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UNM scientists study 4.6 billion year old meteorite

Mikhaela Smith | August 12

Researchers at the University of New Mexico, NASA’s Johnson Space Center and Arizona State University recently had their research titled Silica-rich volcanism in the Early Solar System Dated at 4.565 Ga published in Nature Communications after uncovering the oldest igneous meteorite on record. The meteorite, known as Northwest Africa (NWA) 11119, is 4.6 billion years old, making it 65 million years older than Earth and 2 million years younger than the earliest fragments of the solar system, according to UNM professor and Director of the Institute of Meteoritics Carl Agee.

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SCCORE program aims to increase minority participation in STEM

Mikhaela Smith | August 12

The University of New Mexico hosted its fifth annual Summer Community College Opportunity for Research Experience (SCCORE) this summer. According to the SCCORE website, the program is part of the Alliance for Minority Participation (AMP), which aims to increase the success of minority students pursuing STEM degrees. The program works by allowing students who are currently attending community colleges across the state to participate in a four-week long summer research project at the university they intend to transfer to. In addition to participating in research, the program allows the students to attend orientation sessions that help them get to know the campus, as well as professional development workshops. This summer, five students had the opportunity to participate in the SCCORE program at UNM.

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UPDATE: Attorney General says Regents violated Open Meetings Act, UNM denies wrongdoing

Danielle Prokop | August 10

The New Mexico Attorney General’s office sent a letter to the University of New Mexico stating last month’s Board of Regents meeting to cut sports “violated” the state’s Open Meetings Act (OMA). In response, the University said it did nothing wrong. “Although this issue is moot in light of the upcoming meeting and agenda, the University would nevertheless like to address the alleged non-compliance because (1) it was never the University's intent to be vague or overly broad in the agenda item and (2) the University believes that the agenda item complied with the guidance provided by the AG Compliance Guide,” Associate University Counsel Patrick Hart wrote in a letter.

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President Stokes discusses athletics, campus safety during town hall

Daily Lobo Staff | August 2

Editor's Note: A previous version of this article contained misquotes and incorrect paraphrasing of both President Stokes and UNMPD Chief Kevin McCabe.

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UNM grad begins business career at Cheba Hut

Justin Garcia | July 31

The lunch rush has come and gone at Chēba Hut. Its employees shuffle around cleaning tables and helping customers. Isaac Montoya is working the register. As a Pink Floyd song reaches its climax, Montoya finishes inputting a customer’s order, a French Dip sandwich named after a strand of weed, the AK-47. As the customer heads towards his table, he’s wearing a smile he didn’t have when he came in. Montoya is a graduate of the Anderson School of Management at the University of New Mexico, and the franchise owner of the Albuquerque Chēba Hut.

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UNM ranked among most LGBTQ-friendly online campuses

Derek Olsen | July 31

The University of New Mexico’s online college has been ranked as one of the most affordable and LGBTQ-friendly universities in the nation. OnlineU is a website that annually publishes many lists of the most affordable online U.S colleges. Their lists differ based on various demographic traits. This year, UNM rank 11th on their list of most affordable LGBTQ-friendly online colleges.

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UNM to provide workshops for student veterans

Donald Amble | July 23

Student veterans at universities often find the experience more difficult than their peers, but not everyone is so understanding as to what that experience is. The University of New Mexico is taking steps to provide better services and education for student veterans. UNM is hosting two workshops to train staff and faculty as to better assist student veterans in their transition back to civilian life. The first workshop will be held on Monday, July 23rd, hosted by Dr. James Goff, the New Mexico Veterans Affairs’ chief of staff. It will be in the SUB, room Lobo A 8:30-4:30.

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Regents approve recommendation to cut four sports

Daily Lobo Staff | July 19

Boos and jeers rang out as the Board of Regents unanimously approved a proposal by the Athletic Department to eliminate four sports from the University of New Mexico. The sports included Men's Soccer, Women's Beach Volleyball, the diving portion of Women's Swimming & Diving, and both Men and Women's Skiing. Track and Field is also receiving a sizable reduction in athletes, but will remain a sport at the University. The decision affects a total of 63 athletes and was made, in part, due to struggles the Athletic Department has had with finances and Title IX compliance.

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UNM community reacts to Athletics cuts

Madison Spratto and Austin Tyra | July 19

The final whistle will be blown for four University of New Mexico sports next July. After an emotional four and a half hour special Board of Regents meeting, the regents voted unanimously to cut men’s soccer, beach volleyball, women’s diving from the swimming and diving team, and men’s and women’s skiing.

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Six UNM faculty become Distinguished Professors

Derek Olsen | July 18

Multiple professors at the University of New Mexico were promoted s to the rank of Distinguished Professor last week. The recipients are professors Timothy Graham, Greg Taylor, Vallabh Shah, Mohamed El-Genk, Karl Karlstrom and Mahmoud Taha. Distinguished Professor is the highest rank and title one can earn at UNM. The process of becoming one is exceptionally thorough and unarguably objective. The process begins by a professor being nominated by a colleague, but the nomination is not required to originate from a colleague in the same department.

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Photography club begins at UNM

Luisa Pennington | July 18

A new student organization, the University of New Mexico Photography Club, is open to receiving members interested in a photography community as of June 4. The group is centered around creating a supportive community for people of all ages interested in taking photos at UNM. The executive board includes President Devon Ficher-Chavez, Vice President Justin Schatz, Treasurer Anthony Jackson, Secretary Paul Benne and Justine Lopez created the organization to create a community to push people’s limits and to bounce photo ideas off of eachother.

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Three killed, dozens injured in bus crash on I-25

Kyle Land | July 16

During a journey from Denver to El Paso, a bus carrying dozens of people crashed and flipped on its side on Interstate 25 near Bernalillo, killing at least three people and injuring 24, according to a Sandoval County Sheriff's Office press release. The press release stated that initial findings have indicated that the bus crash was part of a series of accidents that occurred around 2 a.m. Sunday morning. The first accident involved a truck rear-ending a car while heading southbound on I-25. The truck’s driver was ejected while the truck continued moving into oncoming traffic.

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Center dedicated to ending racial disparities changes names

Tasawar Shah | July 15

The ten-year Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant for the University of New Mexico’s Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center for Health Policy has ended and the Center is about to complete the process of transition by the end of July to its new enterprise — the UNM Center for Social Policy. The primary mission of the RWJF Center for Health Policy at UNM was to identify, train and graduate doctorate students primarily of color that focus on racial and ethnic health disparities.

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Parkland shooting survivors come to ABQ to discuss gun violence

Megan Holmen | July 12

March for Our Lives in partnership with Road to Change hosted a rally in Roosevelt Park on Wednesday to promote gun violence awareness and to encourage young people to vote. Maggie Byers, the volunteer events and membership lead for Moms Demand Action — a group formed after the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting — said that over 10 people were there registering people to vote. She said students and Moms Demand Action aimed to educate attendees on gun reform policies.

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Congressional candidates discuss immigration in first debate

Justin Garcia | July 11

Immigration was the focus of a public forum between candidates running for New Mexico’s first congressional district Tuesday afternoon. The debate featured Democratic nominee Deb Haaland, Republican nominee Janice Arnold-Jones and Libertarian nominee Lloyd Princeton, who was unable to attend and had pre-written answers read by A. Blair Dunn, the Libertarian candidate for New Mexico Attorney General.

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UNM loses thousands per year in missing equipment

Anthony Jackson | July 9

The University of New Mexico is not home to only students, but to more than 46,000 catalogued items totaling more than $233 million. Over the course of two years, more than 700 items have been deleted from campus inventory after evaluated to be obsolete, damaged or repurposed, according to an inventory sheet provided by UNM’s Purchasing Office.

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Three female professors sue UNM over unequal pay

Megan Holmen | July 9

The University of New Mexico Board of Regents is being sued by three UNM professors as a result of an investigation done by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that revealed UNM female professors in four departments are paid less than their male counter parts. The professors involved in the suit are tenured professors. Melissa Axelrod, who has been teaching since 1995, and Julie Shigekuni, who has been teaching since 1995, are both in the Linguistics Department, and Gail Houston began teaching English at UNM in 1996.

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Anthropology Department to create database of CT scans

Megan Holmen | July 8

The University of New Mexico has received a $702,000 grant from the National Institute of Justice to create a database from 15,000 CT scan of the deceased. According to Dr. Heather J.H. Edgar, associate professor of anthropology and pathology, she began the process of obtaining this grant in 2012. UNM was one of 19 universities to receive funding from the NIJ — 312 universities applied.

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Profile: Local shop holds thousands of stories

Justin Garcia | July 8

Walking into the Spanish Amiga Retail Store goes hand-in-hand with walking into the realization of Tamara Farmer’s dream. The walls of the Spanish Amiga are decorated in printed pictures of Boyz II Men, Jesus Christ, Trey songz, Arsenio Hall, Prince William and Prince Henry, and the Obamas.

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Letter: Alzheimer's is a public health crisis

Daily Lobo Readers | July 2

Editor, As the sixth leading cause of death and the only cause of death in the top ten without a cure, prevention or effective treatment, Alzheimer’s is a public health crisis across the nation. In New Mexico, 38,000 people are living with the disease and their care is provided primarily by their families.