The University of New Mexico Interdisciplinary Film & Digital Media Program and ARTS Lab present the free Thomas Keller Lecture: “Performance, Technology and Science” on Monday, April 5, 6-7 p.m. at ARTS Lab, 131 Pine St. NE, near University Boulevard and Central Avenue.
Digital artist and writer Paul Kaiser and artist and artificial intelligence researcher Marc Downie discuss how they have creatively integrated motion tracking and other technologies into live installations and performances with choreographers and directors Bill T. Jones, Merce Cunningham, Trisha Brown and others.
Kaiser’s early art, 1975-81, was in experimental filmmaking and writing for recorded voice. He then spent 10 years teaching students with severe learning disabilities. He collaborated with them on making multimedia depictions of their own minds. From this work, he derived two key ideas – mental space and drawing as performance – which became the points of departure for the solo and collaborative digital artworks he has made since the mid-1990s.
In 1995, Kaiser was the first digital artist to receive a Guggenheim Fellowship. He also received the John Cage Award from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, ComputerWorld/Smithsonian Award, Media Arts Fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation, Award of Distinction and two Honorable Mentions at Ars Electronica, Osher Fellowship at the Exploratorium, and prizes from the Congress of Research in Dance and the Bessie Awards.
Downie’s complex algorithmic systems are inspired by natural systems and a critique of prevalent digital tools and techniques. His interactive installations, compositions and projections have presented advances in the fields of interactive music, machine learning and computer graphics. He is currently preparing his multimedia authoring system for release as an open source project.
While completing his doctorate at MIT, Downie collaborated extensively with colleagues there, playing key roles in projects such as AlphaWolf (A Prix Ars Electronica honorable mention in 2002), Dobie (SIGGRAPH 2002) and Jeux Deux (2006).
The Keller Memorial Lecture recognizes outstanding creative work that bridges art, science and technology.
Visit the Interdisciplinary Film & Digital Media Program, http://ifdm.unm.edu, and ARTS Lab, http://artslab.unm.edu.
Media Contact: Sari Krosinsky, (505) 277-1593; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
The memory of English Professor Hector Torres’s life and work, and that of graduate student Stefania Gray, will be commemorated at a memorial service organized by students, staff and community members on Friday, April 9 at noon at the National Hispanic Cultural Center.
Photo: Students organized a bake sale to raise money for the Hector Torres memorial.
The event is being organized by some of Torres’s former students, including Robby Ortiz, for whom Torres was thesis adviser. Ortiz, who studied with Torres for two semesters, was writing his thesis with Torres. Another of Torres’s students, Oscar Ortega, said that he was compelled to organize students to establish a memorial.
The Sigma Alpha Omega sorority organized a bake sale to raise money for the memorial. The funds will be put toward a memorial brick at the NHCC plaza. Any additional funds will go to the Hector Torres Scholarship Fund, established by the English department after Torres’s death.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
UNM Title V presents, “Navigating Tenure and Promotion: Challenges for Minority Faculty,” Wednesday, April 7 from 12:30 – 2:30 p.m. in the Student Union Building Santa Ana rooms A&B. The focus of this panel is to provide a comprehensive discussion of the tenure and promotion process at UNM, with an emphasis on challenges faced by minority faculty on the tenure path.
Questions posed by a panel of recently promoted minority faculty and senior faculty who have served on tenure and promotion committees are:
• What can I do now to help ensure that I will be able to put forth the strongest file possible?
• How do I balance service and mentoring demands and interests with maintaining a strong research agenda?
• What resources exist to help assist minority faculty on the road to tenure and promotion?
This discussion is of interest to junior minority faculty, tenure-track faculty, advanced graduate students interested in becoming faculty members upon completion of their Ph.D.’s, as well as department chairs and other administrators interested in learning how they can assist minority faculty attain tenure.
For more information call Title V at 277-1723 or email: Title5@unm.edu
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
University Libraries’ Indigenous Nations Library Program hosts a brown bag and lecture on April 14, “The Santa Fe Indian Market: Then and Now” with Bruce Berstein, Executive Director of the Southwestern Association of Indian Art (SWAIA), the organization that sponsors the annual Indian Market in Santa Fe. The brown bag discussion will be held from 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. in the Herzstein Latin American Conference Room on the second floor of Zimmerman Library. The lecture will be at 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. in the Student Union Building Santa Ana Room A&B.
Each August for the past 89 years, the Santa Fe Indian Market has brought together the most gifted Native American artists from the U.S. with millions of visitors and collectors from around the world. The extended weekend of beauty and celebration ranks as the world's largest and most highly acclaimed Native American arts show and as New Mexico's largest attended annual weekend event.
Santa Fe Indian Market is widely known as the place where Native American art and culture meets the world. As a primary vehicle for showcasing Native American arts, Indian Market also serves as a principal means for advancing the careers of many of today's noted American Indian artists
Bruce Bernstein is executive director of the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA). From 1997 to 2007, Bernstein served as the Assistant Director for research and collections at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian.
This event is free and open to all. For more information contact Mary Alice Tsosie at 277-8922 or mtsosie@unm.edu.
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
Lucas C. Parra, professor of Biomedical Engineering at The City College of New York will present a talk on “Weak Non-Invasive Currents Can Modulate Ongoing Brain Activity on Friday, April 9, at the Mind Research Network main conference room at 11:45 a.m. The MRN is located on the UNM north campus in Pete and Nancy Domenici Hall.
Photo: Lucas Parra
Parra collaborates with Davide Reato, Abhishek Data, Thomas Radman, Yuzhuo Su, Xiang Zhou, Jacek Dmochowski, Marom Bikson
Over the last decade several experiments have shown that very weak electric currents of approximately 1mA can entrain the activity of neuronal networks and indeed have a causal effect on human brain function -- including enhancement of cognitive function. Computational modeling and slice experiments indicate that 1mA applied non-invasively will polarize neurons by at most 1mV (more typically around 0.1mV). How such small currents can have an observable effect remains a mystery -- a mystery worth answering given the tremendous implications for therapeutic electrical stimulation.
The team at CCNY has developed a theory on how small fields can significantly affect the timing of neural activity and how they modulate firing rate and frequency of ongoing oscillatory activity. The work tightly couples theory, computational modeling and experimental exploration and validation with small electric fields applied to hippocampal slices.
Lucas C. Parra is Professor in Biomedical Engineering at the City College of New York. Prior to joining CCNY he was Technology Leader for Adaptive Image and Signal Processing at Sarnoff Corporation (1997-2003), and Member of the Technical Staff in the Medical Imaging group at the Siemens Research Center (1995-1997). His areas of expertise include biomedical signal processing, 3D image sreconstruction, acoustic array processing, statistical pattern recognition, and machine learning.
His current research in biomedical signal processing focuses on functional brain imaging and computational models of the central nervous system. His research has been referenced by over 2,000 citations. Dr. Parra obtained a Ph.D. in Physics at the Maximilian-Ludwig University in Germany in 1996.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Eric Wasserman, chief of the Brain Stimulation Unit at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health will talk on “Probing Behavior and Behavioral Disorders through the Motor Cortex” on Thursday, April 8, at 11:45 a.m. in the Mind Research Network’s Large Conference Room. The MRN is located on the UNM north campus in Pete and Nancy Domenici Hall.
Photo: Eric Wasserman
Wasserman’s research interests include the study the physiology of the brain systems underlying executive function and emotional regulation, using noninvasive stimulation and imaging techniques. He is also interested in developing new treatments for patients with frontal lobe (executive) disorders and ways of enhancing cognitive functions in healthy individuals.
Wassermann received his B.A. from Swarthmore College, his M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania where he studied behavioral neurophysiology with C.R. Gallistel, and his M.D. from New York Medical College. After a Neurology Residency at the Boston City Hospital, he came to the NINDS as a postdoctoral fellow in the Human Motor Control Section, where he studied the physiology of the motor cortex and the control of voluntary movement. In 1997, he established the Brain Stimulation Unit to extend the same techniques and concepts to investigating the prefrontal cortex and the control of emotion and action.
He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Pfizer Visiting Professorship in psychiatry, two NIH Director's Awards, and the US Public Health Service Outstanding Service Medal. Dr. Wassermann’s clinical interests include behavioral neurology, clinical neurophysiology, and chemical casualty care. He directs the clinical activities of the NINDS Cognitive Neuroscience Section and serves as a Senior Medical Advisor to the HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
For the first time, benefits eligible UNM faculty, staff and retirees can attend the Taos Summer Writers’ Conference using tuition remission. The conference offers small, intensive weeklong workshops and master classes and weekend workshops, July 11-18, at the Sagebrush Inn Conference Center.
Image: Katiera's Footsteps, Ann Houston © 2006; www.decoloresgallery.com
“Working at the Taos Summer Writers’ Conference was a highlight of my graduate student experience at UNM. I felt privileged to be a part of the vibrant, warm and invigorating writing community Sharon Oard Warner creates up in Taos every July. The conference always helped to replenish my creative energy, leaving me with the urge to write, write, write!” said Christina Yovovich, faculty and alumna of the UNM Department of English Language and Literature.
Graduate student Bruce Carroll called the conference “the most creatively profitable week of my life in twenty years.”
The keynote reading on Sunday, July 11, at 8 p.m. features Cristina García. García was born in Havana and grew up in New York City. Her first novel, “Dreaming in Cuban,” was nominated for a National Book Award and has been widely translated. García has been a Guggenheim Fellow, Hodder Fellow at Princeton University and the recipient of a Whiting Writer’s Award. She lives in California with her daughter, Pilar.
As of this writing, the following weeklong workshops, Monday, July 12-Friday, July 16, have space available:
• Master classes in memoir writing with Sarah Manguso or Rob Wilder
• Telling Truth Through Fiction (Intermediate) with Jane Ciabattari
• Yoga and Writing: The Writer’s Sword of Active Compassion (All Levels & Genres) with Jeffrey Davis
• Poetic Form as Adventure (Intermediate & Advanced) with Jon Davis
• Advanced Memoir: Challenges and Struggles (Advanced) with Minrose Gwin
• Beginning Memoir: The Story of Your Life (Beginning) with Jesse Lee Kercheval
• The Art of the Sentence, the Art of the Paragraph (All Levels) with Priscilla Long
• Beginnings: Finding the Story (Beginning) with Beverly Lowry
• The Search for an Orderly Story in the Disorderly Tangle of Memory: Memoir (Intermediate) with Debra Monroe
• The New Nonfiction: What Everyone is Reading but M.F.A. Programs Aren’t Teaching (Intermediate) with Mark Sundeen
• Writing the Where of It (All Levels) with Summer Wood
Graduate student Samantha Tetangco said, “It’s amazing the difference a week makes. I’m not sure if it was Summer Wood’s course or Taos itself, but I left the conference a changed writer.”
Weekend workshops with space available, Saturday, July 17-Sunday, July 18, are:
• (Fictional) Character Wanted (All Levels) with Annie Dawid
• Into the Deep End: Getting a Piece of Writing Off to a Running Start (All Levels) with Pam Houston
• Turning the House Upside Down: The Art of Revision (Intermediate and Advanced) with Valerie Martínez
• Image in Narrative (All Levels) with Daniel Mueller
• Writing The New “Normal”: Memoir When Life Happens (All Levels) with Michelle Otero
• Mapping Memory: Finding Your Story (All Levels) with Mark Sundeen
In addition to workshops, agents and editors are available for consultation, and free faculty readings will be held in the evenings throughout the week.
Tuition and fees are $325 for weekend workshops, $625 for weeklong workshops and $1,500 for weeklong master classes. Those registering for a weeklong workshop or master class can also get a discounted rate of $300 for weekend workshops. Tuition remission may be used to cover conference fees. Get the form at: Tuition Remission Forms. Attendees will be responsible for lodging, some meals and travel costs.
For more information or to register, contact (505) 277-5572, e-mail, taosconf@unm.edu or visit: Taos Summer Writer’s Conference. The conference is a program of UNM’s Department of English Language and Literature.
Media Contact: Sari Krosinsky, (505) 277-1593; e-mail: michal@unm.edu
Last year's winner of the Michael Gallegos Prize for Entrepreneurship in the UNM Technology Business Plan Competition, Microtection LLC, has been selected to compete in the 2010 Technology Ventures Equity Capital Symposium. The TVC Equity Capital Symposium will be held Wednesday-Thursday, May 19-20, at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Albuquerque. For the past 16 years the symposium has served as a vehicle to connect growing or expanding technology companies with investment opportunities.
Photo (l. to r.): Rob Virden, J.B. Tuttle and Ryan Olcott.
Microtection is a company commercializing vapor trace detection solutions aimed initially at security and contraband markets. The technology platform comprises a handheld device that detects trace amounts of chemical vapor in a non-intrusive manner. The intellectual property portfolio surrounding this technology can be leveraged to address extended market needs in chemical trace detection.
Ryan Olcott, J.B. Tuttle, and Rob Virden, all MBA students during last year’s UNM Technology Business Plan Competition, are moving Microtection forward. For more information visit: Microtection.
Reflecting on his experience with the UNM competition, Tuttle said, "The UNM Technology Business Plan Competition is an unprecedented opportunity in my academic experience. I am not sure that without it my partners and I would be pursuing our own start-up firm.
"The competition allows students from diverse backgrounds to get their feet wet by meeting entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, scientists and engineers. It allows the opportunity to exercise all the business disciplines within a real business paradigm. This competition was the capstone of my MBA education."
TVC has helped form 102 new business, created over 12,470 jobs, and has facilitated more than $1.043 billion in funding for its client companies. For more information visit: 2010 Equity Capital Symposium.
Media Contact: Jennifer Bayley, (505) 277-6172; e-mail: bayley@mgt.unm.edu
UNM student Cara Valente-Compton was notified recently of her selection as a 2010 Truman Scholar. Valente-Compton, a junior, is majoring in political science and minoring in Spanish in the College of Arts & Sciences. She plans to use the Truman Scholarship to attend the UNM School of Law, her “lifelong dream,” she said.
Cara Valente-Compton, second from right, is congratulated by Finnie Coleman, UNM’s Truman faculty representative, President David Schmidly, and Kiyoko Nogi Simmons, program specialist for national and international scholarships and fellowships, for being named a Truman Scholar.
Valente-Compton credits both Finnie Coleman, UNM’s Truman faculty representative and interim dean, University College; and Kiyoko Nogi Simmons, program specialist for national and international scholarships and fellowships, University College; for helping her navigate the paperwork and procedures necessary to produce a good application.
“The University of New Mexico, Dr. Coleman and Kiyoko supported me in the process of preparing the application and preparing for the interview,” Valente-Compton said.
UNM President David Schmidly congratulated Valente-Compton on her selection as a Truman Scholar. “I am very pleased that Cara, a non-traditional student who aspires to go to law school, was selected for this prestigious award. Cara’s selection demonstrates the caliber of our students and showcases UNM talents. This is a great award for our students,” he said.
President Schmidly added that he would like to see UNM become a Truman institution. He solicited Valente-Compton’s help in assisting others in the application process. She said, “I would like the opportunity to mentor others interested in becoming Truman Scholars.”
Valente-Compton was one of only 60 students from 54 institutions selected as a 2010 Truman Scholar.
The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation - the federal memorial to the 33rd US president - awards merit-based scholarships to college students who plan to pursue careers in government or elsewhere in public service. Truman Scholars receive up to $30,000 for graduate or professional school, participate in leadership development activities, and have special opportunities for internships and employment with the federal government.
The mission of the Truman Scholarship Foundation is to find and recognize college juniors with exceptional leadership potential who are committed to careers in government, the nonprofit or advocacy sectors, education or elsewhere in the public service; and to provide them with financial support for graduate study, leadership training, and fellowship with other students who are committed to making a difference through public service.
UNM’s last Truman Scholars were Jesse French in 2005, and Sean Murray in 2004.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Roger Dingledine will speak on global internet censorship on Monday, April 12, from 2 - 3 p.m. at George Pearl Hall room 101. His talk is titled “Tor and Censorship: Lessons Learned.” The talk is sponsored by the UNM Computer Science Department and the Regent’s Speaker Endowment.
Photo: Roger Dingledine
Dingledine is project leader for The Tor Project, a US non-profit working on anonymity research and development for such diverse organizations as the US Navy, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Voice of America. In addition to all the hats he wears for Tor, Roger organizes academic conferences on anonymity, speaks at a wide variety of industry and hacker conferences, and also does tutorials on anonymity for national and foreign law enforcement.
Tor is a free-software anonymizing network that helps people around the world use the Internet in safety. Tor's 1600 volunteer relays carry traffic for several hundred thousand users including ordinary citizens who want protection from identity theft and prying corporations, corporations who want to look at a competitor's website in private, and soldiers and aid workers in the Middle East who need to contact their home servers without fear of physical harm.
Tor was originally designed as a civil liberties tool for people in the West. But if governments can block connections *to* the Tor network, who cares that it provides great anonymity?
A few years ago designers started adapting Tor to be more robust in countries like China. They streamlined its network communications to look more like ordinary SSL, and introduced "bridge relays" that are harder for an attacker to find and block than Tor's public relays.
In the aftermath of the Iranian elections in June, and then the late September blockings in China, the network designers learned a lot about how circumvention tools work in reality for activists in tough situations.
Dingledine will give an overview of the Tor architecture, and summarize the variety of people who use it and what security it provides. Then he will focus on the use of tools like Tor in countries like Iran and China: why anonymity is important for circumvention, why transparency in design and operation is critical for trust, the role of popular media in helping -- and harming -- the effectiveness of the tools, and tradeoffs between usability and security.
After describing Tor's strategy for secure circumvention (what we *thought* would work), he will talk about how the arms race actually seems to be going in practice.
Media contact: Karen Wentworth (505) 277-5627; kwent2@unm.edu
Senior to compete in 3-Point Shooting Contest at Final Four
University of New Mexico senior Roman Martinez has been named the winner of this year’s Chip Hilton Award. Four of the nation’s graduating seniors were named as finalists for the 14th annual award, to be presented by Chip Hilton Sports and the National Association of Basketball Coaches during the Final Four in Indianapolis on April 4 at the NABC Past Presidents’ Luncheon at the Hyatt Regency.
Photo: Roman Martinez (r.).
The finalists for the 2010 Chip Hilton Award were Martinez, Matt Boudlin (Gonzaga), Lazar Haywood (Marquette) and Derrick Roland (Texas A&M).
The Chip Hilton Award honors a Division I men’s graduating senior for demonstrating outstanding character, leadership and talent similar to the qualities evident in the 24-book Chip Hilton Sports Series.
The books, authored by Coach Clair Bee, enjoyed their first popularity in the late 1940s through the mid-1960s and were updated and re-released by Randy and Cindy Farley to a new generation of readers in 1999 and have sold over one million copies.
Coach Clair F. Bee, the late Long Island University coach and Hall of Famer, compiled an .826 lifetime winning percentage, still the best in major-college coaching history.
Known as the “Innovator,” Clair Bee’s influence on the game also extended to strategies such as the 1-3-1 zone defense and the 3-second rule, sports camps at Oriental, Manhattan and Brighton beaches as well as Camp All-America and Kutsher’s Sports Academy, writing technical coaching books and conducting coaching clinics around the world.
By the time he left coaching in the 1950s, Clair Bee had already begun writing the Chip Hilton Sports Series, considered the top sports fiction series ever written.
Chip Hilton Sports began presenting the award in 1997 as a way to honor outstanding excellence and character in college basketball.
The Selection Committee is composed of: Dan Beebe, Jay Bilas, Dave Gavitt, Bob Hammel, Bob Knight, Pat Knight, Billy Packer, Dean Smith and Dick Vitale.
Chip Hilton Player of the Year Award winners
• 2010 -- Roman Martinez, University of New Mexico
• 2009 — Jon Brockman, Washington
• 2008 — Mike Green, Butler
• 2007 — Acie Law IV, Texas A&M
• 2006 — Gerry McNamara, Syracuse
• 2005 — Ronald Ross, Texas Tech
• 2004 — Emeka Okafor, Connecticut
• 2003 — Brandon Miller, Butler
• 2002 — Juan Dixon, Maryland
• 2001 — Shane Battier, Duke
• 2000 — Eduardo Nájera, Oklahoma
• 1999 — Tim Hill, Harvard
• 1998 — Hassan Booker, Navy
• 1997 — Tim Duncan, Wake Forest
About Roman Martinez
• Will receive his bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Marketing from UNM in May 2010
• ESPN the Magazine 2nd Team Academic All-American for 2009-10, UNM’s first selection in 35 years
• Involved in a 2009 summer mentorship program in Albuquerque Community Centers, including the Herman Sanchez, Loma Linda, Los Duranes and Caesar Chavez community centers...he also volunteered at the Albuquerque School District backpack initiative and spent time at the UNM Children’s Hospital
• One of the nation's top 3-point shooters in 2009-10, he led the Mountain West Conference by averaging 2.8 3s a game and was fourth in accuracy at 41.3%
• Set a UNM record with 240 3-point attempts in 2009-10 and his 99 3-pointers made ranks No. 2 all-time at New Mexico for a single season
• Only Lobo to reach 1,000 points, 600 rebounds, 200 3-pointers and 200 assists in a career
• Tied for 2nd at UNM in games played (133), 19th in scoring (1,159), 10th in rebounding (633) and 6th in 3-pointers made (205)
• Will participate in the Ford 3-Point Shooting contest Thursday in Indianapolis during Final Four activities...the competition is part of the 22nd Annual State Farm College Slam Dunk and Three Point Championships...former Lobo Tony Danridge won the Slam Dunk title last year in Detroit.
For more information visit: Martinez to Compete in 3-Point Shooting Contest.
Media contact: Greg Remington (505) 925-5525; gregrem@unm.edu
Stagnant Economy Forces Workforce Reduction
The University of New Mexico enjoyed a boom in capital projects over the last four or five years, receiving an average of $100 million for capital projects annually. Money came from the state and federal governments and from bonds as the university worked to catch up with ballooning demands for square footage.
To accommodate the volume of work, the Office of Capital Projects expanded its operation in staffing and contractual partnerships. With the downturn in the economy, capital funding is a shadow of its former volume, so OCP is forced to downsize and will see a reduction in workforce.
OCP operates under a model for fees-based project management that was created to accommodate its revenue needs. Currently, it collects an average of 4 percent in fees off of the total project amount. In fiscal year 2011-12, the capital project funding to UNM is estimated around $40 million – a 60 percent reduction. Due to this drop, OCP is projecting an approximate budget deficit of $800,000.
“As an enterprise operation, OCP must be self-supporting,” said Steve Beffort, vice president, Institutional Support Services. “There are fewer projects to manage, so OCP cannot generate the funds to support itself.” Beffort predicts that capital projects funding will trend down for the next 3 –5 years, so a sustainable business model has to be adopted.
OCP held six positions vacant during the current fiscal year and these positions will be eliminated. In addition, OCP analyzed its current organizational structure to evaluate critical positions, based on the new model of sustainability, and six additional positions will be eliminated, with the employees being placed on layoff status. Three positions are senior project/construction managers. Per university policy, the layoffs are based on lowest-level seniority within the department and within the specific job title. Additionally, an employee on annual contract was notified the contract will not be renewed.
Per policy, the affected staff must be provided a minimum 30 days' notice of the layoff. In this case, notice has been extended to 90 days and all efforts will be made to help the individuals secure other positions within or outside the university.
Analysis indicated the downsizing should have occurred in November 2009, but emergency funds were identified to sustain operation through the end of the fiscal year.
“These are good employees,” Beffort said. “We hate to see them go, but capital money has just gone away.” Beffort said the severance tax bond money approved by the legislature and the upcoming general obligation bond election are vital to sustaining the reduced level of work.
Media contact: Benson Hendrix (505) 277-1816; bhendrix@unm.edu
The UNM Department of Sociology and the Latin American and Iberian Institute present Ken Shadlen, Development Studies Institute, London School of Economics, delivering, "The Politics of Intellectual Property Protection in Latin America," Friday, April 2, at noon at the LAII, 801 Yale Blvd.
Shadlen will speak based on his ongoing work on patents, trade agreements, the pharmaceutical industries and health care in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
For updates, call Keira Philipp-Schnurer, (505)277-7049.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Native New Mexican Gloria Zamora has been awarded the Premio Aztlán Literary Prize for her memoir, Sweet Nata: Growing Up in Rural New Mexico (UNM Press). Premio Aztlán, founded in 1993 by renowned author Rudolfo Anaya and his wife Patricia, who died earlier this year, is awarded annually by the National Latino Writers Conference and the History & Literary Arts program of the National Hispanic Cultural Center to an emerging Chicana/o author.
As winner of the Premio Aztlán, Zamora will receive $1,000 and will give a public lecture during the National Latino Writers Conference, held at the NHCC in Albuquerque, NM, May 19-22.
During her early childhood, Zamora lived with her maternal grandparents in a rural northern New Mexico village near Mora. Immersed in small-town country life and surrounded by a large family, Zamora absorbed the customs and traditions that connected her to her cultural heritage. Her memoir, Sweet Nata, provides a unique and authentic perspective of the Hispano experience in rural New Mexico and her descriptions of traditional New Mexican food and family traditions, including weddings, funerals, family visits, grinding corn, cooking and tending the woodpile, provide an intimate glimpse into the daily struggles and triumphs that turn a family into a community.
Gloria Zamora, a retired orthodontic assistant, lives in Corrales, NM.
To arrange for an interview with Gloria Zamora, contact Katherine MacGilvray, UNM Press, at 505-277-3291 or katm@unm.edu.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
In response to the destruction caused by a massive earthquake in southern Chile on February 27, a group of University of New Mexico faculty and students will work with community members to celebrate Chilean culture, holding an on-campus peña (concert) featuring Albuquerque’s Trio Los Trinos to raise funds for relief and reconstruction in the zones affected by the earthquake. The event will take place Tuesday, April 6 from 11:30 to 1:30 at the modern art sculpture area, south of the Student Union Building on the UNM main campus.
Liz Hutchison, associate professor, Latin American history, is co-organizing the event with Celia López-Chávez, university honors program. Hutchison said, "Despite the relatively lesser damage inflicted by the Chilean earthquake, and the media’s short attention span, Chile still needs our help. The southern Bio Bio region, especially the coastal towns hit by the tsunami that followed the quake, has been devastated, leaving thousands of people homeless. This is the biggest economic disaster that Chile has ever faced, and the country's rural poor urgently need our support while the government lays plans for reconstruction."
The peña is a traditional Chilean gathering that celebrates Chilean music, poetry, and culture. In good times and bad, peñas – held everywhere from clubs to private homes – have allowed Chileans to celebrate life and express community solidarity.
UNM Students of Latin American Studies (SOLAS) will collect donations at the event.
People can also give online or text "Chile" to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross.
For more information, contact Hutchison at ehutch@unm.edu or (505) 301-6469.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Visiting scholar Aaron Schneider presents, “State-building in an Age of Globalization: Central American Tax Regimes and Transnational Elites,” on Tuesday, April 6 at 12:30 p.m. at the University of New Mexico’s Latin American and Iberian Institute, 801 Yale NE, main campus.
Photo: Aaron Schneider
Schneider’s project follows the intuition that building states is both more important and more difficult in an age in which resources, information and products – and occasionally people – flow across borders with greater speed than ever before. Under such circumstances, the tasks of state-building must be undertaken anew, often pitting the responsibilities of states to citizens against responsibilities of states to other states and responsibilities to holders of capital.
No issue captures these potential conflicts more clearly than taxation, by which state authorities muster the resources needed to govern, and in the process, enter relationships with citizens and groups in society.
This project studies state-building under globalization by comparing the politics of revenue in five Central American countries: Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica and El Salvador. These countries have relatively similar economic and social structure, buffeted in comparable fashion by global forces beyond their control.
The countries diverge in the nature of state institutions that have been established to manage global pressures, revealed in the degree to which states mobilize revenues, apply the rules and regulations of tax regimes universally across sectors, and mobilize revenues from wealthy, especially transnational sectors.
The book argues that differences in revenue regimes can be traced to the cohesion and relative power of social actors, especially newly emerging elites, as well as the institutions which coordinate their actions within policymaking. Unfortunately, in no country have popular movements been significantly unified and empowered within politics, and this explains the basic neglect of efforts to redistribute wealth.
Aaron Schneider is assistant professor in the Department of Political Science and the Stone Center for Latin American Studies at Tulane University. He was awarded the Richard E. Greenleaf Visiting Library Scholar travel grant for the spring 2010 semester. He is in residence at LAII through May 14, 2010.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Char Peery, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Anthropology at UNM will speak on “The Robert Young Story: The Language Documentation, Ideology and the New Deal” on Monday, March 29 at noon in Zimmerman Library, room B-48 on the UNM Main Campus. In this lecture Ms. Peery uses concepts such as language ideology, register, semiotic chains and the use of figures to explore Robert Young’s extraordinary documentary and analytic work on Navajo linguistics.
By looking at Young’s work, she will attempt to illuminate aspects of the complex situation of the Indian New Deal’s impact on the Navajo reservation, highlight some of the political intentions underlying the language program and explore some of the challenges inherent in language documentation projects.
She says the New Deal brought new resources, people and commitment to the study and documentation of indigenous languages. However, these documentation programs were not without their own political agendas.
This can be seen particularly in the case of the Navajo language where aspects of the new language programs were being used to disseminate information about such ostensibly unrelated government initiatives as enhanced environmental management.
Peery is a fellow funded by the Office of the State Historian. The Scholars Program was established to promote an understanding and appreciation of New Mexico history by supporting scholarly research in New Mexico archival repositories.
For more information about the program, please contact Dennis Trujillo at (505) 476-7998 or dennis.trujillo@state.nm.us
Media contact: Karen Wentworth (505) 277-5627;kwent2@unm.edu
Van Gilbert, president of the Dean’s Council for Design and Planning Excellence, recently welcomed new members into the council, a membership-based external advisory group in the University of New Mexico School of Architecture and Planning.
Jon Anderson, a UNM alumnus from the class of 1973, Jon Anderson Architecture specializes in innovative residential and commercial design projects.
Founded in 1991, Jon Anderson Architecture has won numerous design awards from the American Institute of Architects. The work has been featured in architectural books and periodicals internationally. Anderson has 36 years of experience in his firm and maintains design responsibility on a multitude of projects locally and nationally.
Edie Cherry and Jim See of Cherry/See/Reames Architects, specialize in public sector projects such as schools – Coronado Elementary School and Bandelier Elementary School’s mini-gym – community centers – such as Mountain View – and multiple state agencies including New Mexico Veterans’ Memorial at Phil Chacon Park, and rehabbing the old terminal at the Sunport. All these projects are award winners.
Cherry is an emeritus faculty member; See is an alumnus from the class of 1969.
Also welcomed into the council was Kerry Abbott of Daylighting Solutions. Daylighting Solutions provides a wide array of natural and environmental building lighting methods for new and existing development. Among Daylighting’s projects is the curved dome that brings natural light into the entrance to the UNM Mechanical Training Center; Telshor Cinemas, Las Cruces, which features backlit wall panels in the marquee in combination with special lighting on the building; and the geo-roof skylight that graces the atrium at the entrance of El Paso Catholic Church, El Paso, Texas.
Bryan Konefsky, UNM’s Department of Cinematic Arts and Basement Films present Experiments in Cinema V5.1, a film festival highlighting contemporary, international, experimental or un-dependant cinema. For its fifth anniversary, the festival features 50 films from 13 countries Saturday, April 10-Sunday, April 18 at venues across Albuquerque.
Experiments in Cinema celebrates international film experimentation by providing a venue for films and filmmakers that normally have no local outlet and introducing Albuquerque to these groundbreaking works. Festival organizers hope to nurture a new generation of visionary filmmakers to make movies in ways never imagined possible.
Special guest curators are Montse Badia from Barcelona; Isabel Fondevila, San Francisco; Gerry Fialka, Los Angeles; Chris McNamara, Canada; and Bart Weiss, Texas.
For the second year, Experiments in Cinema includes local films by students attending the YDI/Mi Voz program, Public Academy for the Performing Arts Charter High School, Albuquerque Academy and the Media Arts Collaborative Charter High School. The youth program is on Saturday, April 10, 6-9 p.m. at the Kimo Theater, 423 Central Ave. NW.
Award-winning filmmaker Kerry Laitala hosts a 16 mm filmmaking workshop, Friday, April 16, and Chris McNamara hosts an audio workshop Saturday, April 17. Both take place 11 a.m.-3 p.m., at UNM’s Department of Cinematic Arts, CERIA Building, room 370.
For the full schedule of events, prices and other information, visit Basement Films.
The UNM Student Lettermen's Association will host its annual egg hunt on Saturday, April 3. The event gets underway at 11 a.m. prompt at the UNM Duck Pond. A special appearance by the Easter Bunny will be a part of the highlights. Additionally, games will follow the egg hunt and great prizes will also be awarded.
Everyone is invited to attend.
The Neuromedical Research Foundation (NRF) this month contributed $20,000 to The Mind Research Network (MRN) mission of finding better treatment and cures for brain disease and brain injury.
NRF is based in Fort Lauderdale, and the foundation board includes Dr. Barry Baumel of Miami Beach. Dr. Baumel is also co-chair of the MRN Board of Trustees.
“The NRF gift sets us on a winning track for donations in 2010,” said MRN Director of Development Lisa Breeden. “This contribution will speed our ultimate goal of finding clinical solutions to the puzzles of mental illness, other brain disease and injury.”
MRN was established 12 years in Albuquerque by now retired U.S. Senator Pete Domenici. MRN uses advanced neuroimaging and biogenetics techniques, and research is underway to earlier identify and better treat mental illness, addiction, autism, epilepsy, dementia, traumatic brain injury, and post traumatic stress syndrome.
University of New Mexico Hospital’s Susana Rinderle, organizational and professional development specialist, and Jamie Silva-Steele, administrator ambulatory services, recently received the Disparities Leadership Program Award in Innovation and Success from the Disparities Leadership Program, a year-long executive education program led by the Disparities Solutions Center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Mass.
Photo: Susana Rinderle and Jamie Silva
Last May, the Disparities Solutions Center selected Rinderle and Silva-Steele to participate in the program designed for leaders from hospitals, health plans and other healthcare organizations nationwide wanting to implement practical strategies to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare.
Rinderle and Silva-Steele were one of only three teams out of 12 in the program to receive the award. The award was based on various criteria, including the organization’s progress, creativity and overall quality of work over the year, and the team’s presentation at the year-end meeting.
Students in the Information Assurance program at the Anderson School of Management were invited to participate in a week-long training course in several areas of digital forensics including host forensics, network reverse engineering, and malware reverse engineering. The intensive hands-on workshop, Tracer Fire II, was held at the Buffalo Thunder Resort in Pojoaque, New Mexico and hosted by the Los Alamos National Labs.
The training course was designed to educate and test cyber-incident response teams. Students and professionals of all skill levels were invited to attend the event which included local law enforcement departments as well as DOE cyber responders.
The training was held Monday through Friday and was broken up into two parts. The first two days consisted of interactive training sessions to familiarize attendees with current technologies. The skills learned in the training sessions were then put to the test in the remaining three days. Attendees broke up into teams and competed against one another by solving logic puzzles, breaking codes, and hacking machines. The challenges tested the abilities of the individuals in responding to cyber attacks in a real-world setting.
The primary focus of the training was geared towards assistance for the incident responders, specifically Rapid Response Cyber Forensics (RRCF) practitioners. RRCF is based on analyzing networks and defending against attacks rather than analyzing evidence after it has been attacked then presenting it in a court of law.
“This DOE Computer Forensics Training Seminar was very enlightening”, said UNM student Shantelle Williams. “I was exposed to many new cyber forensics tools and concepts. As I advance in the Information Assurance program, I hope to gain further knowledge that will better prepare me for future Rapid Response Computer Forensic courses. The field is on the cutting-edge of technology and is crucial to our continued existence in the cyber world. I am thrilled for the opportunity to be a part of it.”
The University of New Mexico is the only institution with a graduate Information Assurance program combining the efforts of the national labs, the NSA and DHS, and the FBI’s Regional Computer Forensics Lab (RCFL) in a management school in order to serve the growing demand for a skilled information assurance workforce. For more information visit Information Assurance program.
The Southwest Hispanic Research Institute presents, “New Mexico Land Grants and the Weight of History,” Friday, March 26 from 3-4:30 p.m. in the Student Union Building Fiesta Room. The presentations, by Corinna Laszlo-Henry and Jacobo D. Baca, are in the public lecture series in SHRI’s New Mexico Land Grant Studies Program.
Laszlo-Henry will address, “Self Determination and Speculation on Coyote Creek, 1847-1912.” When the General Accounting Office completed its inventory of community land grants in 2001, the Guadalupita Grant was listed as “failed to Pursue.” This is not the only GAO error in reporting that implies that heirs failed to act to adjudicate their land grant. Like many community land grants whose boundaries lie within a larger one, the confirmation of the grant was intertwined with individual property rights of those claiming rights to common lands of the Mora Land Grant.
This lecture traces the vigorous efforts of heirs to seek recognition of their rights and their local self-governance to protect their individual holdings as well as to preserve the merced for the benefit of the community.
Laszlo-Henry, originally from Colorado, is a 12-year resident of Mora County. She earned her bachelor’s from New Mexico Highlands University and JD from the UNM School of Law in 2009. In 2008-09, she worked with the Center for Land Grant Studies as an intern for the New Mexico Land Grant Studies Program at UNM.
Jacobo D. Baca presents, “Somos Indígena: Ethnic Politics and Land Tenure in New Mexico, 1907-2004.” The complexities of modern Hispano and Pueblo land tenure are rooted in their historical relationships with one another and the state.
Baca’s lecture summarizes part of an on-going doctoral dissertation that examines the ethnic politics of modern land tenure, the effect of these politics on Pueblo-Hispano relations, and the state’s role in the complex relationship shared by neighboring communities that have resided side-by-side for more than 250 years.
Baca is a Ph.D. candidate in the UNM Department of History. He holds the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellowship (2009-11), a Center for Regional Studies Fellowship (2009-10) and conducts research this spring under the New Mexico office of the State Historian’s Scholars Program. Baca previously served as a research associate for SHRI’s Land Grant Studies Program and is a teaching associate for the Chicano Hispano Mexicano Studies Program.
For more information, contact SHRI at 277-2965 or email to shri@unm.edu.
Two teams of graduate business students from UNM’s Anderson School of Management competed in the 2nd annual Camino Real Venture Competition, an international business plan competition hosted by the University of Texas at El Paso recently. Student teams representing schools in the states of Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, as well as students from the country of Mexico, also competed.
Photo (l. to r.): Santa Fe Health Software – Joe Budagher, Vikram Bakshi and Chris Elliott.
The teams presented business plans based on innovative technologies to a group of judges consisting of successful business people, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and other business experts. Both UNM teams advanced to present in the final round as two of the four finalist teams.
One of the UNM teams, Santa Fe Health Software, consists of three MBA candidates in Finance and International Business. Santa Fe Health Systems placed second overall in the competition with an award of $1,500. Team members are Joseph Budagher, Vikram Bakshi, an international student and Christopher Elliott.
The second student team, Mimic Tracking Systems, consists of three MBA students in Management of Technology including Whitney Sanzero, Adam Heying, MBA candidate also in Finance and John Soladay, Fall 2009 MBA graduate. Sanzero won the Best 60-Second Elevator Pitch Contest, making this the second year in a row that the award has gone to a UNM student, and Mimic placed 3rd overall in the competition for a total award of $1,250.
The winning pitch was professionally filmed and edited and it can be viewed from the competition’s website along with competition photographs at, 60-Second Elevator Pitch.
The Mimic Tracking Systems pitch was sponsored by RCIC and can be viewed on YouTube at: Mimic Tracking Systems.
Both teams will compete in the UNM Technology Business Plan Competition at the Anderson School of Management on April 16, 2010. The UNM competition is open to the public, and more information and a schedule of events can be found online at Technology Business Plan.
KNME-TV received a My Source Education Innovation Award from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting recently in Washington, D.C. KNME received the reward for providing online resources for high school science teachers.
The My Source Education Innovation Awards recognize and showcase how public broadcasting stations use pioneering approaches and emerging digital technologies to serve educational needs of their communities on-air, online and in the classroom.
“Stations across the country are using technology in creative and innovative ways to deliver educational tools and resources that are making a real difference to teachers, parents and children,” said Pat Harrison, president and CEO of CPB. “Public media is the definitive education partner for a new generation of learners and CPB congratulates KNME-TV for its outstanding contribution to the community.”
The award was presented to Polly Anderson, KNME-TV’s general manager and CEO, and Veronica C. García, New Mexico education secretary, by Pat Harrison at the Council of Chief State School Officers/Public Media Executive Summit.
KNME-TV will receive a $3,000 grant to further support the project.
“We are greatly honored to be recognized by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for KNME’s online resources for high school science teachers project,” Anderson said. “This project, with its emphasis on providing teachers with added resources in the areas of environmental science, physics and chemistry, is part of KNME’s commitment to education and the community, along with KNME’s multi-platform, on-going ‘Science Central’ outreach program.”
“New Mexico has made tremendous progress in the collection and availability of education data. Our goal is to bring that data to classrooms, instructional decisions, and professional development. Aligning our vision and our technology will ultimately increase impact where it counts most: on student achievement. Quality education is a shared, community responsibility and KNME has gone beyond our expectations as a partner,” Garcia said.
Media Contact: Evy Todd, (505) 277-1812; e-mail: etodd@knme.org
This week on New Mexico In Focus topics include Gov. Richardson’s veto of the food tax and reactions to his decision and the alternative plan for balancing the state budget, the impact national health care reform may have here in New Mexico and thoughts and reflections on the legacy of former interior secretary Stewart Udall. KNME Channel 5’s “New Mexico in Focus” airs Friday, March 26 at 7 p.m., and repeats on Sunday, March 28 at 6:30 a.m. It also airs KNME Digital Ch. 9.1 on Saturdays at 5 p.m.
Guests:
• Jane Bradley, executive director, Albuquerque Independent Business Alliance
• Carolyn Ingram, Medical Assistance Division director, New Mexico Human Services Department
• Nancy Ridenour, dean, UNM College of Nursing
• Secretary Alfredo Vigil, New Mexico Department of Health Field Video (Governor Vetoes Food Tax)
• Bill Richardson, (D) New Mexico Governor
• Fred Nathan, executive director, Think New Mexico
• Allen Sanchez, executive director, Conference of Catholic Bishops
Panelists:
• Sophie Martin, managing editor, DukeCityFix.com
• Jim Scarantino, editor, New Mexico Watchdog
Guest Panelists:
• Lorene Mills, host, Report From Santa Fe
• Laura Sanchez, former executive director, New Mexico Democratic Party
New Mexico In Focus Correspondent:
• Sarah Gustavus, KUNM radio host
Host/Commentator: Gene Grant, Weekly Alibi columnist
Additionally, viewers can also watch New Mexico In Focus online at: KNME. Get updates, watch, and follow KNME on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more.
“New Mexico in Focus” is produced by Kevin McDonald and Kathy Wimmer and closed captioning has been made possible by a gift from Mrs. Elspeth G. Bobbs.
Media Contact: Evy Todd, (505) 277-1812; e-mail: etodd@knme.org
This week on “Report from Santa Fe,” KNME, Ch. 5 features “Stewart Udall, In Memoriam – An Intimate August 2007 Interview.” The program airs on Friday, March 26 at 10:30 p.m. and repeats on Sunday, March 28 at 7:30 a.m. This week’s “Report from Santa Fe” is a retrospective on Udall, considered “the Father of the Environmental Movement.” This is part one of a two-part series, the second episode to air next week.
This week’s “Report from Santa Fe” is a retrospective on Udall, considered “the Father of the Environmental Movement.” This is part one of a two-part series, the second episode to air next week.
Udall served as Cabinet Secretary of the Interior under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, where his commitment to conservation and stewardship of public lands resulted in the Wilderness Act, which preserved almost ten million acres of federal land for posterity; the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the Clear Air and Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Preservation Act, among many others.
“Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife are in fact plans to protect man,” he said.
In this program, Udall shares reminiscences about President Kennedy, President Johnson, First Ladies Jackie Kennedy and Lady Bird Johnson, Rachel Carson and Robert Frost. He describes being on a plane to Japan with six other members of JFK's cabinet when they got the news on ticker tape, mid-flight, that President Kennedy had been assassinated. The plane returned to D.C. immediately and the stunned cabinet members were greeted by LBJ upon their arrival.
Hosted by veteran journalist and interviewer, Lorene Mills, “Report from Santa Fe” brings the minds and voices of the day to a weekly audience that spans the state of New Mexico.
“Report from Santa Fe” airs on all three PBS stations across New Mexico:
• KNME-TV/Channel 5.1 - Santa Fe/Albuquerque – Northern & Central New Mexico
• Friday nights, 10:30 p.m. & Sunday mornings, 7:30 a.m. (except during Pledge Drives)
• KENW/Channel 3 – Portales – Eastern New Mexico
Saturday afternoon, 6 p.m.
• KRWG/Channel 22 - Las Cruces – Southern New Mexico
Sunday mornings, 8:30 a.m.
• “Report from Santa Fe” also airs on the radio at 9:30 a.m. every Monday, on Albuquerque radio station KANW-FM, 89.1.
More information about future show lineups – and a sampling of past shows - can be found online at Report from Santa Fe.
Media Contact: Evy Todd, (505) 277-1812; e-mail: etodd@knme.org
Teaching Spanish to students with a family heritage in the language is a growing field. The UNM Sabine Ulibarrí Spanish as a Heritage Language program is at the forefront and gaining national recognition. Recently, six SUSHL representatives presented at the First International Conference on Heritage/Community Languages at UCLA.
Photo: Damián Vergara Wilson
“This was the first major conference on the teaching of heritage languages since the landmark conferences on heritage language education held in Long Beach, Calif., in 1999 and Tyson, Va., in 2001. Also, this was the first international conference in this field,” said Damián Vergara Wilson, SUSHL coordinator.
The UNM team included Vergara Wilson, assistant coordinator, Elena Avilés and graduate students Lorena Galván, Ricardo Martínez, Daniel Abeyta and Angélica Nelson. They also presented research by graduate student Víctor Valdivia, who was unable to attend.
Heritage language instruction is an effort to provide language education to students culturally connected to that language. The goal is to revive or maintain the language. Often, these students are fluent speakers of the language who have never formally studied it. Other heritage language students may have little or no proficiency in the language.
“Questions of identity and cultural exploration motivate them to draw a deep connection to the language. This connection serves as a powerful motivation for developing fluency,” Vergara Wilson said.
The conference gave the UNM team an opportunity to get to know prominent researchers such as Francisco Alarcón, Guadalupe Valdés, Kim Potowski, María Carreira, Marta Fairclough and Glen Martínez.
It was also an opportunity for these researchers to recognize UNM’s work in teaching Spanish as a heritage language. Many researchers actively sought presentations by the UNM team because of the SUSHL’s reputation.
“It is the largest Spanish as a heritage language program in the United States and people wanted to learn about the program,” Vergara Wilson said.
“One of the most profound moments for the UNM team happened as the conference was coming to a close, when one of the chief organizers approached the group. She wanted the team to know that many of these prominent researchers had approached her to comment on the impact that the SUSHL program is having on the field.”
Contact Vergara Wilson at damianvw@unm.edu or (505) 277-4329.
The Office of the President is calling for nominations for the 2010 Sarah Belle Brown Community Service Award. Established five years ago by current Anderson School of Management Dean Doug Brown in honor of his wife Sarah Belle Brown, the award recognizes those individuals engaging in the third tenet of UNM’s mission: community service. The deadline for nominations is 5 p.m. on April 5, 2010.
Cash awards of $2,000 (less applicable withholding) will be awarded to one UNM faculty member and one UNM staff member, as well as a $1,000 award for a UNM student, who serve as examples of social responsiveness and who have, over an extended period of time, donated considerable personal time and effort advancing the University of New Mexico’s public service mission.
More information and the nomination form are available on the president’s website at: Sarah Belle Brown Community Service Award.
If journalists have ink in their blood, Wendy Pedersen is held together by bookbinding string. Pedersen, Ibero-American resources specialist, University Libraries, got her start at UNM in 1993 when she worked as a temp cashier, then got a permanent position as a general bookseller at the UNM Bookstore. Later, she worked in serials at the School of Law Library. She found a permanent call number at Zimmerman Library in 2000.
Photo: Wendy Pedersen and a Khipu that is being auctioned to benefit KUNM
Pedersen was part of a cohort of UNM library professional staff who, in 2001, earned master’s degrees in library science when Emporia State University, Kansas, provided coursework at UNM. She earned her undergraduate degree in English from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore.
Before working at UNM, she worked in wholesale, retail and customer service for a book vendor. She really is bound to and by books.
She said that though her job responsibilities have stayed the same over the years, automation and the Internet transformed the methods.
“It used to take weeks to query and receive a response from a book vendor in Latin America. Now it’s all handled quickly through email,” she said. Pedersen also said that before WorldCat, the world’s largest online catalog, catalogers like her had to create many of the records for new materials. “Through WorldCat, we share bibliographic resources around the world. It’s astonishingly thorough and has reduced the original data entry we have to perform.”
She continues to take coursework – not just in Latin American studies, history and literature, but also in media arts and languages. “I’m interested in courses across disciplines, particularly in how they use film as a teaching tool. I enjoy seeing how professors use examples from pop culture in a variety of courses,” she said.
That use of pop culture materials helps her in her librarian’s role. “It helps me see uses of film, posters, books, of course, and ephemera in teaching. All of it has value, and as a cataloger it’s a challenge to know how to make these available to a patron in his pajamas at three in the morning exploring electronically what we have here,” she said.
In an upper division Latin American studies course, she studied the attitudes Europeans had toward indigenous people. “They considered them to be illiterate,” she said. For her final project, Pedersen researched an Andean method of record keeping, the Khipu.
“They created a complex mathematical 3-D communication system that employed numerical, spatial, color and material to maintain records,” she said. She created a Khipu that displayed Internet usage statistics from 2000-06 in Peru, Argentina and Brazil.
“What takes four separate Excel spreadsheets is displayed in one Khipu,” she said. Her Khipu is on display in the Herzstein Latin American Reading Room. Pedersen now offers the Khipu for sale to the highest bidder. “It’s KUNM pledge week,” she said. To bid, email Pedersen at wpeder@unm.edu.
Pedersen also takes advantage of working at UNM to participate in yoga classes and the Step Up program through the Employee Health Promotion Program.
She served as the library’s United Way coordinator for the last two years. “The library has a 19 percent participation rate, a strong percentage. I am happy that the library is filled with good-hearted, giving people,” she said.
Story by Carolyn Gonzales
Art History Professor Joyce Szabo is studying how boarding schools influenced the development of Native American drawing and painting in a book project for her recent appointment as regents professor in the College of Fine Arts. Teaching at UNM since 1989, Szabo expanded an acclaimed graduate program with an emphasis in Native American art history.
Image: Joyce Szabo, "Art from Fort Marion."
Her past research mainly focuses on Plains Indian drawing and painting of the late 19th century. She said Plains Indians commonly wore hides painted with their acts of bravery as marks of prestige.
“You had to have the right—you didn’t draw images of things you had not done,” she said, excepting that some might commission a recognized artist to paint their deeds.
When the establishment of reservations led to fewer opportunities for traditional acts of bravery, Plains Indian art began to incorporate other themes, such as courting and the buffalo hunt, Szabo said.
During the transition to the reservation period, the United States sent 72 chiefs and warriors to Fort Marion in Florida, under the charge of Richard Pratt. U.S. officials claimed that removing them would allow others to adjust to reservation life more easily, Szabo said.
Responding to some of the younger men, who wanted to record through art their experiences in traveling to the fort by land and water, passing through cities they’d never seen, Pratt started ordering art supplies.
Szabo recently curated “Art from Fort Marion: The Silberman Collection” at the University Art Museum. The exhibit was drawn from the collection at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum and her book of the same name.
Though the works are unsigned, stylistic differences indicate that there were 26 artists working at Fort Marion, Szabo said.
Now, Szabo plans to follow the work of these and other native artists into the boarding schools. She’ll look at how the teaching of Western techniques and aesthetics influenced indigenous art and how Native American concerns came through in that context.
Pratt founded the Carlisle Indian School. While it was being prepared, he sent some students from Fort Marion to the Hampton Institute in Virginia, originally opened for freed African American slaves. Szabo said both schools had a significant amount Plains Indian-related art.
She described drawings by one of the first students at Carlisle, too young for the Plains wars. Contrary to former restrictions, the Lakota student drew himself in battle scenes. Szabo said he showed himself how he would have liked to be, “the way it was supposed go on in that culture.”
She plans to look at the Santa Fe Indian School, originally founded as a boarding school for children from pueblos in New Mexico. Dorothy Dunn, a white advocate for native art, created The Studio, where students at the school were taught a style of painting favored by non-native tourists in Santa Fe. Szabo is particularly curious to see how much Dunn may have influenced successful Hopi artist Fred Kabotie.
Szabo also plans to look at boarding schools run by the Canadian government and do a cross-national comparison.
Story by Sari Krosinsky
The University of New Mexico School of Law hosts a presentation on governmental ethics by Ross Cheit, political science professor, Brown University, on Wednesday, March 31, at the UNM School of Law starting with a reception at 5:45 p.m., followed by a lecture at 6:45 p.m. Cheit will discuss “Ethics in Government: The Conflict-of-Interest Conundrum.”
Photo: Ross Cheit
According to Cheit’s summary, “Although there is no dispute that conflicts of interest are a concern for state and local government officials everywhere, there is little agreement on precisely how to define or treat conflicts. Who best can determine what constitutes an unacceptable conflict of interest for a public official and what should be done when one is found?”
Cheit is director of the Taubman Center’s Law and Public Policy Program at Brown University and has been a member of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission for five years. He will be introduced by Damian Lara (Class of ’07) who will present an overview of ethics laws and recent developments in New Mexico and will also moderate a discussion following Cheit’s lecture.
This program is sponsored by the Institute of Public Law and the Brown Club of New Mexico. It has been approved by the New Mexico Minimum Continuing Legal Education Board for 1.7 hours of ethics credit. The cost is $35/person only if the lecture is attended for credit, otherwise it is free and open to the public.
Media Contact: Benson Hendrix, (505) 277-1816; e-mail: bhendrix@unm.edu
Over the next few months, budget discussions will be front and center. One topic that affects the majority of UNM employees is the cost of UNM’s health care benefits. Last year, discussion centered on UNM becoming self-insured. Being self-insured enabled the university to cut administrative costs and realize substantial savings. While other organizations had average premium increases of 10.6 percent in 2009, UNM employee premiums did not increase.
After the first year of being self-insured, the Division of Human Resources is evaluating UNM’s health care costs. The challenge in this analysis is the limited options available to keep health care costs low.
The first option is to minimize health care claims. As a self-insured organization, the increasing cost of our health insurance is driven by the cost of health care claims. This requires employees and their dependents to take personal steps to stay as healthy as possible. Through the Employee Health Promotion Program, the Division of Human Resources provides support for employees and their dependents to seek preventive care and reach wellness goals.
The second option to maintain current health care costs is to change the existing co-pays and benefits in medical plans.
To meet the demands of claims with the current level of coverage, the third option is to increase insurance premiums.
In addition to analyzing last year’s aggregate claims, reviewing benefits currently offered, and determining if the current employee premiums will be adequate to keep UNM’s health care solvent, the university has another factor to consider in this analysis. Although insurance is based on a pooled concept, usage of health care benefits varies greatly by different groups covered by UNM’s medical plan. A common practice used to determine premiums is employee group utilization. This would require an analysis of costs by active employees, retirees and coverage type.
At this point, the Division of Human Resources is working hard to find the best solutions. This decision affects everyone personally, so HR is committed to communicating the options, process and outcomes to all UNM employees.
Story by Helen Gonzales, Vice President for Human Resources
The 2010 UNM John Donald Robb Composers’ Symposium, Sunday, March 28-Wednesday, March 31, features Martin Bresnick, professor of composition at Yale University. The opening concert is at the Outpost Performance Space. All other events are in UNM’s Center for the Arts. Bresnick is a recipient of the Fulbright, Rome Prize, Guggenheim, Berlin Prize and Koussevitsky Commission and was elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2006.
Photo: Martin Bresnick by Marc Ostrow.
UNM faculty and guest performers will play his music, including Lisa Moore, “New York’s Queen of Avant-Garde piano” according to The New Yorker magazine; founding pianist for the Bang-On-A-Can All Stars; and the Iridium Saxophone Quartet featuring UNM Assistant Professor Eric Lau.
The opening concert, in collaboration with the Outpost Performance Space on Sunday March 28, at 7:30 p.m., features legendary guitarist Bill Frisell, Eyvind Kang and Albuquerque’s Rahim Alhaj in a performance of “Baghdad/Seattle Suite.” For tickets, contact the Outpost at (505) 268-0044 or visit Outpost Performance Space.
On Monday, March 29 at 7:30 p.m., the “John Donald Robb Concert” features Tatiana Vetrinskaya, Javier Ortiz and James Bratcher playing piano compositions and songs by Robb. Artists-in-Residence the Iridium Saxophone Quartet perform a quartet by Bresnick and Rahim AlHaj, Eyvind Kang and Bill Frisell perform an excerpt from the “Baghdad/Seattle Suite.” Also that evening, UNM composer Dawn Chambers presents the world premiere of her “How We Say Goodbye to our Children,” featuring world renowned poet Joy Harjo as narrator.
This year’s installation piece, making a connection between music and the visual arts, is a collaboration between guitarist/composer William Fowler Collins and video artist Claudia X. Valdes. They will be featured on Tuesday, March 30 at 2 p.m. At 7:30 p.m., Symposium Artist-in-Residence Lisa Moore plays work for piano and voice by Martin Bresnick.
Performances on Wednesday, March 31, embrace the initiative to include younger composers. New Music Wednesday features two composer/performers living and working in New York City: Noam Sivan and Lily Maase. UNM composer and theorist Richard Hermann’s “Fantasia” is featured in a performance by UNM Assistant Professor Cármelo de los Santos, violin and Associate Professor David Schepps, cello, and the UNM Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of David Felberg.
The poster for this year’s symposium features artwork by UNM Regents Professor of Art, Elen Feinberg. Symposium Artistic Director Chris Shultis plans to continue featuring artwork by UNM art faculty and students in future symposium programs.
All performances at the Center for the Arts are free and open to the public. For schedule information, visit Robb Trust.
The UNM Bookstores host Graduation Fair 2010. On Monday, March 29 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., the Medical Bookstore hosts their sale; and Tuesday, March 30 – Thursday, April 1, from 10 a.m. -5 p.m., the Bookstore on main campus hosts theirs.
The “Grad Pack” offers 20 percent off on caps, gowns and tassels and 15 percent off diploma frames, only during the sale.
During the fair, soon-to-be grads can order announcements and class rings and sit for a professional graduation photo, with no obligation to purchase.
For more information contact Anicia Esposito aespo@unm.edu or 277-9752 or visit: UNM Bookstore
Celebrating Women’s History Month and its own 38th anniversary, the UNM Women’s Resource Center presented a series of events honoring women’s contributions throughout history and helping women and men face the challenges that remain. Among them, the WRC presented a talk by IMPACT Personal Safety New Mexico Executive Director Alena Schaim, co-sponsored by UNM Staff Council.
Schaim said that after trying to get help to overcome early abusive dating experiences, “IMPACT was the first thing that made me feel safe and realize it’s not going to happen to me again.”
IMPACT is a nonprofit organization that teaches adults and children to prevent and defend themselves against verbal, physical and sexual violence. Schaim’s talk focused on prevention, for which self-confidence and safe habits are key.
“People can’t do what they believe is impossible,” she said. “What we do is make defense and prevention seem possible.”
IMPACT classes help participants build safe habits and self-confidence through practice. “We want the most extreme situations to happen in our classroom,” Schaim said. The intense instruction with a padded mock assailant acclimates participants to how the body will react to a real threat, allowing them to use the adrenaline rush and minimize “the freeze response,” she said.
Schaim said the key to preventing assault is to be aware of your surroundings and your own body language. She said to use all your senses, trust your instincts, and before acting, ask yourself, “Is this a safe decision?”
She suggested reconsidering common habits and whether they could be safer. For example, she said to try leaving one earbud out when listening to music while walking. “If I go out with earbuds, it sends message that I don’t hear anything.”
Participants practiced the “ready stance,” a balanced position where the body is relaxed and ready to respond to aggression with palms turned out in a stop signal. Schaim said yelling, in addition to letting others know you need help, will help overcome “the freeze response.” “If I yell, ‘No!’ I have to breathe again,” she said. “It lets me use that adrenaline.”
“Yelling can stop an assault. It’s that important.”
Other Women’s History Month events at UNM include the New Mexico Women’s Hall of Fame exhibit, showing at the Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center Monday, March 22-Friday, March 26, and at the School of Law Monday, March 29-Wednesday, March 31, and the WRC’s Friday film series, featuring “Great Women Artists: Georgia O’Keefe” at noon on March 26, Mesa Vista Hall 1160.
For classes and other information on IMPACT, visit Impact Personal Safety. Visit the WRC online at Women's Resource Center.
Media Contact: Sari Krosinsky, (505) 277-1593; e-mail: michal@unm.edu
Native American Studies presents “Heritage and Passage: Sculptural Works by Phillip Mangas Haozous and Allan Houser,” a lecture by Jeanine Belgodere, associate professor, University of Le Havre, France, on Wednesday, March 31, 3-4:30 p.m., in Ortega Hall, room 335. The free event also features special guest Phillip Mangas Haozous.
The lecture takes spectators through the works of Apache sculptors Haozous and Houser. In the footsteps of Houser, Haozous drew inspiration from Native American traditions, but without fully embracing the heroism of Native America, one of the crucial aspects of his father’s artwork. More intimate and imbued with universal familiarity, his sculptures depart from the epic and political dimensions of Houser’s works to explore in a figurative or abstract mode such motifs as mother and child, dance, the feminine form and features of Apache culture.
Contact Native American Studies at (505) 277-3917 or nasinfo@unm.edu.
Media Contact: Sari Krosinsky, (505) 277-1593; e-mail: michal@unm.edu
Dean of Students G. Randy Boeglin has announced the recipients of the 2010 Clauve Outstanding Senior Awards. Six students will be honored at a recognition reception at UNM Thursday, April 15. This year’s recipients are Abdullah Feroze, Teresa Goering, Sevy (Francheska) Gurule, Hallee Kells, Adam Quintero and Marina Weisert.
Clauve awards are presented annually to graduating seniors who demonstrate significant academic achievement and leadership ability and who are a positive influence. The award is named after UNM Dean Emeritus Lena Clauve.
Feroze, a graduate of Goddard High School in Roswell, NM, said his involvement at UNM started with the Associated Students of UNM, the undergraduate student government body. A regent’s scholar, Feroze was a finalist for the nation’s top awards in 2009, including the Rhodes, Truman and Marshall scholarships. A research associate with UNM’s MIND Research Network, he has been accepted to the Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy’s Global Health Fellows Program for summer 2010.
Feroze’s desire to study medicine and global health has developed in large part due to “the array of academic, volunteer and professional experiences I’ve had at UNM…from interacting with curanderas to explore the concepts of traditional Mexican healing to learning about health care reform as an intern on Capitol Hill to researching the link between alcohol dependence and antipsychotic drugs in the lab,” Feroze said. “I’ve become a wiser, worldlier and more culturally-competent individual.”
Goering, a mass communication major, in the Department of Communication & Journalism, made her mark as humanitarian serving UNM sororities and through a broad range of community service. By junior year, she served as president of her Chi Omega and was named president of the College Panhellenic, the governing body of UNM sororities.
Stellar academics earned her the Order of Omega Founders Scholarship, Albuquerque Metropolitan Alumnae Panhellenic Scholarship and other accolades. Goering’s conservation work in Australia and with 16 volunteer organizations, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Big Brothers Big Sisters, earned her recognition such as the UNM Greek Service Award, Chi Omega Marge Legette Service Award and Chi Omega Freshman Cup. She also volunteered her graphic design skills for the production of Best Student Essays and chartered student advertising club.
Gurule was raised in northern New Mexico and also demonstrates passion for service and leadership. This spring, she was selected Student Leader of the Semester. She accrued more than 500 hours of service as co-chair and chair for Relay for Life, the American Cancer Society’s largest national fundraiser. She oversees nine sub-committees and $50,000 has been raised locally during her tenure.
A first-generation college student, she defines college as an invaluable experience, noting that it is about “working with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures, learning about them, embracing their differences, and teaching them your history. It’s about taking your passions and transforming them into actions.” Following graduation, Gurule, who has been accepted to several medical schools, plans to travel to El Salvador once again to help provide free health care to impoverished communities.
Kells is noted for her “energetic and organized approach” to academics and student life. She recently earned the National Orientation Directors Association Student Leadership Award and Dean of Students’ Student Service Award. Kells says she was inspired during orientation at the start of her college career and gained more “Lobo pride” during her first job on campus assisting with student activities. Following her service as a student government senator, she joined Pi Beta Phi, became communications director for ASUNM and worked several summers as a new student orientation leader.
Kells also participated in an international exchange, studying in Australia and New Zealand. Determined to give back to the university, she accepted the challenge to create the first Online Community for the Class of 2013. She has served as events director for ASUNM’s Community Experience where she further developed leadership skills.
Quintero, an accomplished student leader, plans to join Teach for America or the Peace Corps before attending medical school. Nominated for “OUTstanding GLBT Leader” by the Albuquerque Pride Organization and Weekly Alibi for work he’s done with the UNM Queer Straight Alliance, he is also credited with originating UNM’s first Drag Show and Prom. “It was one of the most successful and biggest events QSA has ever done,” Quintero said, noting the effort earned the group a community service award for raising awareness about the drag community. Last semester Quintero co-chaired a National Coming Out Day event.
“We thought it would be a great way to celebrate and support LGBT patients and physicians [and to] address LGBT healthcare issues and disparities,” said Quintero, who spent a summer conducting Genome Sciences research at the University of Washington.
An active member of the Mortar Board Honor Society, Quintero was also a Ronald E. McNair scholar and worked as a educational mentor/tutor and teaching assistant. He is a longtime volunteer with St. John of God Hospital and Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Weisert, bound for graduate school after a planned 9,000 mile road trip, distinguished herself through service to the Division of Student Affairs, as both a fellow and Student Housing and Residence Life student employee. “Students should view self-advancement as an avenue to broaden their concern for their fellow humans,” she said. Weisert’s academic path earned her several scholarships, including the Jenny Marie Ames Memorial Scholarship, as well as a spot with the Mortar Board Honor Society.
Scholarly success did not deter school spirit. Weisert was a student senator, orientation leader, resident advisor and earned the “Craziest Lobo Award” multiple times at Red Rally, UNM’s largest pep rally. She spearheaded and helped coordinate innovations such as the residence hall portion of the Meal Exchange, the first Skip-A-Meal program successfully executed on an American campus. She plans to specialize in student development to motivate and mentor future generations of college students about the value of campus and community involvement.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
The School of Architecture and Planning presents, “35n.106w Converging Perspectives: A medium for student discourse,” Thursday-Friday, April 1-2, in George Pearl Hall. This is the school’s first student-led conference.
“Converging Perspectives” is an interdisciplinary conference focused on bringing together students from the fields of architecture, landscape architecture and community and regional planning to engage in student discourse.
The first keynote speaker is Bart Prince, on Thursday, April 1 at 5:30 p.m. in Pearl Hall auditorium. Prince, a New Mexico-born architect, opened his Albuquerque office in 1973. He is known for creating remarkable residences throughout the Southwest and beyond.
Tom Wiscombe presents the second keynote on Friday, April 2 at 5:30 p.m., also in the Pearl Hall auditorium. Wiscombe founded Emergent Architecture in 1999. The firm is dedicated to researching issues of globalism, technology and materiality through built form.
The conference is organized by the American Institute of Architecture Students and the Society of Landscape Architecture Students.
Conference schedule:
Thursday, April 1
5:30-6:30 p.m. Bart Prince keynote lecture
6:30-7:30 p.m. reception, George Pearl Hall Gallery
Friday, April 2
10-10:45 a.m.
Katya Yushmanova, Tony Fettes, Elaine Stevens, Kristen Guist - landscape architecture
10:45-11:30 a.m.
Kobi Bauer and Owen Kramme - graduate architecture
11:30-12:15 p.m.
Maggie Ryan - landscape architecture
12:15-1:15 p.m.
lunch break
1:15-2 p.m.
Craig Lawrence - University of Colorado Denver, architecture
2-2:45 p.m.
David Salamon - architecture
2:45-3:30 p.m.
Andrew Goering - community & regional planning
3:30-4:15 p.m.
Mike Heighway - architecture
4:15-5 p.m.
Haijuan Yan - Texas A&M architecture
5-5:30p.m.
break
5:30-6:30 p.m. Tom Wiscombe keynote lecture
6:30-7:30 p.m. reception, George Pearl Hall Gallery
For more information, contact Chad Harris at (505) 803-9227.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
The final spring 2010 International Task Force gathering is set for Tuesday, April 27 from 12 – 1:30 p.m. in Scholes Hall, Roberts Room. Dr. Eliseo “Cheo” Torres, vice president for Student Affairs, will speak on “Supporting and Creating Latin American Outreach Programs at UNM."
Additionally, Peter Pabisch, emeritus professor, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, will discuss the “The Long Term Connection Santa Fe – Vienna.”
Continue to support the task force by attending the events. RSVP to katpad@unm.edu by Monday, April 26. Lunch will be provided.
The task force is currently working on the fall 2010 gatherings and encourages individuals to provide feedback on improving member turnout. “We need as many of our collaborators to attend as possible and want to hear about what you are working on,” said Kathryn Padilla, coordinator. E-mail her, or Peter Pabisch, pabisch@unm.edu, with any ideas aimed at improving turnout and interest.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Western Writers of America announced winners of the 2010 Spur Awards. UNM Press title The Secret War in El Paso: Mexican Revolutionary Intrigue, 1906-1920 by Charles H. Harris III and Louis R. Sadler was selected as the winner for Best Western Contemporary Nonfiction. Established in 1953 by Western Writers of America, the Spur Awards are given annually for distinguished writing about the American West and are among the oldest and most prestigious awards in American literature.
Previous winners include Larry McMurtry for Lonesome Dove, Michael Blake for Dances with Wolves, Tony Hillerman for Skinwalker and Hampton Sides for Blood and Thunder: An Epic of the American West.
In The Secret War in El Paso, Harris and Sadler examine the mechanics of rebellion in a town that was the largest and most important American city on the Mexican border during the Mexican Revolution and was the scene of many clandestine operations as American businesses and the U.S. federal government sought to maintain their influences in Mexico and protect national interest while keeping an eye on key Revolutionary figures.
Using 80,000 pages of previously classified FBI documents on the Mexican Revolution and hundreds of Mexican secret agent reports from El Paso and Ciudad Juarez in the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Relations archive, this slice of El Paso’s—and America’s—history adds new dimensions to what is known about the Mexican Revolution.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Members of the New Mexico State Legislature hit the hardwood recently in the 2010 annual Legislative Basketball Game, “Hoops 4 Hope.” For the first time in nine years, the Senate prevailed, defeating the House of Representatives 43-42. The event was a benefit for the UNM Cancer Center, raising $10,370 from ticket sales and a raffle.
“The UNM Cancer Center is thrilled to be the sponsor and recipient of the proceeds from the basketball game,” said Cheryl Willman, director and chief executive officer of the UNM Cancer Center. “Cancer is one of the leading causes of death for New Mexicans, second only to heart disease. In fact, based on a recent study, one in five people die annually from cancer in the state.”
More than 8,800 New Mexicans will experience a life-altering cancer diagnosis this year, according to statistics from The New Mexico Tumor Registry, housed at UNM Cancer Center.
A wood stove refurbished and donated by former UNM Cancer Center patient Pete Bushman was raffled during the game. Bushman, who lives in Española, was diagnosed with melanoma two years ago and referred to the UNM Cancer Center, which he said saved his life.
Combat veterans from recent wars often face the same challenges that previous generations of soldiers encountered in reintegrating in society. What’s different for today’s veterans is that those challenges, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, are better understood. The UNM-Gallup Veterans’ Association hopes to help men and women trying to build a new life after their tour of duty has ended.
Photo (l. to r.): Jason Joe, UNM-Gallup Veterans’ Association vice president; Kimberly Longhair, secretary; Mike Kirk, president; and Wyatt Stiger, sponsor and UNMG academic advisor.
“It’s a way for all of us to come together and set an example for others – for all those who’ve come to UNMG to put their lives together,” said Mike Kirk, a Special Forces veteran of Afghanistan and Veterans Association’ president. “It’s up to us to not fall victim to stereotypes – to show that we’re successful at reintegrating and that they can do it, too.”
Jason Joe, Army veteran of Iraq and the group’s vice president, said veterans struggle with suddenly being alone when they leave the structured life of the military.
“It took me a while to straighten out after I came home. You go from being in your squad, where you help each other, to being on your own,” he said. Combat veterans may also compound problems by medicating their psychological wounds with drugs or alcohol – an experience Joe can relate to.
“I used alcohol to keep the experience behind me, but it came out anyway. After quitting [drinking], I decided to go back to school.” Joe said using the same discipline he learned in the Army helps him stay focused in school, as does the support of the Veterans’ Association.
“We keep each other in line. We’re a team. And we try to network with veterans at other schools so that we can keep the support going. It helps to see familiar faces,” Joe said.
They plan to expand that network through participation in the annual Bataan Memorial Marathon at White Sands Missile Range on Tuesday, March 23. The marathon commemorates the Bataan Death March of 1942, when 70,000 Filipino and American troops surrendered to the Japanese and were forced to embark on a 60-mile march to prison camps, during which thousands died.
Acknowledging his own experience with PTSD, Kirk said often veterans hesitate to admit to it, believing it’s a sign of weakness. This can contribute to isolation.
“When you come back, you feel different. When I first walked through the Commons, I felt like I was on Mars. One week, I was in a Humvee, in a state of high alert, and then I’m here. You feel out of place. I’m making progress, though. I feel more now, two years later, like a normal guy. I feel more compassion,” Kirk said.
Story by Linda Thornton
Forging a relationship with faculty is on the check list for any student with an eye toward attending graduate school, assisting with a research project or earning a scholarship. Faculty often get low marks for not being accessible, but students, too, have to put forth effort to create a meaningful connection.
“I can’t tell you how many office hours I spend by myself,” said John Benavidez, Anderson School of Management lecturer. “Make up a reason to go see your professor during office hours. It will make a world of difference.”
If a student’s academic or work schedule conflicts with office hours, most instructors are amenable to identifying a mutually convenient appointment time, he said.
When asked by a parent about today’s student and time management, Benavidez said scholars need to have their priorities in the right place. A group of Benavidez’ students recently conducted research on Generation Y peers to find that, on average, students spend two and a half hours online each day visiting social networking sites. “When I was in school we worked, maybe not as much, but we still worked,” he said.
When requesting a letter of recommendation, students should give faculty 30 days notice. If the instructor accepts the invitation, provide relevant materials, such as forms, envelopes and a resume. Benavidez, who this past year wrote 39 letters for students, suggests asking for a “favorable letter” to give the professor leeway to decide if it’s appropriate to provide the reference.
Mary Bowannie, lecturer in Native American Studies, teaches and advises in the department, so she forms a natural connection with most students. It’s not old school to expect faculty to make time to mentor, Bowannie said, suggesting that students take courses from several professors in their major until they find a mentor match.
Bowannie has plenty of personal contact with students, but as a media-savvy instructor she utilizes the electronic handshake to her benefit. She connects with students via e-mail, listservs, Facebook and the NAS Web site.
Clubs and student professional organizations are another way to meet faculty, Bowannie said, noting that most groups are required to have a faculty sponsor. For students in larger classes, she suggests reaching out to teaching assistants, fellow students and accessing the faculty’s Web site.
View Parent Talk presentations online and get information about future programs at parent.unm.edu/parent-talks.
Story by Laurie Mellas, Parent Relations Office, Senior Program Manager
In January, the Staff Council laid out legislative priorities aimed at protecting the quality and affordability of UNM’s programs and promoting the importance of the job staff do to support them. The dust is still settling in Santa Fe after one of the most difficult sessions in memory. Early indicators show a favorable outcome for education and much legislative support for the educational services that will serve as the cornerstone of the state’s economic recovery.
UNM’s government relations efforts demonstrated a new level of collaboration and outreach from the UNM community, which undoubtedly contributed to the outcome and should be noted as a success in itself. The voices of many staff who took time to reach out to legislators were a powerful addition to the process.
While legislators support education, concerns remain about graduation rates and effective use of allocated funds. Some of these concerns can be addressed by better information about the high-quality effort already being performed.
Concerns involving student success and retention call upon the entire community to rethink approaches to ensure that every student has every opportunity to succeed, especially in absence of increases in resources. Staff has stretched to bridge short-term needs, but an economic recovery will likely take years, and quick fixes are brittle approaches to long-term gaps.
Following years of conflict and controversy, this university is in dire need to move past the divisions that separate faculty, staff, students, community, regents and the administration. Moving forward requires a process that recognizes strengths, celebrates teamwork, respects people and prioritizes contributions to the core academic mission of the university. Without this focus and shared understanding, we squander our greatest asset: the intellectual capital and aspirations that make a university more than just a collection of buildings.
In response to this need, the Staff Council voted to create a new standing committee on student success and engagement at its February meeting. The goal is to work collaboratively across the institution to identify and promote proposals that directly contribute to student success while improving the lives and working conditions of staff. Participation on the committee is open and ideas and input are welcome.
If the unfortunate reality is that current conditions will affect education for the long term, then the obvious response is to encourage creativity, collaboration and initiative in rethinking our approach and priorities. It also calls upon leaders to articulate a vision that can move us all toward a model of education and the workplace that is fundamentally rooted in encouraging the human spirit to reach its fullest potential.
Contact the Staff Council office at scouncil@unm.edu or (505) 277-1532 or visit: Staff Council.
Story by Elisha Allen, Staff Council President
The UNM School of Architecture and Planning hosts Marc Treib, emeritus professor of architecture, University of California, Berkeley, who presents, “Noguchi's Landscapes: The Garden as Sculpture,” Monday, March 29 at 5:15 p.m. in the George Pearl Hall auditorium. Treib’s presentation is the school’s JB Jackson Lecture.
Image: California Scenario, Costa Mesa, 1980-82, Isamu Noguchi
Treib will talk about Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988), American/Japanese sculptor, landscape and furniture designer. Noguchi is known for fusing the minimalist aesthetic of Japanese Zen gardens with abstract geometric forms of Modernist design. Several of his lamps and furniture pieces were mass-produced; some are still manufactured and sold. Among his signature designs are the Japanese Garden at UNESCO Headquarters, in Paris, France; and his amoeboid glass and black wood Noguchi coffee table.
Noguchi, whose career spanned six decades, also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions.
Treib is a practicing graphic designer, and a noted landscape and architectural historian and critic. He has published widely on modern and historical subjects in the United States, Japan and Scandinavia, including An Everyday Modernism: The Houses of William Wurster (1995) and Space Calculated In Seconds: The Philips Pavilion, Le Corbusier, Edgard Varèse (1996). Recent books on designed landscapes include: Noguchi in Paris: The UNESCO Garden (2003); Thomas Church, Landscape Architect: Designing a Modern California Landscape (2004); The Donnell and Eckbo Gardens: Modern Californian Masterworks (2005); Settings and Stray Paths: Writings on Landscapes and Gardens (2005); Representing Landscape Architecture (2007); Drawing/Thinking: Confronting and Electronic Age (2008); and Spatial Recall: Memory in Architecture and Landscape (2009).
Chris Wilson, JB Jackson chair of cultural landscape studies, at the School of Architecture and Planning, said, “Marc is the premier historian of 20th century and contemporary landscape architecture. Through a prolific series of monographs on leading designers and edited volumes on key movements, he has done more than anyone to give the landscape profession a clear sense of where it has come from and where it is going.”
The UNM Board of Regents will hold a special meeting to address the UNM budget on Friday, April 2, at 1 p.m. in Ballroom C of the Student Union Building on the UNM main campus. This is the university's annual budget review, also known as the budget summit. A special session of the New Mexico state legislature ended on March 4. Gov. Bill Richardson has until March 24 to make his decision on the state budget and package of tax increases approved by legislators.
This budget, as approved by the state legislature, reflects another cut in state funding for UNM. Overall, the main campus, HSC and branches had appropriations reduced 7.7 percent, totaling $25,052,700.
The total for each component is as follows:
Main Campus - $14,920,900 (7.4 percent)
HSC - $9,143,600 (8.7 percent)
Branches - $988,200 (4.9 percent)
When coupled with cuts made during the previous special session last October, UNM’s main campus instruction and general (I&G) funding for FY2011 is 6.9 percent below what was in the original FY2010 budget.
The main campus I&G lost $7,701,970 in appropriations and $5,166,030 in a 5 percent state tuition tax credit. That amounts to a $12.8 million cut. I&G funding pays for core operations of the university, including salaries. In addition, main campus research and special project funding is down an average 15.3 percent, or another $2 million. Athletics and KNME have been reduced 10.5 percent each.
With these numbers, the university must begin to prepare a budget for submission to and approval by the Regents. It must be in Santa Fe May 1.
Priorities will remain the same as last year:
• Protect the classroom and services our students need to graduate.
• Ensure our faculty can continue with the least interruption of their research and scholarly creative activities.
• Keep UNM as affordable as possible with the least necessary increases in tuition and fees.
• To the extent possible, protect our workforce because New Mexico needs jobs and people at work.
Addressing this issue at the regents’ meeting, President David Schmidly said, “To meet these priorities will require that we emphasize cost containment. That will be the focus of building this budget - strategies that will achieve cost reductions through improved, streamlined processes and long-term efficiencies.”
In building the budget, Schmidly said he will consider the cost containment and revenue generating recommendations of the President’s Strategic Advisory Team, those from the schools, colleges and units reporting to the executive vice presidents, and those from various constituency groups of the UNM community. His goal is to lay out a three-year plan for cost containment at UNM.
The Art Education faculty and the Masley Gallery presents the 2010 Graduating MA Exhibition March 22 - April 2. Opening presentations and a reception will be held on Friday, March 26, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Masley Gallery on the UNM Campus.
The UNM community is cordially invited to attend an exhibition featuring the dynamic work of graduating MA students: Topher House, Claudia Marshall-Apers, Mara Pierce, Elizabeth Prusak, and Rebecca Salazar.
Studio artwork and a thesis will be displayed. MA Grads will give their final presentations on Friday, March 26, starting at 5 p.m. A reception with refreshments will follow the presentations.
Masley Gallery is located in Masley Hall on the north side of the UNM campus. Gallery hours are Monday - Friday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information contact arted@unm.edu or call, 277-4112.
Project reaches major milestone
The Long Wavelength Array (LWA), a major next-generation radio telescope project at the University of New Mexico, will be the site of a ribbon-cutting event to mark its first major milestone. The ribbon cutting will be held at the LWA-1 Site on the Plains of San Agustin near Socorro, N.M. on Thursday, April 1, 2010 beginning at 11 a.m.
The Event...
At 11:30 a.m., the formal program gets underway with several distinguished guests, including LWA Scientific Director Greg Taylor, and National Radio Astronomy Observatory Assistant Director Robert Dickman, with comments beginning at 11:30 a.m.
Other guests of the LWA Ribbon-Cutting event include representatives of the New Mexico Congressional delegation, which was instrumental in securing more than $10 million in funding to help the support the project in its first four years. State and local officials, the LWA Executive Committee, the LWA Project team and UNM officials will be on hand. In addition, special guests from the Office of Naval Research and Naval Research Laboratory, the Air Force Research Lab at Kirtland AFB, Los Alamos Research Laboratory, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Virginia Tech, University of Iowa and representatives of UNM will be present.
The LWA is a primary element in a growing relationship between UNM Physics and Astronomy Department and the Air Force Research Laboratory through collaborative projects with the AFRL Space Weather Center of Excellence, which is soon relocating to Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque. It is also a major component in a relationship between UNM and the NSF National Radio Astronomy Observatory.
Transitational Phase...
Recently, LWA researchers completed a major milestone in the project by fielding their first antenna station on the Plains of San Agustin and conducting their first commissioning experiments. Currently, the project is moving from major design and development to an implementation and initial observations phase.
“We are at a transitional phase right now,” said Lee Rickard, LWA Executive Project Director. “A milestone in development is done. We’re at the point where we’re talking about data, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. We plan on having the first station fully operational by March 2011.”
LWA researchers plan to produce an instrument with imaging power 2-3 orders of magnitude better than current or past capabilities below the broadcast FM bands (i.e., 10 – 88 MHz). By utilizing and taking advantage of New Mexico’s unique environment for radio astronomy, and distributing telescope stations around much of the state, the LWA will provide high-precision, synoptic views of the ionosphere and solar weather events, and of a panoply of astrophysical phenomena.
When Complete...
When completed, the LWA will be complete with 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.
Future plans call for the LWA to become a premier international facility for conducting fundamental research in space physics and astrophysics, for educating the next generation of students in the United States. The LWA will be a major element in New Mexico’s leadership role in space physics. The project has already funded several graduate and undergraduate students, helping to create an expert academic user community that can achieve future advances in these fields.
Map and Directions...
For a map and directions to the event visit: LWA Ribbon-Cutting.
Media Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
The Office of Enrollment Management Management will host "Junior Day" on Saturday, March 27. The event, which will be held for high school juniors to introduce them to the University of New Mexico campus, will be held from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Registration runs from 8 to 8:45 a.m. at the double doors on the west side of at Johnson Center. Registration will be followed by the program from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at various locations around campus.
Interested participants also have the option of attending a UNM baseball tailgate from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m., followed by a Lobo baseball game against San Diego State beginning at 2 p.m. All events are free. Campus parking will also be free on all permit lots.
For more information call (505) 277-8900 or visit: Junior Day.
University of New Mexico senior Roman Martinez will be one of nine competitors participating in the Ford 3-Point Shooting contest during Final Four activities next week in Indianapolis. The competition is part of the 22nd Annual State Farm College Slam Dunk and Three Point Championships. The event takes place Thursday, April 1, at the Indiana Convention Center and will be televised by ESPN from 7-9 p.m. Albuquerque time.
Former Lobo Tony Danridge won the Slam Dunk title last year in Detroit. Martinez is one of eight participants in the 3-point contest. Also selected were Sherron Collins (Kansas), Eric Hayes (Maryland) and Jerome Randle (Cal). The other four competitors are still playing in the NCAA Tournament.
Martinez was one of the nation's top 3-point shooters in 2009-10. He led the Mountain West Conference by averaging 2.8 3s a game and was fourth in accuracy at 41.3%. Martinez set a UNM record with 240 3-point attempts in 2009-10 and his 99 3-pointers made ranks No. 2 all-time at New Mexico for a single season.
Tobacco kills six people every day in New Mexico
On Tuesday, March 23, from 10:30 am-1:30 p.m. in the SUB Atrium, Student Health & Counseling (SHAC) and Campus Office of Substance Abuse Prevention (COSAP) will host Kick Butts Day, a day designed to inform smokers and non-smokers alike about the dangers of smoking. Whether students are ready to quit smoking or just want some info, SHAC and COSAP will have staff on hand to help.
Students can pick up a free nicotine replacement therapy patch or gum after completing a simple, 5-minute assessment. Students who don’t smoke - but care about someone who does - can stop by for information on helping the smokers in their life feel supported and informed. Students who stop by can also play games and win prizes as part of the event.
For info, call COSAP at 277-2795, SHAC at 277-7947 or visit: Kick Butts Day.
Call for abstracts
The Configurable Space Microsystems Innovations and Applications Center (COSMIAC) will host a conference on Nov. 1-4, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Albuquerque. Authors interested in submitting abstracts need to submit both a short abstract (not to exeed 400 words) and an extended abstract (not to exceed 3 pages) in PDF format to Abstracts can be sent to respace2010abstracts@cosmiac.orgor visit: ReSpace2010.
Recent advances in reconfigurable electronics and microsystems are bringing about a revolution in increasingly capable but exceedingly compact and low cost spacecraft. ReSpace 2010 will be the first conference to directly address changes needed in the underlying electronics, components, and systems technologies along with workforce development and management practices that will fuel this revolution.
While the impact of Moores’s Law on consumer electronics, computers, and automobiles has resulted in accelerated advancement to more capable products, this trend is now starting to dramatically impact space systems and capabilities. As spacecraft improve with further advancements in commercial electronics, the benefits of reconfigurable microsystems will become more compelling on larger, managed space programs and smaller spacecraft alike.
Radical improvement in components affects all areas of satellite design and space capability from individual devices, sensors and components to complete spacecraft and constellations. ReSpace 2010 will explore the heart of what is driving the change, seek to comprehend the impact of these changes on the global space industry and posture efforts by the community to overcome key hurdles.
COSMIAC seeks papers from industry, government, and academic institutions on the following topics:
• Novel Implementation of Commercial and Commercially Derived Electronics
in Space:
Designs and applications using FPGAs, microcontrollers, and DSPs,
algorithmic/hierarchical radiation effects mitigation; fault tolerance/self-
repair; reconfigurable space payloads/buses; digital security/trustworthiness.
• Bold Operational Concepts and Orbital Flexibility:
Mission assurance/economy tradeoffs; novel approaches to space effects
mitigation; implementing “big” missions with small spacecraft (such as
imaging and communications), operational responsiveness; systems
engineering/design tools to demonstrate the lifetime cost; reliability and
performance impact of reconfigurable microsystems on spacecraft and
constellations.
• Practical Modularity and Novel Modules:
Space Plug and Play (SPA) and related standards; physical standards;
interface standards; new compact spacecraft modules for attitude
determination and control; power generation and energy storage; software
defined radio; reconfigurable antennas.
• Novel Component Manufacturing and Materials:
Reconfigurable materials; rapid component prototyping and fabrication;
software defined discrete components and networks.
• Workforce Development for the Coming Age of Rapid Spacecraft Design:
Novel approaches to technical/program management; K-12 programs to
prime the workforce development pipeline; novel community
college/university curricula and learning laboratories; technical/professional
retraining programs.
Steven Suddarth, Ph.D., the director of COSMIAC says, "Through COSMIAC's efforts, and the ReSpace 2010 conference in particular, we're trying to identify and promote innovative microsystems solutions with the potential to cut space system costs by a factor of 10 to 100 in the types of systems where new electronics and operational concepts will allow it." Suddarth goes on the explain that COSMIAC's work in space microsystems, along with the work of numerous scientists and engineers at UNM and in the international space community will soon enable entirely new missions that would not otherwise be possible with the traditional space system paradigm. "This microsystems revolution will usher in a totally different view of system reliability, obsolescence and technological responsivesness," says Suddarth.
COSMIAC is a center in the UNM School of Engineering Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and is affiliated with the Phillips Technology Institute. COSMIAC does collaborative research with the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center where it is developing the FPGA learning center.
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
Distinguished Professor of Anthropology Lawrence Guy Straus presented the endowed Hallam L. Movius Lecture in Paleolithic Archeology at Harvard University this year. Movius was one of the first American archeologists who specialized in the Paleolithic of the Old World. Straus, who has taught at UNM since 1975, says he was influenced by aspects of Movius’ work.
Photo: Distinguished Professor of Anthropology Lawrence Guy Straus
To hear his lecture visit: Peabody.
Straus has been excavating El Miron Cave in Spain since 1996. His more recent publications on the site with his Spanish colleague Professor Manuel Gonzales Morales from the Universidad de Cantabria are in the journals “Radiocarbon” and “Munibe.”
He plans to spend the summer at El Mirón cave with a multinational crew that will include UNM graduate and undergraduate students.
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
The spring 2010 UNM Army ROTC “Lobo Batallion” Golf Tournament is set for Wednesday, April 14, with an 8 a.m. – or 0800 hours – shotgun start at the UNM Championship Golf Course.
Prizes will be given for closest to the pin, longest drives on specific holes and first place teams. Price is $40 per player, which includes all green fees, cart fee and a catered cookout style meal. Participants also receive a golf ball sleeve and range balls.
All funds go to the UNM Army ROTC Cadet Fund.
To participate or to support the fund, please send check or money order to Pam Madrid, UNM Army ROTC, MSC 02 1760, 1836 Lomas Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87131-0001.
For more information, contact Madrid at (505) 277-2250 or pgmadrid@unm.edu
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
The UNM Anthropology Graduate Student Union is sponsoring the 14th Annual Graduate Research Symposium on March 25 – 27. The event will showcase current research conducted around the world by UNM graduate students from the departments of Anthropology, History and English.
The symposium will also allow undergraduates to present research covering a wide range of themes in archaeology, biological anthropology, history and ethnography.
On Thursday, March 25, the Annual Kennedy Award Lecture will be presented at 4 p.m. in the Hibben Center, Room 105. Ph. D. candidate Susan Ruth will speak on “Women’s Toolkits: Technological Organization, Proscriptions and Motor Skills."
On Friday, March 26, the annual Butler Award Lecture will be presented at 4 p.m. in the Hibben Center, Room 105. Ph.D. candidate by Jara Carrington will speak on “Love Exiles: Binational Same Sex Couples and National Belonging in the United States.”
At 7 p.m. on Friday, keynote speaker T.J. Ferguson, professor of practice in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Arizona as well as owner and operator of Anthropological Research LLC, a research company in Tucson, Arizona. Ferguson specializes in archaeological and ethnographic research needed for historic preservation, repatriation and litigation of land and water rights and will speak on “Tribal Heritage Management: Emerging Trends in the Production of Knowledge in Room 105 of the Hibben Center.
On Saturday, March 27 there will be undergraduate and graduate research presentations from 2 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. in the Hibben Center, Room 105. At 7 p.m. Barbara J. Mills professor of Anthropology and Department Chair at the University of Arizona will speak on “The Archaeology of Social Networks in the Pre-Hispanic Southwest.” Her research interests include Southwest archaeology, Native American ceramics, archaeologies of inequality, migration, identidy and heritage preservation.
The symposium is co-sponsored by the Anthropology Graduate Student Union, the UNM Department of Anthropology, the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology and the Alfonso Ortiz Center for Intercultural Studies. All talks are free and open to the public.
For more information on the symposium and a detailed schedule of events visit: Graduate Research Symposium.
Media contact: Karen Wentworth (505) 277-5627; kwent2@unm.edu
The official start date of The Pit construction was May 4, 2009, but safety efforts began in December 2008 with cooperation between the general contractor, Flintco, the State Fire Marshal, UNM Safety and Risk Services and the Office of Capital Improvements.
Because of the popularity of the Pit, the decision was made to keep it open during construction, and not move the events to another location.
The first 90 days were crucial. A new exterior shell was created, seating was removed, and all of the concrete around the concourse was demolished. Temporary areas for construction crews were created so work could be done behind the scenes. Once this work was completed, detailed, day-by-day construction schedules were created.
Details such as fire safety, clearly marked exits, heating, tents, port-able restrooms and many other details were planned. When the Lobos began their season in November 2009, The Pit was again fully functional, although construction was continuing behind the scenes.
There is a Pit Crew that attends each event that consists of a Flintco representative, two carpenters, two electrical contractors and one mechanical contractor (who can adjust heating levels). If an exit light or door is not working, someone will be available to fix it immediately. Safety representatives attend each game to look for any safety issues that may arise. Additional portable lighting has been added to the parking lots, and any uneven surfaces are clearly marked with yellow paint and patched promptly.
The professional bull riding event is scheduled for the end of March. After that date, the Pit will be closed again to the public and full construction will resume. The Pit is scheduled to be completed by December 2010.
Safety is the most important issue during The Pit construction and will continue to be the number one issue for the new improved Lobo Pit.
This is a reprint from SRS Road to Safety newsletter, winter/spring 2010.
Media Contact: Serena Pearson, (505) 277-2855; e-mail: spearson@unm.edu
The Latin American and Iberian Institute presents “Mexico in Crisis: Global and Local Realities,” a series of presentations on economic and political issues in contemporary Mexico featuring leading Mexican political figures. The first event is Tuesday, March 23 from 12 to 2 p.m. in SUB Ballroom A. Mario Di Costanzo Armenta will present, “An Assessment of the Mexican Economy from 2000-06.”
Mario Di Costanzo Armenta is a federal deputy for the Workers Party (PT). He holds degrees in economics from the Autonomous Technological Institute (Mexico City) and public finance from the International Monetary Fund. From 1984-96 he worked in economics and public finance in the Secretariat of the Treasury and the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs. He was later advisor to the PRD on the Treasury and Vigilance Committee.
He is the author of El Saqueo a los Mexicanos (2005, The Plunder of the Mexican People) on the 1995 Mexican banking crisis and rescue. Since 2000 he has contributed regularly to newspapers and political journals. His work addresses government accountability, banking supervision, fiscal reform, and money laundering. He served as Secretary of the Public Treasury to Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador and was elected to the Congress in 2009.
On Thursday April 22, from 7-9 p.m. in Dane Smith Hall 125, Francisco López Bárcenas presents, “The Situation of Indigenous Peoples in Mexico;” and Azael Santiago Chepi presents, “Education in Mexico and the Challenge of an Alternative Education in Oaxaca.”
Francisco López Bárcenas is a researcher at the Center for Research on Sustainable Rural Development & Food Control in the Mexican Chamber of Deputies. A Mixteco native of Juxtlahuaca, Oaxaca, he holds an master’s in social law from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and a master’s in rural development from the Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM) in Xochimilco. He has been professor, researcher and public official, is a member of the Mexican Association for the United Nations and the Mexican Academy of Human Rights, where he advocates for indigenous people.
Azael Santiago Chepi is the Secretary General of Section 22 of the National Union of Educational Workers and the 71,000-member reformist National Coordinator of Educational Workers. He is a Zapotec from the Sierra Norte of Oaxaca and a bilingual education teacher with a master’s in elementary education. He is currently considered the major voice to defend public education and an array of social causes in Oaxaca.
The series continues on Tuesday, May 4 from noon – 2 p.m. in SUB Ballroom A, when Rolando Cordera Campos presents, “From Crisis to Crisis: The End of a Regime or the Quest for a New One?”
Rolando Cordera Campos is professor emeritus of the Department of Economics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He is coordinator of the Seminar on the Social Question at UNAM. Cordera holds degrees in economics from the UNAM and the London School of Economics.
His two most recent books are El Papel de las Ideas y de las Políticas en el Cambio Estructural (2008, The Role of Ideas and Policies in Structural Change) and Volver con la Memoria (2009, conversations with intellectuals, artists, and politicians). He writes a weekly op ed column for La Jornada, one of Mexico’s leading newspapers, and contributes regularly to Nexos, a monthly political journal.
In addition to LAII, the series is sponsored by Students of Latin American Studies (SOLAS) and the Office of the Provost Hourly visitor parking is available in the Cornell Parking Structure on Redondo just east of Stanford.
For more information, call (505) 277-2961.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Chief Science Officer of the Brain Health Alliance, Inc. and Assistant Clinical Professor in the University of California San Diego Department of Psychiatry Carl Taswell will present a talk titled “Recent Progress on an Informatics Infrastructure for Pharmacogenomic Molecular Imaging of the Brain” on Monday, March 29, 2010 at 11:45 a.m. in the MRN large conference room. A light lunch will be served. MRN is located on UNM’s north campus in Pete and Nancy Domenici Hall.
Schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other neuropsychiatric degenerative disorders and dementias impose an enormous economic and psychosocial burden on society, communities, and families.
In order to gain a better understanding of gene-brain-behavior relationships, improve treatment, and find cures for these diseases, translational research must be conducted with clinical trials of new drugs and other interventions followed by genotyping and imaging biomarkers for patients with these neuropyschiatric degenerative disorders.
This research, involving pharmacogenomic molecular imaging of the brain, will be extremely costly in many ways. Therefore, knowledge engineering with effective software tools and applications built upon a semantic-enabled informatics infrastructure remains a necessary prerequisite to facilitate a reduction of those research costs by maximizing the benefit obtained from existing data and minimizing the cost of generating new data.
A knowledge engineering framework that serves this goal must operate in a cross-disciplinary manner that integrates data from diverse biomedical fields while at the same time incorporating the relevant computational mathematics, statistics, and informatics analyses for productive data mining.
The 2010 Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Southwest Central (SWC) Regional Student Conference is coming to Albuquerque on Friday-Saturday, March 26-27, at the UNM's Anderson School of Management.
SHRM’s SWC Regional Student Conference provides students from surrounding states (Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, and Utah) with the opportunity to network with Human Resources (HR) professionals, explore potential careers in HR, and expand their knowledge of human resources management.
Dinner and entertainment will be provided on Friday, March 26, while on Saturday, March 27, the event will begin with a dynamic keynote speaker Brett Farmiloe. Farmiloe and Zach Hubbell found themselves among the 75 million Americans who are dissatisfied with work. They quit their corporate jobs and embarked on a 16,000 mile, 38 states road trip to interview over 300 professionals about how to find passion in work.
Learn more about their Pursue the Passion tour during this event; however, if you would like to read up on Farmiloe and Hubbell journey prior to the event, visit: Pursue the Passion. Farmiloe will be launching his new book, Pursue the Passion, in spring 2010.
Attendees meet other students, HR professionals, and student advisors from their regions to share experiences and exchange ideas. The conference hosts HRGames competition which is a fun way to motivate and prepare students for the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) nationally recognized certification.
This conference invites all SHRM student members and chapter advisors to attend from the Southwest Central Region. While all student-members at large are encouraged to attend, only undergraduate student members who are members of affiliated student chapters may compete in the HRGames academic competition. As this is a volunteer-intensive program, many volunteer leaders will be in attendance as well. This is Albuquerque, New Mexico’s opportunity to cultivate and demonstrate organizational and leadership abilities.
The conference is sponsored by The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) of New Mexico State Council,Society for Human Resource Management , the Human Resources Management Association of New Mexico (HRMA), Human Resources Management Association,UNM's Anderson Schools of Management, and UNM’s Division of Human Resources.
UNM Student Health & Counseling seeks proposals from college health professionals interested in participating in the Southwest and Rocky Mountain College Health Associations’ combined annual meeting, slated for Oct. 10–12, at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Albuquerque. This year’s theme id “Hot Topics in Health Care!”
The conference brings together college health professionals, including physicians, nurses, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, counselors, psychologists, social workers, health educators, students and administrators.
Anyone interested in sharing their expertise can submit a program proposal for this conference. The American College Health Association will review proposals to determine if they qualify for continuing education credits.
The deadline to submit program proposals is March 31. Application forms are available online at the Southwest College Health Association’s web site at http://www.swcha.org/meeting.htm.
For more information, contact Jo Antreasian, SWCHA program planning coordinator, at jantreas@unm.edu or 277-5621.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
The UNM Race and Ethnicity Code Change Project is reminding all students, faculty and staff that the Race and Ethnicity Re-Survey is now available for completion. UNM must comply with new federal requirements for collecting and reporting racial and ethnic data, a mandate that applies to colleges and universities nationwide. The University's eligibility for various kinds of federally-funded grants, contracts and student financial aid depends on compliance with this mandate.
Update your data now! Here’s how:
1. Go to MyUNM and log in with your NetID and password
2. Click on the Student Life, Faculty Life, or Employee Life tab
3. Click on the big red LoboWeb paw in the center of the page
4. Click on the Personal Information link
5. Click on the Update Race and Ethnicity Information link
You will be asked a question about ethnicity and then asked to identify your race from a multiple-choice list. All full-time and part-time University of New Mexico students, faculty, and staff, at all levels, regardless of location, are included in this effort. The University will keep all individual information confidential and will report only aggregate totals in each category. Your participation in this effort is voluntary. Visit http://resurvey.unm.edu/ for more information.
If you have any problems accessing or verifying your race and ethnicity records, contact resurvey@unm.edu.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
The Banner system has been restored after a week-long upgrade to version 8. All Banner services associated, including Banner INB, LoboWeb, and other ERP-related components, are up and running, and available for use.
If you have any questions or experience any problems, please contact IT Customer Support Services at 277-5757 or one of the other areas:
* The Financial Services Support Center, 277-3457, which provides support to faculty and staff on Finance issues.
* The Human Resources Service Center, 277-6947, which provides support to faculty and staff on HR/Payroll issues.
* UNM All Access, 277-8900, which provides students with direct help to any student-related issues and/or concerns.
Media Contact: Vanessa Baca, (505) 277-0987; e-mail: vjbaca1@unm.edu
The work of three UNM students will be on exhibit for “Art Inspired by the Land” in the Fine Arts and Design Library from March 22 through May 15, 2010. The opening reception and artists talks will be on April 2 from 6:30 - 8 p.m. in the Fine Arts and Design Library on the 4th floor of George Pearl Hall on the UNM main campus at Stanford and Central NE.
Painting: Blue Mosque by Leslie Ayers.
Leslie Ayers “Blue Mosque” is an oil on canvas. She says she paints in order to cultivate beauty, oddity and metaphor. Ayers graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1998 with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing, where she studied figurative and non-objective oil painting. She is currently and MFA candidate in Painting and Drawing at UNM and a teaching assistant.
Brian Barnes is currently working to complete his final semester of undergraduate study in architecture at the University of New Mexico’s School of Architecture and Planning. As a native New Mexican he has spent a good deal of time exploring the state and says, “Its places and people are my lenses for understanding the world.”
May Goldman Chaltiel is a new media artist working in New Mexico. She says her piece, Mortal Coil is a visual study in grief, chaos and interval. She is currently finishing her MFA in Electronic Arts at the University of New Mexico.
Born in New York, she received a B.S. in Studio Art from New York University. She has exhibited at the University Art Museum at UNM, Jonson Gallery, N4TH Gallery, John Sommers Gallery, ARTS Lab, The Chinese American Center in NYC, and at Jena Planetarium in Weimar Germany.
Michael Cook, Professor of Art in the Department of Art and Art History who juried the exhibit for the Fine Arts and Design Library says: “The landscape has figured significantly in most cultures on earth for a long time and in many forms. The artists in this exhibition share a commonality with these traditions as they employ landscape to examine questions of their place within a space that remains immense. These artists are connected by an interest in using an external landscape as a departure point for an internal landscape, which brings new insight about places we may take for granted and how we might understand them.”
The exhibition and the reception are free and open to all. For more information contact Susan Hessney-Moore at 277-5443 or smoore3@unm.edu.
Media contact: Karen Wentworth (505) 277-5627; kwent2@unm.edu
The UNM Presidential Scholarship Program (PSP) will host its 34th Annual Celebration Dinner on Thursday, March 25, at 5:30 p.m. The banquet brings philanthropic donors and outstanding New Mexican student recipients together for a night of celebration.
“Despite the tough economic times, the number of PSP sponsors has remained steady over the previous year,” says Erin Hagenow, manager of fundraising for UNM’s Presidential Scholarship Program.
Presidential Scholarships are offered exclusively to New Mexico’s most outstanding high school graduates—the high achievers who have excelled academically and beyond. They are awarded on academic merit and leadership skills. Renewable for up to four years, PSP scholarships cover tuition, fees and books for an award of $6,600. Now in its 34th year of educating New Mexico’s finest students, the PSP has offered tuition-free education to more than 3,125 students.
An average of 125 entering freshmen, representing a wealth of ethnic backgrounds and geographic diversity, receive Presidential Scholarships each year. There are more than 460 scholars on campus for the current 2009-2010 academic year.
Established in 1976, the Presidential Scholarship Program was based on an idea proposed by then-Dean of Admissions Robert M. Weaver, who found that many of New Mexico’s top-notch students were going out of state for college. He believed that a strong merit scholarship program would help keep high-achieving students in New Mexico.
With the support of then-President William “Bud” Davis and a kick-off dinner with the state’s business leaders, UNM raised $60,000 ($223,621 in today’s dollars) in just 30 days to start the UNM Presidential Scholarship Program.
The 2004 Tony Winner for Best Musical, Avenue Q, opens Friday night in Popejoy Hall. Anyone with a valid student ID can purchase $20 tickets at the window 10 minutes before the show. The offer is only valid for opening night seats in the balcony.
A hilarious show full of heart and hummable tunes, Avenue Q is about trying to make it in NYC with big dreams and a tiny bank account. Recommended for mature audiences.
For information visit: Avenue Q.
This week “New Mexico in Focus,” KNME-TV’s weekly hour-long public affairs show, will feature a rebroadcast of a documentary on children whose parent’s are in jail. Titled, "Invisible Children," the show originally aired in November 2009. This KNME documentary will show the challenges these children face, how they cope with losing a parent to prison and what they are doing to overcome their parent’s example. “New Mexico in Focus” will air on KNME-TV, channel 5.1 on Friday, March 19 at 7 p.m. It will not repeat due to KNME’s ongoing pledge drive.
After the documentary, host Gene Grant will interview a panel of policy makers and experts to address what New Mexico can do to help these children.
Joining Grant on the first panel will be retired educator Helen Davis, Dr. Julia Klco, Behavioral Health Director for the Juvenile Justice Department, Jennifer Thompson, program director for PB&J Family Services, and Judge John Romero, Jr with the 2nd Judicial District Children’s Court. The second panel Grant will be talking with will include CYFD Secretary Dorian Dodson, Deb Martinez, program director for the Juvenile Justice Department, Patrick Snedeker, warden for the San Miguel County Detention Center and Ron Torres, Chief of Corrections for the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center.
Please note, there will be no “The Line” panel on this week’s episode. New Mexico in Focus can also be seen on KNME’s Digital Channel 9.1 on
Additionally, viewers can also watch it online at: KNME.org. Get updates, watch, and Follow KNME on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more.
“New Mexico in Focus” is produced by Kevin McDonald and Kathy Wimmer and closed captioning has been made possible by a gift from Mrs. Elspeth G. Bobbs.
Media Contact: Evy Todd, (505) 277-1812; e-mail: etodd@knme.org
Polly Anderson, general manager and chief executive officer of public television station KNME-TV, has been elected by the Association of Public Television Stations (APTS) executive committee to serve as Professional Vice Chair of the organization.
Photo: Polly Anderson, KNME general manager and chief executive officer, was elected professional vice chair of the Association of Public Television Stations recently.
“I am honored to have been elected to serve as the Professional Vice Chair on the Executive Board of APTS,” said Anderson. “I look forward to representing the interests of public television stations across the U.S., especially those in New Mexico and the Southwest.”
Joining Anderson on the Executive Committee of the APTS Board are Elizabeth Christopherson, President, CEO and Director of The Rita Allen Foundation in Princeton, New Jersey, who will serve as Lay Vice Chair. Rod Bates, General Manager of Nebraska Educational Telecommunications, will lead the Association as its fifteenth Board Chair.
The Association of Public Television Stations, based in Washington D.C., is a nonprofit membership organization established in 1980 to support the continued growth and development of a strong and financially sound noncommercial television service for the American public. APTS provides advocacy for public television interests at the national level, as well as consistent leadership and information in marshaling support for its members: the nation's public television stations.
The APTS is governed by a board of trustees elected by public television station representatives. The board consists of nine public representatives, nine professional representatives and up to six at-large trustees, who may be elected by the board. The president of the association also serves as a member of the board of trustees. Members are elected to a three-year term and may serve no more than two consecutive terms.
Find out more at APTS.
Jesse Alemán, associate professor, Department of English, delivered a eulogy for his friend and colleague, Hector Torres. For those who were unable to attend the memorial service, attached is Alemán’s eloquent and thoughtful eulogy. For the complete eulogy visit: On Behalf of Hector Torres.
Photo: Hector Torres, associate professor, English
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
The life of Stefania Gray will be celebrated and remembered at the UNM Alumni Chapel Thursday, March 25 from 4-5 p.m. Gray was an M.A. candidate in the Dept. of Foreign Languages and Literatures, a former teaching assistant in the English Dept., as well as a teacher at Bernalillo High School. Her intelligence, warmth and dedication deeply touched the people around her.
Photo: Stefania Gray
Please join us -- students, teachers, friends and family -- at this ceremony dedicated to her memory.
In her memory, a trust fund has been set up for her daughters; contributions can be made at any Wells Fargo Bank.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
University of New Mexico journalism students interning with Talk Radio News Service in Washington, D.C. post written and broadcast pieces on UNM Live and the TRNS site.
They also recently produced the first installment of a TRNS-UNM News talk show.
The program, paneled by UNM journalism students Monique Cala, Benny Martinez and Brishel Prichard, is moderated by TRNS staffer Geoff Holtzman. In this installment they focused on health care reform, and touched on its implications for undocumented immigrants.
The students provided daily reports on the month-long New Mexico legislative session and week-long special session segments to radio stations around the state for New Mexico Broadcasters Association.
Richard Schaefer, associate professor, Communication & Journalism, provides academic oversight and support of the TRNS-UNM program. He said that he plans to bring in NMBA expertise and guidance into his new multimedia journalism class. “I will also include TRNS students, their Washington daybook and recently developed UNM News in that new class next fall, as well as in the advanced broadcast class next spring.”
He added, “Thank you to the TRNS and NMBA folks who made this possible and to UNM students Leah Valencia, Laura Smith and Julianne LaJeunesse for their New Mexico legislative coverage.”
“The most common experience many people have with "fulldome immersive environments" is with planetariums such as the LodeStar planetarium at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. In today's digital age, however, it's not surprising that the technology used in producing such immersive environments is evolving quickly and that New Mexico is playing an important role. A new, statewide research partnership called "PFI: Consortium for Fulldome and Immersive Technology Development" received $597,220 in funding March 1 from the National Science Foundation's (NSF's) Partnerships for Innovation program.
PFI grants promote innovation by bringing together colleges and universities, state and local governments, private-sector firms, and nonprofit organizations. PFI helps these organizations form partnerships that support innovation in their communities by developing the people, tools, and infrastructure needed to put new scientific discoveries to practical uses.
The new consortium will develop the hardware and software that will make it possible to use fulldomes as interactive, multisurface environments that help people visualize, simulate, or experientially comprehend a wide range of information, from educational and artistic material to evaluating scientific data and complex systems.
Two of UNM's most creative labs are cornerstones of the consortium – the Advanced Graphics Lab in the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department of the School of Engineering and the multidisciplinary ARTS Lab.
The other two cornerstones are based in Santa Fe: the Santa Fe Complex and the Institute of American Indian Arts.
The project leader is Pradeep Sen, Assistant Professor in the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department (ECE@UNM). He holds a joint appointment with the school's Computer Science (CS) Department and is co-founder and director of UNM's Advanced Graphics Lab (AGL).
"One of the key challenges with trying to grow a sustainable industry is to develop a critical mass of interested people," Sen said. "With the partnership we have formed between the Santa Fe Complex, IAIA, the ARTS Lab, and the Advanced Graphics Lab, we now have the critical mass to move forward. We are very excited to see what we can accomplish together."
New Mexico Brain Trust
"We have assembled a diverse team for this project," Sen said. "For example, David Beining, the associate director of Immersive Media at UNM's ARTS Lab, has been working on and promoting dome technology for years. We would not have gotten this grant without people like him leading the way with these exciting technologies."
Sen's partners on the project are Beining, ARTS Lab founding director and CS Emeritus Professor Ed Angel, and IAIA Dean Ann Filemyr. Other senior contributors include ECE@UNM Professor Tom Caudell, Santa Fe Complex researchers Stephen Guerin and Steve Smith, CS Assistant Professor and AGL co-founder Joe Kniss, School of Engineering Interim Dean Arup Maji, and IAIA Chair of New Media Arts Carlos Peinado. Additional partners include the Institute for the Study and Integration of Graphical Heritage Techniques (INSIGHT) and Sky-Skan Inc., manufacturer of the world's first true fulldome digital video system and of the ARTS Lab's fulldome.
The team from UNM's Advanced Graphics Lab will focus on the technical aspects of the project and will work closely with researchers at the Santa Fe Complex, particularly Stephen Guerin and Steve Smith, to contribute to innovations in immersive technologies.
The Advanced Graphics Lab is the research laboratory at UNM that focuses on cutting-edge work in the technical aspects of computer graphics and digital media. The video-game development program that Sen started through AGL is ranked by Princeton Review as one of the top 50 video-game development programs in the country.
The Santa Fe Complex provides a collaborative workspace that fosters applied complexity science through interdisciplinary education, outreach, and development of innovative technologies to address real-world problems, enable social cooperation, and create economic opportunities.
"SF Complex is an open community project incubator applying complexity research in the intersection of science, technology and art," said Stephen Guerin, who serves on the Complex's board of directors and is president of the Santa Fe-based Redfish Group. "We're excited to work with our colleagues at UNM and IAIA to explore new applications in interactive dome projection and ambient computing that will help realize 'AnySurface' applications where whole rooms become interactive."
The project team aims to innovate and develop fulldome projection technology scaled and priced in a way that makes it accessible to everyday users. The new technology is expected to drive innovation and foster growth of the digital media industry in New Mexico, including the state's burgeoning film industry.
Making Immersion Accessible
"Domes are naturally an immersive medium," Sen said. "Your entire field of view is covered by the computer-generated imagery. We propose to explore new ways to produce dome content efficiently as well as study how a team would use the dome to interact collaboratively with data."
“Part of the Fulldome and Immersive Technology project will focus on developing novel technologies that make immersive environments possible without having to construct dome structures. The researchers believe that this will not only make immersive environments helpful in understanding complex scientific data, but will also lead to more commercialization opportunities for the technology.
"Not everyone has a fulldome at home," Sen said. "The way to make these technologies more accessible is to develop ways to turn any ordinary environment, say the corner of a room, into an immersive projection environment. Once everyone can get an immersive environment in their home, immersive content will naturally follow."
The project rests partly on the foundation already laid down by the ARTS Lab in putting together fulldome environments both at the LodeStar digital planetarium in the Natural History museum and at the ARTS Lab itself.
UNM had a previous PFI grant, "The Digital Pueblo Project," for which Ed Angel served as principal investigator. The project initiated efforts to build upon the scientific, artistic and cultural resources of New Mexico to create a sustainable distributed media industry. This project was the beginning of the collaboration on expanding fulldome technology under leadership of David Beining, who was then director of the LodeStar Astronomy Center. The Digital Pueblo project was a major factor in establishing the ARTS Lab, with seed funding from the Governor's Media Education Fund, and it led to collaboration with the Santa Fe Complex, which was seeded by the City of Santa Fe, and with IAIA and its New Media program. Angel currently chairs the Santa Fe Complex board of directors.
"These immersive environments create powerful science communications for both public education and scientific research," said Beining. "In the Fulldome and Immersive Technology project, we intend to create both tools and professionals that can evolve into economically beneficial businesses as well as educationally supportive programs."
Research at the Santa Fe Complex will be centered on extending dome technology to ambient computing, an environment that includes projections on arbitrary surfaces such as the interior of rooms. Multiple cameras and projectors would allow the environment to react to users without the aid of devices such as computer mice or headsets.
Sen plans to start the AGL's portion of the work by creating a flexible software framework that will help programmers develop dome and immersive software. The framework will act as a middle layer between the developer's application and the display software to give the programmer flexibility in creating new uses for immersive environments.
"In traditional computers, developers use platforms such as OpenGL or DirectX to decouple their code from the display," Sen said. "We need to do something similar for projection domes, where the software infrastructure will automatically adjust based on the configuration of the environment."
Expanding Workforce Skills
The project will help develop an educated workforce for a new high-tech industry in New Mexico, and both UNM and the Institute of American Indian Arts will have a key role in this area.
UNM classes taught through the ARTS Lab will use dome technologies for student projects. In Santa Fe, students at IAIA will gain hands-on experience by working with a multi-surface immersive environment that will be set up on their campus using UNM fulldome expertise and funds from the PFI grant.
"With the new dome facility at the Institute of American Indian Arts," said IAIA Academic Dean Ann Filemyr, "we are hoping to extend our reach in serving Native communities with cutting-edge technology for educational purposes ranging from indigenous astronomy to new ways to share traditional stories."
IAIA's mission is to empower creativity and leadership in Native arts and cultures through higher education, lifelong learning and outreach. The IAIA installation will also broaden the range of spaces in which fulldome technology is currently being applied. In this case, the uses of the fulldome will include educating students in STEM-related areas: science, technology, engineering and math.
"The Institute of American Indian Arts, through its New Media Arts Department, is taking bold steps to ensure that our students have access to leading technologies in order to empower themselves as future storytellers," said IAIA New Media Arts Chair Carlos Peinado. "Our partnership with the University of New Mexico, the Santa Fe Complex and other PFI stakeholders will allow our students access to project-based materials that will investigate the creation and application of immersive media, a subject that holds interesting possibilities for a myriad of challenges facing Indian Country."
"This PFI grant recognizes New Mexico's unique technological, cultural and artistic resources," said consortium co-leader Ed Angel. "It also recognizes New Mexico's leadership in an area of enormous potential for a sustainable industry, and the commitment of multiple institutions and government to the success of the project."
For more information visit: Fact Sheet.
Media Contacts: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu or Frances Strong, (505) 277-3156; fstrong@ece.unm.edu
In keeping with the University of New Mexico’s focus on sustainability, the UNM Parking and Transportation Services (PATS) Department is introducing an initiative encouraging the use of more fuel efficient vehicles on campus.
Located at the Domenici Center, seven parking spaces have been reserved for the exclusive use of M Lot permit holders whose vehicles meet specific fuel efficiency requirements established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Low Emission Fuel Efficient (LEFE) program.
Vehicle suitability is determined using EPA standards, based on factors such as fuel economy and emissions ratings and the environmental impact of manufacture and final disposal of a particular model.
Permit holders who want to see whether their vehicle meets the qualifying standards can visit Green Vehicles In the ‘Look Up Greenest Vehicles’ section, check the ‘SmartWay Elite’ box and select ‘ALL STATES’ from the drop-down menu.
“We are constantly looking at ways in which we can encourage environmental awareness in our daily activities. With this program we hope to draw attention to the proactive way that vehicle users can find out about the actual environmental impact of their particular model,” said PATS Director, Clovis Acosta. “Equally important, the program fits in with the UNM policy of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental design) green building construction, which is an environmentally-responsible, holistic approach to new constructions on campus”.
Other than the usual M Lot permit fee, there will be no additional cost for successful applicants who will receive an LEFE sticker to be displayed in conjunction with the M Lot permit. The seven initial spaces are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Successful applicants can collect the LEFE stickers at the main PATS office on University and Central.
For more information visit: Parking & Transportation Services or contact Brian Kilburn at bkilburn@unm.edu.
Party in the Pit Sunday, March 14
The UNM Bookstore just received a new shipment of Mountain West Conference Championship tees and they are still 30 percent off. Get them while they last. Visit the UNM Bookstore at the Pit this Sunday, March 14 and save 30 percent on Lobowear and spirit merchandise during the NCAA Selection Party at the Pit. Some exclusions may apply. See store for details.
Lobo fans are also reminded to attend the NCAA Selection Pit Party on Sunday. The event will feature your 2010 Mountain West Conference champions for an NCAA Selection Sunday Pit Party beginning at 3 p.m. The eighth-ranked Lobos will be one of the teams featured live on the CBS production that unveils the 2010 NCAA Championship bracket to the world.
For complete information visit: Lobos NCAA Selection Sunday Pit Party.
Stefania Gray, UNM graduate student in comparative literature in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, died earlier this week. Services are set for Sunday, March 14 from 2-4 p.m. at Daniels Family Services, Carlisle Reception Room, 3113 Carlisle Blvd. NE.
Gray is survived by two daughters, Kelly and Bianca, her mother, Teresa Pittman, and father Lester Pittman. In lieu of flowers, a trust fund has been established for her daughters at Wells Fargo Bank.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
“Will he, or won’t he, veto the food tax?” That’s the question many people are asking, as New Mexico Governor Richardson faces a March 24 deadline for making a decision on the controversial tax measure. Ahead this week on “New Mexico in Focus,” why the measure remains the most emotional of all the tax issues, how it would work, and why, in the end, the Governor may be powerless to stop it. “New Mexico In Focus” airs Fridays at 7 p.m. New Mexico In Focus will not rebroadcast Sunday, March 14 or 21 due to KNME's current pledge drive.
Also up on this week’s show will be the reaction to a decision by the University of New Mexico to raise admission standards, and how filling up on hot sauce can help people in Haiti rebuild their lives, one pepper at a time.
This week’s “New Mexico in Focus” team includes:
Guests:
• Senator Eric Griego, (D) Albuquerque
• Fred Nathan, Executive Director, Think New Mexico
• Allen Sanchez, Executive Director, Conference of Catholic Bishops
• Tom Swisstack, Rio Rancho Mayor
Guest Panelists:
• Jon Knudsen, Blogger, DukeCityFix.com
• Laura Sanchez, Former Executive Director, New Mexico Democratic Party
Panelists:
• Sophie Martin, Managing Editor, DukeCityFix.com
• Jim Scarantino, Editor, New Mexico Watchdog
New Mexico In Focus Correspondent:
• Gwyneth Doland, Editor, NewMexicoIndependent.com
Host/Commentator:
• Gene Grant, Weekly Alibi Columnist
Additionally, viewers can also watch it online at: KNME.org. Get updates, watch, and Follow KNME on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more.
“New Mexico in Focus” is produced by Kevin McDonald and Kathy Wimmer and closed captioning has been made possible by a gift from Mrs. Elspeth G. Bobbs.
Media Contact: Evy Todd, (505) 277-1812; e-mail: etodd@knme.org
The University of New Mexico has been selected by the Institute for Higher Education Policy to receive a Walmart Minority Student Success Award—a $100,000 grant to help build on UNM’s demonstrated successes in enrolling, retaining and graduating first-generation college students. The $100,000 grant is being made possible by a $4.2 million grant to IHEP from the Walmart Foundation.
UNM is the only public four year institution in the state to receive it; Navajo Technical College in Crownpoint, NM, received the award last year.
“UNM is the only institutional recipient designated by Carnegie as a research university, very high research activity,” said Gary Smith, director of UNM Office of Support for Effective Teaching and professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences. Smith will lead the project.
UNM was selected as one of only 30 minority-serving institutions — Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Predominantly black institutions and tribal colleges and universities—through a highly competitive application process to strengthen efforts to support first-generation students.
UNM representatives will attend the annual IHEP Summer Academy where they’ll be joined by representatives from 14 other minority serving institutions to establish action plans to increase capacity, share ideas to better serve first-generation college students and develop partnerships with other colleges and universities.
President David Schmidly said, “UNM is honored to be selected as one of several outstanding higher education institutions nationwide to receive the Walmart Minority Student Success Award. Thanks in large part to this award, we will be able to enhance and expand our work with first-generation students, especially in large-enrollment courses.”
The successful proposal by UNM is a faculty-driven initiative to improve the success of first generation students in large-enrollment, lower-division courses that currently serve as obstacles to student retention and graduation. The project focuses on instructional change facilitated by faculty development that supports instructors to move away from wholly lecture-delivery of content toward collaborative, learner-centered pedagogy.
“The institutions in our 2010 Minority Student Success cohort broaden and deepen the pool of MSIs committed to ensuring the success of the first-generation student success both at their campuses and beyond,” said Institute for Higher Education Policy President Michelle Asha Cooper. “We are pleased to be working with them on programs that are sure to serve as models to all of higher education.”
”At Walmart, we understand that education is critical to the lives and well-being of all Americans. We’re proud to support giving that enables the success of first-generation college students,” said Margaret McKenna, president of the Walmart Foundation.
The Walmart Foundation grants support the existing work of MSIs to strengthen first-generation student success programs, with a special focus on classroom practices and the role faculty play in students’ academic success.
Approximately 41 percent of students enrolled at MSIs are first-generation, compared to 30 percent of students at predominantly white institutions. The overrepresentation of first-generation students at MSIs makes them ideal to help improve retention and persistence gaps for this student population.
The other 2010 winners are: Adams State College (Colo.), Bloomfield College (N.J.), Bowie State University (Md.), Coppin State University (Md.), Delaware State University (Del.), El Camino College (Calif,), Fort Belknap College (Mont.), Hampton University (Va.), Leech Lake Tribal College (Minn.), New Jersey City University (N.J.), United Tribes Technical College (N.D.), University of Houston- Downtown (Texas), Valencia Community College (Fla.), and Winston-Salem State University (N.C.).
For more information about the initiative and grantees, visit the IHEP Web site at Walmart Minority Students.
Media Contacts: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
If you or anyone you know uses Yahoo Instant Messaging (IM), be aware that there have been several reports of viruses infecting computers via Yahoo IM. The worm spreads by sending a follow-up message to your IM contact, telling them you've finished editing a picture and sending a link. Your IM contact then clicks on the link and spreads the virus.
If you use Yahoo IM and your anti-virus alert tells you that wmisqtr.exe has been found, be aware that rebooting your system may simply reinstall the virus, and may spread to your IM contacts.
If you use Yahoo IM and think your system may have been infected, contact Mike Carr, director, IT Security and Quality Assurance, at 277-1212 or mcarr@unm.edu.
Media Contact: Vanessa Baca, (505) 277-0987; e-mail: vjbaca1@unm.edu
Funeral arrangements are set for English Professor Hector Torres who died earlier this week. Visitation is Friday, March 12 from 5 – 8 p.m. at French Mortuary, 1111 University Blvd. NE. The funeral service is Saturday, March 13, at 10 a.m. in Rodey Hall, Center for the Arts on the UNM campus.
UNM Parking Services will waive fees for event parking in the parking structure for those attending Torres's funeral service in Rodey Hall. Upon entering the structure, inform the parking attendant that you are attending the service. The attendant will give you a pass or otherwise let you park for free. Lot A parking is also free on Saturdays on a first come availability.
The Hector Torres Memorial Fund has been established by Torres’s colleagues in the English Department.
“There has been such an outpouring of condolences and such a desire to honor Professor Hector Torres that the fund has been created to support scholarship and research in the fields of study he loved so much and to which he dedicated his life and career,” said Jesse Aleman, Torres’s friend and colleague.
Checks can be made out to The UNM Foundation. Indicate “The Hector Torres Memorial Fund” in the memo line. All proceeds go to “The Hector Torres Memorial Fund.
Send either to:
Jeff MacNutt, Development Officer
UNM College of Arts & Sciences
Ortega Hall 201
MSC03 2120
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
MacNutt can be reached at: (505) B277-0817, or jmacnutt@unm.edu.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
When a tragic earthquake struck the island nation of Haiti, many people reached out to lend a helping hand, some are still doing so. UNM students organized a fundraising drive for the victims of the Haiti Earthquake through ASUNM Community Experience shortly after news of the earthquake was first reported.
Photo: American Red Cross relief efforts for Haiti earthquake victims.
"I felt so bad that a people who live in one of the poorest countries in the world was having to face even more hardship," said Gary Farrell, organizer of the Donation Buckets for Haiti Earthquake Relief drive.
"I was watching CNN and there was a very small child at a local hospital who had died while waiting to get care and I literally started crying. I knew I had to do something, no anything, to try and relieve the suffering," he said.
Ferrell met with Andrea Hart, Debra Morris, the director of Student Activities and Jenny Shroba and Tim Mousseau from ASUNM Community Experience in an effort to begin organizing what eventually became the Donation Buckets for Haiti Earthquake Relief drive, Ferrell said.
Starting on the first week of this semester, the ASUNM Community Experience worked directly with the Student Activities Center, the Student Union Building and Chartwells, to set up collection buckets at all food vendors in the Student Union Building and various locations around campus for cash, check or Lobo Cash donations.
They collected donation everyday for a little under two months, said Jenny Shroba, the executive director of ASUNM Community Experience. "We set a goal of $5,000, and collected until we breached it," she said.
With the help of the Albuquerque and UNM community, they raised $5,145. One hundred percent of donations went directly to the American Red Cross for the Haiti Relief Fund.
"It did take a lot of effort and probably did go into my studying time, but felt it was worthwhile," Ferrell said. "Having surpassed our goal of $5000, I felt so proud of the UNM community and everyone's generosity."
The supportive movements and donation efforts across the world were very inspiring, Shroba said. "The monstrosities that the people of Haiti experienced and are still experiencing are overwhelming, but it's wonderful to know that helping hands are gathering, especially across the city of ABQ and UNM community," she said.
Story by Jazmyn Bradford
The Department of Anthropology hosts University of Illinois at Chicago anthropologist Brian Bauer, who will present, "Searching for the Royal Inca Mummies," Friday, March 12, from 12:30 – 1:45 p.m. in Anthropology room 248. For more than a century archaeologists and historians have focused on the fate of the mummies of the Inca kings following the Spanish conquest of Peru. Several lines of evidence indicate that five of the royal mummies were deposited in the Hospital of San Andrés in Lima in 1560.
In this presentation, Bauer summarizes what is currently known concerning the fate of the royal Inca mummies as well as the results of a recent ground-penetrating radar survey and an archaeological testing program which we conducted on the hospital grounds. The excavations revealed: the location of hospital's first cemetery, the remains of a 19th century fountain, an Early Colonial trash pit, and most intriguingly, a vaulted structure.
“While we did not find the royal mummies, the historical research and archaeological field work yielded new information on the history of the San Andrés compound and life in Lima during Early Colonial times,” Bauer said.
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
Tom Windes will lead a Maxwell Museum sponsored two-day excursion to Chacoan outlying sites found in the general area of Grants, New Mexico on Saturday-Sunday, April 17-18. These early communities span the Pueblo I, II, III and IV periods (CE 900-1400’s) and provide a visible impression of architectural and ceramic change through the centuries during the Chacoan period and beyond.
Windes will show sites on BLM land that are normally closed to the public. There are Greathouses, kivas and spectacular settings at Las Ventanas, Cebolla Canyon, Andrews Greathouse and Casamero Ruin.
There is a $75 per day charge, and UNM Tuition Remission is accepted. For two-day registrants there is $20 van transportation available. Each of the areas to be visited has had some research conducted by archeologists, such as inventory surveys and interested tour members can get a more in-depth look at the sites.
For more information, please contact Mary Beth Hermans at (505) 277-1400 or mhermans@unm.edu.
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
Palestinian journalists Ziad Abbas and Mohammad Omer visit the University of New Mexico March 30 - April 8. And on April 15, Joel Gordon, director of Middle East Studies, University of Arkansas, will speak as a “professor in the field." Abbas speaks on Tuesday, March 30, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in SUB Ballroom A on the UNM campus. Abbas is a native Palestinian refugee from the Dheisheh Refugee Camp in Bethlehem.
Photo: Ziad Abbas
Abbas is co-founder of the Ibdaa Cultural Center in Dheisheh where he has served as Executive Director since 1994. He has worked with Palestinian and international media and has participated in the production of several documentary films. He recently completed his master’s of in social justice in intercultural relations from the Graduate Institute of the School for International Training. Currently on leave from the Ibdaa Cultural Center, Abbas is currently working with the Middle East Children’s Alliance, a non-profit organization, in Berkeley, Calif.
Omer, award-winning Gaza correspondent, will speak Thursday, April, 8, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. in SUB Ballroom A. He will speak about daily life under siege in Gaza. Omer will describe his interviews with fishermen, flower growers, farmers, students, journalists, mothers and fathers trying to survive. Omer will discuss how Gazans are coping without electricity, water, fuel, sewage treatment, and adequate health care or building materials. Omer has written for the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, The Nation, Inter Press Service News Agency and more.
Gordon, widely published and well-respected scholar in the history and culture of the Middle East, is particularly known for his studies of Nasser and Egyptian politics and film. He presents, “Academia, Boycott, and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Perspective from a Professor in the Field,” Thursday, April 15 from 7 – 9 p.m. in Fiesta A&B in the Student Union Building.
Gordon will raise key ethical and strategic issues regarding the place of Israeli academia within and in relation to the occupation of Palestine. Discussion includes the growing controversy of the “academy” as a legitimate target of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign. This is an exploration, though one scholar’s lens, to see the interplay between the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and academic freedom and responsibility.
*Films – SUB Theatre
Tuesday, March 30, at 1 p.m., the documentary “To See if I’m Smiling,” will be screened. The film is a look at the actions and behavior of female soldiers in the Israel Army, stationed in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Middle Eastern refreshments will be served.
On Monday, April 5 from 1-1:30 p.m., the 8-minute documentary, “Erased-Wiped off the Map,” will be shown, to be followed by discussion. Filmed inside Gaza during the Israeli siege, the film shows the human cost of the attack and captures the emotions experienced during it.
Following, from 1:45-3:30 p.m., the documentary “Promises” will be shown. The film examines the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict from the perspectives of seven children living in Palestinian communities in the West Bank and Israeli neighborhoods of Jerusalem. The discussion following will focus on an update on children in the region.
From 3:30 – 5 p.m., catch “Rana’s Wedding,” a romantic drama about a Palestinian girl who wants to marry the man of her choice. The film shows the human toll of facing barriers and occupation that have become everyday reality for Palestinians.
From 5-6 p.m., watch “The Battle of Durban II: Israel, Palestine & the United Nations,” a documentary about how the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian Conflict disrupted two successive United Nations World Conferences – leaving scores of victims of racism and discrimination voiceless with their stories unheard. A discussion will follow. "The Battle of Durban II” will be rescreened on Thursday, April 8 at 1 p.m.
Saturday, April 10 from 7-10 p.m., "Voices From Inside: Israelis Speak" and "Reframing the Issue" will be shown, followed by a talk by co-producer Marjorie Wright, and narrator Hazel Kahan, child of Holocaust survivors. A Q & A discussion follows the two films' showings, in Woodward Hall on the UNM campus.
*Schedule is subject to change. E-mail chandlermuf@yahoo.com for updates.
These events are co-sponsored by UNM’s American Studies and Peace Studies Departments in collaboration with the Coalition for Peace and Justice in the Middle East, World Student Alliance, and the Coalition to Stop $30 Billion. For more information, contact Guida Leicester, at chandlermuf@yahoo.com or call 505-246-2231.
Media Contacts: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; cell - (505) 249-4669; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
University of New Mexico Provost Suzanne Ortega released the on campus schedules for the four finalists for the position of dean for the UNM School of Architecture and Planning.
Each candidate will participate in a series of meetings with program directors, senior administrators and library representatives over the course of two days.
Each will participate in an open forum on his or her first day on campus. The forum is for faculty, staff, students and community and includes a candidate presentation. Each will be held from 5-6 p.m., on the date indicated, in the auditorium of George Pearl Hall, the School of Architecture and Planning.
Thursday, March 11 - Katherine Schwennsen
Tuesday, March 23 - Keith Diaz Moore
Thursday, March 25 - Geraldine Forbes Isais
Tuesday, March 30 - Paul H. Gleye
Full campus schedules are available for each candidate:
Schwennsen, Diaz Moore, Forbes Isais, Gleye
Curriculum vitae for each candidate is available:
Schwennsen, Diaz Moore, Forbes Isais, Gleye
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
UNM Webmail is experiencing unexpected slowness due to network maintenance issues. IT technicians are currently working on this, and will keep you informed of any other issues. Clearing your Internet browser cache may help in speeding up screen load time for users.
Follow the steps below.
For Internet Explorer 7
1. Go to the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
2. Under the General tab, in the Browsing History section, click the Delete button
3. Click on each of the Delete Files...Delete Cookies...and Delete History...buttons.
-OR-
Click on the Delete ALL...button at the bottom of the window.
Note: Doing this will also clear saved form data and stored passwords.
For Mozilla Firefox
1. Go to Tools and click on Clear Private Data (or press Ctrl+Shift+Delete)
2. Make sure the Browsing History, Cookies, Cache and Offline Website Data are all selected, then click Clear Private Data Now.
For Safari
1. From the Safari menu, select Empty Cache
2. When prompted, click Empty to confirm you want to empty the cache.
IT apologizes for any inconvenience this slowdown has caused. For additional information, visit IT or contact IT Customer Support Services at 277-5757.
Media Contact: Vanessa Baca, (505) 277-0987; e-mail: vjbaca1@unm.edu
The University of New Mexico community is saddened to learn that two of our members, English Department Professor Hector Torres and graduate student Stefania Gray, are victims of a double homicide, as confirmed by the Albuquerque Police Department.
Photo: Professor Hector Torres, UNM English Department
President David Schmidly and Provost Suzanne Ortega released the following, "The UNM community has been diminished by the untimely deaths of two of our own. Professor Hector Torres will be remembered as a scholar of great passion, dedication and kindness. Graduate student Stefania Gray was a scholar of great promise. Both were wonderful individuals and we join their families and many friends in great sadness."
Professor Torres was on faculty in the UNM Department of English since 1986. He was born in Tijuana, Mexico, raised in El Paso, Texas and, with the benefit of the GI Bill, earned all his degrees, including a doctorate in English language and literature from the University of Texas at Austin. Currently, he was teaching a course on Chicano Culture, a theory course and was directing an independent study.
He regularly teaches courses in literary and critical theory, postmodernism and contemporary Chicana and Chicano literary discourse and film, English syntax and discourse analysis, as well as courses on writing about film. His research and scholarship focused on contemporary, postmodern Chicana and Chicano literary discourse and film, literary and critical theory.
In a 2007 interview he said, “I think being a Spanish speaker who learned English in school drove my interest in linguistics, language and literature.”
In 2007, with UNM Press he published, “Conversations with Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Writers.” The impetus for the books was in his study of social linguistics – or the relationship between language and society. “The language of literature is language of reflection rather than language through interaction, but the social linguistic approach still interests me,” he said in that interview.
Stefania Gray was a graduate student in comparative literature in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. She was working with Raji Vallury, assistant professor in French, on her thesis, “Dreams of Andalusia: Women, Gender, Memory and Nation.” She was to defend the day after spring break.
Vallury remembers her as “vibrant, beautiful and strong.” She was a heritage Spanish speaker who earned her undergraduate degree at UNM from the Department of Spanish & Portuguese, went out to the workforce where she was a flight attendant. She came back to school and was the first woman in her family to do post-graduate study. She was already planning to pursue a doctoral degree, Vallury said.
Photo: Stefania Gray
Media Contacts: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; cell - (505) 249-4669; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu or Benson Hendrix, (505) 277-1816; cell - (505) 269-5550; bhendrix@unm.edu
On Wednesday, March 17, Dr. Vicki Conn, associate dean for Research at the University of Missouri and a Potter-Brinton Professor, will present two exciting lectures titled, "Meta-Analysis Methods" and "Sacred Cow vs. Data: Meta-Analysis Findings from a Health Behavior Change Research Program." The lectures are sponsored by the College of Nursing.
The schedule...
9 a.m. to 10 a.m. - "Meta-Analysis Methods"
College of Nursing/Pharmacy Building Auditorium
1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. - "Sacred Cow vs. Data: Meta-Analysis Findings from a Health Behavior Change Research Program"
College of Nursing/Pharmacy Building Auditorium
Conn conducts National Institutes of Health funded meta-analysis research on interventions to change health behaviors among healthy and chronically ill adults. Her work has focused on physical activity behavior and medication adherence interventions. Her current NIH R01 is a comprehensive meta-analysis of interventions to increase physical activity among healthy adults.
Conn has published in more than 100 publications including well-known journals such as Diabetologia, The Gerontologist, Annals of Behavioral Medicine, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, and Patient Education and Counseling. She is Potter-Brinton Distinguished Professor and Associate Dean at the Missouri University School of Nursing, and editor of Western Journal of Nursing Research.
The UNM Advanced Graphics Lab's video-game development program is now ranked among North America's "Top 50 Undergraduate Game Design Programs" by The Princeton Review and GamePro magazine. The Advanced Graphics Lab is the research laboratory at UNM that focuses on cutting-edge work in the technical aspects of computer graphics and digital media.
The lab is directed by Pradeep Sen, Assistant Professor in the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department in UNM's School of Engineering. He co-founded AGL with Assistant Professor Joe Kniss of the school's Computer Science Department, where Sen holds a joint appointment.
The Princeton Review surveyed 500 schools in the U.S. and Canada that have game design programs before selecting its top 50. Selection criteria included the quality of the curriculum, faculty credentials, facilities, and infrastructure as well as data on scholarships, financial aid and career opportunities. The Princeton Review's list appears on its website and in the April issue of GamePro magazine, its partner on the project.
"There are a lot of game development programs out there now," Sen said. "One thing that sets us apart from many of the trade school programs is that we combine practice with a solid theoretical foundation. This gives our graduates the technical background they need to become leaders in the game industry."
Sen stresses that this is a result of designing a curriculum that produces first-class computer engineers, not just game developers.
"We are not just training game developers with our courses," he said. "Our classes on computer hardware, software, operating systems, and networks mean that our game developers are solid engineers who can work in any industry they wish."
Real-World Skills
One of the unique aspects of the game development program at AGL is the emphasis on real-world production experience. Sen designed the curriculum in this way to avoid the chicken-and-egg problem that many graduates of game development programs face when trying to get jobs in the industry.
"The game development industry is very competitive, and companies are looking for people that already have experience developing games that have shipped to the public. Unfortunately, most students graduating from traditional game development programs do not have that kind of experience, and without it they cannot get the jobs they need to gain it. It’s kind of a chicken-and-egg problem. We overcome this by offering courses where students publish real games to the public, which gives them visibility."
For example, the Advanced Video Game development class that Sen teaches has released three student project video games to the Xbox 360 platform using the Xbox Live service. Although the games have been available to the public for just a couple of months, the three games – "Magnetic Defender" by Justin Kellogg, "Toybox Racing" by John Harger, and "Marauder Madness!" by Jeremy Wright and Craig Vineyard – have already shipped more than 10,000 copies to gamers all around the world, including countries as diverse as Japan, Spain, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Canada and France.
To read about AGL's Xbox games that are available for download, visit: AGL's Xbox. Revenues from the sales of these games are used to build the game development program at the AGL.
"We salute UNM's Advanced Graphics Lab for their exemplary work in game design education," Princeton Review's publisher, Robert Franek, said. "It has long been our mission at The Princeton Review to help students research and get into the education programs best for them and on to careers in fields they are passionate about. For students aspiring to work in the rapidly growing field of game design and the companies that will need their creative talents, we hope this list brings many wonderful candidates to these programs."
USA Today's blog GameHunters reported on the ranking, saying "Parents are always asking us what schools we would recommend their children apply to if they want to learn how to make video games. Now we have the perfect answer: The Princeton Review's Top 50 Undergraduate Game Design Programs, created in partnership with GamePro magazine."
The mission of the Advanced Graphics Lab is to do research and education in the science and technology of computer graphics and digital media. Aside from the two faculty members, the lab hosts a set of associated researchers, visiting professors, and eight full-time graduate students. In addition to the educational program in game development, the AGL team does cutting-edge research in areas as diverse as real-time rendering, computational photography, computer vision and visualization. Research by Sen and his students has been published at SIGGRAPH, the leading conference in computer graphics, as well as peer-reviewed journals such as ACM Transactions on Graphics, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, and the Eurographics Computer Graphics Forum.
Portfolio of Successes
Thanks to the success of the program that Sen is building, UNM has joined MIT, USC and the University of Washington on Microsoft's list of technical universities that have game development programs featuring XNA, Microsoft's game development toolkit. The universities are listed on Microsoft's site, http://creators.xna.com/en-US/Academia.
"The game development program we have started is helping us gain visibility among companies in the game industry, which in turn results in our graduates getting hired," says Sen.
One of the first graduates of Sen’s new curriculum, Peter Wilkins, landed a job with Disney Interactive, the arm of Disney in Salt Lake City that makes video games, when he impressed the interviewers with his advanced knowledge of real-time global illumination algorithms.
"He answered all their questions on spherical harmonics," Sen said. "The folks at Disney Interactive were very impressed because typically only students from Stanford and MIT have that kind of knowledge. Now UNM graduates are on that list."
Part of the game development process is learning the business side of the industry, which involves getting patents and intellectual property. Sen helps his students learn how to copyright their games through STC.UNM, the nonprofit that UNM created to commercialize its technology. Five of Sen's computer gaming students received Creative Awards from STC.UNM in April 2009 after filing copyrights on their video games. The story is available at, ECE@UNM.
Videos of all games developed by UNM students involved with the Advanced Graphics Lab are available on AGL's YouTube channel, http://www.youtube.com/advancedgraphicslab. The AGL Games Division also has a website in the works that provides information about its game development program and process: AGL Games Division.
High school students interested in the game development undergraduate program at the Advanced Graphics Lab should contact the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department's undergraduate program advisor, Roberta Menicucci, at rmenicucci@ece.unm.edu.
Students interested in the graduate program at AGL should contact ECE's graduate program advisor, Elmyra Grelle, at egrelle@ece.unm.edu.
The Electrical & Computer Engineering Department in the University of New Mexico's School of Engineering is the largest ECE department in the state of New Mexico, with 32 tenured and tenure-track professors. Both its Computer Engineering and its Electrical Engineering graduate programs are ranked among America's Best Graduate Schools by U.S. News & World Report, and both undergraduate programs are accredited by the national Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. ECE@UNM has a range of 16 research concentrations and offers graduate degrees in 14 areas; it confers more than 100 degrees annually; and it has an average enrollment of about 400 students. ECE@UNM is celebrating its centennial in 2010.
Story by Frances Strong.
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
At the recent New Mexico American Advertising Federation awards ceremony, the UNM Free-Range Thinking microsite won 13 ADDY awards. The ADDY awards honor excellence in advertising and cultivation of the highest creative industry standards.
A Gold ADDY® recognizes the highest level of creative excellence and is judged to be superior to all other entries in the competition. UNM won five Gold ADDYs:
- Website, consumer flash, services
- Banners, pop-ups, screen savers (2)
- Online campaign
- Mixed media, national consumer
Entries also considered outstanding and worthy of recognition receive a Silver ADDY®. UNM won eight Silvers:
- Collateral material, poster
- Interactive media - banners, pop-ups, screen savers (6)
- Local category - advertising works (recognizes a campaign's strength in the three
- Criteria judged -- advertising objective, advertising strategy and tactics, budget and
quantifiable results.)
UNM Director of Marketing Cinnamon Blair, said, “The awards demonstrate that we’ve done our research and seen where our audience is doing their business.” One of the Internet sites where the UNM ads appear is sparknotes.com. “College minded students are visiting it and we’re getting our ‘click throughs,’” she said. She added that it is generating an audience UNM was not previously reaching.
“This media is a rich way to get people involved, something you can’t do in two dimensional environments. Visitors to the site can explore academic units, explore the campus and area immediately,” Blair said.
“Interestingly, we are only advertising in 12 states, yet we’ve reached all 50 – and have the matrices to support this – plus reaching people from 70 countries worldwide. This kind of advertising has a viral effect, is cost effective, and effective in image building,” Blair said.
She notes that the cost effectiveness surpasses what the institution can get with traditional media buys. “For what we spent over six months, we got 95 million impressions. We could only purchase 19 or 20 ads in the local newspaper, representing a small to medium market. We are maximizing our exposure,” Blair said.
In addition to the awards for the microsite, UNM won the Client of the Year Award, which recognizes the client of a marketing/advertising/media firm who displays outstanding characteristics. UNM’s award speaks well to the collaborative efforts of our campus-wide marketing task force and smaller working group, the participation of the UNM community and the support of the University's leadership. UNM works with the McKee Wallwork Cleveland agency on the Free-range Thinking campaign.
Blair is proudest of the Client of the Year award because it demonstrates that the campus community pulled together. “We had the marketing task force, small work groups, student focus groups and recruiters involved, among others. Judges selected this winner based on why each group is part of the process. Client of the Year speaks well for UNM as a whole,” she said.
To learn more about free-range thinking visit Think Free Range.
The University of New Mexico board of regents passed new admission standards today to give all students access with support to succeed. The new standards emphasize students’ preparation in high school, reward rigorous coursework and continue to de-emphasize standardized test scores.
The new standards will be implemented over the course of three years, beginning in fall 2011. Students applying for fall 2010 or spring 2011 will not be affected.
The required grade point average will increase from 2.25 to 2.5 and curriculum requirements from 13 to 16 units. Applicants for fall 2011 will need to meet a minimum 2.3 G.P.A. and take one unit of social science in addition to current requirements. For fall 2012, the minimum G.P.A. will be 2.4, with an additional unit of laboratory science. The final adjustment will be made in fall 2013, with a minimum 2.5 G.P.A. and an additional unit of math.
Gradual implementation should allow most students time to adjust academic schedules as needed. For example, a student who just meets the current minimum course requirements would only need to take one additional social studies course next year to meet the new curriculum requirements for fall 2011.
Regents President Raymond Sanchez stipulated that the revised standards must be reviewed annually to ensure that they do not adversely impact high schools.
In the two years leading up to the vote, UNM sought input from communities statewide. UNM will continue to work with schools to ensure that necessary coursework is available and to help students and families understand how to prepare for college success.
No New Mexico beginning freshman will be denied admission to UNM under the new standards. Those that meet the requirements will be admitted to the Albuquerque campus, while students who need more preparation will be admitted to UNM through the Gateway Program to begin at branch campuses, Central New Mexico Community College or other state community colleges. Gateway participants are considered UNM students and are eligible to live in UNM campus housing, participate in student activities, and receive enhanced advising and communication.
The Biology Department held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday, March 9 from to commemorate the opening of a new research wing in Castetter Hall. The building has been designated LEED Gold status, by the U.S. Green Building Council, in recognition of its environmentally-conscious design. This new construction, comprising 16,000-square-feet of net new space, has been supported by funds from the student bond, legislative support and funds provided by the UNM President's office, for a total cost of approximately $9.9 million.
Photo (l. to r.): Distinguished Professor of Biology Dr. James Brown, Richard Cripps, Biology Department chair and President David J. Schmidly share a few words before Tuesday's Castetter Hall ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The addition is the first on campus to adhere to the Governor of New Mexico’s Executive Order requiring new buildings acquire a minimum of silver certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Green Rating System established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). SMPC Architect’s design surpassed this silver level requirement with the building receiving a gold-level certification.
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The LEED Gold certification on a wall in Castetter Hall. The building has been designated LEED Gold status, by the U.S. Green Building Council, in recognition of its environmentally-conscious design. |
The UNM Biology department now offers high-caliber training for students not easily fulfilled elsewhere in the state while enabling UNM to maintain its competitiveness in seeking funding through organizations including the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. The research laboratories will provide opportunities for students and faculty to work on health-related problems affecting the world while also allowing researchers to contribute to critical issues in New Mexico such water quantity and quality.
Two of the programs to be housed in this new space are the Program in Interdisciplinary Biological and Biomedical Sciences, PIBBS, developed by Biology Distinguished Professor Jim Brown and a number of UNM faculty, to provide novel training opportunities for graduate students at the intersection of traditionally separated disciplines.
Additionally, the Center for Evolutionary and Theoretical Immunology, CETI, spearheaded by Biology Regents' Professor Sam Loker, seeks to use interdisciplinary approaches to understand how organisms protect themselves from pathogens. Both of these programs are funded through the National Institutes of Health, and provide state-of-the-art facilities and training opportunities for UNM researchers and students.
The ceremony featured short presentations by Professors Brown and Loker and UNM President David Schmidly. Additionally, in recognition of the role of the student bond funds in initiating this project, there will be a raffle at which students who are present will be eligible to win $25, $50, $75 or $100 Lobo Gift Cards.
Media Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
The Science & Society Distinguished Public Talks series presents 'The Role of Renewables and America’s Energy Future” with Lawrence Papay on Thursday, March 11 at 5 p.m. in rm. C 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 free parking is available.
Papay is CEO and Principal of PKR, LLC, a management consulting firm specializing in managerial, financial and technical strategies for a variety of clients in electrical power and other energy areas. He is been engaged in energy and environmental systems for more than 40 years including the development and demonstration of renewable technologies.
Today, about 10 percent of all electrical generation in the U.S. is from renewables, mostly from hyrdoelectric sources. A U.S. National Academies panel found that with a sustained effort, renewables could produce 20 percent of the nation’s electricity generation by the year 2020 and 30 percent by the year 2030-35. The major impediments to accomplishing this are issues dealing with deployment and integration, which Papay will discuss in his lecture.
The Science & Society Distinguished Public Talks series presents 'The Role of Renewables and America’s Energy Future” with Lawrence Papay on Thursday, March 11 at 5 p.m. in rm. C 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 free parking is available.
The Science & Society Distinguished Public Talks series are 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.
Media Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
Raymond G. Sanchez has been re-elected as president of the UNM Board of Regents for 2010. Jack Fortner of Farmington was re-elected as vice president and Carolyn Abeita will return as secretary to the board. The regents took the action at their regular board meeting on March 8, 2010.
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
University of New Mexico ROTC programs, in collaboration with the Office of International Programs and Foreign Languages and Literatures and Africana Studies departments in the College of Arts & Sciences, was recently awarded a $100,000 “Project Global Officer (GO)” grant by the Institute of International Education.
Project GO is a Department of Defense funded initiative bringing together the National Security Education Program, 24 U.S. universities, the Defense Language Office and all three services to promote global awareness and language proficiency among future military officers.
"The objective of Project Global Officer is to provide our cadets with a chance to gain a working knowledge of critical strategic languages and immersing themselves in other cultures while studying abroad,” says MSG Jason Riley, UNM Army ROTC military science instructor.
The UNM ROTC programs will use the two-year grant in classroom teaching and study abroad travel to create an innovative, cadet-focused, accelerated critical language and culture training program focused on developing existing language programs at UNM, while addressing the future national security language needs of ROTC cadets.
The plan is to make critical language and study abroad a common part of a cadet's academic progression and commissioning progress. And, this process is made easier because UNM offers four of the Department of Defense identified Strategic Languages: Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Arabic and Swahili.
To further enhance the project, UNM ROTC programs will collaborate with other Project GO universities to focus on increasing enrollments and building infrastructures in these languages while working to increase the number of ROTC students participating in immersion opportunities overseas.
"Our collaboration with other Project GO Universities has allowed us to both learn from and share best practices regarding successful language and culture programs,” Riley said.
ROTC will provide a quality study abroad program for cadets and will utilize this assist in recruiting students and the development of the program.
For more information on Project GO please visit: Project GO. For more information on the UNM ROTC Project GO, please call Renée Delgado (505-277-0963) or visit Student Affairs.
Project GO symbol...
The Project GO symbol references an Adinkra symbol, which the Asante people of Ghana and Cote D'Ivoire print onto ceremonial clothes. Associated with the meaning, "I change or transform my life," the original Adinkra symbol combines the image of a morning star inside the image of a wheel and suggests renewal and change through revolution and independent movement. Borrowing from the theme of the Adinkra symbol, the Project GO symbol is an animated, revolving sun, suggesting rejuvenation, transformation and possibility.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Stephen Lekson, a professor of Anthropology from the University of Colorado will present a talk on “Chimney Rock and Chaco, Pinnacle Ruin and Mesa Verde: Methodologies of Regional Interaction in the Ancestral Pueblo Area” on Thursday, March 11 at 4 p.m. in the Hibben Center, Room 105.
Recent excavations by the University of Colorado at Chimney rock near Pagosa Spring, Colorado and at Pinnacle Ruin near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico illustrate two different regional dynamics in the Ancestral Pueblo World. Chimney Rock was an ‘outlier’ of Chaco Canyon. Pinnacle Ruin was a Mesa Verde migrant village.
These sites will be compared and contrasted with other CU excavations at Bluff Great House, Dolores Reservoir, and Mantle’s Cave and with recent SWCA excavations at Blue Mesa/Ridges Basin, to explore the range of archaeological methodologies for understanding regional dynamics in the Ancestral Pueblo region.
The University of New Mexico College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona has established the Center for Quantum Information and Control. CQuIC is founded on a three-year, $1.26 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Physics at the Information Frontiers program.
The NSF grant commenced on Aug. 1, 2009, and has as principal investigators Carlton Caves and Ivan Deutsch, both UNM professors in Physics and Astronomy Department and Poul Jessen at UA. Caves is director of the new center. CQuIC replaces a previous A&S center, the Center for Advanced Studies.
“CQuIC will specialize in the training of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows for research careers in Quantum Information Science,” said Caves. “For the present, research at UNM will be predominantly on theoretical topics in QIS, and Jessen’s group at UA will provide a major experimental component. A primary objective is to expand the scope of the Center by involving researchers in other A&S departments and in the School of Engineering.”
QIS is an interdisciplinary field investigating how to use systems obeying the laws of quantum mechanics to perform information processing tasks that cannot be performed using the information-processing resources available today. The key to quantum information processing is to take advantage of so-called quantum coherence by developing physical systems that can maintain quantum coherence for long periods of time.
This is one of the primary challenges of 21st century science and technology, and it distinguishes quantum information processing from ubiquitous information processing devices we use today. QIS encompasses many different disciplines, including information science, complexity theory, computer science, and various branches of physics, chemistry, mathematics, and engineering.
“CQuIC brings a quantum‐information perspective to physics‐based research. In particular, research within CQuIC applies the new ideas and techniques of QIS to the state‐of‐the‐art laboratory task of controlling the behavior of quantum systems, so these tiny systems can be made to do what we want, instead of what comes naturally,” Caves said. “One major application is likely to be to quantum metrology, where the objective is to develop devices for making high-precision, quantum-limited measurements.”
CQuIC will partner with four external institutions, the Joint Quantum Institute at the University of Maryland, the quantum information and quantum nanoscience groups at the University of Queensland, the extensive QIS research efforts at Sandia National Laboratories, and the Quantum Initiative at Los Alamos National Laboratory. These partnerships focus on a two‐way flow of ideas and people, thus expanding the theoretical and experimental capabilities available to CQuIC and the partnering institutions.
CQuIC is also the administrative home of the Southwest Quantum Information and Technology (SQuInT) Network, which promotes QIS research at about 20 institutions located mainly in the southwest U.S. The 12th Annual SQuInT Workshop SQuInT, held in February at the El Dorado Hotel in Santa Fe, attracted 150 attendees to a three-day program of technical presentations. The workshop featured an opening session devoted to presentations from CQuIC’s partnering institutions.
Media Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
As part of a university-wide project, Information Technologies (IT) will upgrade the Banner System from version 7 to version 8 over Spring Break 2010. The upgrade will take place starting Friday, Mar. 12 at 5 p.m. through Thursday, Mar. 18 at 8 a.m. During the upgrade, all e-mail, calendaring, library services, WebCT, and the MyUNM portal will be available for use.
Operational reporting using Hyperion, ODS, and E-print will also be available. IT asks Banner users and administrators to update as much information as possible prior to Thursday, Mar. 11, as any available information will only be current up to that date, and will not be refreshed until the upgrade is complete and Banner is once again active.
For information regarding the Banner 8 system upgrade, log onto Banner Upgrade.
Please direct general questions regarding this effort to IT Customer Support Services at 277-5757 or to one of the following areas:
Financial Services Support Center, 277-3457, which provides support to faculty and staff on Finance issues.
Human Resources Service Center, 277-6947, which provides support to faculty and staff on HR/Payroll issues.
UNM All Access, 277-8900, which provides students with direct help to any student-related issues and/or concerns.
Media Contact: Vanessa Baca, (505) 277-0987; e-mail: vjbaca1@unm.edu
History Professor Virginia Scharff is co-curating Home Lands: How Women Made the West at the Autry Museum in Los Angeles. The exhibit opens April 16 and runs through Aug. 22. Women have shaped the Western landscape through choices about how to sustain home, family and community from the time of ancient pueblos to modern suburbs. The exhibit brings together women’s, Western and environmental history to show how women have been at the heart of the Western enterprise across cultures and over time.
Historical artifacts, art, photographs and biographies of individual women will lead visitors through three distinctive Western environments created and inhabited by women.
Following its premier in Los Angeles, the exhibit travels to the Missouri Historical Society and the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa before opening in Santa Fe at the new history museum.
Scharff is professor of history and director of the UNM Center for the Southwest, specializing in the histories of women, the environment and the American West. Her scholarly publications include Taking the Wheel: Women and the Coming of the Motor Age (1991); Twenty Thousand Roads: Women, Movement, and the West (2003); Present Tense: The United States Since 1945 (1996); and Coming of Age: America in the Twentieth Century (1998).
She is also editor of Seeing Nature Through Gender (2003), a pioneering collection of essays about gender and environmental history. Her scholarship has garnered excellent reviews in venues ranging from the Times (both New York and Los Angeles) and The Nation to People and Seventeen magazines. Her academic honors include a Beinecke Research Fellowship in the Lamar Center for Frontiers and Borders at Yale University, and Women of the West Chair at the Autry National Center in Los Angeles. She is a Fellow of the Society of American Historians.
Scharff enjoys bringing history to American viewers as well as readers. She has served as consultant on television documentary projects for The History Channel, A & E, Turner Broadcasting and numerous public television stations, including the nationally broadcast Biography of America, a television course in United States history produced by WGBH in Boston and Annenberg CPB.
As Virginia Swift, she has written mystery suspense novels including Brown-Eyed Girl (2000), Bad Company (2002), Bye, Bye, Love (2004), and Hello, Stranger (2006). These novels feature University of Wyoming history professor, bar band singer and self-designated sleuth Sally Alder.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
French Professor Walter Putnam delivers, “Americans in Paris: Lee and Man, Man and Lee,” Tuesday, March 9 from 2-3 p.m. in the UNM Art Museum. The lecture is free and open to the public.
Photo: Walter Putnam
Lee Miller and Man Ray had a productive if tumultuous relationship that lasted from 1929-1932. She arrived in Paris in the heyday of surrealism as a fashion icon who wanted to move to the other side of the camera. Man Ray became her teacher, lover and collaborator as they moved in the circle of Breton, Picasso, Max Ernst and Parisian high society taking some of the most notable portraits of those years.
Man Ray’s photos of Lee Miller are memorable and provocative while raising questions of the objectification of women in surrealist art. Together, they discovered the quintessential surrealist photographic technique of solarization. Their personal and artistic partnership will be the occasion to explore surrealist ideals of freedom, love and art played out against the backdrop of Montparnasse expatriate culture.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Baker Morrow, professor of practice, UNM School of Architecture and Planning, presents, “Albuquerque’s Historic Landscapes,” Saturday, March 20, at 1 p.m. at the Museum of Albuquerque, 2000 Mountain Rd. NW in Old Town. The event is free and open to the public.
Photo: Baker Morrow
Albuquerque’s landscapes have changed dramatically post WWII. Morrow was a “pioneer” behind the 1970’s City Landscape Ordinance. Morrow will give a slide presentation featuring Albuquerque landscapes on street medians, major intersections and the Big-I.
Morrow, instrumental in establishing the master in landscape architecture program at the University of New Mexico, has had his own firm, Morrow Reardon Wilkinson and Miller, Ltd. since 1973. He pursued landscape architecture after discovering he enjoyed the 3D world and open spaces. “Landscape design is a combination of manmade and natural elements.
We proceed with the assumption that vegetation will grow – and it does – which allows us to set up a process and watch it mature. Four or five years later, landscapes develop their own personality. They take off on their own,” he said. Morrow is a Fellow in the American Society of Landscape Architects, the first UNM graduate and first native New Mexican to receive this honor.
Morrow has 36 years’ experience as a landscape architect in New Mexico and the region. He has served as project manager and principal in charge for more than 3,000 projects. Among his award winning projects are the Journal Center, the New Mexico State Fairgrounds entries, Park Square, Children’s Psychiatric Center at UNM, the Albuquerque Academy, and Yale Boulevard in Albuquerque; and the Holiday Inn, Memorial Medical Center, Artesia Main Street Phases I and II and NMSU Zuhl Library in Las Cruces, NM.
His firm has also developed plans for many other important New Mexican projects, including East Central Avenue (5.5 miles) in Albuquerque, the Big-I landscape in Albuquerque, Sun Healthcare World Headquarters, Uptown Streetscape, Unser Blvd. Streetscape, Louisiana and I-40 Interchange, I-40 Median and Roadway Landscape Prototypes.
Morrow’s presentation is an offering of the Albuquerque Historical Society, AHS, founded in 1947, welcomes all who are interested in the city’s history to its monthly programs.
For more information, call AHS President Janet Saiers, 299-5019, or e-mail jsaiers@msn.com.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
The Campus Office of Substance Abuse Prevention, Student Health and Counseling and Mothers Against Drunk Driving sponsor “Make Spring Break YOURS!” Wednesday, March 10, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at UNM Smith Plaza.
They ask: What is YOUR vision for a great spring break? Snowboarding, volunteering, traveling, partying or sleeping, they want to know. Students can brainstorm ideas at this fun event, as well as play games, win prizes, pick up freebies, and learn about travel health, alcohol and substance use, healthy sleep and more.
Additionally, MADD sets up its new, hi-tech impairment simulator systems. The first one is the Simulated Impaired DriviNg Experience or SIDNE, a battery-powered go-cart that simulates the effects of impairment from alcohol or other drugs on a motorist’s driving skills.
The other simulator is called Fatal Reaction® which uses a delayed audio signal to “distract” the student as he or she attempts to complete a complex task. This simulation demonstrates the potential danger of texting, entering an address into a GPS device, eating or looking for a song on an mp3 player while driving.
For more information contact COSAP, (505) 277-2795.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
The UNM Retiree Association hosts a North Valley “Ditch Walk,” Thursday, April 15, from 1-4 p.m. Participants will meet at Los Poblanos Open Space parking lot off of Montano Road near Rio Grande Blvd. The walk will be flexible enough to accommodate anyone with special needs and restroom facilities are available at a midpoint in the walk. Participants will enjoy expansive views of open space and mountains and will probably see wildlife. The history of the ditch system in the North Valley will be included in the presentation.
The Ditch Walk will be a leisurely stroll, not a hike, with at least two options for length of walks of distance and time. Comfortable walking shoes that could possibly get muddy are recommended.
The walk will be led by Kathy Chilton, Diane Scena and Claude Morelli, experienced guides in giving walking tours and all have participated in WALK Albuquerque.
For more information about the walk, visit contact Laura Cameron at cameron@math.unm.edu, or visit Griegos Map.
For more information about the UNM Retiree Association, call 277-2337, e-mail kretskin@unm.edu or visit Retiree Association.
State lawmakers started their Special Session this week in Santa Fe. While the Legislature struggles to reach a budget deal, many of the same philosophical differences between the legislators remains, despite movement towards a compromise. This week “New Mexico in Focus” takes a look at the reaction to progress towards a budget deal and the likelihood of another Special Session later this year. New Mexico In Focus airs Fridays at 7 p.m. New Mexico In Focus will not rebroadcast Sunday, March 7, 14 or 21 due to KNME's current pledge drive.
Then “New Mexico in Focus” correspondent Peter St. Cyr sits down with former New Mexico governor Toney Anaya, the man in charge of handling the over $4 billion in federal stimulus funds coming to the state from the “Recovery and Reinvestment Act.” St Cyr asks where the money is going, and is it stimulating the New Mexico economy as was promised?
Gene Grant and this week’s panelists on “The Line” debate some heavy health insurance hikes, and new job opportunities for some high profile politicians. Joining Grant are panelists Sophie Martin and Jim Scarantino, and guest panelists Steve Cabeides, a political consultant, and former executive director for the New Mexico Democratic Party, Laura Sanchez.
Additionally, viewers can also watch it online at: KNME.org. Get updates, watch, and Follow KNME on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more.
“New Mexico in Focus” is produced by Kevin McDonald and Kathy Wimmer and closed captioning has been made possible by a gift from Mrs. Elspeth G. Bobbs.
Media Contact: Evy Todd, (505) 277-1812; e-mail: etodd@knme.org
Andrew R. Mayer, associate professor of Translational Neuroscience and adjunct assistant professor with the UNMH Department of Neurology and Mind Research Network will present a talk titled “Attentional Function in Healthy and Clinical Populations” on Tuesday, March 9, at 11 a.m. at the MRN Large Conference in Pete and Nancy Domenici Hall on UNM’s North Campus.
Photo: Andrew R. Mayer
Mayer says by selectively attending to different locations and objects in space, humans are able to safely navigate through a potentially dangerous world on a daily basis. We obtain spatial information primarily from the auditory and visual modalities.
However, physiological differences in these two sensory systems influence the manner in which information is processed. Auditory information is processed faster and averaged over smaller epochs, while retinotopic mapping increases the fidelity of spatial maps. As a result, auditory signals excel at producing bottom-up shifts of attention (rapid orienting responses) but suffer in fine-grained spatial localization.
Task context can also influence how sensory information is perceived. For example, the spatial localization of sounds is heavily biased by simultaneously occurring visual information (Posner et al., 1976), resulting in the classic “ventriloquist effect”. In contrast, tasks with a strong temporal component are more difficult when relying on visual rather than auditory information. Imagine dancing the tango to lights flashing at different frequencies rather than to a lusty Argentine beat.
Finally, attention can also be directed or slip away from the external senses towards more internal mental activities such as daydreaming. All of these different attentional states are associated with neuronal signatures that can be measured with non-invasive neuroimaging techniques.
The goal of the talk is therefore to provide a general overview of the behavioral and neuroimaging correlates of audio-visual spatial orienting and selective attention, and how these cognitions become impaired in clinical populations (mild traumatic brain injury and schizophrenia).
The lecture is free and the public is welcome.
Due to popular demand, the UNM Bookstore lobby will be open again on Friday, March 5, at 10 a.m., to sell Mountain West Conference Championship t-shirts that recognize the UNM Men's Basketball team's Mountain West Conference regular season championship. Also, on Monday, March 8, the UNM Bookstore, which is currently closed for inventory, will sell a complete line of MWC Championship merchandise at 30 percent off.
Out of state shoppers and Lobo fans who can't make it to the UNM Bookstore, may purchase MWC Championship material online at: MWC Championoship Gear. For more information visit: UNM Bookstores.
Congratulations Lobos from your UNM Bookstores!
Students in Teacher Education at CNM should find it easier now to transfer credits to UNM to complete their Bachelor’s degrees. A transfer agreement signed by representatives of both schools sets out precisely which credits can be transferred.
Photo: (l. to r.) UNM Dean of College of Education Richard Howell, UNM Provost Suzanne Ortega, CHM VP for Academic Affairs Beth Pitonzo and CNM Dean of Communications, Humanities & Social Science Richard Borthwick sign 2+2 agreement.
The agreement helps the institutions make sure the transfer process is as seamless as possible for students. These agreements are the 12th and 13th between UNM and CNM.
“The College of Education is excited and engaged by this opportunity to work more closely with CNM, whether it is here on campus or in Rio Rancho,” said UNM CoE Dean Richard Howell.
Students who earn an Associate Degree in Teacher Education with a concentration in Special Education or Elementary Education from CNM will be able to transfer seamlessly to UNM to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Special Education and Elementary Education. UNM provides a Dual License Program that qualifies graduates to teach both elementary education and special education. Throughout the years, local school districts have struggled to meet the demand for special education teachers. These agreements are the 12th and 13th between UNM and CNM.
CNM students who earn an associate’s degree in Early Childhood Multicultural Education will be able to transfer to UNM to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Multicultural Education. This degree track will help to produce more qualified teachers for the critical preschool and pre-kindergarten years.
This is part of a phased articulation process that allows courses taught at one college to be accepted in another institution. The transfer agreements will make it easier for students who begin their college work at CNM to transfer credits and complete graduation requirements in the appropriate UNM school or college. For CNM students who follow the course and credit requirements, they can enter the UNM College of Education as juniors. The agreement also covers students in Rio Rancho who enroll at CNM.
Administrators in both institutions believe the agreement will make it easier for students to keep on track to graduate in four years.
Superintendent of Schools for Albuquerque Public Schools Winston Brooks said, “Given the teacher shortage we face today, we applaud the efforts of CNM and UNM to ensure a highly qualified pool of educators for our future. It has been a challenge to keep up with the demand for Special Education teachers.”
Gov. Bill Richardson has signed a proclamation declaring today, March 3, 2010, as “Roman Martinez Day” in New Mexico. The proclamation pays tribute to the University of New Mexico senior who will play his last home basketball game in University Arena tonight. The eighth-ranked Lobos will take on TCU tonight before a sold out crowd for a shot at claiming the Mountain West Conference title outright.
Photo: Senior standout Roman Martinez
The Proclamation...
"Roman Martinez Day".
The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City has honored Ghost Ranch and the Faraway Nearby (University of New Mexico Press) by Santa Fe photographer Craig Varjabedian with the Western Heritage Award for “Outstanding Photography Book” of 2009. Varjabedian will receive his award at the 49th Annual Western Heritage Awards Ceremony on Saturday, April 17, at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
From its earliest days as a resting place for dinosaurs – yielding its now-famous fossil beds – Ghost Ranch in northern New Mexico has hosted visitors that represent the microcosm of New Mexico history: prehistoric hunters, colonial Spanish rancheros, cattle rustlers, wranglers, environmentalists, social reformers and nuclear physicists.
In its colored hills and broad skies, Georgia O’Keeffe found a place where the open possibility of the landscape became one with what she felt inside, where depth and focus at once conflated the spatial orientation of the objects she painted, and pulled her nearer to her creative source. Others found transcendence in all its guises.
In Ghost Ranch and the Faraway Nearby, the sixth book showcasing his celebrated images, Varjabedian presents a collection of photographs capturing the radiant light and scenery of Ghost Ranch. These images reach beyond familiar ideas associated with the Ranch—such as its renown as a site of personal renewal and transformation—into Varjabedian’s singular vision of his subject and its ties to ideas of identity, place, and perception.
First presented in 1961, the Western Heritage—or Wrangler—Awards celebrate and honor the legacy of those whose works in literature, music, film, and television contribute to keeping the spirit and rich heritage of the American West alive.
NOTE FOR MEDIA: For more information on Ghost Ranch and the Faraway Nearby or to schedule an interview with Varjabedian, contact Katherine MacGilvray, UNM Press publicity, at 505-277-3291 or katm@unm.edu.
Recently, several UNM e-mail users received a hoax message claiming to be from UNM Account Billing regarding "Account Maintainance." Be aware that this is spam. Do not respond to the message or open any links that are in the message. IT will never ask you for your password or Banner ID in e-mail so be aware if an e-mail requests this information from you.
The text of the hoax e-mail message is below.
Dear University of New Mexico account users,
We are currently verifying our subscribers email accounts in order to increase the Efficiency of our webmail features. To Join in the Recent Upgrade Taking Place at University of New Mexico Webmail, You must Reply to this email by Confirming your account details below.
UserName:
Password:
Date Of Birth:
Failure to do this will immediately render your Web-email address deactivated from our database. Thanks for using University of New Mexico webmail service.
UNM Account Billing.
If you have any questions, please contact IT Customer Support Services at 277-5757 or visit IT.
Media Contact: Vanessa Baca, (505) 277-0987; e-mail: vjbaca1@unm.edu
The John Sommers Gallery presents the first Master of Fine Arts thesis show featuring interactive video projection, “Mortal Coil” by May Goldman Chaltiel. The exhibit runs March 4-12, with on opening reception on Thursday, March 4, 5-7 p.m.
In her artist statement, Chaltiel calls the project “a visual study in grief, chaos and interval.” She looks at both contemporary conceptions of the “mortal coil” and the origin in Greek mythology, where the extent of each life is set to the length of a thread coiled on a spool, measured, woven and cut by the Fates. “Working through my own grieving process, I contemplate this metaphor as a way of moving through the space of loss,” she writes.
The exhibit is interactive, creating a unique show at each moment as it responds to viewers. “When you view the work, your movements are monitored and create a visual shift in the piece, new intervals. Interestingly, the viewers’ movements create a chaotic effect, perhaps introducing new coils within the coil,” Chaltiel writes.
The exhibit is free. The gallery, open 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Monday-Friday, is on the second floor of the Art & Art History Building.
Media Contact: Sari Krosinsky, (505) 277-1593; e-mail: michal@unm.edu
Awardwinners to be honored Wednesday, April 7
The University of New Mexico Division of Student Affairs is seeking nominations for its annual “Louie” awards. The deadline to submit nominations is Friday, March 12 at 5 p.m.
Awards will be given in five categories including:
• Student Affairs Employee of the Year
• Student Affairs Student Employee of the Year
• Student Affairs Fellow of the Year Award
• Student Affairs Community Service – Student Award
• Student Services Award – For UNM Faculty & Staff – university wide award
Nominations forms can be found at Louies Nominations Sought under the “quick links” tab on the left hand side. Completed forms may be faxed to 277-6099 attn: Marqui Williams, at (505) 277-6099 or e-mailed to, marqui86@unm.edu.
Nominations may also be sent via campus mail to:
Selection Committee, Division of Student Affairs
c/o Marqui Williams
MSC05, 3410
UNM, Scholes Hall, Room 229
Albuquerque, NM 87131
The Louies will be presented to the winners at a reception on Wednesday, April 7 in the SUB.
For more information and or questions, call Natalie Brigance at 277-0952 or visit: Division of Student Affairs.
Media Contact: Dorene Dinaro, (505) 277-5299; e-mail: ddinaro@unm.edu
The International Task Force presents Foreign Service officer Catherine Spillman, U.S. Commercial Service and export promotion, U.S. Department of Commerce, Tuesday, March 9, noon – 1:30 p.m. in the Roberts Room in Scholes Hall.
Spillman was recently relocated to the U.S. Export Assistance Center in Santa Fe for a two year domestic assignment after five years in Japan. The Commercial Service has a variety of programs designed to assist export ready companies and educational institutions to develop or expand their international sales. Spillman will speak about the role and mission of the Commercial Service and its programs, particularly as they can be used to recruit international students.
Russian Fulbright Scholar,Victoria Vyazovskaya, who will give a short presentation, “Welcome to Russia.”
To attend, RSVP to Kathryn Padilla at katpad@unm.edu by Monday, March 8. A light lunch will be provided.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
The UNM Hobbit Society is now accepting submissions for its second annual Fantasy & Science-Fiction Colloquium, “Intellectual Hooliganism,” set for Thursday, April 1, from 5:30 – 8 p.m. in the UNM Honors Forum.
To apply, submit a one-page proposal abstract to tolkien@unm.edu by March 10 at 5 p.m. The Hobbit Society will consider submissions dealing with any fantasy and/or science fiction text* in a scholarly fashion. All presentation formats are welcome, papers or audio-visual experiences that do not exceed 15 minutes in length.
Include contact information: name, phone number and email, as well as whether the presentation requires audio-visual equipment. Presenters will be notified of acceptance on or before March 14. *“Text” means in the broadest sense: films, comic books, television, video games and beyond are all open for scholarly analysis here.
“…at the Berkeley campus bookstore Fred Cody, the manager, said: ‘This is more than a campus craze; it's like a drug dream.’ In the U.S. hobbits have quite replaced Salinger and Golding as ‘in’ reading. Tolkien seems to promote a mild kind of intellectual hooliganism. But his supporters argue (overwhelmingly) that, on the contrary, it does everyone good to stay in the Tolkien world, where things are still green; there is hope for people and pleasantness.” ─ NY TIMES, 1967
With the publication of The Hobbit in 1937, J.R.R. Tolkien revolutionized fantasy as something acceptable for both scholars and ordinary readers. Since then, the literary genres of fantasy and science fiction have steadily gained attention in the academic world. The UNM Hobbit Society, in honor of Professor Tolkien, is initiating this colloquium as an annual event to encourage UNM students to study fantasy and science fiction literature in a scholarly manner and share their findings with others.
“Intellectual Hooliganism” will consist of 8-10 brief, ten to fifteen-minute presentations. The event is free and open to the public.
For more information, contact Leslie A. Donovan, University Honors Program, 277-4313, or ldonovan@unm.edu.
Media Contact: Sari Krosisnky, (505) 277-1593; e-mail: michal@unm.edu
Tariq Khraishi, associate professor of Mechanical Engineering at UNM has been given the 2010 Outstanding Service Award by the Gulf-Southwest Section by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). The award is given for long-term service in the engineering community in general and engineering education in particular.
Photo: Tariq Khraishi
“It is a great honor that the ASEE-GSW Section bestowed on me their Outstanding Service Award,” Khraishi said. “I want to thank the ASEE-GSW Section Awards Committee for selecting me, and all the people who supported my nomination. The award is a recognition of the many years of service that I have provided for the engineering community as a whole and for engineering education.”
Khraishi has been active in the organization for a number of years as an officer on its executive board, and has chaired and organized the 2008 Annual Section Conference. He has also presented several papers at its conferences. He has been active in organizing technical conferences and symposia as well as serving on editorial boards of several engineering/science journals.
He has been active in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and has volunteered time in the New Mexico community to share his engineering knowledge with youngsters.
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
Timothy M. Hsieh, managing partner of MH2 Technology Law Group, LLP, will present a talk Tuesday, March 9 titled, “The Patent Reform Act—Should You Start Working Out and Saving More?” The talk, which begins at 12 p.m., will be held in Acoma A&B in the Student Union Building.
Photo: Timothy M. Hsieh
Due to pressing issues like health care and the BCS playoff system, the Patent Reform Act of 2009 remains pending before Congress. It’s very likely, though, that the House and Senate will take up patent reform again in 2010. This talk will discuss the changes being considered, concerns about those changes, and how they might affect what you do in the lab.
For more information on the seminars and to register online, visit: STC News and Registration or contact Denise Bissell at 272-7310 or e-mail, dbissell@stc.unm.edu.
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
The remainder of the Forever Tango tour has been canceled and will not be coming to Popejoy Hall. The show was scheduled to come to Popejoy Hall on Sunday, March 7, 2010 at 3 p.m.
Patrons who already have tickets to Forever Tango can exchange them for other Popejoy Presents shows, including Cabaret, Ballet Folklórico de México, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Three Mo' Tenors, Diavolo Dance Theatre, or Ed Asner in FDR. The price of the tickets can also be accepted as a tax-deductible donation to Popejoy Hall, or refunded to the original buyer.
Deadline to signup for cultural performance is Friday, March 5
The annual International Festival is set for Thursday, April 15 on Cornell Mall. The Office of International Programs and Studies wants international students and scholars to consider setting up a booth at the festival to represent your home country. Deadline to set up is Thursday, April 1 by 5 p.m.
The International Festival, a springtime celebration of culture and diversity at UNM, features food, information, arts & crafts and performances from all over the world - ranging from Middle Eastern Belly Dancing to Traditional African Drumming. The festival generates great energy, rhythm and color by bringing the world closer to the UNM community.
OIPS encourages individuals to sign up for a booth representing your country. To sign up, visit OIPS or send an e-mail to iadvisor@unm.edu with the following information:
1. Name(s) of people running the booth:
2. Name of organization (if any):
3. Country represented:
4. Type of booth you want to provide: Food, information, arts & crafts or a cultural activity. Anyone wanting to serve food will be required to attend food service training at the end of the month. Information about this training will be provided at a later date.
5. Electricity needed? Electricity is limited due to accessibility outside the SUB, so only those students who absolutely require it for their booths should mark "yes" to this question. Access will be given on a first-come, first-serve basis, so sign up soon.
If interested in doing a cultural performance at our festival, call Stephanie Suliman at 277-4032 by Friday, March 5.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
The Fulbright Scholars' program is hosting a conference in Albuquerque April 6-11, for approximately 40 women Fulbright scholars from Africa. They would like participants to have the experience of U.S. home stay families while in Albuquerque.
The requirements for host families are:
1. Provide a private room and daily breakfast for the participants
2. Assist with transportation arrangements to and from the meeting sites on some days
3. Home stay families are invited to participate in a potluck dinner for all participants and hosts on Wednesday, April 7
4. Participants have a free day to enjoy activities and sightseeing with their host families on Saturday, April 10
If anyone is interested in hosting one or more of the participants, please contact Ruth Frazier, Albuquerque Council of International Visitors, at (505) 250-9961 or (505) 828-1958 or e-mail, rufrazier@aol.com.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Regular faculty and staff should have received an e-mail from Research & Polling, Inc. in their inbox. The company has been hired by UNM to conduct an online survey on various university matters, including topics such as climate and communication.
Everyone is asked to fill out the survey and return it as quickly as possible. Research & Polling Inc. is an independent research company not affiliated in any way with UNM. No administrators from UNM will have access to individual results so answers will remain anonymous.
This benchmark study is being conducted to identify areas for improvement at the University. Last year, when UNM was reaccredited by the Higher Learning Commission, the team recommended submission of a monitoring report to follow up on issues related to communication and governance. The team recommended a survey or other instrument to empirically demonstrate progress. The university is required to report incremental progress to the commission next year.
The survey will go to faculty and staff on the main and branch campuses this week. Faculty and staff at the Health Sciences Center will receive the survey after spring break. It is crucial to fill out the survey because the feedback will be used by university administration to address concerns.
A tracking survey will be conducted in the future to measure changes and/or progress over time.
The e-mail should have come from surveys@rpinc.com.
The unveiling of two initiatives for the advisement community and student success will be celebrated Friday, March 5, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The first is an open house to introduce the new "University Advisement and Enrichment Center," formerly known as the Student Services Center. The second is the formal release of LOBOTRAX - UNM's new interactive degree audit. Refreshments and entertainment will be provided.
The celebration will highlight University Advisement Center (UAC), the College of Arts and Sciences Advisement Center, Bachelor of University Studies (B.U.S.), Freshmen Academic Choices (FAC), the B.A./M.D. and the College Enrichment and Outreach Programs, all of which will now be located in the renamed "University Advisement and Enrichment Center".
LOBOTRAX will be highlighted and demonstrated in the Student Union Building with Advisors and Peer Mentors to help students become familiar with this new tool.
Additionally, advisors are now being sought who can help with sharing LOBOTRAX to students at the SUB from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Two advisors are needed for two-hour blocks of time. If you have any student employees or volunteers who can aid you in this effort, that would be great.
Please let us know if you can help us spread LOBOTRAX on Friday, March 5.
Below are the blocks of time needed:
Location – SUB
10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. – Set up & On-site
12 – 2:15 p.m. – Set up & Breakdown
If you are available to assist with LOBOTRAX please e-mail Title V at, title5@unm.edu. For more information or questions, contact Henry Gonzalez at 277-0124.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
In preparation for the second annual University of New Mexico Sustainability Expo to be held on Earth Day, Thursday, April 22, the event’s organizing committee has announced an open call for student, staff, and faculty participation. Event coordinators welcome individuals presenting research and organized groups and departments to showcase their sustainability programs, goals, and initiatives in this campus-wide event. There is no cost to participate.
“We want to continue to grow UNM’s Sustainability Expo and presence as a leader in sustainability initiatives in the community,” said Mary Vosevich, UNM Sustainability Council Chair. “Great things are happening here at UNM and we want to share them at this annual campus-wide event. Sustainability, as one of UNM's core values, provides a foundation for a better future.”
The event will be held on Thursday, April 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Cornell Mall. If you are interested in participating contact event coordinator, Danielle Gilliam, UNM Parking and Transportation Services, dgilliam@parking.unm.edu or 277-0461. The deadline to secure participation is March 19.
Media Contact: Benson Hendrix, (505) 277-1816; e-mail: bhendrix@unm.edu
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. has donated $15,000 to support three student organizations at the UNM School of Engineering and student research in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE). Ball Aerospace’s support and resources are directed to UNM student chapters of Women in Science Engineering (WISE), the Society for Women Engineers (SWE), and the Hispanic Engineering and Science Organization (HESO).
UNM students benefit from the interaction with company representatives and the educational opportunities, networking, mentoring, and community service projects provided by these organizations.
"Building upon a long history of informal interactions with the University of New Mexico, Ball Aerospace is very excited to take the next step by establishing this formal relationship with the UNM School of Engineering,” says Dan Gibson, Vice President and General Manager of Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp, Systems Engineering Solutions. “UNM engineers are a major source of technical talent and are key to maintaining and growing our high-technology economy. We look forward to a long, successful relationship with UNM.”
For the research project, Ball Aerospace is supporting ECE Assistant Professor Olga Lavrova’s senior design class. The focus of the project is to investigate data compression algorithms for possible implementation onboard a small, low-Earth orbiting satellite. The Ball Aerospace candidate satellite will download 5-6 gigabytes of data in a window of 10-12 minutes, and possibly as short as 6-8 minutes, using a modest 1 MB per second link. The students will implement the candidate compression algorithms on representative hardware and evaluate their performance using five criteria developed by Ball Aerospace engineers.
“The generosity of Ball Aerospace enhances three vital student organizations and significant research opportunities for our students,” says UNM School of Engineering Interim Dean Arup Maji. “We are grateful for their contribution and look forward to an exciting partnership with this innovative company.”
Media Contact: Tamara Williams, (505) 277-5859; e-mail: tamara@unm.edu
Ganesh Balakrishnan, assistant professor of Electrical Engineering, plays Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, and Riti Sachdeva, UNM theater graduate student, plays Namagiri, goddess of Namakal. Both have lead roles in the new Explora Theater play, Partition, showing at Explora Thursday-Saturday, March 4-6, 7 p.m.; Sunday, March 7, 2 p.m.; Thursday & Friday, March 11 & 12, 7 p.m.; and Saturday, March 13 at 4 p.m.
In 1913 a young Indian mathematical genius is invited to England to work with a Cambridge professor. A maddening riddle draws these two men from vastly different cultures together, but it also possess the power to destroy them. Partition is a play by Ira Hauptman.
Admission is $5.50 members and $7 non-members, and ages 12 and up. Reservations required. For more information call, (505) 224-8341, e-mail, reservations@explora.us or visit: Explora. Explora is located at 1701 Mountain Road, N.W.
The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority will begin work on Basehart Road on March 1, 2010. Construction will last through March 12, 2010. During this time the two westbound lanes of Basehart Road will be closed, with traffic shifted to the eastbound lanes and one lane of traffic open in each direction.
Commuters may want to avoid southbound University near the UNM South Campus on Thursday and Friday. On Thursday, March 4, 2010 crews will begin construction on University at Basehart Road. Construction is expected to last through March 5. The far southbound lane of University will be closed from south of Hazeldine to Basehart Road, with two lanes of traffic narrowing to a single lane of traffic midway between Coal Avenue and Basehart.
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
During the past two years, the University of New Mexico reached out to communities statewide to develop new admission standards giving all students access with support to succeed. On Monday, March 8, UNM’s board of regents will vote on a proposal emphasizing students’ preparation in high school, rewarding rigorous coursework and continuing to de-emphasize standardized test scores. The meeting will be held at 9 a.m. in SUB Ballroom C.
The proposal would gradually increase the required grade point average from 2.25 to 2.5 and increase curriculum requirements from 13 to 16 units. Changes would be phased in over three years, beginning no earlier than fall 2011. UNM will work with schools to ensure that necessary coursework is available and to help students and families understand how to prepare for college success.
Last fall, UNM advertised in newspapers across New Mexico to invite comments on the proposed admission standards. The proposal evolved with input from current and prospective students, faculty, staff, school counselors and administrators statewide, tribal leadership and community organizations. It has been endorsed by the All Indian Pueblo Council, New Mexico Public Education Department and Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, and approved by the UNM Faculty Senate.
No New Mexico beginning freshman would be denied admission to UNM under the proposed plan. Those that meet the requirements would be admitted to the Albuquerque campus, while students who need more preparation would be admitted to UNM through the Gateway Program to begin at branch campuses, Central New Mexico Community College or other state community colleges. Gateway participants are considered UNM students and are eligible to live in UNM campus housing, participate in student activities, and receive enhanced advising and communication.
The proposed standards reflect research at UNM and nationally indicating that high school grades are the best predictor of on-time graduation. UNM data reveals a six percent increase in retention for those admitted with a 2.5 high school G.P.A. compared to a 2.25 G.P.A. Additionally, a study by the United States Department of Education found that completing 16 college preparatory units increases graduation rates by six percent over 13 units. The effect has been found to be particularly great among Latino students.
The proposal encourages students to take advanced courses by using a weighted G.P.A. applied by UNM Admissions – a more equitable, consistent system than accepting a weighted G.P.A. determined differently by individual high schools.
The continued de-emphasis of test scores in favor of curriculum and G.P.A. aligns with the university’s commitment to access and diversity, since this approach has less of an impact on underrepresented populations. The Board of Regents meeting is open and the public is welcome.
For more information, visit Admission Requirement Proposal.
Media Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
Registration is now open for The Mind Research Network’s (MRN) second annual Domenici Neuroscience Symposium. This year’s symposium, titled Neuroscience for National Security, will be held May 7, in Washington, D.C. at The Liaison Washington Court Hotel.
The day-long event will focus on the problems and possible neuroscience-based solutions of individual performance via training and support, chronic and acute stressors, social and ethical considerations, and enhanced team performance from a national security perspective.
The Symposium is named for MRN founder Retired U.S. Senator Pete Domenici, a long-time advocate of mental illness and other brain-based research.
For more information visit, Domenici Neuroscience Symposium, e-mail, DNSII@mrn.org or contact Dolores González at (505) 925-4747.
About MRN
The Mind Research Network is dedicated to the discovery and advancement of clinical solutions for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of mental illness and brain disorders. Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Albuquerque, MRN consists of in-house scientists working in collaboration with Harvard, Yale, MIT, the University of Minnesota, and other universities, national laboratories, and research centers across the nation. For more information visit: Mind Research Network.
UNM doctor addresses topic in latest issue of 'Pediatrics'
Dr. Victor Strasburger, chief of the division of Adolescent Medicine, University of New Mexico Department of Pediatrics, addresses recent research on how the media affects the health and well-being of children and adolescents in an article on the online version of Pediatrics, the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The article will also be published in the April print edition.
In the article, “Health Effects of Media on Children and Adolescents,” Strasburger reviews the research that has found that media can influence children’s beliefs and behaviors in terms of violence and aggression, sex, substance abuse, obesity and eating disorders.
Strasburger also addresses how media can be a positive influence and teach children empathy, tolerance toward people of other races and respect for their elders, as well as convey important public health messages.
In the article, Strasburger provides recommendations for parents, health care practitioners, schools, the entertainment industry and the government to increase the benefits and reduce the harm that media can have.
For the full article, visit Health Effects of Media on Children and Adolescents.
Media note: To request an interview with Strasburger, call (505) 272-0338 or e-mail, vstrasburger@salud.unm.edu.
Media Contact: Lauren Cruse, (505) 272-3679; e-mail: lcruse@salud.unm.edu
Information table in SUB Atrium March 1-5
The University of New Mexico core curriculum task force invites students to an open meeting on Friday, March 5, 3-4:30 p.m. at the Student Union Building, Acoma rooms. An open meeting for faculty and staff is scheduled on Friday, April 9.
Task force members will present information on recommended changes and improvements to UNM’s core curriculum requirements, followed by a question and answer session with students. An information table and bulletin board in the SUB atrium, 1-3 p.m., Monday, March 1-Friday, March 5, will inform students on the efforts of the task force and hear students’ concerns and recommendations for the current core curriculum.
Read more about the work of the core curriculum task force on UNM Today Task Force Considers Core Curriculum Reform. Find the task force on Facebook Task Force.
Join Tim Kelly, Senior Manager of REDW, for detailed information about startup firm financial statements on Friday, March 5, from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. in Anderson School of Management (ASM) 1064. This seminar is required for participants in the UNM Technology Business Plan Competition, but all students are welcome. Lunch will be served.
The UNM Technology Business Plan Competition is open only to UNM students or recent graduates and expected prizes total $40,000. The competition fosters entrepreneurial activity and offers students exposure to venture capital and angel funders as well as legal, accounting, and banking professionals.
The competition takes place on Friday, April 16 at the Anderson School, and team presentations are open for everyone to observe. Operational funding for the financial skills seminar and the competition is provided by the NM Wired Initiative.
To RSVP for the seminar contact Jennifer Bayley at 277-6172 or bayley@mgt.unm.edu. For more information competition visit: Technology Business Plan Competition.
Media Contact: Leslie Venzuela, (505) 277-7117; e-mail: venzuela@unm.edu