University of New Mexico alum and former Lobo basketball student manager Ryan Berryman has been named as the new Vice President and Director of Athletics. Berryman has been serving as the interim athletics director since Jan. 1, after former Athletics Director Fernando Lovo left to fill the same role at the University of Colorado Boulder after only one year at UNM.
Since its opening as University Arena in 1966, The Pit has hosted the Lobo men’s and women’s teams. Through a partnership with Nusenda Credit Union, the arena will now bear the name The Pit - Powered by Nusenda. The 10-year deal, which was announced on Thursday, Feb. 26, will net UNM Athletics an average of $1.74 million per year and marks an advancement in the relationship between the partners.
Despite digging themselves into a 22-point hole, the Lobo men’s basketball team managed to claw its way back bucket-by-bucket to come away with a win against the California State University, Fresno Bulldogs, 80-78, keeping their NCAA tournament hopes alive. The University of New Mexico completed its largest comeback in program history during the Saturday, Feb. 21, game in Fresno, Calif. To ice the game for the Lobos, guard Jake Hall hit a midrange stepback jumpshot late, a shot nearly identical to his game-winner against Grand Canyon University the previous week.
The University of New Mexico hopes to continue its North Campus expansion with the construction of a new $600 million School of Medicine Senate Bill 6, which would provide the necessary funds to the University, was most recently given a “Do Pass” recommendation by the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee at the time of publication. State Sen. Elizabeth Stefanics (D-39), one of the sponsors of SB 6, said the new facility will help address many aspects of the state’s healthcare provider shortage.
Cherry, silver and turquoise coated the Roundhouse in Santa Fe as students, staff and administrators of the University of New Mexico journeyed up to the State Capitol for “UNM Day” on Wednesday, Feb. 4. “It’s just been an amazing day. I think no matter what happens, our students are having fun and they’re learning, and that’s very important to me, so that’s one of the reasons I love doing UNM Day,” the Executive Director of Associated Students at UNM Governmental Affairs, Alana Baca, said. ASUNM held meetings with lawmakers throughout the day to lobby for their legislative priorities, encapsulated in HB 170; the UNM Basic Needs Project that requests $1.4 million from the state.
The University of New Mexico released its next phase of improvement plans for University Stadium on Jan. 23. The upgrades will focus on the critical infrastructure, accessibility and safety needs of the stadium. The plan is part of the first phase of the University’s “Stadium of the Future,” intended to modernize University Stadium and the South Campus Sports and Entertainment District. Interim Vice President and Director of Athletics Ryan Berryman said that the increased attendance at football games this season highlighted some of the problems with the stadium.
New Mexico’s largest nonprofit newsroom and National Public Radio affiliate, KUNM, is proposing a new program schedule to shift more local news segments into primetime listening slots. The changes could go into effect this spring, pending a review by the KUNM Radio Board on Feb. 3. “The top line for us is more local news for the most people, that’s why we’re making a program change,” KUNM’s General Manager Jeff Pope said.
Across University Boulevard from the University of New Mexico main campus sits the UNM ARTSLab, a place that many students have not entered, but likely noticed due to the large mural painted on the outside of the building. The ARTSLab provides technology and support to interdisciplinary research conducted within the College of Fine Arts, ARTSLab Director Stewart Skylar Copeland said. “We try to support and maintain cutting-edge equipment and technology that researchers can use and incorporate in the research they’re doing, and we support it and provide access to multiple users to that equipment,” Copeland said.
Valeria Brenes will be graduating this fall with a Bachelor of Arts degree, having majored in dance and psychology while at the University of New Mexico. Brenes is a freelance photographer for The Daily Lobo, and said that it was one of her favorite jobs she had while in college. Some of the other jobs she held while working towards her degree were as a lifeguard and as a Spanish-language interpreter, though she said she did not feel like either of those jobs made an “impact,” and she hopes to go into a job in which she can help vulnerable communities. Brenes also said she wants to continue her studies related to art and therapy, perhaps by applying to a master’s program in the future, though she hasn’t applied to any just yet.
As the search for the next University of New Mexico president continues, members of the community were invited to give their input on what qualities they would like to see the next president embody. Held on Nov. 18 and 19 — the first in UNM’s Student Union Building, and the second in the Domenici Education Center on the Health and Sciences campus — staff, faculty, students and community members presented their perspectives on the investigation to members of the search firm Isaacson, Miller, which the University has contracted to conduct the search.
Solutions by The State News
