UNM and four other New Mexico businesses will receive monetary settlements from bid-rigging allegations. A federal investigation revealed UBS Financial Services LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC were rigging bond bids to sell bonds for less than fair market value. The banks will pay more than $1.4 million to New Mexico businesses to settle the bid-rigging claims.
UNM Health Sciences Center’s model for primary care and community health has proven so successful that it has received funding to be duplicated in four other states. The Health Extension Rural Offices (HEROs) program received a $220,000 grant from the Commonwealth Fund to replicate the model in Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky and Oregon.
A group of UNM engineers spent two and a half weeks in Bolivia this summer working to provide an indigenous tribe with greater access to clean water. Members of the University’s Engineers Without Borders chapter went to the Tsimane villages of Tacuaral and Campo Bello in June.
UNM graduate students will have fewer options for financial aid next year. As part of the Budget Control Act, the federal government will eliminate subsidized student loans for graduate and professional students beginning July 2012. At an August 9 Board of Regents meeting, GSPA President Katie Richardson urged the board to keep graduate students in mind when considering tuition and fee increases.
On July 19, Regent Board President Jack Fortner named the members of the search committee who will help choose UNM’s next president, and a firm hired to find candidates, Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates (SPA), began its search. Case Manager Alberto Pimentel said the search’s first phase uses web-based surveys to identify the qualifications UNM wants for its next president.
Lobo Village, UNM’s housing collaboration with American Campus Communities, has no vacancies, and main campus construction is ongoing despite questions about how much rent ACC will pay UNM. Lobo Village cost more than $39 million to build, and it opens Aug.
Student Kathryn Rios was studying abroad in Nicaragua when she died July 9 from complications of lupus. Rios, 22, went to Nicaragua with a UNM class, Sustainable Development in Central America: Poverty, Inequality and Growth in Nicaragua, taught by Matias Fontenla. The class arrived in Granada, Nicaragua, on June 14 and returned July 12.
Nelson Valdés, a janitor-turned-UNM professor emeritus, was honored with the Bernard S. Rodey Award, given to professors who exemplify leadership in education.
Gov. Susana Martinez announced plans last week for a program that would require foreign nationals with New Mexico driver’s licenses to prove that they are state residents. The Motor Vehicle Division sent letters to 10,000 foreign nationals who have New Mexico driver’s licenses last week, requiring them to schedule an in-person appointment to verify their residency.
New Mexico natives Sonnet and Ian McKinnon gave UNM’s Anderson School of Management and the Athletics Department $7.5 million, the largest financial contribution given to the University by living individuals.
Professors and future bosses could be one and the same for law students. UNM is the only law school in the nation with an active court system on its campus, the New Mexico Court of Appeals.
In UNM Interim Provost Chaouki Abdallah’s first month on the job, he reorganized the Provost’s Office and proposed a promotion and tenure plan for faculty.
When Rick Rennie and Chris Goblet saw the dirt lot that sits west of the downtown Albuquerque Rail Runner Station, they said they cringed to think it would stay barren and undeveloped.
Wildfires struck hard this summer, ravaging New Mexico’s dry forests from Silver City to the Arizona border, and leaving nature enthusiasts with few outdoor options in the state. Popular tourist and camping locations such as Jemez Springs have been shut down for more than three weeks, according to a Santa Fe National Forest news release.
UNM’s Health Sciences Center Board racked up a nearly $12,000 bill at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa during a May training session, leaving some faculty questioning the use of funds. The Bank of America corporate purchasing card statement for the HSC Board reflects $11,543.38 spent on a two-day training session for inaugurated board members and HSC leadership. HSC spokesman Billy Sparks said the board is a complex organization that demands its leadership to have a thorough understanding of its functions.
An anti-abortion group protested outside the UNM Center for Reproductive Health after an ambulance was called to the Center in February, and center physicians responded by saying patients’ rights are being violated. Lauren Cruse, Public Affairs representative for UNM Health Sciences, said Defending Life violated patient privacy when it posted a recording of the 911 call on its website.
UNM’s race car cruised to a top 10 finish at an international racing competition last month. The LOBOMotorSports team placed eighth in engineering design and ninth in autocross at the Formula Society of Automotive Engineering competition in California.
The UNM Cardiology Clinic opens this week, giving Westside residents access to a full range of cardiovascular diagnostic services.
When the largest fire in New Mexico’s history forced the evacuation of the city of Los Alamos, the UNM Medical Reserve Corps were on the ground to help. Luke Esquibel, a First Aid instructor at UNM Hospital, said medical volunteers donated more than 500 hours of their time during the first week of the blaze. He said he helped care for patients with special medical needs like high blood pressure, diabetes and respiratory problems.
Alcohol will be sold during Lobo football and basketball games this season. On Tuesday the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department granted UNM a liquor license for sales in suite- and club-level areas inside The Pit and University Stadium. “We have obtained the license, and we will move forward with our plans,” Sports Information Director Frank Mercogliano said. The action came after a contentious eight-month battle with the Albuquerque City Council. In November, the council cited public safety concerns when it denied UNM’s waiver request of a state law that bans alcohol sales within 300 feet of a school.
Solutions by The State News
