The mission of the UNM Office of Student Affairs (OSA) is to support and encourage all students to pursue academic excellence within and throughout the University’s diverse community, said the office’s director Dr. Elisio “Cheo” Torres.
The OSA establishes partnerships, programs, facilities, service, and leadership, he said. In addition, Torres said the office contributes to the enrichment of academic and career goals, as well as enhancing the quality of life for potential and current students and alumni.
“We’re responsible for the students 24/7. We work with them evenings, weekends, (throughout) the day,” he said, “(A lot of our work) has to do with the support services outside of the classroom.”
In addition to being an officially designated Hispanic-serving, minority-serving institution, UNM is also considered a “highest-research- activity university” by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Learning, Torres said. UNM is one of only four institutions in the whole country to be categorized as such, he said, the others being Cal-State Riverside, the University of Houston, and Florida International.
“We’re in a very unique category, but that’s one of our strengths,” Torres said, mentioning the three ethnic centers located on campus. “We’re cognizant of our rich diversity, and we serve the students that are enrolled at (UNM), and then we work very closely with the Global Education Office, with international students.”
He also mentioned the College Enrichment Program (CEP), which aims to help in the adjustment to college, transition to UNM, academic guidance, career selection, and financial aid advisement. The CEP “targets” scholars whose populations are underrepresented as well as first-generation college students.
“We’re very sensitive to the diversity of the state, and we pretty much mirror the population of New Mexico in our student population, which is unusual also.”
He said the University’s national interest is in S.T.E.M. (science, technology, engineering, and math) research, and that there are three federally-funded support programs in these areas which reflect these interests.
“We link with all of the academic programs, we support and work with them. So we want to take a holistic approach to serving (students) in all areas,” Torres said.
The OSA also works with the Army, Air Force, and Navy ROTC programs at UNM for students who are considering the possibility of a career in the military as an officer, he said. “We also work with National Security Studies program that offers students the opportunity to travel abroad in (pursuit of) national security.”
Torres said his office is also affiliated with Recreational Services out of the UNM Johnson Center, which are provided from the morning well into the evening. Accessibility Services, for students with certain abilities, is also a division of the OSA, he said.
“So, yeah, we have a number of programs,” Torres said, proceeding to mention the Student Health and Counseling Center (SHAC), which provides various student healthcare services, the Women’s Resource Center, UNM Greek organizations (fraternities and sororities), and the Student Activities Center.
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“So it’s a lot (of) activity that students will be learning about, and we’ll have tables during ‘Welcome-Back Days’ (official University meet-and- greets set to begin on Friday, August 19th) so that students know the services that we provide,” he said, “We take a lot of advice from students, and listen to what they have to say, what they want to recommend, and we work together to make that a reality. We’re here to serve the students.”
Ryan Lindquist, associate director of the Student Activities Center, said the center’s primary role is to work with several different programs on campus in an effort to make new students feel welcomed and integrated as soon as possible.
“So a major event that we assist with, that’s conducted through a couple different offices, is ExceedU, which happens the Thursday and Friday before school starts,” he said. “Freshmen can sign up for this program, it’s basically two days full of opportunities to learn about skills and programs on campus that are going to make them more successful their freshman year.”
After ExceedU, the Student Activities Center plans to host ‘Friday Night Live’, a recreational student gathering, in the Student Union Building (SUB), from 8-11pm, he said. The center’s website anticipates that more than 2,000 students will be in attendance at the event intended to promote student socialization.
“We’ll have a dance, we’ll have casino games, we’ll have karaoke, free food every half an hour, student organizations will have tables recruiting new members, the athletic teams will be there to talk about their seasons with the students. So we’ll take over the entire building,” Lindquist said, stating the importance of student socialization.
“There’s studies that prove that students (who) choose to get involved on campus and have good social networks are more successful, they graduate sooner, and they have better GPAs, and getting involved outside of the classroom can be just as important as what they learn inside of the classroom.”
Johnny Vizcaino is a staff reporter at the Daily Lobo. Contact him at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @thedailyjohnnyv.
