.
Media Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
The University of New Mexico-Gallup’s Nursing Program reports a pass rate of 88.8 percent for the 2009 NCLEX-RN examinations, one of the highest in recent years. All RN’s are required to take the national certification tests before they can practice. The examinations are conducted by the National Council of State Boards for Nursing through its NCLEX-RN testing program.
Photo: Marji Campbell, chair, UNM-Gallup Nursing Program
A local nursing advisory committee, made up of area professionals employed at hospitals, clinics and offices where UNM-G’s nurses will work, has helped boost the pass rate by stressing that the graduates need to take the test soon after graduation. Statistics support that the nursing graduates do much better at the exams if they do not delay taking the NCLEX-RN test.
As usual, enrollment in UNM-G’s Nursing Program is at capacity, but Marji Campbell, chair of the program, said the faculty is always looking for well qualified applicants – students who have “done their research and know about the demands of nursing,” Campbell said, adding that successful applicants should have also done well in their pre-requisite courses, particularly science and math, with at least a C average.
Campbell stressed that successful nursing candidates should also be willing to commit to completing the program in four semesters because those who try to take one or two courses per semester generally don’t succeed. Further, nursing candidates need to be aware that those with full family support and the time and energy to make their studies their priority are the most likely to succeed in the program.
Currently, the college is taking applications for fall until the end of May. Testing for the program will be done in June.
Mentoring is another means of ensuring that nursing students succeed, Campbell said. To that end, Interim Executive Director Barry Cooney and the UNM-G Nursing Department are hosting an informational get-together in May, where local nurses will be invited to help mentor students. The date and time will be announced.
For more information contact UNM-Gallup’s Nursing Program at (505) 863-7514.
Media Contact: Linda Thornton, (505) 863-7565; e-mail: lthornton@gallup.unm.edu
Manuel Olave, president, Universidad Privada Boliviana in Bolivia, will present, "Bolivia: A tale of two cities -- Globalization, Poverty and Democracy," on Wednesday, May 6 at noon at the Latin American and Iberian Institute, located at 801 Yale NE on the main UNM campus. This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
Photo: Manuel Olave
For more information, call 277-4821.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
On April 21, results from the first-ever, independent disability survey of over 33,000 households was released. The survey was initiated by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation and conducted by the UNM Center for Development and Disability (UNM CDD), principal investigator and project director Dr. Anthony Cahill.
The findings showed that 40 percent more Americans live with paralysis and more than five times the number of Americans live with spinal cord injury than formerly estimated. The survey revealed that 1.275 million have had a spinal cord injury and over 5.6 million Americans live with some form
of paralysis.
Cahill, a senior research scientist and director of the Division of Disability and Health Policy at the UNM CDD also serves as the research director of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation Paralysis Resource Center. He and his research team at the CDD conducted the survey under a multi-year cooperative agreement with the Reeve Foundation, lasting from 2006 to 2008.
On Tuesday, April 21, Cahill attended a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington DC for the announcement. He also gave a briefing on the results on Capitol Hill.
For more information on the survey, visit University of New Mexico Center for Development and Disability or Christopher Reeve.
Media Contact: Lauren Cruse, (505) 272-3690; e-mail: lcruse@salud.unm.edu
The Lobo Club is 3,709-members strong, but like the teams they support, they set their sights higher –4,000 members by May 31. Kim Waseta, Lobo Club office manager, is confident that they can make it happen. Getting the word out about the program and its benefits, especially to the campus community, is one way to boost supporters.
Photo: Kim Waseta, office manager, Lobo Club
The Lobo Club started in 1932 with a small group of loyal football fans. In its 75-year plus history, it has grown to support athletes across the sports spectrum, primarily by providing Lobo athletes with scholarships, Waseta said.
People can become Lobo Club members for as little as $50. “Benefits include ticket priority – the best seats in the house – and preferred parking. Donors have the satisfaction in knowing they are providing scholarships for student athletes – and their contributions are tax deductible,” she said.
Lobo athletes recently took part in a Thank-a-thon. “Athletes from all sports took part in thanking the donors by manning a phone bank. They took stacks of donor cards and called each donor just to say thanks,” she said. People thought they were calling to solicit additional funds and were pleasantly surprised just to be thanked. The athletes appreciated the opportunity to express gratitude to individuals who have made a difference in their college careers. “They spoke from the heart,” she said.
Members also receive a weekly email newsletter, Lobo Tracks. “It includes news about the programs and gives heads up to members about things, for example, like purchasing tickets for the WNIT,” she said.
UNM staff and faculty can give through payroll deduction, whether they are paid bi-weekly or monthly,” she said. She added that they also accept cash, checks and credit cards as well as in-kind gifts.
PNM, Lockheed Martin and Merrill Lynch also provide matching gifts, Waseta said.
The Lobo Club hosts banquets for the various programs. “At 550, the women’s basketball banquet saw 150 fewer guests from last year, but the men’s basketball banquet held strong at 650,” she said, noting the decline is probably due to the economic downturn.
Waseta loves sports – “Growing up with four brothers it was hard not to love sports,” she said with a laugh. She played volleyball and softball for West Mesa High School. Her daughter Elizabeth, 13, is a multi-sport athlete at Santa Fe Indian School.
Despite her love of the game, Waseta is a relative newcomer to south campus. She started her UNM career at the School of Medicine. “My first thought about working for athletics came when I helped the marketing team organize a tailgate party for the docs. There was a different vibe, a different feeling,” she said.
Waseta appreciates the university “melting pot.” “People from all over the world are represented at UNM – from the doctors at the hospital to the ski team. Everyone has a place at UNM.”
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
The UNM Women’s Golf team won its second straight Mountain West Conference championship by defeating TCU by 14 shots on the par-72 Black Horse Golf Course. UNM has now won six MWC titles in 10 years. Junior Britney Choy captured second place individual honors and Jodi Ewart was named the league’s Player of the Year. Ewart is the first MWC golfer in league history to earn three consecutive Player of the Year honors.
Photo: MWC Player of the Year Jodi Ewart blasts out of a sand trap.
For more information, visit: UNM Women's Golf Recap and Jodi Ewart.
Insurance Open Enrollment for 2009-10 is scheduled for Wednesday, April 29-May 13. Open enrollment is the one time each year employees can make changes to insurance benefits without a qualifying status change. This year, we will include medical, dental, vision and accidental death and dismemberment.
We are pleased that there are very few changes in our health insurance plan design, and no changes in the other benefits. Most importantly, rates will not increase. UNM’s health care plan will offer certain diabetic supplies for a $0 co-pay, change the emergency room visit co-pay to $150, and feature a new prescription drug provider – Express Scripts.
The primary reason that UNM rates for insurance are not increasing is that we will begin self-funding our health care benefits. Under this new financing option, UNM is funding our own employees’ health costs, rather than paying an insurance company to do it. Employee medical and prescription costs will be covered by premiums paid by UNM and our employees. We are also protected from catastrophic claims with additional insurance coverage that will kick in when an individual’s medical costs exceed $300,000.
Since we are self-funding, profits previously earned by Lovelace and Presbyterian are reduced, resulting in significant savings. Even though we are still using the same three-tiered system including LoboCare, Lovelace and Presbyterian, and out-of-network providers, this means no increases in health insurance premiums for fiscal year 2010. This is outstanding since market trends for 2009 show an average 9.7 percent increase.
The important thing to know is that benefits will not be affected. Most of New Mexico’s major employers, including the state, Albuquerque Public Schools and New Mexico State University, are already self-insured.
As Open Enrollment approaches, review the choices carefully and select the benefits that will meet your needs and the needs of dependents. There will be an opportunity to meet with insurance carrier representatives at the Benefits Vendor Fairs. Visit: Human Resources on Friday, April 24 for details or call (505) 277-MyHR (6947).
Story by Helen Gonzales, vice president, Human Resources
According to the New Mexico Department of Health, more than 120,000 people in the state have diabetes, but only 84,000 of these people know they have it.
Studies have found that diabetes:
· increases the risk of heart disease by 200-400 percent.
· is the leading cause of blindness among people aged 20-74.
· contributes to nervous system damage, and severe diabetic nerve disease is a major cause of non-traumatic lower leg, foot and toe amputations.
· is the leading cause of kidney failure.
Over time, too much glucose in the blood can damage many body parts and cause diabetic complications. Much can be done to prevent or slow down these problems with the help of a team. The team should include supportive people as well as health care providers such as doctors, certified diabetes educators, dietitians, pharmacists, mental health workers, eye specialists, foot specialists, dentists and social workers.
Keep in mind that the person living with diabetes is the most important member of the team. The team can contribute to a long and healthy life through a combination of healthy lifestyle practices, frequent check-ups, medication when necessary and laboratory tests for screening and monitoring.
The Division of Human Resources benefits and Employee Health Promotion Program are also part of the team. This year, HR is working with UNM health plans to provide certain diabetic supplies and medications for a $0 co-pay. As one of the highest cost drivers for UNM, it is vital that diabetes is prevented or managed.
A list of supplies and medications will be on the Division of Human Resources’ Web site at: Human Resources beginning Friday, April 24. EHPP regularly provides glucose and lipid testing, as well as access to professional staff who can work with individuals and groups to support healthy lifestyles. For more information on available resources, call EHPP at (505) 272-4460.
With the fast-paced deployment cycles soldiers face, missing a couple of important milestones is unavoidable. However, one captain with the Special Operations Task Force – Central was determined not to miss this one. With people stateside and overseas working hard to make the connection, Captain Patrick O’Neil, an executive officer and command surgeon with a SOTF-C detachment, administered the oath of enlistment to his son via video-teleconference from the Iraqi capital.
Patrick O’Neil, Jr., a UNM freshman who enlisted as an infantryman in the New Mexico Army National Guard, said he wants to eventually become a ranger-qualified Special Forces medic.
The 18-year-old’s decision to enlist was not set in stone until he was out on his own. “I realized that I didn’t want just a college degree and became more interested in the military,” he said.
Although he has never pushed the military life on his children, O’Neil said that he was proud to see his eldest son take this step toward his future goals and was humbled to know his son is joining fully aware of the possibility of going to war.
“Joining the military in the first place is a life-altering choice, so having my dad a part of that moment in my life is very important,” O’Neil, Jr. said. “My dad has been a very important part of my life. He has taught me my core values and how to live life to the fullest.”
The private first class, who enjoys science, playing video games and scuba diving, knew at the age of 10 that he wanted to work in health care. It surprised his parents when they discovered he wanted to go infantry before getting his commission later in his career.
In addition to the physical and mental challenges it offers, O’Neil, Jr. explained the Special Forces community as “the best of the best” and it’s what attracted him to this military lifestyle.
“It says that he’s willing to sacrifice personal comfort and to temporarily postpone his educational goals to experience enlisted life,” O’Neil said. “I think it’s admirable that he wants to serve in the enlisted ranks prior to seeking his commission.”
“I was enlisted for the vast majority of my career and I’ve always felt that my time as an enlisted soldier was invaluable,” the surgeon added. “I may be an officer, but my heart and soul will always be with the enlisted side of the house.”
Story by Jeffrey Ledesma, Special Operations Task Force
There’s more to succeeding in college than academic prowess. Students have a lot to keep track of on the path from application to graduation – completing admission requirements, applying for financial aid, paying tuition, registering for classes, finding a job on campus, staying on track with core courses and major requirements, or getting a transcript sent to an employer or graduate school. The Division of Enrollment Management is working to make the process much easier.
Everyone in the division – from frontline staff to the vice president – is participating in a cross-training intended to make student support services faster and more convenient. When the move of part of the staff to south campus is complete, the cross-training will enable UNM to maintain two full-service student support centers. The cross-training will also allow staff to be redeployed to the busiest areas as needed to reduce students’ wait time.
Admissions Advisor Allie Santiago, who has worked for UNM admissions since 2001, is among staff participating in the cross-training that began in January. She said the training is already producing positive results. “The service has gotten better because we’re more knowledgeable.”
Since Santiago and other staff can help solve more problems, students can accomplish more with less legwork. “I don’t have to send them all over. They’re happy, and I know I gave them correct information,” she said.
Each area within enrollment management developed topical training modules. Financial Aid Manager Eddie Salazar is training staff for his area. “For a lot of people, financial aid is a black box, a mystery,” he said, adding that staff have been eager to learn and apply their new knowledge.
Salazar began working at the Financial Aid Office while he was a student and became staff in 2000 after graduating. He was part of the office’s Banner implementation team and helped develop Banner training for financial aid staff – experience that led him to become one of the new cross-trainers.
He said the toughest part of the cross-training has been time. For both trainers and participants, it’s a challenge to maintain customer service and other regular duties while also training and moving.
The cross-training has three stages. The first, an online training developed with Employee and Organizational Development, gave an overview of Banner forms followed by a proficiency test. In the second phase, staff got a review and hands on practice at the Lobo Lab. The third stage will provide advanced training and operational planning for Student One Stop staff.
Santiago said the sessions at the Lobo Lab have been the most helpful part of the training so far. She researched questions on financial aid, registration and other areas and practiced accessing and processing student records through the different interfaces for each department.
She’s also looking forward to future trainings. “There’s always more to learn,” she said.
Media Contact: Sari Krosinsky, (505) 277-1593; e-mail: michal@unm.edu
Once again, UNM-Gallup is calling for participation in its Talking Circle series in an effort to help local students, kindergarten through college, succeed in higher education. One Talking Circle was held recently at Zuni High School. A second will be held on the Navajo Nation on Friday, May 1, 4:30-9 p.m., at Window Rock High School in Fort Defiance, Ariz. Registration is required.
Call Bernadette Fontenelle, (505) 863-7771, Sonny Moore, (505) 863-7733 or Eunice Harrison, (505) 863-7714.
The first Talking Circle, held on the UNM-Gallup campus in May 2008, drew about 120 community members. The goals were to provide an opportunity for the community to converse about helping students succeed in college and to establish solutions and strategies and develop a plan for the community to move forward on issues impacting student success.
Issues the event dealt with included ensuring college readiness, helping students cope with outside pressures and maintaining high-quality teaching and learning at the college level. Proposed solutions included greater family involvement, increased collaboration between college and K-12 education, developing culturally appropriate support and curriculum for Native American students, and greater incorporation of technology in the classroom.
The UNM Art Museum closed Monday, April 20 for renovations that will add 8,000 square feet to its operation, formerly the Fine Arts Library in the Center for the Arts. The temporary loss to art lovers will bring big long-term gains. The expanded space, connected by a three-story elevator, will include a new print and photography study room, video and new media gallery, administrative offices and much needed storage space for the museum’s extensive permanent collection.
Painting: Agnes Martin, Untitled, c.1954, Oil on board. Anonymous gift in honor of Vernon Nikkel 93.43.
The Jonson Gallery will leave its first and only home since its founding in 1950 to occupy the Lower Level Gallery of the museum, not only providing Jonson with a larger, more open space, but ensuring a safer art storage structure and state-of-the-art HVAC system. The Jonson Gallery will continue to feature graduate student exhibits, works from the archive of founder Raymond Jonson, and emerging and under-recognized artists.
Staff are very busy during the renovation. Prior to the grand reopening in February 2010, the University Art Museum will participate in “LAND/ART New Mexico” with two exhibitions opening in September: “Dispersal/Return: Land Arts of the American West 2000-2006” and “Bill Gilbert: Physiocartographies.”
“Dispersal/Return” presents video, installation, works on paper and sculpture by twenty artists from UNM’s Land Arts of the American West, an interdisciplinary field program. There will also be four site specific works commissioned for the exhibition.
“Physiocartographies” showcases recent work by Land Arts of the American West founder and Art Professor Bill Gilbert. The digital prints and videos represent Gilbert’s investigations of the disjunction between abstract conceptions of the landscape and the physical experience of topography and climate.
Exhibits and events for “LAND/ART New Mexico,” a collaboration with 516 Arts, Albuquerque Museum, Contemporary Art Society and THE LAND/an art site, will be held at venues throughout New Mexico. Visit landartnm.org.
As part of the reopening gala in February, the retrospective “Desire for Magic: Patrick Nagatani 1978-2008” will be featured in the Main Gallery. UNM Professor Emeritus Nagatani is well known for his thought-provoking, cinematic photography. His work explores such subjects as the nuclear industry in New Mexico, chromotherapy and the border between reality and illusion. In recent years he has worked in a new medium – painting with masking tape to create what he calls “tape-estries.” Before joining UNM in 1987, he built set models for films including “Bladerunner” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
For updates visit: UNM Art Museum.
Media Contact: Sari Krosinsky, (505) 277-1593; e-mail: michal@unm.edu
The third installment of the spring 2009 El Centro de la Raza Latina/o Faculty Brown Bag addresses "Latinas/os and the Arts," featuring Ray Hernandez Duran, Art & Art History, presenting “The Politics of Studying/Making Art for Latino/as in the U.S. Today: Culture does NOT Equal Race!", and Brian Herrera, Theatre & Dance, on “Locating Latina/o Performance," Wednesday, April 22 from noon - 1 p.m. in the UNM Zimmerman Library, Willard Room, first floor, west wing. Refreshments will be provided.
El Centro’s brown bag series highlights the research of UNM’s Latina/o faculty and pairs faculty from different academic disciplines to present research about or affecting the Latina/o community.
El Centro de la Raza co-sponsors the Spring 2009 Latina/o Faculty Brown Bags with the University Libraries Chicano, Hispanic and Latina/o Collection
(CHIPOTLE) and Division of Latin American and Iberian Research Services
(DILARES), Project for New Mexico (PNMGC) Faculty of Color Network, Raza Graduate Student Association (RGSA) and Title V.
Contact El Centro de la Raza at elcentro@unm.edu or 277-5020 for additional information.
The UNM Department of English and Title V host a forum on Writing, Diversity and Assessment, Monday, April 27 from 10 - 11:30 a.m. in the Roberts Room. Presenting is Linda Adler-Kassner, a national expert in using students' writing for assessing learning. This specific time has been set aside for Title V partners, and other UNM departments.
“As we begin to integrate these practices at UNM, conversation on the interrelationships among diversity, teaching for and to diversity, writing across communities, and assessment is of importance,” said Jennifer Gomez-Chavez, Title V director.
Adler-Kassner is a big proponent and leader of dynamic criteria mapping (DCM), a method for helping local stakeholder groups converse on the question: What do WE really value in terms of learning and student writing? DCM encourages diverse new ideas and standards for what "we choose to count as learning," Adler-Kassner said.
For more information, contact Gomez-Chavez at 277-7763.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
"Communicating & Educating Across Cultures, The Art of Managing Campus Climate" is the title of the next Title V Educational Initiative. The discussion, which will focus on what resources exist on campus to help people better respond and teach in a multicultural environment, will be held Thursday, April 23 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. in Acoma A&B, located in the UNM Student Union Building on the 3rd floor.
The faculty-led panel discussion on cultural diversity will feature panel moderator Dr. Alicia F. Chávez, assistant professor, College of Education, who will discuss, “Cultural ways of being,” and panelists Dr. Finnie Coleman, interim dean, University College, who will discuss, “Challenging Our Notions of Diversity;” Dr. Steven P. Verney, assistant professor, Psychology, will discuss, Understanding Cultural Competence;” and Valerie Romero-Leggott M.D, vice president Health Sciences Center Diversity and associate dean, School of Medicine.
The discussion is sponsored by the Title V Faculty Committee, OSET and the Division of Equity and Inclusion at UNM. The UNM Title V project is funded by a $2.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
After serving nine years as Dean of UNM’s School of Engineering, Joseph L. Cecchi has announced that his current term ending July 23, 2009, will be his last. Cecchi will continue his work with STC.UNM, the wholly owned non-profit corporation that licenses and markets intellectual property for the university. He currently serves as Chair of the STC Board of Directors.
Photo: Joseph L. Cecchi, dean, School of Engineering
Cecchi stated, “This will allow me to return to teaching and to ramp up my research in nanotechnology at a time of critical national need and opportunity. Also, I will be devoting time to technology transfer, economic development, and growing the School’s partnerships with the increasing number of new technology companies in the region.”
Cecchi’s tenure as dean has been the second longest in the 103 year history of the School of Engineering. He spearheaded the funding, planning, and construction of the $43 million Centennial Engineering Center, the largest academic building on UNM main campus.
Under Cecchi’s leadership, three new strategic research centers were formed, along with new interdisciplinary degree programs. He also increased the School’s engagement with the business community and helped to recruit new high-tech companies to the region.
“Please join me in thanking Dean Cecchi for his years of service to the School of Engineering and wishing him well in this next stage of his career," said UNM Provost Suzanne Ortega in a statement. "Over the next few days I will call a meeting of the entire faculty of the college to begin the process of appointing an interim dean. I look forward to working with all of you in the selection of him or her, and in getting a national search launched for permanent leadership to ensure a bright future for our critically important School of Engineering.”
Ortega plans to launch a search for a new dean in August. An interim dean will be appointed for the 2009-2010 academic term.
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
Fifty-seven fourth-graders from Navajo Elementary School and Monte Vista Elementary School will visit the University of New Mexico on Wednesday, April 22 as part of UNM’s premier Sustainability Expo. The expo is being held on April 22 in honor of Earth Day, and the UNM Parking and Transportation Services (PATS) has arranged a special program for the students, called SustainABILTY, to enhance the educational value of their visit.
“Sustainability at the University has made great progress this year,” said Mary Vosevich, Director of the Physical Plant Division. “The Sustainability Expo will not only show what UNM has accomplished, but will also promote awareness and encourage involvement.”
The hour-long program, set for 10 a.m. in the Willard Room of Zimmerman Library, will include presentations from Lobo Energy on energy conservation, the City of Albuquerque Bicycle Safety Education Program on bike safety, and a presentation on local foods from UNM Sustainability Studies. A SustainABILITY workbook designed specifically for the program will be given to each student for additional use in the classroom or at home.
“We are excited to welcome these students onto campus for the Sustainability Expo,” said Cynthia Martin, program planning manager, PATS. “This is a great opportunity to reach out and engage young minds in sustainability issues and show them how they can personally participate in bettering our community and environment.”
After the students attend the SustainABILITY program, they will attend the Sustainability Expo on Cornell Mall. The expo will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Associate Professor of Geography Paul Zandbergen will be honored as a recipient of the University Libraries Faculty Acknowledgement Award on April 29 at 2 p.m. in the Willard Room in Zimmerman Library. He will present a lecture, “Everybody is Watching Everybody: Privacy Implication of Geospatial Technologies.”
Recent technological developments have made location information at the individual level widely available, which presents serious and poorly understood challenges to personal privacy. These developments include the widespread adoption of positioning technologies on mobile devices, the availability of very high-resolution imagery and address databases, and the ability to pull information together from multiple sources using free and easy-to-use software tools.
For example, with the adoption of GPS-enabled chips and other hybrid positioning systems the cell phone has emerged as a very powerful location-aware tracking device. While many users start to actively use this technology for applications like navigation and social networking, the implications for location privacy are far-reaching. The presentation will review these technological developments and discuss how they work, what their potential benefits are and how they affect personal privacy.
Paul Zandbergen is an associate professor in the Department of Geography at UNM. He obtained his Ph.D. in Resource Management and Environmental Studies at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. He is a Geographic Information scientist with interests in both the fundamentals of GI Science as well as the applications of geospatial technologies to several fields, including water resources, spatial ecology, public health, and criminal justice.
His current research is focused on issues of scale, error and uncertainty in spatial analysis as well as on the robustness of spatial analytical techniques and the performance of positioning systems, including GPS and hybrid positioning. He is currently conducting a research project funded by the National Science Foundation on reverse geocoding techniques and their implication for location privacy.
The event is free and open to all. Each year University Libraries sponsors the Faculty Acknowledgement Series in order to recognize the contributions of faculty to their college or school and the UNM community.
Due to wireless system upgrades and maintenance, UNM's wireless network will be unavailable on Thursday, Apr. 23 from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. The upgrade is part of campus-wide network strengthening and wireless backup systems, and will affect all ITS-supported wireless access points.
Visit: ITS Alerts for additional information or contact the ITS Support Center at 277-4848.
As part of significant upgrades and improvements to UNM's reporting tool Hyperion, Banner reporting services utilizing Hyperion will not be available Friday, May 8 at 5:00 p.m. through Sunday, May 10 at 5 p.m.
All users need to download a new plug-in, available at: ITS Download, in order to use the new version. This download can be done before or after the upgrade, and is required before using the 8.5 version.
Contact the ITS Support Center at 277-4848 with installation problems or technical questions.
The Anderson School of Management is offering an informational MBA open house to anyone interested in pursuing a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of New Mexico. The open house will be held on Tuesday, April 28 from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. It will be held in the Jackson Student Center, located just west of the Anderson School on the UNM Campus.
Anderson faculty and advising staff will be on hand to answer questions and explain the ten different MBA concentrations offered by the Anderson School. Participants can find out more about the GMAT and GRE entrance exams and everyone who attends the open house will receive an "Application Fee Waiver" form. Prospective students can turn in the form with their application to waive the $50 Anderson application fee.
Anderson's Full-time MBA program is ideal for those with a non-business undergraduate degree who are looking to begin or advance a managerial career. The 22-month program focuses on building fundamental business skills while still allowing students to specialize in one or more areas. For more information about Anderson MBA programs visit mba.unm.edu.
Free parking is available in the lot to the north of the Anderson School on a first-come, first-served basis and additional parking can be found in the structure next to Popejoy Hall or at paid meters along Las Lomas.
Media Contact: Leslie Venzuela, (505) 277-7117; e-mail: venzuela@mgt.unm.edu
On April 22, Earth Day, UNM will host its First Annual Sustainability Expo. The event will be held on Cornell Mall from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will feature Parking and Transportation Services’ Alternative Transportation Fair, Sustainability Studies’ Lobo Grower’s Market, and displays from other forward thinking campus organizations like Lobo Energy and the Physical Plant Division.
“Sustainability at the university has made great progress this year,” said Mary Vosevich, Director of the Physical Plant Division. “An event such as this will not only show what UNM has accomplished but will also promote awareness and encourage involvement.”
Fair-goers can expect to see everything from locally-grown organic vegetables and handmade candles to Segways, electric cars, a UNM Police Department Bike Auction, and demonstrations of current sustainability initiatives from UNM departments and community members.
“The Expo will place all the various sustainability initiatives inside of one overarching context, give people a chance to see what UNM is doing with regard to environmental impact, and also provide them with options so that they can make life choices that help, rather than hurt, our community,” said Cynthia Martin, Program Planning Manager for UNM Parking and Transportation Services and Expo coordinator.
The Expo is the result of collaboration between Parking and Transportation Services (PATS), Sustainability Studies, and the Physical Plant Division (PPD). In previous year’s PATS hosted a large alternative transportation event on Earth Day; this year PATS saw the interest in the fair expand beyond transportation.
The UNM Lobo Grower’s Market is also an established campus event participating in the Sustainability Expo.
“Visitors will rediscover the joy of seasonal eating while connecting to a thriving community that stretches beyond the campus border into New Mexico’s urban and rural foodshed,” said Bruce Milne, Director of Sustainability Studies.
The Lobo Grower’s Market was designed to educate students, staff, faculty, and the community about locally grown, nutritious food and alternative solutions. The market is a student-led initiative.
“By hosting the market, UNM students are fighting climate change and growing the green economy,” said Milne.
Media Contact: Benson Hendrix, (505) 277-1816; e-mail: bhendrix@unm.edu
The University of New Mexico’s Institute for Medieval Studies hosts its 24th Spring Lecture Series, April 27-30. This year’s series includes six lectures and a concert around the theme Vision and Visionaries in the Middle Ages.” The final lecture incorporates a performance with actors and a choir. All sessions will take place in Woodward Hall Room 101 on the UNM main campus. The lecture series, supported by a grant from the New Mexico Humanities Council, is free and open to the public.
The series begins with an opening lecture Monday, April 27, at 7:15 p.m. and continues with 5:15 and 7:15 p.m. sessions on the following three days. The four visiting speakers at the event are internationally prominent, award-winning faculty from Harvard University, the University of Iowa, the University of Wisconsin and Northwestern University. The concert, scheduled for 5:15 p.m. on Thursday, April 30, features UNM’s Early Music Ensemble directed by Colleen Sheinberg, founder-member and co-director of Música Antigua de Albuquerque.
“The aim of the series is to investigate and bring before a wider public the extraordinary contributions made during the Middle Ages to visual design and to the scientific study of the sense of vision, as well as to explore the mystical and visionary experience of prominent medieval authors who wrote literary and spiritual masterpieces,” said Tim Graham, director, Institute for Medieval Studies.
Spanning the fields of history, art history, literature, science, and religion and incorporating stunning visual elements, the series will have wide appeal for a general audience. Presentations will represent the cutting edge of recent research but have been tailored to be readily understood and appreciated by those without specialist knowledge. Individual lectures will focus on such themes as the visual interrelationship between text and image in medieval manuscripts; the design of the Bibles Moralisées, the Bible picture books that are the most extensively illustrated works that have come down to us from the Middle Ages; the textual and visual representation of mystical experience; the coexistence of science and alchemy in the medieval study of optics; Dante’s vision of the afterlife in his Divine Comedy, which represents the supreme literary creation of medieval civilization; and the visionary writing of the first known female author in the English language.
“The series will inform and entertain, and will offer its audience the excitement of engaging with speakers who are at the forefront of research in their fields,” Graham said.
The lectures:
Monday, April 27, 7:15 p.m.
Jeffrey Hamburger, “Openings”
In the modern age of mechanical, and now virtual, reproduction, it’s easy to lose sight of the basic visual unit that structures our perception of the books produced during the Middle Ages. That unit was the opening—that is, the two pages that faced one another when a medieval book was opened. From the origins of the bound book in Late Antiquity, and in contrast to the scrolls used in the ancient world, the confrontation of the verso of one leaf with the recto of the following leaf provided the visual field within which scribes and artists operated, often with consummate skill. Openings made possible the visual elaboration of the word with figurated initials, frames, and full-page miniatures. In his lecture, Hamburger will explore the complex semantics and literally revelatory possibilities of this new medium of the opening as it developed over the medieval millennium, from the fifth to the fifteenth century.
Tuesday, April 28, 5:15 p.m.
Jeffrey Hamburger, “‘As It Were’: Mysticism and Visuality
By definition, the ineffable—that which surpasses the powers of human expression—lies beyond representation of any sort, be it visual or verbal. In its root sense, the word “mysticism” derives from the Greek myein, “to remain silent” or “to close the lips or eyes.” What place can there be for any discourse on the visible in the context of a system of thought that, by definition, is predicated on obscurity and blindness? The paradox extends from sight to speech: were mystics to fall silent, there would not be any mystical literature. Yet when they speak, they very often are called to describe what they see. Perhaps the ultimate paradox, when speaking of mysticism and visuality, is that a discourse that by definition shuns the senses came, over the course of the medieval millennium, not only to legitimize but even to redeem the senses. Given the incarnational emphasis of late medieval piety, one must use the word “redeem” advisedly, if cautiously, given that mysticism’s sensory and, at times, sensual side was never without controversy. Sensory was integrated into spiritual. In the spirit of “as it were,” illusionistic strategies, some driven by the desire for divine presence, only served to make images more persuasive. Changing attitudes towards works of art form part of this picture. As Hamburger shows, not even the Reformation was able to undo the effects of affirmation of the visual.
Tuesday, April 28, 7:15 p.m.
Katherine Tachau, “Illuminating the Science of the Stars in the Thirteenth-Century Bibles Moralisées”
The Bibles Moralisées were a set of picture Bibles first produced in the 13th century for members of the French royal family. They are the most extensively and sumptuously illustrated manuscripts of the entire Middle Ages, with each manuscript including thousands of pictures. By contrast, they contain a relatively small amount of text—not the actual text of the Old and New Testaments, but rather a paraphrase thereof that seeks to demonstrate how the Old Testament foreshadowed the New, and how ideas in the Bible were reflected in contemporary medieval life. In her richly illustrated lecture, Tachau explores the intellectual milieu of the University of Paris within which the textual and decorative scheme of the Bibles Moralisées was developed. More specifically, she will demonstrate significant links between the Bibles Moralisées manuscripts and thirteenth-century developments in logic and astrology.
Wednesday, April 29, 5:15 p.m.
Katherine Tachau, “Light and Color, Optics and Alchemy in Thirteenth-Century Paris”
Doubt has always existed about whether anything approaching true science was practiced during the Middle Ages. Yet within the context of medieval universities, scientific disciplines were elaborated and significant discoveries made that helped pave the way for the Scientific Revolution of the early modern era. As Tachau shows, no field of knowledge demonstrates this better than the science of optics, above all as it developed at the University of Paris during the thirteenth century. The leading figure was Roger Bacon, known as the doctor mirabilis, who adopted a rigorously experimental method as he tried to establish the process by which human vision occurred and to demonstrate its relationship to cognition. Bacon’s “perspectivism” was later to influence Johannes Kepler, whose work on optics complemented his contributions to the study of the motions of the planets. Yet there was another side to medieval optics: it was strongly linked to alchemy, a “discipline” that in modern terms seems distinctly unscientific. Tachau explores the relationship between optics and alchemy in order to reveal the intersection between science and pseudo-science, reason and faith in the medieval mind.
Wednesday, April 29, 7:15 p.m.
Christopher Kleinhenz, “Dante’s Vision of the Afterlife”
Kleinhenz first discusses the various sorts of “visions” and “ways of seeing” present in the medieval world before looking specifically at Dante’s representation of the afterlife in the Divine Comedy. He examines the afterlife both as a real and traversable place/space and as a moral and spiritual construct. He also considers the meaning and functionality of the afterlife in Dante’s Comedy, examining in particular how the poem represents the operation of Divine Justine through the nature of the punishments in the Inferno, the purgation process in Purgatory, and the concept of beatitude in Paradise. The lecture includes discussion of the artistic sources of Dante’s rich poetic language and imagery, and of the rich illustrative tradition that his poem generated in manuscript illuminations and book illustrations. The lecture will be accompanied by many fine visual images.
Thursday, April 30, 5:15 p.m.
Concert of Music by the UNM Early Music Ensemble, directed by Colleen Sheinberg: “Musical Visions in the Medieval World”
Thursday, April 30, 7:15 p.m.
Barbara Newman, “Julian of Norwich and Her Book: A Multimedia Performance”
Julian of Norwich (ca. 1342–ca. 1416) is the first known female author in the English language. Her Revelations of Divine Love is a spiritual classic, written while she was living as a hermit in a cell attached to the church of St. Julian at Norwich in eastern England. Newman will describe Julian’s extraordinary life, linking her visions to the newly emerging spirituality of the late Middle Ages, which perceived both feminine and masculine elements within the divine. With the help of actors and a choir, she brings Julian’s world to life through a series of recitations and renditions in plainchant, the moving genre of church music so characteristic of the Middle Ages.
“The performance takes place against a backdrop of digital images and will bring this year’s lecture series to a close in spectacular fashion,” Graham said.
For more information contact Tim Graham, director, 277-1191, or via e-mail at, tgraham@unm.edu.
Media Contact: UNM, Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Folk singer, songwriter, guitarist and activist Pete Seeger celebrates his 90th birthday May 3. Helping him celebrate is David King Dunaway, his official biographer, author of “How Can I Keep from Singing: Pete Seeger.” American Public Television will air a special on Seeger the week of April 26 in which Dunaway, University of New Mexico professor of English, will appear.
Dunaway created a three-part radio series based on the book and his Seeger interviews, which aired on PRI stations from coast-to-coast last summer. Dunaway’s series will have a new release, based on Seeger’s birthday, complete with the references to the book.
Dunaway’s three-part radio series took Best of Competition in the Radio Documentary category from the Broadcast Education Association's Faculty Audio Festival Competition. The series also won Best of Festival King Foundation Award. As one of the 15 Best of Festival honorees, Dunaway will receive $1,000 and Avid Technologies editing software.
“We expect about 40 more stations to air the series – in New York on WBAI, in San Francisco on KPFA and in LA on KPFK. And many others will be added,” Dunaway said.
He said the series will also be aired across Canada on CBC 1 and CBC 2, which reaches 98 percent of the population. “And if the other 2 percent don't get to hear it, including the seals at the Arctic Circle, it may be repeated,” he said.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
No Louie award is complete without Lobo Louie himself – in this case, both in person and miniaturized in “gold.” The annual Student Affairs “Louie” Awards were held recently in a packed SUB ballroom. UNM President David Schmidly, Vice President for Student Affairs Cheo Torres and Student Affairs Fellows hosted the annual recognition reception in honor of employees who exemplify the very best in providing great service to UNM students.
Photo: President David Schmidly, Student Affairs Employee of the Year Yvette Hall, Student Government Accounting Office, and Vice President of Student Affairs Eliseo "Cheo" Torres at the recent Louie Awards ceremony.
Schmidly welcomed guests and offered a mock champagne toast, “It’s an honor to recognize each of our colleagues and students nominated for their outstanding service to the University, the division and the community. Cheers!”
The event’s emcee was Richard Ross from Career Services. More than 40 nominations were received for awards given in four categories: UNM Student Service Faculty Award, UNM Student Service Staff Award, Student Affairs Student Employee of the Year Award, and Student Affairs Employee of the Year. All winners received a Nambe plaque and a “golden” Louie.
Professors Steve Alley and Gary Weissmann received the faculty award. Alley was recognized for “being a great supporter of the students in the Psychology department in which he currently teaches four large psychology classes, a Freshman Interest Group class, and an ITV course, yet still finds time to do some advising due to somber circumstances in the department.”
Weissmann was recognized as a “leader by giving each student the opportunity to learn from a professional, and for his work with four visually impaired students in his class in which he took the initiative to learn new techniques and created extra resource materials to make sure each student felt comfortable in his class.”
Fernando Maresma, Latin American Iberian Institute, received the Student Service Staff Award for “being the first person people think of when they hear the words, ‘student service,’ and for actively recruiting students from every corner of the planet by telling them how great UNM is.”
The Student Affairs Student Employee of the Year award went to Joseph Dworak from Housing and Residence Life. Dworak “made a great impact in his role as Resident Assistant on the lives of students and staff alike, by virtue of his very high moral standards and remarkable passion and integrity.”
The Student Affairs Employee of the Year award went to Yvette Hall from the Student Government Accounting Office. Hall’s nominators said she “seems to take a personal passion and interest in managing 350 different student organization accounts with an approachable and patient attitude.”
Along with public recognition, the plaque and the Louie, Hall was given a cash award and a paid day off.
“Congratulations to all the winners and nominees who do their best year in and year out to provide the highest level of service to the UNM students and the community by serving as first-rate teachers, mentors, advisors and student service providers,” Torres said.
For more information, contact Dorene DiNaro, 277-5299.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
On ‘New Mexico In Focus,’ KNME Channel 5 profiles the emergence of renewable energy technologies and practices here in New Mexico. Through short video vignettes KNME shares stories that highlight how innovative New Mexicans embrace solar, wind, bio-fuel and transmission strategies. The program airs Friday, April 17 at 7 p.m. on KNME Channel 5/5.1 and repeats on Sunday, April 19 at 6:30 a.m.
The vignettes will be included within in-depth panel discussions with sustainable energy experts. The goal of the series is to show how New Mexico leads the way, and what more needs to be done, to move away from our fossil fuel dependence.
In week 4, we see that New Mexico is poised to become a national leader in renewable energy, but if there's no way to move electricity from point A to point B, will those efforts be a waste of time? This week, ‘New Mexico In Focus’ addresses the transmission conundrum.
Host David Alire Garcia sits down with the Secretary of the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, and others, to talk about the challenges the state faces in updating the electric transmission system. Experts will also talk about how those updates to the grid will also impact New Mexico's plans to increase our renewable energy output in the coming years.
Watch online at KNME.
Producers of ‘New Mexico In Focus’ are Kevin McDonald and Kathy Wimmer. Closed captioning has been made possible by a gift from Mrs. Elspeth G. Bobbs.
Media Contact: Evy Todd, (505) 277-1218; e-mail: etodd@knme.org
This week the Landscape Architecture Program hosted an accrediting team of the national Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board (LAAB). In their exit report to faculty, staff and students, the team reported that the program met all nine standards set out by the accreditation board, and have built an exemplary program that is poised to become a leading graduate program both regionally and nationally.
Photo (l. to r.): Geraldine Forbes Isais, director, Architecture Program; and Roger Schluntz, dean, UNM School of Architecture and Planning; visit with David Cronrath and Karen Hanna of the landscape architecture accreditation team.
The nine standards are: Mission and Goals, Administration, Curriculum, Faculty, Students, Alumni, connections to the profession, connections to the university and the community, and facilities.
Although the team sends its report and recommendations to LAAB who make the final decision on whether the program receives re-accreditation, the findings of the report indicate that re-accreditation will be granted.
The landscape architecture program at UNM was started in 2000, and received its first accreditation in 2003. LAAB accreditation occurs on a six-year cycle.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Pam Hurd-Knief is among the 2009 Women of Influence, as named by the New Mexico Business Weekly. The 31 women represented the spectrum of business and industry – trades, law, banking, real estate, banking, arts and education. Hurd-Knief, senior director of development for the School of Engineering, stood out as UNM’s sole recipient.
Photo: Senior Director of Development for the UNM School of Engineering Pam Hurd-Knief, front, is congratulated for her ‘Women of Influence’ award by, from left, Arup Maji, chair, Civil Engineering; Ron Knief, Hurd-Knief’s husband; Amy Wohlert, interim dean, Anderson School of Management; Chuck Fledderman, associate dean, School of Engineering; Joseph Cecchi, dean, School of Engineering; Tim Ward, chair, Chemical and Nuclear Engineering; and Stephanie Forrest, chair, Computer Science.
New Mexico Business Weekly reporter Damon Scott wrote, “UNM has benefited from her fundraising energies for the past decade, as she raised money for the School of Architecture and Planning and now the School of Engineering.”
Hurd-Knief said it was “an honor” to raise money for the School of Architecture and Planning and that it was both gratifying and satisfying to watch the building go up.
Hurd-Knief also served concurrently as director of Major Gifts at the UNM Foundation and the interim associate vice president for Development.
Hurd-Knief, who earned a master’s in fundraising from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota, is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals ethics committee; The Arc of New Mexico board member; Samaritan Counseling Center Foundation board member; and Albuquerque Rape Crisis board member.
Peter Vorobieff, Andrea Mammoli and Larry Sklar were three of the UNM faculty researchers honored during the STC.UNM creative awards this week. The three were honored for their “Wavy Interface Mixer” patent. The invention provides the apparatus and methods for mixing samples in-line in a microfludic system.
Vorobieff, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is interested in nonlinear physics and fundamental fluid dynamics. He has extensive experience in designing, building and operating state-of-the-art experimental systems that provide insight into the physics of such phenomena as two-dimensional turbulence (relevant for modeling large scale processes in the atmosphere and in the oceans) and meandering flows of rivers and streams.
Mammoli is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and is interested in high performance computing to simulate processes ranging from multi-phase flows to interactions of emerging energy technology with policy and regulation. Mammoli is the principal investigator on several renewable energy projects, including the renovation of the solar HVAC system in the mechanical engineering building.
Sklar is a Regents’ professor in the Department of Pathology and distinguished professor of Pharmacy. He is also associate director of basic research at the UNM Cancer Center and the principal investigator and director of the New Mexico Molecular Libraries Screen Center. His research interests include flow cytometry and cell adhesion.
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
Alicia Schmidt Camacho, the Sara Ribicoff Associate Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity, Race at Migration, at Yale University, presents, “Migrant Raids and the Legal Imaginary of State Violence,” Friday, April 24 at 11 a.m. in the History Commons Room in Mesa Vista Hall.
Photo: Alicia Schmidt Camacho
Schmidt Camacho is the author of Migrant Imaginaries: Latino Cultural Politics in the Mexico–U.S. Borderlands (NYU Press, 2008), and is currently at work on a second book projec, The Carceral Border: Social Violence and Governmentality on the Frontiers of Our America.
She serves on the board of Junta for Progressive Action, a community agency serving the Latina/o community of Fair Haven, Conn., and is a contributor to local and transnational projects for immigrant and human rights.
This talk is part of the Transnational Americas lecture series, sponsored jointly by the American Studies and History Departments.
For more information, contact Rebecca Schreiber at, rschreib@unm.edu.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
University of New Mexico undergraduate Dianne Pater has been awarded grant funding from the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) 2009 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program. The goal of the SURF program is to provide opportunities for students to pursue meaningful research in plant biology early in their college years.
The program targets students who have just completed their sophomore year of their undergraduate studies. Pater won for the project entitled Isotopic Signature of Photorespiration.
The SURF award includes $3,000 undergraduate student summer research funds, a one-year student membership to ASPB, and $575 for student travel to Plant Biology 2010 in Montreal, Canada. A $500 mentor stipend is also awarded. All SURF mentors must be members of ASPB. Pater will be mentored by David Hanson (University of New Mexico) during her SURF research project.
Media Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
All students are cordially invited to participate in the University of New Mexico Student Job Fair 2009, brought to you by The Graduation Task Force Student Engagement Committee. The Student Job Fair 2009 will take place on Monday, April 27 from 9 a.m. to 2:30p.m. at the UNM Student Union Building Ballroom B. The deadline for employers/departments to register is Friday, April 17.
This free recruiting event will provide UNM departments with the opportunity to boast the benefits of student employment and to recruit the many talented
students here at UNM for summer and fall employment. Community
organizations with work study contracts are also invited to participate.
Employers and departments may register online at: Student Job Fair 2009. The deadline is Friday, April 17.
Everyone is welcome to join the Health Sciences Library for the opening reception of the "Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating America's Women Physicians," traveling exhibit, Thursday, April 16, 6-7:30 p.m., at Domenici Center for Health Sciences Education main lobby.
Guest speaker for the evening will be Dr. Cheryl Willman, renowned childhood leukemia expert and CEO of UNM’s Cancer Research & Treatment Center. Dr. Willmans’s talk is entitled, “Creating Hope: Transforming Cancer Care for New Mexicans.”
The exhibit, which runs April 10 - May 20, tells the extraordinary story of how American women who wanted to practice medicine have struggled over the past two centuries to gain access to medical education and to work in a medical specialty of choice. Several events around the exhibit will feature several prominent women physicians in New Mexico. The exhibit is locally hosted by the Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center with support from the Khatali Physicians Alumni Association.
The traveling exhibit was organized by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the American Library Association with support from the NLM, the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health, and the American Medical Women's Association.
For more information visit: http://hsc.unm.edu/library/ or call 272-6518.
Visit the Lobo Store tent sale
The UNM baseball team takes on San Diego State Friday, April 17 at 6 p.m. to open a three-game series at Isotopes Park. All are invited to “Pack the Stadium” to show support for the Lobos. UNM students, staff and faculty get in free with a Lobo ID. All others pay only $2 for this special event.
Before the game, head to the Lobo Store at the Pit to take advantage of the tent sale, open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The sale features $3 t-shirts as well as 50 percent off select items under the tent. The sale continues Saturday and Sunday, April 18-19 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
The Department of Marketing, Information, and Decision Sciences at UNM’s Anderson School of Management is hosting an information session, on April 20, from 3 to 4 p.m. in the Student Marketing Center at the Anderson School of Management. The event is open to anyone interested in one or more of the four undergraduate and graduate management concentrations offered by the department: information assurance, management information systems, marketing management, and operations management.
Attendees will also have the opportunity to learn about the requirements for each concentration, tour student facilities, and meet one on one with faculty and current students. In addition, aspiring rock stars can play the Rock Band video game. Pizza and drinks will be provided. The event is free and registration is not required.
Many of the courses offered in these concentrations provide students real world experiences that eventually lead to exciting professional careers. Graduate students in the information assurance program, for example, may apply for enrollment in a 3-credit hour course where they work with the white collar crime unit of either the Albuquerque Police Department or Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department.
Another example of experiential learning is the supply chains projects course taught by Howard Kraye. His students are provided $1,000 to develop a prototype product, produce it using at least two international suppliers, and finally, market it at a profit.
For more information, visit www.mgt.unm.edu or call 277-1263.
Media Contact: John Benavidez, (505) 259-0777; e-mail: benavidez@mgt.unm.edu
The Mechanical Engineering Department at UNM’s School of Engineering is sponsoring a seminar on Friday, April 17, 2009 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Centennial Engineering Building, Room 1041. George “Bud” Homsy, professor from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California-Santa Barbara, will speak on “Interfacial Fluid Mechanics: New Twists on an Old Subject.”
The study of fluid flows driven by the forces associated with the presence of an interface has a long history in fluid mechanics, yet many fascinating, counter-intuitive and unexpected phenomena continue to be discovered. This talk will touch on some classical results on viscous fingering, drop deformation and electro hydrodynamics, and will then focus on recent work on related problems.
Homsy will discuss the effect of chemical reactions on fingering, spontaneous chemically driven tip-streaming of drops, chaotic advection driver by interfacial electrical stresses, and enhanced heat and mass transport in chaotically stirred drops.
Homsy has held positions in Chemical Engineering at Stanford University and in Mechanical Engineering at UCSB. His field of research is fluid mechanics and hydrodynamic stability in which he has published more than 150 papers in the leading journals in the field.
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth (505) 277-5627; kwent2@unm.edu
University of New Mexico students Jessica Martin and Anna Vestling snared the coveted Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship. They are among 278 students selected from a pool of 1,097 applicants. In addition, UNM student Abdullah Feroze received an honorable mention.
Jessica Martin
Science was a big part of Martin’s life growing up in Los Alamos. Her mother, June, is a hydrologist at Los Alamos National Lab. Her father, Craig, often took her on hiking trips throughout New Mexico while he was researching for outdoor books. He also maintains hiking trails and other open space areas for Los Alamos County.
“My love of the outdoors that originated with those experiences has fused with a love of science, biology in particular,” Martin said.
She majors in biology and plans to pursue a doctorate in ecology. Outside the classroom, she works as a research assistant for Associate Professor Felisa Smith, serves as an Associated Students of UNM senator and plays the cello in the UNM Symphony Orchestra.
“Jes is exceptionally bright, articulate and highly motivated, and if that weren’t enough, personable and funny to boot,” Smith said. “Over the past few years, Jes has become a fixture in my lab, working alongside graduate students and post-docs on communal projects, but developing her own research ideas and projects.”
Martin’s goal is to teach and do ecological research at the university level. She said she feels “a strong pull to make a difference in the face of climate change and the continued destruction of our environment.”
Anna Vestling
Globetrotting Vestling was born in San Diego, Calif. as a dual American and Swedish citizen, was raised in Socorro, N.M. and has lived in Sweden, New Zealand and France.
“Traveling is very important to me, and I hope to live in Spain for a time to study flamenco,” she said.
A Regents’ Scholar, Vestling majors in biochemistry, minors in flamenco and psychology, and plans to pursue a doctorate in cancer biology. Through the Initiatives for Minority Student Development Undergraduate Research Program, she researches oncological biochemistry with Angela Wandinger-Ness, professor of pathology at the School of Medicine.
“I would love to conduct cancer research, treat patients and teach at a medical school, but for now (and the next 15 years or so) I am thrilled to know that I have many more years of school ahead,” she said.
Abdullah Feroze
Roswell native Feroze majors in biology and economics and plans to pursue a doctorate in neuroimmunology. He serves as an ASUNM senator and works in Assistant Professor Hugh Smyth’s lab at the College of Pharmacy studying the use of nanoparticles to deliver drug therapy for cystic fibrosis.
“Although he is still at the undergraduate level, Abdullah is clearly already capable of performing research at the level of a graduate student,” Smyth said. “What has impressed me the most is that despite his heavy course load, numerous campus and community activities and commitments and additional employment, Abdullah has really made this project happen without too much input or effort on my part.”
He hopes to combine experience in university-level teaching, research and policy to improve international health care.
About the Goldwater Scholarship
The Goldwater Scholarship was established by Congress in 1986 to honor Senator Barry M. Goldwater and provide a continuing source of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians and engineers by awarding scholarships to college students who intend to pursue careers in these fields. The scholarships cover the cost of tuition, fees, books and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year.
Media Contact: Sari Krosinsky (505) 277-1593;;michal@unm.edu
The University of New Mexico Office of Career Services, under the direction of Jenna Crabb, presents Educator’s Job Fair 2009 on April 22, 2-6 p.m. in the UNM Student Union Building ballrooms. The Educator’s Job Fair offers an opportunity for students, alumni and community members interested in education related jobs and careers to connect with multiple recruiters in one day. Recruiters from New Mexico and many other areas of the nation will be in attendance.
Before the Educator’s Job Fair, job seekers can visit the Office of Career Services for Resume Rescue, where they can meet with a career development facilitator to create or update a resume or ask any questions related to the career fair. Appointments are available on a walk-in bases on Monday, April 20, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and Tuesday, April 21, 9 a.m.-noon.
Career Services will also conduct a “How to Work a Career Fair Workshop” on Monday, April 20, 4-5 p.m. in the Office of Career Services conference room. Topics include general job search processes, career fairs, resumes and interviews, as well as any topics raised by the workshop group.
Job seekers should come prepared, professionally dressed and with plenty of copies of their resumes. For more information, including an up-to-date detailed list of registered recruiters and their openings, visit Career Services or call (505) 277-2531.
Media Contact: Sari Krosinsky, (505) 277-1593; e-mail: michal@unm.edu
The UNM Robb Musical Trust presents music by John Donald Robb in celebration of the trust’s 20th anniversary on Sunday, April 19, at 3 p.m. in the recital hall of the Robertson & Sons Violin Shop, 3201 Carlisle Blvd. NE. Admission is free, and a reception will follow the performances.
The program includes the premiere of Robb’s “Quintet for Piano and Strings,” “Piers the Plowman” for narrators and woodwind ensemble, “Post-Impressionistic Paintings, Opus 14” for piano, and a group of art songs.
The all-Robb program is thought to be a first for New Mexico and follows on the heels of an October 2008 presentation by the University of Missouri-St. Louis of a “John Donald Robb Tribute Concert” in the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center in St. Louis to a standing room only audience.
Performers include the Chamisa Quintet (Megan Holland, Nicolle Maniaci, Cherokee Reynolds, James Holland and Michael Bowen); Javier Ortiz, baritone; Tatiana Vertrinskaya, pianist; Robert Tillotson, clarinetist; Leslie Shultis, bassoonist; Niels Galloway, hornist; James Bratcher, pianist; and Catherine Haun and Rick Huff, narrators.
The John Donald Robb Musical Trust was established in 1989 by John D. and Harriet Robb. The trust’s mission is to support the music and musical legacy of John Donald Robb, to further his commitment to education and to advance the understanding of music of the Southwest.
Robb served as dean of the UNM College of Fine Arts from 1942-57 and was responsible for starting the UNM Symphony Orchestra, as well as many other educational initiatives. His body of work includes symphonies, concertos, sonatas, chamber and other instrumental music, choral works, songs and arrangements of folk songs, two operas, a musical comedy, and more than 65 electronic works.
During his tenure at UNM, Robb’s fascination with Hispanic folk music led him to collect 3,000 field recordings of traditional songs and dances from Nepal, South America and the American Southwest, which formed the nucleus of the John Donald Robb Archive of Southwestern Music, housed in UNM Libraries’ Center for Southwest Research.
Visit Robb Trust.
Contact: Karen Turner, (505) 858-0784; e-mail: RST560NM@aol.com
The Dean of Students has announced the winners of the Clauve Outstanding Senior Awards. The students will be honored at a recognition reception on Thursday, April 16. The winners are Desbah Ahtsoaq Bill Benally, Michaela Brown, Chris Chaves, Joseph M. Dworak, Ashley C. Fate, Molly Maguire-Marshall and Alex D. Riebli.
Clauve Awards are given to UNM seniors who have at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average and exemplify good leadership skills, community involvement and academic excellence. Those selected have made significant contributions to the campus and the surrounding UNM community throughout their college years.
Bill Benally is a chemistry major and has served as president and student advisor of Alpha Epsilon Delta, the national health pre-professional honor society, and as chairperson for the Mortar Board Staff Appreciation Committee. She has volunteered for several campus organizations, including mentoring for Sidekicks and tutoring for the American Indian Student Services. She has received the Ronald E. McNair Scholarship and Outstanding American Indian Student Award. Outside of UNM, Benally volunteers for Girl Scouts of America, Albuquerque Public Schools and Montezuma Elementary.
Brown is a psychology major who has served as president of Hillel, a Jewish student group, as well as president and founder of Helping HANDS, a group that helps refugees adjust to living in the United States. She is a member of Psi Chi, the national honors society for psychology, Democrats on Campus and Amnesty International. She has volunteered for the African Refugee Well-Being Program as well as Spring Storm and various groups off campus, including Stand With Us Emerson Fellowship.
Chaves is a mechanical engineering major who has served in leadership roles for the fraternity Lambda Theta Phi including historian, secretary, vice president and president. He acted as chair and vice chair for the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics as well as team co-lead for the Society of Automotive Engineers. He has been on the School of Engineering Honor Roll since 2008. Chaves has volunteered for several organizations within and around Albuquerque including La Raza Unida, Albuquerque Partnership and Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Dworak is a political science (pre-law) major who has served in leadership roles for the Associated Students of UNM including senator, ad hoc committee chair and finance committee chair. He was also a resident advisor for the Residence Life Community Association, student special events committee member and lobby committee member for the ASUNM. Since fall 2005 he has been a student ambassador to the UNM Alumni Association. He volunteered for off-campus organizations including Big Broths Big Sisters of Central New Mexico and the Order of the Arrow, Scouting’s National Honor Society.
Fate is a marketing major who served as senator and president of ASUNM, vice president of Alpha Chi Omega and a member of the Mortar Board Honor Society. She has worked on student government boards including the Student Union Building Board, ASUNM Lobo Spirit Committee and ASUNM Lobby Committee and is the chair of the Student Fee Review Board. She has also been listed in “Who’s Who Among College and Universities” since 2007.
Maguire-Marshall is a speech and hearing and women studies double major and served as vice president and president of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and as a senator for ASUNM. She is the founding president for Planning for College Success, founding vice president for Voices for Planned Parenthood and co-founding chair of Colleges Against Cancer. She is also a member of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association, a pre-professional association for students interested in the study of communication sciences and disorders.
Riebli is a finance and marketing major and has served in ASUNM leadership roles including vice president and senator. He is a founding member of Howl Raisers Student Organization and acted as treasurer of Redondo Village Community Association. He has volunteered for several campus events including Relay for Life, Discover UNM Fair, Parent Orientation, Fall Frenzy and Spring Storm. He has also volunteered for organizations in the Albuquerque area including the Roadrunner Food Bank, Sun County Amateur Golf Association and Taos Education and Business Collaborative.
The awards are sponsored by the Dean of Students Office, Division of Student Affairs.
University Libraries Indigenous Nations Library Program is hosting Ryan Singer for a brown bag discussion and lecture on Thursday, April 23, 2009. The brown bag discussion will be from 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. in the Herzstein Room and the lecture will be from 4 p.m. – t p.m. in the Willard Reading Room. Singer is a member of the Diné Nation and is originally from Tuba City, Arizona. He currently lives and works in Albuquerque.
"Courage"
Ryan has been working with the PBS program “American Experience” on a documentary of a painting he did in 2005 titled “Sheep is good food.” This painting was a depiction of the famous Andy Warholian design of the "Campbell's Tomato Soup Can.” Singer mimicked the iconic pop image and made it his own, focusing on the Diné culture of mutton stew and encompassing the idea of “Navajo Mutton Stew in a can,” like Campbell’s soup.
Singer will talk about his childhood, and adult experiences and what inspired him to become an artist.
He will talk about how he balances creativity and business, his influences, and process and what he believes is in the near future. As an artist, comic books, native art, pop art, surrealism and recent underground art movements from all over the globe have influenced his artwork. He twists bold and unique styles in his artwork, which tends to exhibit a humorous view of his culture.
He has done illustrations for a bilingual (Diné/English) children’s book titled “Johonaa’ ei’: Bringer of Dawn”, published by Saline Bookshelf, Inc. Singer’s painting “Generations” was featured on the cover of the January/February 2009 edition of Native Peoples magazine.
Contact: Patricia Campbell, (505) 277-1010; e-mail: pcamp@unm.edu
UNM’s Office of the Vice President for Research is sponsoring a symposium on “Fostering Integrity in Research” on Tuesday, April 28, 2009 from 11 am to 6 p.m. in the auditorium of Centennial Engineering Center (CEC 1041). The symposium is organized by William Gannon, the developer of the UNM Research Ethics and Integrity Program along with a faculty advisory group.
Although this is the 2nd annual spring ethics symposium, this year’s event presents more information on the foundation of scientific integrity as well as practical experience of researchers at the top of their field.
“This is a critical time for UNM and research,” Gannon says, “and this symposium is aimed at the professional researcher as well as graduate students to get us all to think about the implications of conducting research responsibly.”
The program will be broken down into three sessions, from 11 a.m. to 1:10 p.m., from 1:40 p.m. to 3:20 p.m. and from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. with registration activities beginning at 10:30 a.m.
Session 1
11 a.m. Welcome and personal reflections on integrity in research from
David S. Schmidly, Ph.D. President of UNM
Suzanne Ortega, Ph.D. Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
Richard S. Larson, Ph.D., M.D. HSC Vice President for Translational Research
Julia E. Fulghum, Ph.D. Vice President for Research
11:30 a.m. Are There Any Moral Truths?
Paul Katsafanas, Ph.D. UNM Department of Philosophy
12 p.m. Fostering Integrity in Research: It’s the Culture, not the Crime
William L. Gannon, Ph.D. Office of the Vice President for Research, Research Ethics and Integrity Program & UNM Department of Biology
12:30 p.m Assessing What Researcher Ethics Training Researchers Really Want.
Teddy Warner, Ph.D. Depts. of Family & Community Medicine and Psychology
Session II
1:40 p.m. Should Scientists Become Business Entrepreneurs? Ethics and the Intersection of Science and Business
Lisa Kuuttila, President & CEO, STC.UNM
2:10 p.m. Nanotechnology and Nanoethics
Charles B. Fleddermann, Ph.D. Acting Dean, Graduate Studies and Associate Dean, School of Engineering
2:40 p.m. What is Missing in the Ethics of Animal Research?
John P. Gluck Jr., Ph.D. UNM Department of Psychology
Session III
3:30 p.m. The Research Relationship: How Science and Humanism Combine in Research with Traditional Peoples.
Hillard Kaplan, Ph.D. Professor, UNM Anthropology Department
4:30 p.m. Navigating Neuroethics: Where Are We Headed?
Vincent P. Clark, Ph.D. Scientific Director, Mind Research Network and UNM Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience
5 p.m. Research with Stem Cells: Facts, Myths and Ethical Issues.
Xinyu Zhao, Ph.D. UNM Department of Neuroscience
The symposium is free and open to the academic community, but registration is requested. Register here
Continuing education credits (PDH and CEU’s) are available through prior arrangement.
For more information, please contact William L. Gannon, (505) 277-3488 or wgannon@unm.edu or Charles Fleddermann, acting dean for Graduate Studies at (505) 277-5521 or cbf@unm.edu
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
The Lady in Blue: Sor María de Jesús de Ágreda: A University of New Mexico Homage, is set for Friday, April 24 from 8:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. All presentations are set in the Santa Ana Room of the Student Union Building and the reception and Puppet’s Revenge will take place in Ortega Hall and the Student Union Building on the UNM campus.
The event kicks off at 8:45 a.m. with a welcome by Anthony J. Cárdenas-Rotunno, professor; and A. Nogar; assistant professor, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, UNM.
9 a.m. Joseph Sánchez, director, UNM Spanish Colonial Research Center,
presents, “The Mystery of the Lady in Blue: An Historical Overview.”
10 a.m. David Rex Galindo, Doctoral Candidate, Southern Methodist
University “‘Para servir a Dios’: Franciscan Missionaries and the
Propagation of the Faith in the Northern Frontiers of New Spain,
1530s-1820s.”
11 a.m. Anna Nogar Spanish and Portuguese, UNM; From Center to
Periphery: Sor María de Ágreda in Colonial New Spain.”
1:30 p.m. Marilyn Fedewa, Author María of Ágreda: Mystical Lady in Blue;
From Baroque Hyperbole to 21st-Century Plain-Speak: The
Challenge of Framing María de Agreda’s Mystical Odyssey for a
Broad Contemporary Audience.”
2:30 p.m. Clark Colahan, Anderson Professor of Humanities, Whitman
College; María de Ágreda in the Arts of Our Own Time."
3:30 p.m. Reception, 3rd Floor Lounge, Ortega Hall
4:30 p.m. “Lady Blue;” Presented by Puppet’s Revenge, Ron Dans and Laia
Obregón-Dans Ortega Hall 153
Sponsors of this event are: Spanish Colonial Research Center; Latin American and Iberian Institute; Department of Spanish and Portuguese; Spanish Resource Center; Tey Diana Rebolledo, Regents Professor and Distinguished Professor of Spanish; Chicano Hispano Mexicano Studies; Institute for Medieval Studies; and the Feminist Research Institute.
For more information, call 277-5907 or 277-5526.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
When Anthropologist Frank Hibben set up a trust to fund scholars in the UNM Department of Anthropology before he died in 2002, he wanted to find a way students who intended to pursue graduate degrees in Southwestern Archaeology, Anthropology and culture could be reimbursed for living expenses as they learned. The trust has donated $1.5 million to the Anthropology Department over the last five years as dozens of anthropology students have used the scholarships to complete their degrees.
This spring four UNM Senior Hibben Legacy Scholars are preparing to graduate.
Hannah Mattson Fretwell’s doctoral research is archaeology. Her work focuses on ornaments as socially valuable objects.
She is comparing the meaning and use of ornaments from Chaco Canyon and Aztec Ruin. She is examining the physical qualities that distinguished ornaments of different meanings and use at Chaco during its most active years (ca. A.D. 950-1130) and comparing them to those from Aztec Ruin after the collapse of the Chacoan system (ca. A.D. 1150-1250). She is particularly interested in how closely the occupants of Aztec Ruin identified themselves with the preceding Chacoan culture.
Phil R. Geib is doing his doctoral in archaeology, researching war during the Early Agricultural Period in the North American Southwest.
His research into simple societies (ca. 2000 B.C. – A.D. 500) examines Basketmaker II materials from the Colorado Plateau. He is assessing the need for land or food against the role of status competition as a motive for war. His work also examines the competition within groups for status and dominance.
Geib is assembling new and existing data that relates to explaining war in this particular case, and by extension to an understanding generally of the causes of war.
Dorothy Larson’s doctoral work in archaeology explores cultural identity in Albuquerque during the transition from the Late Developmental to the Coalition Period.
She is interested in whether changes to ceramics in the Albuquerque area occurring around AD 1100-1250 resulted from the migration of new people into the area from the Santa Fe region or from shifting social identities or alliances between local people and northern groups.
Larson’s award included a public service element and her work involves an exhibit at Maxwell Museum and a website that will target middle and high school students. She is working with the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement, Inc. (MESA) to develop an archaeology curriculum for a six-week summer enrichment program for MESA students.
Lavinia Magdalena Nicolae’s doctoral work in Ethnology explores the kinship, politics and identity in New Mexico’s same sex marriage debate. She is documenting ways in which New Mexican gay, lesbian and transgender individuals and couples negotiate their identities and display their intimate relationships.
She says her project seeks to demonstrate how political and legal interpretations about kinship and sexuality affect the way citizenship is negotiated between the state of New Mexico and its lesbian, gay and transgender constituents.
She argues that the marriage debate reveals how categories of normalcy and belonging are produced from public definitions of kinship and sexuality and how the definitions are used to normalize and codify or socially marginalize and legally deny, specific incarnations of relationships and families.
Media contact: Karen Wentworth (505) 277-5627; kwent2@unm.edu
A student design team from the Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Department has won a Waste Environment Research Consortium (WERC ) Environmental Design Competition.
Photo (l. to r.): Danielle Rivera, Norma Wells, Shelly Karlin and Toi Carden all worked on a project to remove sulfates from mining water.
The students have been working on the projects since November as part of their capstone senior year design course. They competed against 31 teams from 21 universities throughout the United States and Canada.
Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Department Chair Tim L. Ward teaches the course, and Eric Carnes, a faculty advisor and lecturer assisted them with the project.
Geoff Courtin, a research engineer who works with the students estimates they each have more than 100 hours work invested in the projects.
Another UNM design team came in second in their project competition, which involved designing a pretreatment system for desalinizing brackish water in Tularosa. Marta Cooperstein, Cynthia Douthit, Jonathan Paiz, and Anne Helleburst (l to r) all worked on the research, cost analysis, and bench demonstration project.
Courtin says, “It brings together elements they have learned in various classes and helps them use it in a practical way.” As the students put together the projects, they worked with the Mechanical Engineering Department to actually construct some elements of the bench demonstration.
They also worked with local attorneys to make sure the projects meet state and federal environmental regulations and with UNM Safety and Risk Services to make sure projects could meet federal OSHA regulations. The students also had to determine what kind of personnel training would be required if the projects were actually built.
The students had to prove their projects would be cost effective, and they had to consider what would happen to the waste products. Since the students are about to graduate, they say this competition gave them a taste of what they will have to do when they are hired by engineering firms.
Courtin says several engineering firms have an eye on the students in the competition. He’s already received calls asking for the resumes of the students who are involved.
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth (505) 277-5627; kwent2@unm.edu
Traditional Spanish Romance Ballads performed by Tomás Lozano, will be featured Friday, April 17 at noon in Ortega Hall 153. Since 1993 when he toured the United States with the Spanish troubador troup Crisol Bufons, Lozano has made a substantial contribution to the cultural life of Nuevo México, both as a performer and scholar. In his substantial Cantemos al alba, he affirms cultural links between New Mexico and Spain in the areas of music, ritual and folk theater. Lozano’s cultural roots are both Castilian and Catalonian, the bitter-sweet, intertwined heritage of conquest and resistance.
This event is sponsored by Chicano Hispano Mexicano Studies, Latin American & Iberian Institute, Department of Spanish & Portuguese, and the New Mexico Musical Heritage Project.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
A collection of letters, manuscripts and papers now open at the Center for Southwest Research in University Libraries documents the activities of U.S. Marshals in New Mexico during the struggle to make the transition from territorial to statehood status. The 42 boxes of documents cover the time 1890 to 1950.
Graduate student Lavinia Nicolae sorted and catalogued the documents during her two-year Dennis Chavez fellowship, which was awarded by the Center for Regional Studies.
She says she was fascinated by the language the government used in describing the various groups of “alien enemies” the Marshals had to account for during World Wars I and II. Nicolae says it showed her how the government profiled people based on their nationality and how government officials’ descriptions demonstrated that racial profiles were fluid and subjective as opposed to fixed categories.
The collection documents the problems of men who were responsible for imposing federal law on a rural and widely dispersed population. In the 1898 letters of C.M. Foraker you can read about the beginning of federal law in New Mexico.
A detailed letter written to his deputy in Silver City explains how to subpoena witnesses and force them to put up a property bond guaranteeing their appearance in court. A written receipt for the body of an accused train robber William Raper, alias Bronco Bill, is a reminder of the many duties marshals had in a land where federal representatives were few and far between.
Another letter from Foraker, possibly written to an undercover officer, advances $40 and admits he has no advice to offer about a difficult situation. He also agrees to maintain the officer’s cover identity of “Dennis” if “they get onto you.”
The records are pieces of the puzzle of events in the New Mexico territory, not a complete record. They offer intriguing glimpses of the past rather than a complete picture.
The financial records are the most complete part of the collection and could serve as a good primary source for researchers. There are extensive documents regarding land trades as the federal government bought land to try to help resettle people in New Mexico during the depression era.
The collection has been divided into broad categories covering correspondence, the 1922 railroad strike, Prohibition, World Wars I and II, the New Deal, Federal Prisoners, and Criminal and Civil Dockets to make it easier for researchers to concentrate on various aspects of the marshal’s varied duties.
A collection summary can be found at: Rocky Mountain Online Archive.
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
University of New Mexico Parking and Transportation Department recently unveiled that rental rates for the university’s Zipcars, a rent by the hour or day car-sharing service available at UNM’s main and north campuses are dropping to $8 per hour or $66 per day for weekdays and $9 per hour or $72 a day for weekends. These new rates reflect a $1.25 decrease in weekday hourly rental rates.
“Zipcar is an appealing program because you are only paying for a vehicle when you are using it, and you don’t have to carry insurance or worry about wear-and-tear and maintenance costs” said Cynthia Martin, Program Planning Manager for Parking and Transportation Services (PATS).
Using Zipcar at UNM...
PATS introduced the Zipcar program to UNM in January of 2008. In the course of a year, PATS has seen a steady increase in Zipcar use.
“The program is particularly appealing for UNM departments looking to cut the cost of maintaining a fleet vehicle and use Zipcar instead,” said Martin. “It is also an integral part of commuting for those who use alternative transportation and need a flexible option.”
There are currently five cars located on Main and North campuses available to members of the program. To become a member, visit Zipcar and fill out an application. There is an annual membership fee of $35 for individuals and $100 for University departments.
Once membership is confirmed, users will receive a “Zipcard” by mail. This Zipcard is the size of a credit card, fits neatly into a wallet, and is used to get access to Zipcar vehicles. When a user needs to use Zipcar, they can call Zipcar or get online and make their reservation. Once the reservation is made, users swipe their Zipcard at the designated spot on the windshield of the Zipcar, the car opens, and is ready to go!
For More Information...
If you or your department are interested in more information about how to utilize Zipcar contact Danielle Gilliam at Parking & Transportation Services: 277-0461 or dgilliam@parking.unm.edu. You can also visit: Zipcar.
Media Contact: Benson Hendrix, (505) 277-1816; e-mail: bhendrix@unm.edu
The United States Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals takes their act on the road, leaving their home in Denver, Colo., to listen to six New Mexico-based appeals cases at the University of New Mexico School of Law on Monday, April 20. A three-judge panel comprised of Judge William J. Holloway, Judge Carlos F. Lucero and Judge Michael W. McConnell will conduct oral arguments beginning at 1:30 p.m. in the Moot Courtroom.
The Tenth Circuit consists of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma. Although based in Denver, the court periodically travels to other locations throughout the circuit to hear appeals cases.
The U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals will be in session on Monday, April 20 at the University of New Mexico School of Law to hear six cases, all involving appeals from New Mexico.
Prior to hearing its courtroom session, the judges will hold a question and answer forum with students and spend lunch with School of Law faculty and judges from the New Mexico Court of Appeals.
The courtroom session is open to the public and security protocols will be in effect with attendees being asked for a photo ID and screened and their bags will be searched. Once oral arguments have begun, entrance to and from the courtroom will be at the sole discretion of court security staff.
A live-feed of the proceedings will be available in Room 2405. Recording of any kind (audio, video, photographs) is prohibited, in both the courtroom and the live-feed room. Attendees are encouraged to arrive 15-30 minutes prior to the session.
Public attendees are reminded that the law school parking lot is permitted and patrolled by UNM Parking Services. Parking is available at paid meters or, a parking permit may be purchased at the Law Library reference desk for an unreserved space in the lot. Parking also might be available nearby on non-permitted neighborhood streets. To discuss parking options, contact UNM Parking Services at 277.1938.
For more information, contact Sandra Bauman at 277.4700.
The cases to be heard are:
Media Contact: Benson Hendrix, (505) 277-1816; e-mail: bhendrix@unm.edu
Free event allows opportunity to learn about, sample native plants
On Saturday, April 18, the Maxwell Museum will celebrate wild plants of the Rio Grande region in an event that will allow visitors to learn about health benefits of local plants and sample them. Sample modern recipes that use ancient ingredients when you try chia smoothies, mesquite flour cakes, rice grass crackers topped with prickly pear jelly, sumac lemonade or cota tea. The event will be from 1 - 4 p.m. on the UNM campus.
For thousands of years people who lived off the land sampled and experimented with the many plants they encountered on their journeys. They searched for plants that nurtured the body and soul and those that could be used to sustain life in dire times of drought and famine. This vital information was encoded in stories and lessons that were passed from parent to child, equipping the new generation with the best available tools for survival in an environment that could be both benevolent and harsh.
More recently, newcomers to the Southwest brought with them their own foods and cultural knowledge. Sharing of these traditions and the selected integration of wild plants provided benefits for all.
Ethnobotanist Lisa Huckell will discuss the plants and their prehistoric and current uses for robust health. Please join us to explore the plants, learn their health benefits and sample them. Attendees will receive a resource guide describing plants and resources.
For more information about the event, please contact Mary Beth Hermans at (505) 277-1400.
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
The fourth and final lecture in the 2009 Borderlands Lecture Series features Sarah Cornell, UNM assistant professor of history, presenting “From Borderlands to Transnational History: Race, Slavery, and Freedom in the U.S. South and Mexico, 1810-1910,” Thursday, April 30, at 3 p.m., in the UNM Student Union Building, Santa Ana A and B.
This series of four lectures presents scholarship on the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands region by scholars working in both Mexico and the United States.
For more information on the 2009 Borderlands Lecture Series, or other events sponsored by the Center for the Southwest, call 277-7688, or e-mail: cntrsw@unm.edu.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
The University of New Mexico Latin American and Iberian Institute hosts Animal Symbolism in the Mesoamerican Codex Tradition, a symposium for researchers and teachers, Thursday through Saturday, April 30 to May 2, at the UNM Student Union Building. The aim of the symposium is to lead to high quality instructional sessions that integrate language arts, social studies and visual arts.
The speakers, representing research institutions in the U.S. and Mexico, are experts on languages, archaeology and zooarchaeology, and the art of the three best-known regions that produced books – commonly referred to as codices – prior to European contact. These areas were occupied by the Maya of Yucatan, the Mixtec speakers of southern Mexico, and the Aztecs, who lived on the site that is now Mexico City.
The event is built around 10 presentations addressing the meanings of animals in pre-Historic Mexico and the continuation of these cultural traditions beyond the conquest.
The symposium is an opportunity for members of academia to collaborate with teachers so that the topic can be introduced in classrooms in New Mexico. A special orientation session for educators is set for Thursday, April 30, from 3 – 6 p.m.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
The American Indian Language Policy Research and Teacher Training Center in the College of Education at the University of New Mexico will host an International Indigenous Language Policy Research Symposium, Thursday and Friday, April 23-24. A series of panel presentations and focus sessions sharing insights, observations and research will highlight the Center’s first-ever international symposium.
Research about the long-term effect of policy development upon Indigenous languages has not always been available to Indigenous leaders, educators, and policy makers and how policies impact Indigenous language loss or maintenance. As advocates of Indigenous language survival, it is critical to understand more fully what these impacts are and what needs to be done to address these issues.
“The future survival of remaining Indigenous languages across the Americas has become an increasing area of concern among Indigenous groups engaged in emerging community-based and school-based language initiatives,” said Christine P. Sims, assistant professor, Language, Literacy & Socicultural Studies, College of Education and symposium organizer. “As these efforts have emerged, a major source of conflict has been the impact that social, economic, political and education policies have had on these languages. This symposium will raise awareness to impacts and will address issues of Indigenous language survival.”
SYMPOSIUM OVERVIEW
Thursday, April 23 – SUB Ballroom C (9 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.)
· Opening Welcome by NM Indian Affairs Department Secretary, Alvin Warren.
· Morning Panel Presentations
Eileen & Grafton Antone, University of Toronto, Canada: “Canadian Policies that affect Aboriginal Language Renewal”
Luz Victoria Quishpe and Yolanda Teran, Ecuador: “How the Social and Economic Policies Have Impacted the Efforts to Maintain or Lose the Kichwa Language”
Tiffany Lee, University of New Mexico: “Developing a Critical Language Consciousness Among Indigenous Young Adults”
· Afternoon Breakout sessions: Zimmerman Library & SUB
Session A, B-30 Zimmerman (1:30-3 p.m.): Lois Meyer, University of NM, Dept. of LLSS: “Observing Language Revitalization Close-up: Inside Language Nests in Oaxaca, Mexico”
Session B, Room 254, 2nd Floor Zimmerman (1:30-3 p.m.): Rebecca Blum Martinez, University of New Mexico: “Developing a culturally appropriate framework for language assessment from an Indigenous functions based perspective of language.”
Session C, SUB Fiesta Rm.( 1:30-3 p.m.): Wes Collins & David & Diane Weber, Universidad Ricardo Palma: “A Year of language-based Development Training: What we Learned.”
Friday, April 24 – SUB Ballroom A
· 9 a.m.—11:50 a.m. – Morning Panel Presentations
Patricia Kelley, SIL International, Ecuador, Amazonia:
“The Waodani of Amazonia: A Case of School and Community based Efforts in the Survival of an Amerindian language”
Richard Schaefer & Carolyn Gonzales, UNM: U.S./Mexico: “Migratory Challenges to Indigenous Language and Culture”
Dra. Marta Bergara Fregoso, Jalisco, Mexico: “Problemas Y retos de las politicas de la educacion intercultural en Mexico.”
· 12—1:35 p.m. – Zimmerman Library, Rm. B-30. Brown Bag Session
Olga Basharina, Russian, University of New Mexico: “Language Policy and Planning in the Sakha Republic (Russia)”
Room 254, 2nd Floor: Walkie Charles & Marilee Coles Ritchie, University of Alaska, Fairbanks: “Impact of Standardized Tests on Language Teaching Practices: Perspectives of Yup’ik Eskimo teachers”
· 1:45—2:45 p.m. – Zimmerman Library, Break-out Sessions
Rm. B-30. Gilbert Brown & Duff Galda, University of Arizona: “Identifying Student Learning Outcomes from Traditional Diné Conceptualizations to Create a Culture Based Education Curriculum Grounded in Diné Epistemology.”
· 3—4:45 p.m. – Final Session Zimmerman Library, Rm. B-30
Symposium Presenters Convene for Final Summation and recommendations
Seating for the symposium is limited and early registration is encouraged. For more information about the event and the UNM American Indian Language Policy Research and Teacher Training Center contact Dr. Carlotta Penny Bird, program manager at (505) 277-0537 or via e-mail at: cpbirdsd@unm.edu.
Interested participants may also register by contacting Leau Phillips, Administrative Assistant, at the same telephone number or via e-mail at: lphill01@unm.edu.
Public parking will be available in UNM parking structures located on campus east of the UNM Bookstore on Central Avenue. For directions to metered parking areas and campus maps visit: Parking and Transportation.
Media Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
Eugene Rooney and Kaye Summerhays are the recipients of the 2009 Charter Bank Staff Excellence Award. The annual award honors staff members who have provided extraordinary service to the UNM Anderson School of Management. It is sponsored by Robert Wertheim, an Anderson alum, Chairman of the Board of Charter Companies, Anderson National Advisory Board member, and a respected community leader.
Rooney has an undergraduate degree in computer engineering and received his MBA from the Anderson School. He worked here as a graduate assistant and was hired full-time as a Programmer Analyst II after graduating in 2006. Rooney, as he prefers to be called, manages the Anderson website, internal database applications and keeps track of student enrollment numbers. He also has an active role in the many Anderson events, and along with supervisor Josh Saiz, is responsible for the impressive Hall of Fame.
Rooney says it is "a great honor" to receive the award, but quickly adds the award is a reflection of the people he works with. He says they work as a team to support the students, faculty and staff of Anderson and UNM.
Summerhays came to work at Anderson nine years ago after spending two years at University Hospital. She is the administrative assistant for the FIT academic department and says she prefers an educational environment over that of the corporate world. One of the highlights of Kaye's job is interacting with students and during the summer months she especially enjoys working with the Anderson foreign student programs.
Kaye says she was thrilled to learn she was selected for the award where the nominations come from Anderson staff and faculty members. She says "one of the best things about working at Anderson is the congeniality of the staff."
Interim Dean Amy Wohlert says that "Rooney and Kaye are great examples of the Anderson spirit. They praise their colleagues and downplay their own contributions, but they are indeed truly outstanding representatives of our School."
Wertheim has funded the Charter Bank Award endowment since 1987. Lee Patchell, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, announced the award winners.
"Charter Bank Mortgage Insurance remains strongly committed to higher education and our community," said Patchell. "We understand the challenges that UNM/Anderson staff face in light of the budget cuts facing New Mexico and we are ecstatic to be able to contribute to Anderson's mission in this important way."
Media Contact: Leslie Venzuela, (505) 277-7117; e-mail: venzuela@mgt.unm.edu
The Spring Vendor Fair, hosted by the UNM purchasing department, is scheduled for Wednesday, April 29, in the Student Union Building Ballroom from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The fair allows participants networking opportunities to create new business opportunities and strengthen existing business relationships within the UNM community. It also helps to provide small and disadvantaged businesses a greater opportunity to compete fairly and equally in the market.
University purchasing agents, staff and faculty will be attending the fair to learn about the products and services area businesses can provide. The business participation fee is $80, which includes a booth consisting of a 6’ skirted table, 8’ background curtain, two chairs, one line identification sign (35 letters) and one parking pass.
Interested participants are encouraged to register early. Booths will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Vendor booths will be pre-assigned in the order in which the registration form and payment are received – the earlier the registration form and payment are submitted, the greater the chance a vendor has to receive this prime location to advertise their business. Approximately 80 booths will be available for vendors and institutions.
If you own a business and are interested in participating, please complete the registration form available at: UNM Purchasing Department. The registration deadline is Friday, April 24, 2009. Registered participants will receive a letter confirmation, a map to the Student Union Building, a map to the parking structure and a parking pass two weeks prior to the fair.
For more information contact Carla D. Abeyta at 277-1735 or via e-mail at carlad@unm.edu.
Media Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
The second in the three-part University Grand Rounds Discussions of Town/Gown Collaborative Work, is set for Wednesday, April 15 from noon – 1:30 p.m. in George Pearl Hall room P104.
The focus of this installment is Health Extension Rural Offices (HEROs): The Hidalgo Medical Services Model. The Hidalgo HERO exemplifies how community agents who are knowledgeable about both their community’s health and social priority needs and the range of resources at UNM can interweave the two for improved access to care and increased health in their community.
Charlie Alfero, CEO of Hidalgo Medical Services, and Art Kaufman M.D., UNM vice president for community health; will present the HERO model.
Grand Rounds is a term borrowed from the medical establishment to describe how they present a case, discuss it and learn from it. The town/gown grand rounds are an opportunity for UNM and the community to work collaboratively – each session partners a community member with a UNM counterpart.
“Research service learning and its assessment have long been a part of the work of the University of New Mexico. This is an opportunity to learn from one another and showcase our efforts,” said Mark Childs, associate professor, UNM School of Architecture and Planning and associate, UNM Office of Support for Effective Teaching.
For more information, contact Mark C. Childs, mchilds. This event is sponsored by the UNM Office of Support for Effective Teaching.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Regents’ Professor of History Ferenc Szasz has been named the University of New Mexico’s 54th Annual Research Lecturer. Szasz will present, “Abraham Lincoln and Robert Burns: Connected Lives and Legends,” Tuesday, April 14, 7 p.m. in the UNM Continuing Education auditorium. The lecture, preceded by a 6 p.m. reception, is free and open to the public.
Photo: Ferenc Szasz, UNM's 54th Annual Research Lecturer
Szasz’s lecture is also the title of his recent book. For his lecture he will show slides of Lincoln and Burns, many taken from images included in the book. For more information on Szasz's lecture visit: 54th Annual Research Lecturer.
Both Burns and Lincoln came from humble roots. Burns was a Scottish peasant, and Lincoln grew up on a hardscrabble farm before he became a country lawyer; but the social strata of the U.S. were not as rigid as in Scotland. “Burns felt himself socially inferior to the aristocracy that both wined and dined him, and looked down on him,” Szasz said.
Both men incurred tragedy. Burns had a problem with alcohol and died in deep poverty at 37 years of age. Of the nine children he had with his wife, only three survived infancy. “Lincoln lost two children, his mother and a sister. This was beyond normal losses in the 19th century,” Szasz said.
Places associated with both men have become sacred national spaces. “People enter the Lincoln Memorial and tomb with hushed voices,” he said; “So too with the Burns Memorial in Dumfries.”
The restored Ayrshire cottage where Burns was born ranks as one of the most visited tour destinations in Scotland, Szasz said. “Atlanta has a replica of the cottage and the Burns Club of Atlanta meets there…in kilts.”
The National Trust of Scotland – the Scottish equivalent of the National Park Service – has built a world class museum in Alloway to “ensure Burns’ heritage for future generations,” Szasz said.
In 1859, at the 100th anniversary of Burns’ birth, 60 American cities held gala celebrations in his honor. “Lincoln attended the gathering in Springfield and toasted Burns’ memory,” he said. Later, Scotland was the first country outside the United States to erect a statue of Lincoln--in Edinburgh in 1893.
“Fifty or 60 years ago, Burns was studied in schools in the United States, but no more. Now only the Scots and Irish know him,” Szasz said. Scotland is making 2009 a year grounded in Burns. “They are encouraging tourism to Scotland – by those with and without Scottish roots. Take in the scenery, castles and golf courses,” he said.
This year, the Library of Congress hosted a Burns’ 250th anniversary festival in February funded partly by the Scottish Executive. In April, the University of South Carolina will similarly celebrate Burns. “Those are the only major US events,” Szasz lamented.
Scottish photographer Andy Hall has put together a book titled, “Touched by Robert Burns,” a striking photographic collection illustrating short pieces by various individuals – including one by Maya Angelou and another by Szasz-- whose piece centers on the Burns/Lincoln connection. “In line with Robert Burns' writing on human rights, all royalties for the book go to UNICEF,” Szasz said.
Szasz said that another piece in Hall’s book was penned by Tom Sutherland, dean of agriculture at the American University of Beirut, who was seized by Islamic Jihad terrorists. He was held captive for six and a half years. “He wrote about how Burns helped him survive the ordeal,” Szasz said.
Still another essay was written by a black South African woman who attended a Catholic girls’ school. Once she visited the nearby white girls’ school, which had a library. “She writes about how she discovered Robert Burns and through his line ‘a man’s a man for all that,’ realized that all social divisions were artificial. She saw the sameness that is the essence of mankind,” Szasz said.
The famous poet Seamus Heaney wrote “A Birl for Burns,” in Burns’ rhythmic style to introduce Touched by Robert Burns. Heaney writes about growing up as a Catholic in Protestant Ulster.
Szasz includes similar stories about Lincoln’s impact on people in his volume.
Burns cheered on the American Revolution, Szasz said. “He saw it as moving away from artificial distinctions of birth. It was hard to be a genius in a low social situation where class was perceived as ‘God given,’” he said.
“Both Burns and Lincoln believed that the quest for equality should lie at the core of each nation’s goal.”
Szasz, joins France Scholes, Edwin Liewen, Gerald Nash, Richard Etulain, and Linda Biesele Hall as UNM historians honored with the distinction of being named Annual Research Lecturer.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center has opened a new Southeast Heights Center for Family and Community Health, located at 8200 Central SE, the International District of Albuquerque. The new clinic takes the place of the previous Southeast Heights Clinic which was located near the same area and had been opened since the early 1990s.
The clinic serves a diverse population including Spanish and Vietnamese patients. Refugees from Iraq and Africa are also part of the patient population. All clinic staff speaks Spanish and there are several interpreters on site.
With 21 exam rooms and a procedure room, the new clinic is three times the size of the previous clinic. It also features a community meeting room for community members to use for gatherings.
Community involvement in the planning of the new clinic was important to UNM. Community members were invited to the meetings leading up to the construction of the clinic and were asked to give their input.
“The community is making positive strides in redefining the image of the area,” said Antia Sanchez, unit director for the clinic. “This clinic is here for the community and we want them to feel like the clinic is the right step toward giving the area a positive change.”
The Southeast Heights Center for Family and Community Health is open Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m., and Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Media Contact: Lauren Cruse, (505) 272-3690; e-mail: lcruse@salud.unm.edu
The Information Center for New Mexicans with Disabilities, a program within the Center for Development and Disability at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, has launched a new online Disability Resource Directory. This searchable database includes New Mexico programs, agencies and organizations that serve individuals with disabilities. Anyone may search the database by entering an organization name, a category, or specific service.
To ensure information is current, the directory will be updated on a regular basis by Information Center staff.
To access visit: Disability Resource Directory and click on the Resource Directory link.
For additional information or to speak to one of the Resource Specialists, call (800) 552-8192 or (505) 272-8549, or e-mail: infonet.unm.edu.
Media Contact: Lauren Cruse, (505) 272-3690; e-mail: lcruse@salud.unm.edu
Saying the decision they were making was done reluctantly, University of New Mexico Regents have voted to increase in-state tuition by five percent for 2009-2010. Out of state tuition will increase 10 percent. In addition, student-approved fees will increase approximately $78.
In view of a decrease in state funding coupled with tuition credits of 2.5 percent for resident and eight percent for non-resident students, several regents pointed out they had very few options to raising tuition if the university is to remain on sound financial footing. Part of the tuition increase will go towards initiatives aimed at student success as well as recruiting and retaining faculty. It will also cover some fixed costs such as increased utility expenses not already covered by state funding.
President David J. Schmidly has recommended that all discretionary money in this year’s budget be focused on the institutional priority areas of student success and systemic excellence. Schmidly believes the budget, as it now stands, will give him sufficient flexibility should the Legislature be forced to make further budget cuts in the fall.
There will be no raises for faculty or staff this year, but insurance premiums will remain the same as the university moves to a self-insurance program for employee health benefits. Vice President for Human Resources Helen Gonzales says health cost increases are averaging about ten percent in many parts of the country.
Companies throughout New Mexico continue to find new and unique ways to “go green.” On this week’s “New Mexico in Focus” find out the unique approach the Santa Fe Brewing Company is taking to help the environment and the company’s bottom line. Also on this week’s episode, is algae the crop of the future in New Mexico? This episode of “New Mexico in Focus,” the third in a four part series on alternative energy in New Mexico, will air on KNME-TV, channel 5 on Friday, April 10 at 7 p.m. and repeat on Sunday, April 12 at 6:30 a.m.
Co-host David Alire Garcia will sit down with Charles Bensinger, Biofuels Program Director for Renewable Energy Partners of New Mexico, Vaughn Gangwish, Executive Director of the Southwest Biofuels Association, Stephen Lucero with the Geothermal Energy Working Group of the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, and Steve Stringer from the Los Alamos National Lab Technology Transfer Office to discuss the future of biofuels, including current research involving algae.
Then co-host Gene Grant and regular “The Line” panelists Jim Scarantino and Whitney Cheshire are joined by guest panelists Teresa Cordova, from the University of New Mexico School of Architecture and freelance journalist Denise Tessier to discuss the issues of the week facing New Mexico.
Producers of ‘New Mexico In Focus’ are Kevin McDonald and Kathy Wimmer. Closed captioning has been made possible by a gift from Mrs. Elspeth G. Bobbs.
Employee Health Promotion Program’s Rhonda Miranda will present the course, “Sun Care/Skin Cancer” on Tuesday, April 14 from 12 to 1 p.m. in room 1016 at the UNM Business Center. Miranda will provide information on sun safety and guidelines to help you protect your skin and reduce your risk of skin cancer, as well as a “derma scan” to help assess skin damage.
Here in New Mexico, skin cancer is the most common type of cancer. It is important to take precautions against it, as well as be aware of personal risk for skin cancer. A “derma scan” will be available as part of this class. The derma scan uses ultraviolet light to show skin damage from excessive sun exposure and dehydration, but does not actually diagnose skin cancer.
All faculty and staff are invited to attend and are asked to register via Learning Central. Login and click on Catalog - Health Education (EHPP). Click on “Register” and “Confirm” to enroll in the class. You are welcome to bring your lunch.
For more information, contact Rhonda Miranda at 277-4996 or
According to the latest Internet Security Threat Report, more than 65 percent of the known malicious computer programs or malware were created in the past two years. As part of ongoing cyber security initiatives, the ITS Department now offers anti-virus software at no cost to all UNM students, faculty and staff. The software, called Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP), is available for download at: Security Antivirus.
“Many of the programmers that create computer viruses, worms, and spyware are paid to do so,” says Mike Carr, UNM’s Chief Information Security Officer. “The objective of many of these new malicious programs is to steal your identity and steal your money. Installing anti-virus software on your computer and regularly scanning the computer for viruses is the least you can do to protect UNM and protect yourself at home.”
There is no specific type of antivirus software required on the UNM network. However, UNM Policy 2520, Computer Security Controls and Guidelines, mandates the use of anti-virus software on all UNM computers. Providing SEP at no cost to students, faculty and staff is part of ITS and UNM's ongoing efforts to facilitate network safety and security for all users. An FAQ page with additional details on SEP and its various features is also available.
SEP is available for use on campus and at home for any UNM user with a valid NetID and password, and Symantec Endpoint client downloads are available for both Windows and Apple systems. SEP is available to UNM users for at home and personal computers as well.
For questions regarding Symantec Endpoint Protection, contact the ITS Support Center at 277-4848.
Media Contact: Vanessa Baca, (505) 277-0987; e-mail: vjbaca1@unm.edu
For the past 40 years University of New Mexico School of Architecture and Planning Professor Anne Taylor has studied how schools, classrooms, playgrounds, homes, museums and parks affect children and how they learn. As a result she developed a holistic, sustainable philosophy of learning environment design. In Linking Architecture and Education: Sustainable Design of Learning Environments (University of New Mexico Press) she argues persuasively that architects must integrate their design knowledge with an understanding of the developmental needs of learners, while at the same time educators, parents and students must broaden their awareness of the built, natural and cultural environment to maximize the learning experience.
In other words, schools and other environments can themselves become “three-dimensional textbooks.” When architects are cognizant of newer models of education and educators view the environment as more than a box in which to teach prescribed lessons, the result is an informed architecture that allows children to discover the power of their own learning.
Linking Architecture and Education presents numerous examples of dynamic designs that are the result of interdisciplinary understanding of place. Taylor includes designer perspectives, forums derived from commentary by outside contributors involved in school planning and a wealth of photographs of thoughtful and effective solutions to create learning environments from comprehensive design criteria.
Because the concept of “school” is enlarged to a community campus, Taylor’s book also spawns a new model of teaching and learning. This book is essential reading for educators, architects and community members who are anxious to transform education in American and elsewhere.
Linking Architecture and Education is available at bookstores or directly from the University of New Mexico Press. To order, call (800) 249-7737 or visit UNM Press.
Anne Taylor, Ph.D., Hon. AIA, ACSA Distinguished Professor, is Regents Professor in the School of Architecture and Planning at UNM, where she was the founder and director, for many years, of the Institute for Environmental Education. She is also president of a non-profit School Zone Institute. She is the author of Southwestern Ornamentation and Design and School Zone: Learning Environments for Children, as well as several Architecture and Children curriculum documents.
Media Contacts: UNM, Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu; UNM Press, Katherine MacGilvray, (505) 272-7177; e-mail: katm@unm.edu
Nicholas Roe, University of St. Andrews in Scotland, presents, “Rhinoceros among Giraffes: Keats and the Elgin Marbles," on Friday, April 24, 2 - 3:15 p.m. in Humanities 108. Roe is an internationally renowned expert on Keats and on Romantic poetry, culture and politics more broadly. The subject of his talk engages issues of imperialism and cultural patrimony that have recently generated a great deal of scholarly and public interest. The event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided.
Photo: Nicholas Roe
Roe was lecturer in English at Queen's University, Belfast (1982-85), and came to St Andrews as a lecturer in September 1985. In 1989 he was a visiting professor at the Department of English, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil; in 1994-95 he was awarded a Leverhulme Research Fellowship to study the poetry and politics of John Keats, the outcome of which was John Keats and the Culture of Dissent, published by the Clarendon Press (1997; paperback 1998).
This talk made possible through support from the Department of English, the English Graduate Student Association, the Foreign Languages and Literatures Department, and the English Department 19th Century Group.
For more information, contact Gary Harrison, garyh@unm.edu or Gail Houston, ghouston@unm.edu.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Footsteps to Forever, by R. Samuel Baty, adjunct faculty at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Center in Albuquerque, is a riveting World War II historical thriller. Like Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls and Wouk’s The Winds of War, Footsteps is filled with suspense, romance and adventure. Baty will read from and sign copies of his book at the UNM Bookstore, Cornell and Central NE, on Saturday, April 25 at 2 p.m.
It is 1941, and the devastating attack at Pearl Harbor thrusts the United States into the war. Two American lieutenants, a young man and woman, are sent by President Roosevelt to Norway. Their mission is to rescue a renowned atomic physicist from behind German lines. Chased by the enemy, hampered by the physicist’s deteriorating health, impacted by a blossoming romance, and faced with harsh winter conditions, the two young Americans and their allies struggle to avoid disaster. An epic battle occurs, and survivors – enemies as well as friends – are destined to meet again, some shockingly, as the explosive action of Footsteps expands to include the failed raid at Dieppe, the Russian Front, the Normandy D-Day invasion and ferocious air battles in the Pacific.
A blockbuster novel that takes place in eight different countries, Footsteps includes the most powerful people of its time, tells the story from both the Allied and German sides, has a strong nurse character as its heroine, and is as relevant today as it was then. A Baty interview, novel reviews, and other material are available at Baty’s website: Sam Baty Books.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
The UNM Biology Department’s 18th Annual Research Day will be held Friday, April 10. Student posters will be on display in the hallways of Castetter Hall in the Biology Building. Additionally, Dr. Suzette A. Priola, chief, TSE/Prion Molecular Biology Section, senior investigator, National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases, NIH, will give a keynote address titled, "Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Prion Disease Pathogenesis," from 4 to 5 p.m. in Northrup Hall, rm. 122.
Research in Priola’s laboratory focuses on the molecular basis of disease in the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). The TSEs are a group of neurodegenerative diseases that include both sporadic and familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans, scrapie in sheep, chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer and elk, and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
Research Day Schedule - Friday, April 10
10 to 11:20 a.m. - Student Oral Presentations, Session 1, 100 Castetter Hall
9 to 11 a.m. - Judging of Student Posters, Session 1
(students with odd-numbered posters should be at their posters to take questions)
11:30–12:30 p.m. - Lunch, Basement of Castatter Hall
12:30–2:30 p.m. - Judging of Student Posters, Session 2
(students with even-numbered posters should be at their posters to take questions)
1–2:30 p.m. - Student Oral Presentations, Session 2, 100 Castetter Hall
4 to 5 p.m. - Keynote Lecture: Dr. Suzette A. Priola, Nat. Inst. of Allergy & Infectious Diseases, NIH, 122 Northrup Hall
5 – 5:30 p.m. - Awards Ceremony, 122 Northrup Hall
Students at the University of New Mexico’s Anderson School of Management are visiting to Albuquerque-area schools giving presentations to help teach students in middle and high school grades important computer safety tips centering on a computer users identity. The community outreach, in its third semester, is a continuation of a program started by Alex Seazzu, ASM Professor and director of the Center for Information Assurance Research and Education (CIARE).
The Information Assurance (IA) program at the Anderson School is an interdisciplinary concentration combining specialized aspects of information systems, management, accounting and user behaviors. In the spring of 2008, Seazzu began taking graduate students in his Information Assurance class MGMT 636 to local schools. Students’ interest was encouraging and Seazzu continued the outreach last fall.
The goal of the presentations is to educate students on what they need to think about before posting personal information. The Anderson group discussed the dangers of identity theft and talked with the students about how they can protect their information online. The students they spoke to were very interested and curious about Information Assurance topics and practices.
Last fall, Seazzu again took ASM graduate students to several local schools to help raise awareness on protecting their personal information and identity. The class, MGMT 636, made presentations to students in New Mexico high schools from the elementary to high school level. Seazzu says reaching out to young computer users before they encounter problems on the Internet is vital.
"One of the most worthwhile efforts we must support in protecting our information - national, corporate and personal - is educating our young users and raising their awareness of the dangers they face online,” he said.
Seazzu and his class have several more presentations scheduled this semester including: Temple Baptist Academy, April 21 - 2:35 p.m.; John Adams Middle School, April 24 - 11:49 - 1:28 p.m., Kit Carson Elementary School, April 24 - 12:45 p.m.; Eldorado High School, April 28 - 8:45 a.m.; and Del Norte High School, April 28 - 9:30 a.m.
Seazzu says the demand for information assurance skills is strong due to the need of organizations to secure their information systems and data. For more information on this growing career field visit: Information Assurance.
Research results include researchers at UNM
North America's biological field stations have long been home to a rich legacy of research results, scientists say, making them important places for serendipitous discoveries in the biological and environmental sciences. In a paper published in the April issue of the journal BioScience, researchers affiliated with the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network and other groups state that few people realize the value of the data and specimens held at field stations--until an event such as a disease outbreak or environmental disaster triggers their use.
Photo: A Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) site in Oregon.
"At a time when we are reinvesting in our nation's academic infrastructure, it's critical that we also invest in one of our greatest treasures--America's biological field stations," said William Michener, a biologist at the University of New Mexico and co-author of the paper.
Peter McCartney, program director in NSF's Division of Biological Infrastructure, agrees. "Support for field stations is an important part of NSF's overall investments in biological infrastructure," he said. "They provide scientists with research opportunities, while fostering the regional and continental scale sampling provided through the LTER Network and the National Ecological Observatory Network [NEON]."
The paper, "Biological Field Stations: Research Legacies and Sites for Serendipity," cites three examples in which major serendipitous discoveries occurred at field stations:
1. The relationship between the decline and subsequent recovery of bald eagles and the widespread use of organochlorine pesticides, based on monitoring studies at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary near Kempton, Pa.
2. An understanding of and ability to forecast the spread of Hantavirus and West Nile virus, based on research at the Sevilleta field station near Albuquerque, N.M.
3. Creation of a new framework for forest ecosystem management, later adopted as policy, based on field studies at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest in Eugene, Ore. Research on old-growth forests and the importance of their biodiversity led to a far-reaching revision of forest management in the Pacific Northwest.
In their journal paper, the authors identify the underlying factors that contributed to these discoveries, including the interplay between "place" and "serendipity"--being in the right place at the right time.
However, not all unexpected discoveries occurred by chance, they state.
Long-term observation and monitoring programs, field research and experimentation, and synthesis efforts were equally responsible.
"Field stations are to biologists what telescopes are to astronomers, and what research vessels are to oceanographers," said Michener.
"They're places where basic biological discoveries are made, such as understanding the spread of human and animal diseases, and of invasive species--and what it takes to sustain the ecosystems in which we live."
Field stations provide logistical and laboratory facilities, offer secure places for deploying complex instrumentation, and allow for long-term observations of vegetation, animal populations, and soil and climate dynamics, state the authors.
They note that while initial discoveries of emerging pathogens are often made by public health workers and wildlife specialists from state and federal agencies, "established field stations provide the infrastructure, staff, and staying power to understand the life cycles and ecology of invasive or emerging disease vectors and pathogens."
In the Hantavirus example, long-term rodent studies were conducted for several years for a different purpose, yet provided data for addressing the ecology of this disease-causing virus.
Documentation of the precipitous decline of bald eagles at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary set the stage for Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, changing U.S. policy on use of pesticides like DDT.
Media Contacts: UNM, Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
The University of New Mexico Provost Suzanne Ortega announced today that Richard Howell has been selected to lead the College of Education as its newest dean. Howell, who is also a faculty member in the Department of Educational Leadership and Organizational Learning, has served as interim dean of the CoE since December 2007. Howell’s tenure as dean will begin on April 15, 2009.
Photo: Richard Howell, dean, College of Education
"Dr. Howell has a deep commitment to education in the state of New Mexico,” said Ortega. “I am confident that his leadership and organizational skills make him a great choice to lead the College of Education into national prominence."
Howell has a long history at UNM having earned three degrees including a BS in Psychology (’72), an MA in Special Education (’73) and his Ph.D. also in Special Education (’83).
After completing his Master’s, Howell began his academic career in earnest at UNM in 1982 as an instructor in Educational Technology at the College of Education. A position he held for two years.
Howell then moved onto The Ohio State University and served 17 years at the institution in a number of positions including assistant professor in the Department of Educational Policy and Leadership (1984-91), associate professor in the Department of Physical Activities and Educational Services (1991-00), chair of the Special Education program (1998-99) and finally assistant dean for Technology (1999-2000).
Howell returned to UNM in 2000 and served as Special Assistant to the Vice Provost, The Extended University (2000-04), interim Assistant Vice President, Office of Academic Affairs (2004-05), and associate dean of Research in the College of Education (2005-08).
Additionally, Howell has managed more than $10 million in federally funded research and development projects throughout his career.
"I am both grateful and excited to have been selected as Dean of the preeminent College of Education in New Mexico. I am looking forward to working with the President, Provost, and especially the faculty, staff and students of the College to meet the pressing educational needs of teachers and students in the state of New Mexico.“
Martha Bedard, dean of the University Libraries, chaired the College of Education dean search committee, which selected Howell as one of three finalists following a national search.
Media Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
STC.UNM will host a reception on Monday, April 13, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Science & Technology Park Rotunda at 801 University Blvd., SE to honor the members of the UNM community who have been issued patents and copyrights in the last year.
Featured speaker at the reception is Lyle A. Hohnke, general partner of Tullis Dickerson & Company. He will speak on “Venture Capital and Innovation: Chicken or Egg?”
Patent awardees include:
· Dept. of Pathology Regents’ Professor Larry Sklar
Dept. of Pathology/Cytometry Research Professor Bruce Edwards
for “Flow Cytometry for High Throughput Screening”
· Dept. of Pathology Regents’ Professor Larry Sklar
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering Associate Professor Andrea Mammoli
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering Associate Professor Peter Vorobieff
for “Wavy Interface Mixer”
· Dept. of Internal Medicine, Div. of Rheumatology Professor Terry Du Clos
Dept. of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology Professor Carolyn Mold
for “Use of C-Reactive Protein to Treat Immune Complex-Mediated Renal Disease
· Department of Pathology Professor Walter Kisiel
Dept. of Pathology Research Assistant Professor Hitendra Chand
for “Human Kunitz-Type Inhibitor with Enhanced Antifibrinolytic Activity”
· Dept. of Chemistry Emeritus/Visiting Professor Christie Enke for
“Distance of Flight Spectrometer for MS and Simultaneous Scanless MS/MS”
· Dept. of Chemical & Nuclear Engineering Regents’ Professor Gabriel Lopez
Dept. of Chemical & Nuclear Engineering Associate Professor Plamen Atanassov
for “Fabrication of Anisotropic Super Hydrophobic/Hydrophilic Nanoporous Membranes”
· Dept. of Chemical & Nuclear Engineering Regents’ Professor Gabriel Lopez
Center for Biomedical Engineering Research Scientist II Linnea Ista
Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering Distinguished Professor Steven Brueck
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. Student Anthony Garcia
Dept. of Chemical & Nuclear Engineering Assistant Professor Dimiter Petsev
for “Electrokinetic Molecular Separation in Nanoscale Fluidic Channels”
· Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering Distinguished Professor Steven Brueck
Center for High Tech Materials Senior Research Engineer Seung-Chang Lee
for “Fabrication of Optical-Quality Facets on a (001) Orientation Substrate by Selective Epitaxial Growth”
· Dept. of Physics & Astronomy Regents’ Professor Wolfgang Rudolph
Dept. of Physics & Astronomy Associate Professor James Thomas
for “Addressable Field Enhancement Microscopy”
· Dept of Electrical & Computer Engineering Research Professor Larry Dawson
Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering Research Associate Professor Diana Huffaker Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering Assistant Professor Ganesh Balakrishnan for ”Quantum Dots Nucleation Layer of Lattice Mismatched Epitaxy”
· Dept. of Chemistry Distinguished Professor Robert Paine for “Non-Aqueous Borate Aerosol Routes to Boron Nitride”
· Dept. of Chemical & Nuclear Engineering Research Professor Scott Sibbett
Department of Chemical & Nuclear Engineering Assistant Professor Dimiter Petsev for “Fabrication and Use of Semi-permeable Membranes and Gels for the Control of Electrolysis in a Microfluidic Device”
· Dept. of Mechanical Engineering Research Professor Jonathan Phillips for “Method for Producing Metal Oxide Nanoparticles”
· Dept. of Physics & Astronomy Emeritus Professor McAllister Hull for “Vision Enhancing Device”
Copyright awardees include...
· Dept. of Internal Medicine Professor Sanjeev Arora for “iHealth” and “Project ECHO”
· Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering Assistant Professor Pradeep Sen
Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering non-degree graduate student Justin Kellogg for “Missile Defender”
· Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering Assistant Professor Pradeep Sen
Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering Master’s student Jeremy Wright
Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering Ph.D. student Craig Vineyard for
“Buccaneer Bonanza!”
· Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering Assistant Professor Pradeep Sen
Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering Bachelor’s student John Harger for “Toybox Racing”
· Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering Assistant Professor Pradeep Sen
Dept. of Computer Science Master’s student Guanyu Wang for “XTank”
The Provost’s International Task Force holds its last meeting for the academic year on Tuesday, May 5, from 12 to 1:30 p.m., in the Roberts Room of Scholes Hall. Light refreshments will be served.
Governor Dieter Patt, Kreis Neuss, Germany; and his deputy Achim Thyssen represent UNM iniatives at Schloss Dyck. Patt will talk about his home county and the project of Schloss Dyck, including last year’s successful program there and pending programs for this year.
Patt and Thyssen have worked with UNM for over two decades, through various programs in European and German Studies, Fine Arts, Athletics and Economics – and in connection with the Latin American and Iberian Institute because of their strong ties to several Latin American countries, especially Mexico and Colombia.
Patt is an adjunct associate professor in the UNM Department of Foreign
Languages and Literatures. Several UNM administrators, faculty and
students have been guests in Neuss visiting the castle of Dyck, with its incredible gardens and moat. UNM groups have enjoyed the castle’s opportunities, especially since last year, when the Schloss Dyck project was
opened for UNM seminars from the School of Architecture and Planning, and College of Arts and Sciences’ departments of Economics, English, American Studies and History.
This year the field is wide open for every discipline, about which Patt will speak.
The castle, established more than half a millennium ago, is situated between the industrial cities of Cologne and Duesseldorf in one of Europe’s most affluent areas. Schloss Dyck is strategically located, making it an easy journey to many important European cities and regions – the BeNeLux countries, Paris, London, Scandinavia, Berlin and Vienna, to name a few.
Due to its dynamic economic development, the county of Neuss has become the home of many Europeans – Spaniards, Greeks and Turks, and is the center of several American enterprises, such as UPS and 3M. Its inland harbor is connected via the Rhine to Rotterdam and the North Sea – and it has the largest lignite/coal deposits in Germany, making it independent from foreign oil for its official power supply. Its infrastructure offers study facilities for any branch taught on the college and vocational level.
To attend, RSVP to katpad@unm.edu by Monday, May 4. For more information, contact Kathryn Padilla-Aguilar, Office of Institutional Research, 277-2613.
The University of New Mexico’s Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures hosts the 10th annual World Language Expo on Saturday, April 18, beginning at 9 a.m. in Ortega Hall.
Workshops, food and presentations from more than 50 different countries are scheduled to complement this year’s theme, “Open Your Mind to the World of Possibilities.”
Children and students from all over New Mexico can learn to tango Argentinean-style, watch a Middle Eastern belly dance, hear the ancient K’ichee-Mayan and Nahuatl languages and learn languages from all over the world, from Egyptian to Japanese to French.
Most activities are in Ortega Hall on the university’s main campus, but several outdoor activities, such as martial arts demonstration, chalk art competition and game of Péntanque, will take place near the Duck Pond.
Admission is $2 at the door. Everyone interested in learning about a variety of different cultures is encouraged to attend.
About the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures...
The programs in Foreign Languages and Literatures emphasize the development of language ability in a communicative and cultural context. The program encourages its students to gain a broader appreciation of culture and literature.
For more information, contact Marina Peters-Newell at (505) 277-4771 or via e-mail, mpnewell@unm.edu.
University Libraries will present a Faculty Acknowledgement Award to Susan Awe, associate professor and regent’s lecturer with the University Libraries on Thursday, April 16 at 3 p.m. in the Willard Room of Zimmerman Library. As part of the awards ceremony, Awe will give a short talk titled, “Stop Sleeping on Your Cash: Learning About Personal Finance and Investing.” The talks are a rare chance for both staff and faculty to hear from an acknowledged scholar and expert in the field.
Photo: Susan Awe
Awe is well versed in resources and information related to entrepreneurship and investment. She is currently working on a book aimed at helping small and medium-sized business owners enter into the international trade market. In addition, she published the “Entrepreneurs Information Sourcebook” for Greenwood Press in 2006.
Awe’s believes that many people lack an adequate understanding of personal finance, which, consequently, leads to increases in consumer debt and consumers investing blindly. She will be focusing on the skills necessary to make wise financial decisions, which include: 1) Understanding how money works, 2) Learning about investment strategies, and 3) Understanding the principles of financial planning.
I AM marketing agency looks to dispel myths of the Central Intelligence Agency
Inspire Anderson Marketing (I AM), a student-run marketing agency at the University of New Mexico’s Anderson School of Management is hosting two information sessions for those interested in a career with the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) National Clandestine Service (NCS). Both hour-long events, which are part of a class project, will be held on Tuesday, April 14 in the Isleta Conference Room at the UNM Student Union Building. The first session begins at 11 a.m. and will be followed by an afternoon session at 2 p.m. Seating is limited.
“The CIA is an exciting employer, providing more job security than other industries during these uncertain economic times,” says Karin Kase, Anderson School Career Services Manager. “The agency provides exceptional career opportunities, particularly through the NCS, for diverse and qualified applicants from a variety of educational backgrounds.”
Many of the myths about working for the CIA, such as never seeing one’s family again and engaging in high-speed car chases, have been reinforced over the years by Hollywood’s depiction of the agency. Using clips from several of the more popular CIA movies, agency representatives will lead a discussion at these information sessions in which they will dispel some of the more common myths. They will also present attendees with a realistic look into the life of a CIA Officer. Attendees will also have the opportunity to meet one on one with CIA representatives and collect literature and other promotional materials. The event is free and registration is not required. Refreshments will be provided.
The CIA’s National Clandestine Service provides vital information needed by U.S. policymakers, the military and law enforcement services to protect the national security interests of the American people. The CIA offers career opportunities for people with varied backgrounds and life experiences, language capabilities, and professional and educational histories.
Ideal candidates for NCS positions should have a strong record of academic and professional achievement, good writing skills, problem-solving abilities and highly developed interpersonal skills. For more information on CIA career opportunities, visit: The CIA.
For additional career information, job postings, and to apply, the public can visit: See Yourself CIA.
About the Central Intelligence Agency...
The Central Intelligence Agency’s mission is to support the President, the National Security Council and all officials who make and execute U.S. national security policy. This is accomplished by providing accurate, comprehensive and timely foreign intelligence on national security topics, and conducting counterintelligence activities, special activities and other functions related to foreign intelligence and national security, as directed by the President.
To accomplish its mission, the Central Intelligence Agency engages in research, development and deployment of high-leverage technology for intelligence purposes. The Central Intelligence Agency is an equal opportunity employer.
About Inspire Anderson Marketing (I AM)...
I AM is a fully functional student-run marketing communications agency established at the University of New Mexico’s Anderson Schools of Management with the purpose of developing, implementing, and evaluating peer-to-peer integrated marketing communications campaigns. I AM provides students with experiential learning opportunities that will help them gain experience for their future marketing careers.
The agency is supported by the UNM Anderson School of Management, EdVenture Partners, and its clients. The agency is housed in the recently opened Student Marketing Center, a state-of-the-art facility that serves as a lab, studio, and collaborative learning space. For more information, e-mail iamprteam@gmail.com.
Steve McKee, president, McKee Wallwork Cleveland, will present “When Growth Stalls,” a lively presentation based on his new book “When Growth Stalls: How It Happens, Why You’re Stuck & What To Do About It,” on April 20 at 7 p.m. in the Paul R. Jackson Student Center (next to Parish Library) at the UNM Anderson School of Management. The event is free and open to the public.
Photo: Steve McKee
McKee's presentation is compelling, dynamic and truly timely. He shares vital insights into how companies lose their way, and exposes the destructive (and often hidden) internal dynamics that hinder successful turnarounds. The presentation will be followed by a reception and book signing. The UNM Bookstore will have copies of the book available for purchase on-site.
McKee has a unique understanding of what happens when growth stalls. Over the past six years, his firm has conducted significant research among some 700 corporations, many of which had at one time been among the United States’ fastest-growing companies. In his presentation, McKee presents compelling knowledge about how and why companies lose their way, and offers practical advice about how they can rekindle growth.
McKee demonstrates how sluggish growth is generally produced not by mismanagement or strategic blundering, but by natural market forces and internal management dynamics that often go unrecognized. He presents seven characteristics that commonly correlate with stalled growth, beginning with external forces to which countless companies have been caught off guard: economic upheavals, changing industry dynamics, and increased competition. More surprising are four subtle and highly destructive internal factors McKee has identified that conspire to keep companies down: lack of consensus among the management team, loss of nerve, loss of focus, and marketing inconsistency.
McKee is the president and co-founder of McKee Wallwork Cleveland, a full service marketing communications firm that has twice been awarded the American Marketing Association’s EFFIE Award, one of the industry’s highest honors. He graduated from the UNM Anderson School of Management in 1985 with a degree in marketing.
McKee has been published or quoted in The New York Times, USA Today, Advertising Age, Adweek, Investor’s Business Daily and The Los Angeles Times, as well as in dozens of regional and local newspapers and magazines throughout the U.S. He has appeared on CNBC, ESPN2, CNNfn, Bloomberg radio and network television affiliates in more than two dozen cities across America.
Paid parking is available at metered spaces on the main campus or at the Cornell Parking Garage located just across from the UNM Bookstore near the corner of Central Avenue and Stanford Drive.
The event is sponsored by the UNM Anderson School of Management and the UNM Chapter of the American Marketing Association.
For more information, call (505) 277-1263.
A series of poetry readings will be held at the UNM Bookstore as part of Poetry Month. Several local poets will be featured beginning Wednesday, April 15 with the Lobo Slam Team delivering dynamic readings. On Wednesday, April 22, Jason Yurcic will be featured while Marianne Aweagon Broyles on Wednesday, April 29. All events begin at noon at the UNM Bookstore.
Jason Yurcic, author of Odes to Anger, a new collection of poems, will be at the UNM Bookstore on Wednesday, April 22 at noon for a poetry reading and book signing. Yurcic, the son of a murdered father and addict mother, fights through the pain and disappointment of his life through his poetry.
Yurcic spent his youth at his grandfather’s junkyard in Albuquerque. Overcoming a threatened 16-year jail sentence and a life of gangbanging and drugs, Yurcic, a former professional boxer and now a poet, conducts odes to closed minds, society, change, inflation, culture, and language and meditations to his life-long love—breath.
Yurcic, born in Santa Fe, is the author of Voice of My Heart and Word Son. He works with fellow New Mexico poet Jimmy Santiago Baca to bring writing workshops to prisons, juvenile detention centers and schools for at-risk youth.
***
Marianne Aweagon Broyles will be at the UNM Bookstore on Wednesday, April 29 at noon for a poetry reading and book signing In her first book of poetry, The Red Window. Broyles explores the origins and painful consequences of the outsider experience, whether it be the oppression of Native American and other peoples or the enslavement caused by mental illness. But Broyles also finds—deep in the wounds—a resilience and fight for survival.
Broyles, an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, lives in Rio Rancho, N.M., and works as a psychiatric nurse in Albuquerque. The Red Window is her first book.
***
The UNM Bookstore is located at 2301 Central Ave. NE at the intersection of Cornell and Central. Parking will be validated in the parking structure for up to one hour with purchase. Xall Lisa Walden at (505) 277-7494 for more information regarding any of these events.
Nancy Morrison and Sally Severino will be at the UNM Bookstore on Thursday, April 30 at 2 p.m. to discuss and sign copies of 'Sacred Desire.' The UNM Bookstore is located at 2301 Central Ave. NE at the intersection of Cornell and Central.
In their new book Sacred Desire: Growing in Compassionate Living, psychiatrists Nancy Morrison and Sally Severino, draw on neurophysiology, relationship studies, research on spiritual development, and psychotherapy to show how spirituality is intimately connected with the physical being. The authors offer clinical examples on how recognizing Sacred Desire can advance a person's healing. They provide an action plan for using Desire to move from fear to love of self, others and all creation.
Morrison and Severino draw upon cutting edge research including the recent discovery of brain "mirror neurons" and the elucidation of the physiology of social affiliation and attachment to make a bold case that we are, in fact, biologically wired to seek oneness with the divine. They have termed this innate urge "sacred Desire."
In addition to psychiatrists and neurophysiologists, Sacred Desire will appeal as well to the much wider audience of spiritual seekers looking for intellectually and scientifically credible ways to understand spirituality in today's world.
Morrison is associate professor of psychiatry and Severino is professor emeritus of psychiatry at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. They lead retreats and workshops based on their collaborative work, described at Neuro Spirit.
Parking will be validated in the parking structure for up to one hour with purchase. Please call Lisa Walden at 505-277-7494 for more information.
Public Art is the focus of a visiting speakers session Wednesday, April 8 from 5:15 – 7:30 p.m. in George Pearl Hall on the University of New Mexico campus. The event, sponsored by the UNM School of Architecture and Planning and the City of Albuquerque Public Art program, features four half-hour presentations followed by a brief opportunity for Q&A on the speakers’ perspectives on public art.
5:30 – 6 p.m. Jack Becker, founder and executive director of Forecast Public Art and publisher of Public Art Review magazine
6 – 6:30 p.m. Joni M. Palmer, doctoral candidate at CU Boulder, Department of Geography. Her dissertation, “The Politics ‘the public’: Public Art, Urban Regeneration and the Postindustrial City – the Case of Downtown Denver.” Palmer is also a public art master planning consultant for the City of Albuquerque.
6:30 – 7 p.m. Erica Behrens, associate representative/USA Franz Mayer of Munich, Inc. Former program manager for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Arts for Transit program, commissioning contemporary artists for integrated permanent projects in New York City’s subway and rail system.
7 – 7:30 p.m. Bill Gilbert, professor and Lannan Chair in the UNM Department of Art and Art History. He directs the place-based, field program, “Land Arts of the American West;” and Suzanne Sbarge, executive director of 516 ARTS, coordinator of LAND/ART, a collaborative exploration of land-based art in New Mexico with events and exhibitions June-Nov. 2009.
The annual International Festival is set for Thursday, April 16 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Cornell Mall. Hosted by the Office of International Programs and Studies, the International Festival is a mix of all cultures in the UNM community, said Alyssa Rivera, activities coordinator, OIPS.
Dance and musical performances are scheduled during the lunch hour, with representation from every continent. The festival also includes international food, crafts, country presentations and more.
“This festival has been very popular in the past, and has enjoyed record attendance from UNM students, students from local primary and secondary schools, international universities, and many community members,” Rivera said.
The committee has worked to make this year’s festival the best by including a broader range of cultures than ever before.
For more information, call Rivera at OIPS, 277-4032.
The Science & Society Distinguished Public Talks series presents 'Trends in Solar Energy and Solar Photovoltaics' with Betty Prince on Thursday, April 9 at 5 p.m. in rm. G of the UNM Conference Center located at 1634 University Blvd. N.E. A meet and greet will also be held prior to the talk at 4:30 p.m. The lecture is free and open to the public. Plenty of parking is available.
The presentation will include: an overview of the solar market; solar power plants being built worldwide with focus on their technology and financing; Overview of photovoltaics and solar polysilicon suppliers worldwide; trends and techniques for improving efficiency and reducing costs of solar cells; thin film solar technologies—CIGS, flexible substrates, silicon ink, organic dye sensitized, and emerging solar technologies – polymer, nano-crystal, nano-rods, nano-tubes, and other.
Prince is the CEO of New Energy Strategies International. She has 35 years experience in the semiconductor industry with Texas Instruments, N.V. Philips, Motorola, R.C.A., and Fairchild in various engineering and management positions. She is author of several technical books in the semiconductor area and numerous technical papers.
Prince is a Senior Member of IEEE, and IEEE SSCS Distinguished Lecturer on Solar Technology, served on the Technical Advisory Board of IEEE Spectrum magazine and several companies including: Cavendish Kinetics, Emerging Memory Technologies and Silicon Access Networks; she was a Director of Mosaid Technologies for many years. She holds patents in the memory, processor and interface areas.
Co-sponsored by Albuquerque Section of the Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers (IEEE), Sigma Xi (the Scientific Research Society), the Department of Physics & Astronomy, College of Arts & Sciences, University Honors Program, and the Division of Continuing Education.
According to the American Cancer Society, “If Americans ate a healthy, balanced diet emphasizing the vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and beans that help maintain a healthful weight, as many as one-third of all cancer deaths in the United States could be prevented.”
In the “Reducing Cancer Risk with Proper Nutrition” presentation, Shelley Rael, Sr. Clinical Nutritionist with Employee Health Promotion Program (EHPP) will discuss nutrition and lifestyle factors that affect our risk for several types of cancer. The class is on Wednesday, April 8 from 12 to 1 p.m. in rm. 1018 at the UNM Business Center.
All faculty and staff are invited to attend. Please register via Learning Central at: https://learningcentral.health.unm.edu/plateau/user/login.jsp. Login and click on Catalog - Health Education (EHPP). Click on “Register” and “Confirm” to enroll in the class. You are welcome to bring your lunch.
For more information, contact Shelley Rael at 272-3989 or shelrael@unm.edu.
On April 3, 11 teams and more than 30 students participated in the fourth annual UNM Technology Business Plan Competition. The overall winner of the Michael Gallegos Prize for Entrpreneurship and the top prize of $25,000 was MicroHound. EcoVerde and Jacques Hung Loui (Executive MBA) took second place and the TVC Lockheed Martin prize of $10,000, while BrackisH2O was the third place winner claiming the $5,000 vSpring Capital prize.
Students from the Anderson School, the School of Engineering, the Law School, the School of Medicine, the College of Fine Arts, the College of Education, and the School of Architecture & Planning presented their work to judging panels composed of venture capitalists, bankers, attorneys, accountants, technologists, and successful entrepreneurs. Participants were undergraduates, master’s students, doctoral candidates, and international students.
UNM President David Schmidly delivered the evening’s keynote address, conveying his belief that businesses based on technological innovations are what will lead our state and our country through the current economic challenges. For more information visit: Technology Business Plan Competition.
The MicroHound was developed by Sandia National Labs as a fast, handheld explosives detection system capable of detecting vapor and particulate without invasive sampling. MicroHound also received $1,500 in legal services from Perry Bendicksen, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. Team members include Robert Virden (MBA Management of Technology/MOT), J.B. Tuttle (MBA Management of Technology/MOT), and Ryan Olcott (MBA Management of Technology/MOT)
Eco-Verde owns and operates Eco-Jardin, a high-tech hydroponic and organic indoor production and retail facility centered in a planned community; we strive to promote a healthy lifestyle and green environment through our superior brand of quality micro-organic products and services to meet the needs of the fragmented emerging social-organic market.
BrackisH2O created an eco-friendly antiscalant for the desalination of brackish water in the Southwest. Team members included Dorian McKenzie (BBA Entrepreneurial Studies), Kameron Kramer (JD), Stephanie Fletcher (MACCT), and Robert Randolph (BBA Marketing).
Additional Finalist Teams:
Venture Catalyst, LLC
Neill Benton (JD), James Burns (MBA/JD dual degree), Matthew C. Sanchez (JD) - Solar power technology using organic carbon nanotubes
and
White Tiger Factory
Renee Johnson (BBA International Management), Alexandra Owens (BAFA Studio Art), Amanda Solosky (BBA International Management) - White Tiger Factory is an independent video game development company devoted to creating innovative games that appeal to a wide variety of people.
Sponsors of the Competition
The UNM Technology Business Plan Competition would like to thank the following sponsors:
· American Property Management Corporation – APMC and Michael Gallegos for the Michael Gallegos Prize for Entrepreneurship, 1st Place, $25,000
· Technology Ventures Corporation – TVC, Lockheed Martin, and Sherman McCorkle for the TVC Lockheed Martin Prize, 2nd Place, $10,000
· vSpring Capital for the vSpring Capital Prize, 3rd Place, $5,000, and for $50,000-$100,000 in potential seed funding
· The NM Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development – WIRED - Initiative, for Operational Support
· Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, Awards Banquet Sponsor
· Bank of the West, Awards Banquet Sponsor
· New Mexico Venture Capital Association, Awards Reception Sponsor
· EPIC Ventures, Competition Day Lunch Sponsor
· Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Legal Services donor for the winning team
· Flywheel Ventures, at least $10,000 potential seed funding
The University of New Mexico’s Harwood Museum of Art in Taos and the Harwood Museum Alliance present a benefit concert and champagne reception on Sunday, April 26, 5:30 p.m. All proceeds benefit Harwood Museum of Art programs. Opera soprano Tina Sandoval and tenor Mark Jackson will present their sixth concert at the Harwood with pianist Kathleen Mills.
Continuing with their love of opera and classical voice, their concert “Tonight, Tonight…” features a romantic evening of opera arias and duets from Bernstein’s “Candide,” Verdi’s “Aida” and “Simon Boccanegra,” Dvořák’s “Rusalka,” Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin,” and songs by Heitor Villa-Lobos.
A life-long singer and pianist, Sandoval has a diverse background in music. Her formal training includes degrees in voice performance and a Masters in Vocal Arts Education from Northwestern University School of Music and Lewis and Clark College. She performed as principal soloist with the Chicago Symphony Chorus and Portland Symphonic Choir. Sandoval is soloist with various ensembles in Taos including the Taos Community Chorus. She is also an accomplished jazz vocalist, has written and performed her own contemporary compositions and is an acclaimed recording artist, composer and songwriter. She is a voice instructor with UNM-Taos and teaches private voice at her Taos Institute of Vocal Arts Studio (TIVA) which she shares with Jackson.
Jackson has sung with the Taos Chamber Music Group at the Harwood and is a soloist with the Taos Community Chorus. He is teaches vocal performance and acting for the singer at UNM-Taos and private voice at TIVA. His formal training was at Boston Conservatory. He has performed worldwide, including Pakistan, Mozambique, South Africa, Brazil and Switzerland. He sang with many opera companies in the United States, including the New York City Opera, Boston Opera Company, Boston Lyric Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Kansas City Opera, Central City Opera, Mid West Opera Theater and Minnesota Opera.
After many years as professor of music and gender studies at Washington College in Chestertown, Md., Mills moved with her husband to Taos in 1999. She has performed with the Taos Chamber Music Group, Taos Chamber Singers, Opera Tazza and Taos Community Orchestra and Chorus, among others. She holds degrees from Cornell and Smith Colleges and Northwestern University in piano, music education and music history, where her piano gurus were Julian Bern, George Walker and Gui Mombaerts.
The Harwood Museum Alliance has also designed three raffle prize baskets worth $350-$500: a health basket with certificates for massages, pedicures, manicures as well as health and beauty items, a gourmet basket with chocolates, coffee and food, and a tech/music basket with a complete iPod unit. The raffle will be drawn during concert and winners need to be present. Raffle tickets will be available in museum shop prior to the concert and will be sold during the event.
Concert tickets are $25 for Harwood Alliance members and the UNM community and $35 for nonmembers and are available in the museum shop two weeks before the event. For more information call (575) 758-9826 ext. 105 or visit Harwood Museum.
The UNM Harwood Museum of Art is located at 238 Ledoux Street, Taos. Hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, 12 p.m.-5 p.m.
Media Contact: Lucy Perera-Adams, (575) 758-9826, lperera@aol.com
The Jonson Gallery presents the 15th annual Juried Graduate Exhibition: “Bitter Sweet.” The show runs through May 8. The opening reception is on Friday, April 3, 5 -7 p.m. The 2009 Juried Graduate Exhibition marks a bittersweet moment; it is the last annual juried graduate exhibition that will be on display at the original Jonson Gallery space, yet it also marks a new beginning for the gallery at its future home within the UNM Art Museum.
“Bitter Sweet” also reflects the tension or paradox that resides in much of the artwork included in the exhibition. Representing a broad spectrum of work, this exhibition is just a taste of the creative output produced by students who savor complexity in a world that prefers to keep its bitter and its sweet in separate, airtight canisters.
The exhibition was curated by Laura Addison, curator of Contemporary Art at the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe.
The Jonson Gallery is located on UNM’s main campus at 1909 Las Lomas NE. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and by appointment. Parking and admission is free. Call (505) 277-4967, e-mail jonsong@unm.edu, or visit Jonson Gallery.
It began with an idea to bring classically-trained artists and authors into a community-based open art studio that serves people experiencing homelessness. This artistic endeavor – organized by three local nonprofit organizations – blended visual art, the written word and printmaking while working to break down the barriers between housed and non-housed artists. The second of two exhibits in “Synergy: Word+Visual Art+Printmaking” opens at UNM’s Tamarind Institute on Friday, April 17, with a reception 5:30-7 p.m., and continues through Friday, April 24.
The collaborative project, funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, assembled a team of writers from Harwood Art Center, printmakers from Tamarind Institute, and artists from ArtStreet – a community art studio program of Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless – who worked to define, develop and document the process of providing a formal technical grounding for artists in the homeless community who lack access to the arts and artistic instruction. Nearly 85 percent of artists who enter ArtStreet are experiencing homelessness and have limited access to the arts.
During the first three-months of the project period, a total of 45 artists participated in twelve workshops. Nationally recognized local artists Augustine Romero and Leo Neufeld and acclaimed local writer Manuel Gonzalez led workshops on topics including painting, line drawing and poetry. They worked together to help participants pull images from their writing, as well as create words out of their visual art.
The workshops ended in a printmaking experience at Tamarind Institute. Each participant made an individual lithograph and worked on group prints. For artists experiencing homelessness, the opportunity to create a lithograph at a world-renowned institute was something they would otherwise likely never experience.
All proceeds from art sales benefit the artists. The Tamarind Institute gallery is open to the public Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission free.
For more information, contact Dawne Bell at (505) 766-1177 or DawneBell@abqhch.org.
“Happening Now,” with Jon Scott and Jane Skinner on the FOX News Channel (FNC) featured a peer-to-peer marketing campaign for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) created by marketing students at UNM’s Anderson School of Management. The program aired on March 31. FNC is the most watched cable news channel in the nation and is available in over 90 million homes.
The segment, “Spying 101,” included an interview with Chris Hodge, a senior marketing student, and presented ads produced by the students for the campaign.
UNM is one of only three universities in the nation to be selected by the CIA and EdVenture Partners to participate in the CIA Collegiate Marketing Program. As part of this semester-long program, students formed their own marketing agency, Inspire Anderson Marketing (I AM). The agency is developing, implementing, and measuring a comprehensive marketing campaign for the CIA. The objective of this campaign is to increase awareness of CIA career opportunities, with a focus on filling the recruitment pipeline for the CIA’s National Clandestine Service.
“Management classes that offer real-world experiences, such as advertising campaigns, are crucial in providing students with the hard and soft skills needed to be successful in a business career,” says John Benavidez, marketing professor. “These transformational experiences give our graduates an advantage in the highly-competitive job market.”
Students who enthusiastically embrace the program have ample opportunity to polish their existing skills while also applying their academic background to the real world. Specifically, the CIA Collegiate Marketing Program gives them the opportunity to develop real experience with market research, marketing strategy and campaign design, advertising, public relations and campaign assessment. The curriculum also enables students to gain hands-on experience that can translate into many different career paths including organizational leadership, marketing communications, client relations, business writing, project management and more.
For more information, the public can visit: See Yourself CIA. To view the segment about the campaign, go to Fox News Campaign Segment.
About Inspire Anderson Marketing (I AM)...
I AM is a fully functional student-run marketing communications agency established at the University of New Mexico’s Anderson Schools of Management with the purpose of developing, implementing, and evaluating peer-to-peer integrated marketing communications campaigns. I AM provides students with experiential learning opportunities that will help them gain experience for their future marketing careers. The agency is supported by the UNM Anderson School of Management, EdVenture Partners, and its clients. The agency is housed in the recently opened Student Marketing Center, a state-of-the-art facility that serves as a lab, studio, and collaborative learning space. For more information, e-mail iamprteam@gmail.com.
About the Central Intelligence Agency...
The Central Intelligence Agency’s mission is to support the President, the National Security Council and all officials who make and execute U.S. national security policy. This is accomplished by providing accurate, comprehensive and timely foreign intelligence on national security topics, and conducting counterintelligence activities, special activities and other functions related to foreign intelligence and national security, as directed by the President. To accomplish its mission, the Central Intelligence Agency engages in research, development and deployment of high-leverage technology for intelligence purposes. The Central Intelligence Agency is an equal opportunity employer.
About EdVenture Partners...
Founded in 1990, Orinda, California based EdVenture Partners (EVP) is an organization dedicated to providing innovative industry-education partnerships between students, educators and major organizations. EVP is the only marketing education consultancy in the United States that brings together educators, students, clients and their channel partners for mutual collaboration and benefit. All EdVenture Partners designed programs provide the opportunity for students to apply academic theory to real-world situations, thereby leveraging student minds in addressing client goals and objectives. For more information, visit Ed Venture Partners.
Two teams of senior students from the Department of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering will represent UNM at the Waste Environment Research Consortium (WERC) Environmental Design Competition in Las Cruces this week. The students will face 31 teams from 21 colleges and universities throughout the United States and Canada.
Photo: UNM students Norma Wells and Shelly Karlin.
Student teams were allowed to choose a project from a predetermined list of environmental problems facing industry and government. Cynthia Douthit, Marta Cooperstein, Anne Helleburst and Jonathan Paiz have researched, designed, cost analyzed and built a bench demonstration project for a water pretreatment system that could be used in Tularosa, New Mexico.
Toi Carden, Shelly Karlin, Danielle Rivera and Norma Wells cooperated on a project to remove sulfate from groundwater associated with certain types of mining. That competition project is sponsored by Sandia National Laboratories.
The teams have been working on the projects since November and are able to participate as part of their capstone senior year design course, which is taught by the department chair, Tim L. Ward.
The students have also been assisted with the project by Eric Carnes, a faculty advisor and lecturer in the department. Geoff Courtin, a research engineer, estimates the students each have more than 100 hours of work invested in the projects, which include a paper, a poster and the actual bench-scale demonstration. Courtin says, “It brings together elements they have learned in various classes and helps them use it in a practical way.”
The students agree. As they put together the projects, they worked with the Mechanical Engineering Department to actually construct some elements of the bench demonstration. They worked with local attorneys to make sure the projects meet state and federal environmental regulations and with UNM Safety and Risk Services to make sure projects could meet federal OSHA regulations.
The students also had to determine what kind of personnel training would be required if the projects were actually built.
They also have to prove their projects would be cost effective, and they had to consider what would happen to the waste products. Since the students are about to graduate, they say this competition is giving them a taste of what they will have to do when they are hired by engineering firms.
Courtin says several engineering firms also have an eye on the students in the competition. He’s already received calls asking for the resumes of the students who are involved.
The Mind Research Network (MRN) has announced a $10,000 donation to the Domenici Discovery Fund by the Clark L. Tanner Foundation. The Clark L. Tanner Foundation is based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The organization is dedicated to supporting institutions that result in improved outcomes for the individuals and families suffering from schizophrenia.
“This contribution helps drive the research that already is finding better ways to diagnose and treat mental illness and other brain disorders, “said MRN President Dr. John Rasure. “We are especially proud of the Tanner Foundation family’s confidence in the MRN research we believe will dramatically impact clinical treatment for mental illness. The Tanner Foundation propels the next decade of breakthroughs thanks to the Domenici Discovery Fund."
The Domenici Discovery Fund is named in honor of retired U.S. Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM). Domenici founded MRN eleven years ago, and continues his passionate work to bring hope and peace of mind to the individuals and families who live every day with mental illness, brain disease and brain injury. Senator Domenici and MRN announced earlier this year research that will help clinicians better differentiate between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Media Contacts: Dolores González, Director of External Affairs
505/925-4747; cell 505/259-9736
Lisa Breeden, Director, Development
505/272-5028; cell 505/681/7110
The School of Architecture and Planning presents a symposium, “The Benefits of Green Design,” Thursday – Saturday, April 9-11 at George Pearl Hall.
Kicking off the event is David Orr presenting, “Aldo Leopold: Albuquerque’s First Environmental Planner,” in the auditorium at 2 p.m.
On Friday, April 10 at 5 p.m. in the auditorium Thomas Kubala presents “The Aldo Leopold Center: Highest LEED-rated Building.”
The symposium on Leopold’s Environmental Planning Contributions begins with a welcome from the school’s dean, Roger Schluntz, at 9 a.m. and continues until 4 p.m.
** 9:15-10:30 a.m. the focus is on Building Green Cities: the Way to a Sustainable Future, with: Matt Schmader, director, Albuquerque Open Space Program, presenting, “Aldo Leopold: Albuquerque’s First Environmental Planner, the Benefits of Albuquerque’s Open Space Program;” and Kent Brierle, Environmental Dynamics Eco-Office; Erin Murphy and Amy Coplen: Eco-footprinting at Sandia Laboratory
** 10:45 a.m. to noon will be a panel discussion the benefits of green design
** 1:15-2:30 p.m. student presentations on sustainable design are featured
** 2:45- 3:30 p.m. features, “Benefits of Building Green Cities: What’s a Green City Worth? with Kim Hooker, US Green Building Council: Sigler Office/Warehouse; Ted Owens, Building Residences With Environmental Awareness; and Bill Fleming, Economic Benefits of UNM Green Space
** 3:30-4 p.m. is a concluding panel discussion on the economics of green design
The event is supported by: New Mexico/US Green Building Council; Build Green New Mexico; Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce; New Mexico Chapter of the American Planning Association; UNM Sustainability Studies Program; Kubala Washatko Architects; Dekker/ Parich/ Sabatini Architects; and the NMAPA Student Chapter and Community and Regional Planning.
Assistant Professor of Anthropology Keith Prufer has to carefully schedule his spring workload so he can get to Belize and complete preparations for his excavations in Uxbenká, the remains of a small city in one of the most rural areas in the country. UNM graduate and undergraduate students and students from four other participating universities will join him at the end of spring semester.
Prufer says Uxbenká was part of the Mayan civilization and held 10,000 to 12,000 people in a small but flourishing city until the tenth century; when the Mayans suddenly left, and didn’t return in significant numbers for more than 500 years. He wants to know why. So he and his students go to Belize every summer as they search for answers
Today only a few hundred people live in a small Mopan Maya village near the ruins. They are all farmers he says and there are no jobs or employment opportunities. There is no electricity. Prufer will oversee excavation at the ruin and at a small nearby religious shrine. They want to know why the Mayans felt they needed to move out of the area. “It was possibly some kind of internal political failure that caused people to just want to pack up and walk away, “he says. “It’s a very lush area, so even if there was a significant drop in rainfall, people would have been able to survive, but they just chose to move on.”
UNM, the University of Oregon, Florida Southern University, the University of California-Davis and the University of Southern California are all working together on a grant from the National Science Foundation to explore the site and write about their findings. In addition the Alphawood Foundation in Chicago has given UNM $54,000 to support the investigation into the excavation of the site at Uxbenká and a foundational cave-shrine complex located on a high cliff overlooking the ancient city.
Prufer, who has been excavating at the site since 2004, says it will be a busy summer for his students. Three undergraduate students are working on honors theses, and three doctoral students will be researching specific problems. There will also be students from the other participating universities on the site. He expects the first papers about the research at the excavation to begin appearing in professional journals near the end of the year.
The second part of a four-part series on renewable energy technologies and practices by the “New Mexico in Focus” staff will examine the important potential of solar power in New Mexico’s renewable energy future. This episode of “New Mexico in Focus” will air on KNME-TV, channel 5 on Friday, April 3 at 7 p.m. and repeat on Sunday, April 5 at 6:30 a.m.
Sacred Power is a solar energy company with a purpose: to make sure the Navajo Nation is not left out of the renewable energy discussion. Based in Albuquerque, the company produces solar generators that can be used to power entire reservation homes with nothing but the power of the sun. “New Mexico in Focus” follows Sacred Power as they deliver and install one of these solar generators and talk to the grateful home owners.
Producers of ‘New Mexico In Focus’ are Kevin McDonald and Kathy Wimmer. Closed captioning has been made possible by a gift from Mrs. Elspeth G. Bobbs.
Four people connected with UNM’s College of Fine Arts were recently honored with the 25th annual Arts Alliance Bravos Awards, recognizing the best in Albuquerque arts and culture.
Susan Kempter, string pedagogy director, was recognized for Excellence in Music. Kempter is an influential expert in violin instruction. Her publications, “Between Parent and Teacher: A Teacher’s Guide to Parent Education,” “How Muscles Learn: Teaching the Violin with the Body in which Mind” and “Musical Activities for Preschool Children,” are used by string teachers across the country. Her most recent book, “How Muscles Learn,” is being translated into Korean, Japanese and Spanish. At UNM, she founded the string pedagogy program and the UNM Lab School, a teaching lab for UNM pedagogy students and string education to children throughout the Albuquerque community.
Alumnus Leonard Madrid received an award for Excellence in Theatre. Madrid’s nominators wrote of his “outstanding contribution to excellence in the theater arts” through his development of new programs, playwriting, production and volunteerism. He won the National Latino Playwriting Award three consecutive years as part of the National College Theater Festival at the Kennedy Center.
At UNM, Madrid helped to produce the Words Afire! Festival and reached out to students through an innovative theater festival for high schoolers. He also mentors young people with an interest in the field. Madrid, who acts and is part of the Blackout Theater Group in addition to having written nearly two dozen plays, received his M.F.A. in dramatic writing last spring.
The UNM Music Prep School was recognized for Excellence in Arts Education. Through the Music Prep School, UNM faculty and music education students teach music classes to children from birth through 8th grade. Administered since its beginning by Diane Bonnell, its instructors are certified music teachers who help students learn a wide range of musical skills including general music, piano, marimba, drums, guitar, Suzuki violin and choral music. Donor-sponsored tuition support has always been available for qualified students, ensuring a diverse student population and affordable rates.
Families participate with babies and toddlers, demonstrating the program’s emphasis on early music training aimed at creating a lifelong appreciation for music. In collaboration with the Department of Music, the program creates professional training opportunities for faculty, students and music teachers. More than 560 students are enrolled this semester.
College of Fine Arts Dean Christopher Mead received the President’s Award. Mead is a historian, teacher, administrator and community volunteer. Working with representatives from local nonprofits, educational institutions, businesses and government, he retained the UNM Bureau of Business and Economic Research to produce a report in 2006 on the economic importance of the arts and cultural industries in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. As a result of this report, Mead joined a leadership team that is developing the basis for an Arts & Cultural Industries Action Plan for the Mid Rio Grande Region.
A professor at UNM since 1980, he is a presidential teaching fellow with a joint faculty appointment in the School of Architecture and Planning and the College of Fine Arts. A past president of the Society of Architectural Historians, he has written and lectured widely on European and American architecture and urbanism, including on New Mexican architects Bart Prince and Antoine Predock.
As Dean of the College of Fine Arts from 2004-09, Mead helped to establish a new Interdisciplinary Film and Digital Media Program. He has served locally on the boards of the Arts Alliance, the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, the Albuquerque Youth Symphony, the Robb Musical Trust and 516 Arts.
Winners will be honored at the Bravos Awards banquet on Saturday, April 18, at the Embassy Suites Hotel beginning at 6 p.m. Tickets are $85 each, or $850 for a table of 10. For reservations, call the Arts Alliance at (505) 268-1920. Proceeds from the event’s silent auction benefit the Arts Alliance, which provides programs, services, advocacy and recognition for Albuquerque’s arts.
Faculty and students in the Department of Theatre and Dance and Department of Music brought their talents to the national stage in several recent events.
Mark Scott, graduate student in the Department of Music, was a first place winner in the National Trombone Competition. Participants submitted a recording from which semi-finalists were selected and invited to the Eastern Trombone Workshop in Washington, D.C., where they performed before a distinguished panel of international judges.
Zoi Chavez, a student of music faculty Jacque Zander-Wall, took first place in the Music Teachers National Association Senior Voice Competition.
Elaine Avila, theatre associate professor, premiered “Naked Singularity,” a piece about black holes and animal bridegrooms, at Richard Foreman’s Ontological-Hysterical Theater in New York City in March. She also published an article in the Canadian Theatre Review about her collaboration with award-winning writer Paul Yee, Pangaea Arts and Cantonese Opera performers.
Maxine Thévenot, associate organist and choir director, recently released a new CD, “L’Orgue Magnifique.” The album, recorded last in Philadelphia on the 1933 Skinner organ at Girard College Chapel, includes work by John Burge, Jeanne Landry, Martin Stacey and Louis Vierne.
Sunday, April 19, is the last day to see the UNM Art Museum’s exhibitions before the museum closes for renovations. The temporary loss to art lovers will bring a big long term gain, adding 8,000 square feet of gallery space, an updated Print Study Room, storage space and administrative offices.
Current exhibits showcase the museum’s permanent collection. They are:
· “Abstract Terrains: Select Paintings ca. 1924-1998,” which addresses the art of painting as it has functioned to plot, mark and cover the surface of the canvas or board as a tract of space defined by the artist’s touch, as if creating aesthetic topographies not unlike the mapping of unknown landscapes both celestial and terrestrial. Among the 24 paintings on view are works by Agnes Martin, Georgia O’Keeffe, Richard Diebenkorn, Raymond Jonson, Garo Antreasian, Clinton Adams, Milton Resnick and Beatrice Mandelman.
· “From the Other Side of the Lens,” portraits of some of the most well known photographers in the history of photography. The portraits provide a glimpse of the character and appearance of these photographers from the other side of the lens. The exhibition includes portraits of Lady Elizabeth Eastlake, Beaumont Newhall, Edward Weston, Paul Strand, Edward Steichen, Alfred Stieglitz, Jerry Uelsmann and Anne Noggle.
· “We the People,” an exhibit celebrating Article 2 of the United States Constitution, which provides for the election of a president and vice president every four years, and subsequent amendments ensuring that all citizens 18 years of age and older, regardless of race, color or gender, have the right to vote.
The UNM Art Museum is located at the Center for the Arts. For more information call (505) 277-6773 or visit: UNM Art Museum.
The University of New Mexico presents, 'When is a Fairy-story a Faërie Story?,' a public lecture by Verlyn Flieger, University of Maryland Department of English, Thursday, April 9 at 7 p.m. in George Pearl Hall, Cornell and Central NE.
Tolkien’s essay “On Fairy-stories” in both its published and draft versions shows his developing thought about the nature of Faërie and its relationship to both the Secondary and Primary Worlds. Flieger's talk will trace the trajectory of his concept from first jottings to final publication.
Flieger is a specialist in comparative mythology and a widely recognized Tolkien scholar, whose work has been recognized by numerous awards. Her books include Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World, A Question of Time: J.R.R. Tolkien's Road to Faërie, and Interrupted Music: The Making of Tolkien's Mythology, as well as a recent new critical edition of “On Fairy-stories.”
Flieger has been a guest of honor and featured speaker at numerous Tolkien conferences, contributed essays to several important collections of Tolkien scholarship, and is co-editor of Tolkien Studies, the only scholarly journal devoted to the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.
For more information on Flieger, visit www.mythus.com.
The lecture is sponsored by: Associated Students of the University of New Mexico (ASUNM), Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA), Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, Department of English, Institute for Medieval Studies, University Honors Program, International Studies Institute, English Medieval Studies Program, and Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures.
The Anderson School of Management will host the 4th Annual UNM Technology Business Plan Competition on Friday, April 3. More than $40,000 in prize money will be awarded to students looking to form their own high-tech startup firms.
These awards are the Michael Gallegos Prize for Entrepreneurship ($25,000), the TVC Lockheed Martin Prize ($10,000), and the vSpring Capital Prize ($5,000). Venture capital partners have also offered more than $100,000 in potential seed funding as incentives for the teams.
The goal of the competition remains steady: to have increased deal flow in NM, to nurture the creation of active technology startup firms, by encouraging ever more entrepreneurial students in the sciences, the arts, law, engineering, and medicine to collaborate with business students and build strong teams that not only can compete but more importantly start viable businesses. These firms, grounded in the wealth of New Mexico’s technological innovations, can increase the state’s overall wealth and its ability to sustain high-paying jobs for its citizens.
Eleven teams and more than 30 students will participate this year from the Anderson School, the School of Engineering, the Law School, the School of Medicine, the College of Fine Arts, the College of Education, and the School of Architecture & Planning. Participants include undergraduates, master’s students, international students, and doctoral candidates.
The alpha (morning) round of team presentations will take place between 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. in ASM rooms 1016, 1064, and 1065. Judges will then confer to decide which teams from the alpha round will advance to the omega (afternoon and final) round presentations. The omega round will take place from 2 to 4:30 p.m., with judges hearing formal team presentations in ASM 1065, then conferring to decide which teams will be awarded prizes that evening.
UNM President David Schmidly will deliver the keynote address at the banquet. John Freisinger, Director of Project Development and Business Assistance for Technology Ventures Corporation (TVC), will emcee the evening ceremony.
The UNM Technology Business Plan Competition thanks the following sponsors for their contributions:
· American Property Management Corporation – APMC and Michael Gallegos for the Michael Gallegos Prize for Entrepreneurship, 1st Place, $25,000
· Technology Ventures Corporation – TVC, Lockheed Martin, and Sherman McCorkle for the TVC Lockheed Martin Prize, 2nd Place, $10,000
· vSpring Capital for the vSpring Capital Prize, 3rd Place, $5,000, and for $50,000-$100,000 in potential seed funding
· The NM Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development – WIRED - Initiative, for Operational Support
· Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, Awards Banquet Sponsor
· Bank of the West, Awards Banquet Sponsor
· New Mexico Venture Capital Association, Awards Reception Sponsor
· EPIC Ventures, Competition Day Lunch Sponsor
· Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Legal Services donor for the winning team
· Flywheel Ventures, at least $10,000 potential seed funding
For a full agenda and more information, visit the UNM Technology Business Plan Competition web site: Technology Business Plan Competition.
Commissioner of Public Lands Patrick Lyons and the University of New Mexico today signed an agreement to commence construction of the first two sites of the Long Wavelength Array (LWA) on state trust lands in Catron and Socorro counties.
Photo: Lee Rickard, UNM's executive director of the Long Wavelength Array and Joe Craig, LWA system engineer, watch State Public Lands Commissioner Patrick Lyons sign an agreement that allows UNM to begin contruction on the LWA Project on state trust lands.
“The selection of these sites establishes the start of the construction phase of a great new telescope,” said Greg Taylor, UNM professor and scientific director of the LWA project.
Research and development conducted over several years is now complete and the LWA project is ready to break ground. The LWA will be a next generation radio telescope with imaging power two to three orders of magnitude better than current or past capabilities below the broadcast FM bands (i.e., 10 – 88 MHz).
Centered on the plains of San Agustin, the best site for radio astronomy in North America, it will complement and share key infrastructure with the major National Science Foundation Very Large Array (VLA), located in Socorro. The LWA will provide high-precision, synoptic views of the ionosphere and solar weather events, and of a variety of astrophysical phenomena.
“The greatest discoveries in astronomy have often followed technical breakthroughs expanding astrophysical discovery space,” said LWA Project Scientist Namir Kassim of the Naval Research Laboratory. “The Long Wavelength Array will take advantage of high end computing and emerging innovations in digital processing, calibration, and imaging to achieve significant improvements over current capabilities in this frequency range thus offering to dramatically increase our knowledge of the Universe.”
“This instrument will be a major element in New Mexico’s leadership role in space physics complementing not only the VLA but adding to capabilities at New Mexico’s national laboratories, universities, and the new emphasis at AFRL in New Mexico on space weather,” added Taylor.
UNM is developing the LWA in cooperation with a number of scientific organizations, including: Los Alamos National Laboratories, Air Force Research Laboratory, Naval Research Laboratory, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Virginia Tech and University of Iowa.
The LWA has been supported by the New Mexico Congressional delegation for the past four years, through the Office of Naval Research. The University of New Mexico has a significant number of faculty and students involved in LWA research and development.
“The University of New Mexico is a valued trust beneficiary and business partner,” Lyons said. “This agreement is another example of how together we are creating a new generation of technological advancements and educational opportunities.”
“The partnership between the Land Office and UNM is very important to the success of the LWA,” Taylor stated.
When completed, the LWA will be an array of 53 “stations,” each a 100-meter diameter field of approximately 250 antennas that acts as an individual telescope. Linked by data fibers, the stations will be combined to synthesize an instrument about 400 kilometers across. Before reaching that capability, a 16-station array is scheduled that will enable a better understanding of complex imaging through the ionosphere and will provide opportunities for major scientific discovery. This initial effort is expected to take six years, with an investment of $33 million.
Commissioner Lyons and the State Land Office manage nine million acres of surface estate and 13 million acres of mineral rights held in trust, primarily for education. Revenues earned from energy production, agricultural leases, and community and business development on trust lands support public schools, seven universities, and a number of other institutions and programs. In 1898, the United States Congress designated UNM as a trust beneficiary. Since Commissioner Lyons took office in 2003, UNM has earned $49 million in trust revenue.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center for Health Policy at UNM presents, “Translating Research to Health Policy: Challenges and Opportunities,” one of its spring 2009 lectures, Thursday, April 9, 12:30 - 2 p.m. in the UNM HSC Domenici Center room 3010. Nancy Ridenour, dean and professor of the UNM College of Nursing is the speaker.
Ridenour served in a staff role for the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee working on Medicare issues as a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow 2007-2008 and a Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow 2003-2006. She was the inaugural dean of the Illinois State University College of Nursing.
She said that for evidence-based knowledge to guide health policy, researchers must learn translation skills.
“Much of the excellent research published in scientific journals does not reach the policy level. Scholars need to learn how to increase the policy impact of high quality research they produce,” she said.
Ridenour’s lecture will addresses the requisites for translating research into policy. Issues include relevance, audience, timeliness, sustainability, validity and common understanding. The overall conclusion is that, in the current climate of health care reform, anchoring research to the interrelated concepts of cost, quality, and access will enhance the saliency of the research to policy makers.
This lecture will describe ways to translate current research to impact policy; discuss the concepts of cost, quality and access in relationship to research; and describe how non-researchers can assist researchers in translating research into policy.
Continuing medical education credit is available. The Office of Continuing Medical Education designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Similarly, this activity is approved for 1.0 contact hours of continuing medical education by the University Of New Mexico Office Of Continuing Medical Education. Per the criteria for approval from the New Mexico Nurses’ Association, participants who are requesting nursing credit must attend the entire lecture to obtain the certificate of credit.
For more information contact the Center at 277-0130 or rwjf@unm.edu, or visit:
Health Policy.