Governor signs Higher Education Endowment Act
On March 30, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez signed HB 170, the Higher Education Endowment Act, one of UNM’s priority pieces of legislation, according to a UNM press release.
The bill will allow an infusion of $5.5 million to the Higher Education Endowment once Martinez signs the state budget. Universities and colleges can compete within their sectors for funding from the endowment to attract endowed chairs, professorships and research positions in fields like science and engineering, as long as the school provides some private funds, according to the press release.
Accounting firm creates scholarship
CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, the 10th largest accountancy firm in the country, pledged $15,000 for the newly created “Diversity and Accounting Student Scholarship,” which will support undergraduate and graduate students in accounting.
Craig White, interim dean at the Anderson School of Management, expressed his appreciation for the company’s continued support of UNM’s business students.
“CliftonLarsonAllen has always been an outstanding supporter of the Anderson School’s Accounting Program,” White said in a press release. “The firm provides our students with internships, permanent job opportunities, and now a scholarship to support the diversity of those entering the accounting profession.”
To be eligible for the new scholarship, students must be declared accounting majors in good standing with Anderson’s rules.
Recipients must have a grade point average of 3.5 or better, be enrolled members of a federally recognized American Indian tribe or Alaska Native group, or demonstrate leadership in the Asian/Pacific Islander, African American or Hispanic communities and be committed to advancing the goals and expression of one of more of those communities.
Film student’s pilot project becomes miniseries
Nicholas Nelson, an interdisciplinary film and digital media student, will be turning his pilot episode “The End Begins” into a five-part miniseries. Nelson wrote and directed the project during his junior year with equipment loaned to him by the IFDM.
After the premiere in January 2013, the College of Fine Arts named Nelson Outstanding Student for spring 2013. A member of the Navajo tribe, Nelson was also recognized at the Honoring First Nations in Entertainment and Media awards in Hollywood, according to a UNM press release.
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“Nick Nelson is truly a film and digital media polymath,” said Nick Flor, an IFDM faculty member who worked with Nelson. “His movie is a great example of what happens when you mix creativity, hard work, determination and entrepreneurship. Remember his name — you’ll be seeing it in the future.”
With further funding and support from IFDM, Nelson is currently working on Phase II of “The End Begins.”
~Compiled by Jonathan Baca
