Every year UNM's Africana Studies Program celebrates the start of Black History Month with a brunch and speaker. This year, the program welcomed University of Maryland President Freeman Hrabowski, according to a UNM release.
The Faculty Senate Teaching Enhancement Committee and the Center for Teaching Excellence are currently accepting nominations for outstanding educators at UNM, According to a UNM press release. “Nominations are now being accepted. Instructors, students and staff are eligible to nominate faculty for award recognition,” according to the press release. The deadline for nominations is Wednesday. The Center for Teaching Excellence serves as a general resource center for all UNM instructors including tenured and tenure-track faculty, lecturers, adjunct faculty, faculty on branch campuses, teaching assistants, clinician educators and all others who have an instructional role in the classroom.
According to a UNM Newsroom article, The House Appropriations and Finance Committee approved a committee substitute for HB 2, or the general appropriations act, on a 12 – 5 vote.
By Denicia Aragon UNM's BeKind Committee is collaborating with UNM Student affairs to bring National Random Acts of Kindness Day to UNM, but not just for one day, the celebration will continue for two weeks from February 3rd to the 13th, including both new and returning traditions. "[UNM BeKind] started this about 15 years ago, and its really just to promote kindness, being courteous, safety and even gratitude. For people to be reminded that each and every day is a good day to help someone or make them feel better if they are having a bad day." Dr. Kim Kloeppel, chief operations officer for Student Affairs and chair of UNM BeKind.
Action towards progress was the unofficial theme of New Mexico’s 2016 Anti-Racism Day, held in the Capitol’s Rotunda, on Wednesday. The celebration was proclaimed by Gov. Susanna Martinez earlier this year, and it was organized by the New Mexico Health Equity Working Group (NMHEWG), Senator Linda Lopez and Representative Javier Martinez.
The UNM Bookstore was one of dozens of locations worldwide that was going to serve as a rendezvous for Saturday’s International Meetup Day, an event organized by an individual who styles himself as a believer of “neomasculinity” for his followers to meet in the hopes of creating “tribes” in various cities.
A current project by UNM's Physical Plant Department (PPD) aims to increase water conservation numbers on campus. This comes on the heels of the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority's recent announcement that daily water usage per capita is at a record low of 127 gallons for the area in 2015. Katherine Yuhas, water conservation officer for the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, said this is largely due to widespread education on water resources throughout the community via television, radio, classroom presentations, field trips and more.
It’s no secret that homelessness has been a growing issue in Albuquerque, with 1,639 homeless individuals identified in the city in 2011 alone, according to cabq.gov. Albuquerque Rescue Mission hopes to assist this population by creating 132 housing units for men and women in its "life transformation programs," Albuquerque Rescue Mission's Communications Coordinator Steve Ulibarri said. He said the final product will be dorm-style units with common dining areas and described the project as having two phases.
UNM Graduate and Professional Student Association President Texanna Martin said GPSA will work with students this semester to ensure their voices continue to be heard on fee changes, including proposed mandatory online fees and differentials for the School of Engineering, as well as any other issues that may arise. GPSA will also be participating in UNM budget discussions and will continue to voice the students’ sentiments about the mandatory fees, she said. “We will continue to serve students as their advocates, so please remember we are your elected representatives, and are here to serve you,” Martin said.
The Student Fee Review Board has made its final recommendations for the use of student fees for the fiscal year 2016-17. The SFRB gave thumbs down to increasing student fees, which means applicants got cuts in their budgets. “This year was really hard for the board. We were faced with about a half-million dollar deficit that we had to overcome before we looked at any of the department's budgets, and then we had to face declining enrollment,” SFRB Chair and GPSA President Texanna Martin and SFRB Vice-Chair and ASUNM President Jenna Hagengruber said in a joint statement.
The Battle of I-25 between UNM and the New Mexico State Aggies offers the Land of Enchantment a rivalry whose sporting events are often filled with blood, sweat and tears. But throughout the first week of February, Lobos and Aggies alike will shed blood in a different type of rivalry, away from any sports venue. This week ASUNM Community Experience is hosting the annual Battle of I-25 Blood Drive in a competition with NMSU over which school can collect the most units of donated blood. UNM has partnered with United Blood Services, which will be setting up multiple locations around campus for students to donate, including the SUB and multiple “Bloodmobiles”. According to ASUNM Community Experience, members of the UNM community donated 357 units of blood during last year’s blood drive, defeating NMSU who donated 230 units.
An open house will be held tomorrow from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Jackson Student Center (west of the Anderson School of Management on the UNM Campus) for those who are pursuing or are interested in pursuing a Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Accounting or Master of Science in Information Systems and Assurance degree. Anderson School of Management Student Recruitment Specialist Lisa Beauchene coordinated the open house and described it as a business casual networking event. Beauchene said that, during the event, guests will hear “elevator pitches” about the Anderson School of Management’s various departments. During that time, 13 professors from each of the degrees and concentrations in the MBA will answer students’ questions and promote their programs.
Who do you think will win the Super Bowl?
The Associated Students of the University of New Mexico held its first meeting of the spring semester last Wednesday night in the Letterman Meeting Room at WisePies Arena. Although there was minimal legislative business, which is common for the first meetings of the semester, here are the main takeaways of last week’s meeting.
During September 2015, Brandi Fink, assistant professor at the UNM Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, began a research study exploring a pattern between alcohol and domestic violence. “We hope to learn why intimate partner violence (IPV) is more likely to occur when people are drinking alcohol,” Fink said. “IPV is a serious public health problem, and we are hoping to identify new ways to intervene with this problem.” Fink said her collaborators included Eric Claus of the Mind Research Network, as well as James Cavanagh and Derek Hamilton of the UNM Department of Psychology.
A recent issue of preLaw Magazine named the University of New Mexico School of Law as number one in the country for public defenders and prosecutors. The magazine listed the school high on the list because of its strong faculty, curriculum and financial help for the students, according to a UNM press release. The study is based 50 percent on employment, 40 percent on curriculum and 10 percent on financial. Financial itself is 40 percent based on public salary, 40 percent debt and 20 percent on a Loan Repayment Assistance Program, according to the release.
Welcome Back Days at UNM are a way for students, both new and returning, to learn about all UNM has to offer. For the occasion, the Student Union Building Atrium was filled with bright booths, signs and students lured by free drinks and curiosity. Ryan Lindquist, associate director for the Student Activities Center, said that the event takes place on two different days, Jan. 20 and 27. The first day was centered around Greek life and departments, Lindquist said. It was directed towards the entire UNM community (faculty, staff and students), letting everyone know what department resources are on campus and giving students the opportunity to learn about Greek life.
The UNM Health Sciences Center has established a new medical center to deal with the increasing number of cases of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia in New Mexico. The center was established Jan.1, UNM officials said. The UNM Health Sciences Center’s Memory and Aging Center (UMAC) will be operational in the coming two to three months, UNMHSC officials said.
An event hosted at UNM aims to recruit more females into the energy industry. “Women in Power,” an event hosted by The New Mexico Oil and Gas Association (NMOGA) and the New Mexico Energy Forum, was held in the SUB this week. The event, which was open to the UNM community, sought to bring together career-minded, female college students and influential leaders in the oil and gas industry to explore employment opportunities for women, said vice president and director of communications for NMOGA Wally Drangmeister.
UNM students need to be aware of craigslist scammers who have been targeting individuals looking for nearby housing. Attorney General Hector Balderas issued a Scam Alert this week in response to a recent uptick in reports of Craigslist apartment scams from consumers across New Mexico.
Solutions by The State News
