President Louis Caldera will travel across the state this semester to strengthen the relationship between UNM and its branch campuses.
"He wants to solidify the communication," said Karen Wentworth, UNM communications specialist. "He wants them to feel closer to the main campus, because those students frequently end up at main campus to get their degrees."
Caldera first visited the Valencia branch in Los Lunas on Aug. 18. The Taos visit is scheduled for Aug. 31 and the Gallup and Los Alamos branches have yet to be scheduled.
During the Valencia visit, Caldera gave speeches at the Los Lunas-Bosque Farms Chamber of Commerce and Los Lunas High School. He also spoke with local media.
Wentworth said branch campuses often feel removed from the main community, and this is an opportunity for Caldera to get acquainted with what is going on at the branches and in their communities.
Caldera made one visit to the Gallup branch last year for its 35th anniversary and attended a dean's retreat in Taos last week, but has not been to the Los Alamos branch since he became president.
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"I have a sense of what his constraints are, and it is amazing that he would get out to the branch campuses," said Alicia Ch†vez, executive campus director at the Taos branch.
Provost Brian Foster said the University is working on ways to make branch campus students feel like they are part of UNM.
"At some point, we would like to get all the students from all branch campuses together," he said.
Plans include family days on main campus to gather all branch students, inviting all branch campus students to attend a sporting event and making four-year degrees possible through extended University.
Foster said the branches are integral to the University in every way, but they are different in the same way that the law school and fine arts are - they are part of a bigger institution.
He said that means more personal relationships need to be made.
The executive campus director at each branch is the top administrator and reports to Foster on main campus.
Foster makes frequent visits to branch campuses and attends branch campus graduation ceremonies.
"At the moment, we are quite happy with our relationship with the main campus," said Alice Letteney, executive campus director of the Valencia branch.
She said she is also working on a Branch Fir Day, which would work on bringing more branch students to the main campus.
Ch†vez will pick up Caldera from the airport Aug. 31 for his visit to Taos. She said Caldera quickly adapted and learned about main campus and is using those same skills to understand the branch campuses.
His agenda in Taos includes visits to the Taos Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club, Taos High School, the Harwood Museum of Art and a reception at the branch.
"He's starting to engage," Foster said. "That is really important. I think he will engage in ways that some of our other presidents haven't."
