On Wednesday, April 16, University of New Mexico President Garnett Stokes and Provost James Holloway addressed the Associated Students at the University of New Mexico senate during a meeting to discuss pressing University topics and field questions about UNM’s response to executive orders, funding loss threats and more.
"A lot is going on for university leadership,” Stokes said during the meeting. “There is a lot of pressure on higher institutions, and UNM is feeling that pressure.”
Stokes’ meeting with ASUNM followed the termination of some international UNM student records and proposed — and actual — changes to UNM affirmative action policies.
In the wake of the changing landscape of higher education due to federal actions, UNM put together rapid response teams in January to interpret executive orders. The University decided to only act on orders that are truly actionable and not those with unclear guidance, according to Stokes.
ASUNM Sen. Mary Garcia expressed concern about the future of the Opportunity and Lottery Scholarships, which Stokes said she does not believe are currently at risk.
“In 2024, the Legislature set a lot of money aside to create funding to allow the Opportunity Scholarship to be offered and support its longevity,” Stokes said. “This year’s Legislative Finance Committee built in a buffer to allow increases to tuition fees and enrollment growth, as well as a 3% growth in use of the Opportunity Scholarship.”
Ninety percent of UNM students who are New Mexico residents utilize the Opportunity and Lottery Scholarships, according to Stokes.
Stokes and Holloway spoke about concerns regarding the future of UNM’s student resource centers in the wake of a February Education Department memo. The memo threatened to cut funding for universities with programs meant to aid specific racial groups.
“We believe the resource centers serve an invaluable function in helping students navigate student life and providing the inclusive environment we're working to create,” Stokes said. “There may be some funding resource centers receive through grants that may be threatened; I don't know for certain now. I wouldn't expect the centers to see major losses of funding.”
Holloway said several universities around the country have chosen to close their student resource centers. UNM debated following suit but ultimately decided not to because it was not required by any executive orders or rules, Holloway said.
“There are funds at risk for resource centers and branch campuses, but toward specific programs, not the basic operations of the centers,” Holloway said. “We don't know what will happen. The programs at risk are federally, congressionally created, which means they cannot be ended through executive actions.”
Special convocation ceremonies for graduating students have also been eliminated by other universities, which Stokes said she does not see happening at UNM.
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"As long as they are open to everyone, we feel we can justify having these ceremonies,” Stokes said. “It is a very important part of what student service centers do, and we think they are important."
ASUNM Sen. Jayce McCloud questioned Stokes and Holloway about the Board of Regents' recent decision to revise UNM policies to remove references to affirmative action.
“I don't want to shy away from the fact that when something is very clear and actionable, we will need to do something about it — and that is what we did,” Stokes said. “When we submit for federal grants, we must say we are not engaged in illegal DEI, but if we kept some of that language, it would've appeared we were."
Following executive orders, the University recognized that part of its policies were then considered illegal, which, according to Holloway, meant committing to getting the language right and ensuring the legality of the policy.
“It doesn't end up changing what we do — just the words on paper,” Holloway said.
Senators also expressed concerns about how UNM will protect international students and those lacking permanent legal status in the wake of student visas and records being revoked across the country, including at UNM.
"We've had a small handful of students who had similar actions taken as at NMSU, but we're not saying a specific number for protection of those students,” Holloway said. “We've asked legal counsel to advise us on how to handle immigration issues related to that and work with students individually to handle the issues they're facing. They're all different and are being handled on a case-by-case basis.”
UNM protects students lacking permanent legal status by not collecting information that could create risk and providing training to ensure students know their rights, according to Holloway.
"We want international and undocumented students, faculty and staff to know they are welcome here," Holloway said.
Research grants to the University are also in danger as a result of federal actions.
“We have had grants terminated and then turned back on in the past, so we have mechanisms to handle the issue in a systemic way,” Holloway said.
The University will provide support through the end of May for students who may lose research grants until a long-term plan can be devised, Holloway said.
“We remain dedicated to the mission of the University of New Mexico,” Holloway said. “UNM has been here for over 130 years, and there have been changes and challenges the University has had to work through. We will work through this one."
Maria Fernandez is a beat reporter and photographer for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
