UNM approved the Naming Selection Committee’s recommendation to rename Hodgin Hall Alumni Center Plaza, according to a UNM press release.
The plaza will be known as Dr. Karen Abraham Courtyard to honor the retiring associate vice president of alumni relations and the executive director of the UNM Alumni Association, according to the statement.
“During her tenure, Abraham has worked with the Alumni Association Board of Directors, staff and community leaders to achieve long-term sustainability for the Association through the establishment of a $7 million endowment; renovate Hodgin Hall Alumni Center to preserve the University’s history kept within its walls; has bestowed hundreds of alums with awards and has grown the Alumni Association scholarship programs,” according to the release.
The UNM Foundation has also created a fund to maintain the Dr. Karen Abraham Courtyard, according to the statement.
“The University has been my home since my undergraduate days,” Abraham said in the press release, “I have been enormously fortunate to be a part of an extraordinary enterprise. First, in Student Affairs, then in Alumni Relations. I have witnessed the impact of the University upon not just individuals, but generations of people and families. I have watched the progression of learning and teaching extend from professor to student and from alumni to community.”
She said that she was proud and joyful to be a part of the UNM’s wonderful family, according to the statement.
“Abraham first stepped foot onto the University of New Mexico’s campus 52 years ago as a college freshman. A triple alum from UNM, Abraham has earned three degrees from the University — bachelor's of science in education in 1967, master’s degree in 1968 and doctor of education in 1971,” according to the press release.
