Author Archives: Abe Villarreal

The Office of Student Life is hosting the NMSU Gospel Choir for a special Black History Month event. Free to the public, the performance will take place on Friday, February 5 at 6:00 p.m. in the Global Resource Center auditorium. The NMSU Gospel Choir performs throughout the state and region. With over 30 members, the group is composed of faculty and staff from New Mexico State University. The group recently performed at several holiday events in December and at breakfast ceremonies honoring Martin Luther King Jr. “We are really excited to have the choir on campus,” said Jessica Morales, Director of Student Life. “We want our students exposed to culture through music and art in as many opportunities as possible.” The performance will kick off Black History Month events on campus that include movie nights at Light Hall Theater and a Soul Food Day at the Mustang Dining Hall on February 17 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The NMSU Gospel Choir is under the direction of...

John Abbott has been crisscrossing the country, sizing up wall space and sharing his perspective through text-based painting, in two new solo exhibitions New York and Chicago. “I am interested in the relationships between reading and looking,” explained Abbott, assistant professor of painting and drawing at Western New Mexico University. The exhibits recently opened in two American cities known for art, architecture and powerful messages. Abbott jumped at the opportunity to showcase his work, which he believes can be inspirational to students attending WNMU. “I would like WNMU students to be empowered so that they can go on from here and accomplish whatever they want,” said Abbott. “It is my aim to bring the excitement and openness of my studio practice into the classroom.” Abbott earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from WNMU in 2002. He returned to Silver City as a professor, more than a decade after graduating. Abbott earned a Master of Fine Arts degree...

International juggling champion Mark Nizer, one of the world's foremost practitioners of the unique form of entertainment, will take over the stage at the Fine Arts Center Theatre on Thursday, January 28 at 7:30 p.m. Mark Nizer has opened for scores of celebrities. He's been the featured entertainer at extravaganzas ranging from community theatre presentations to galas held at world-famous venues such as the Lincoln Center in New York and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. D.C. Nizer’s act includes launching a handful of ping-pong balls some 20 feet into the air. He makes music with computer gadgets that enable him to bounce a ball on his head and have the bounce register for the audience as a plink, a thud, a boink or some other sound effect programmed into the gizmo. Nizer is the winner of the prestigious International Juggling Championships, which recognize raw skill, business acumen, musicality, comedic excellence, showmanship and other all-around...

Todd Denny, M.S.W., will be implementing a series of innovative rape prevention workshops for Western New Mexico University students, faculty and staff during January and February. The planned prevention programs will be innovative and sustainable, including experiential workshops and male bystander training. “Most campuses offer one shot education programs,” said Denny. “That doesn’t make sense and doesn’t work. Creating long-term behavioral change occurs through prevention programs that are engaging, ongoing and include men as allies, a critical component in preventing campus inter-personal violence and rape.” Denny has been planning the workshops since the fall semester, developing curriculum based on specific needs to the WNMU campus, working with several university departments to coordinate the initiative. “Our comprehensive strategy will empower the campus in developing a sustainable interpersonal violence prevention program,” said Denny. Four...

Western New Mexico University is celebrating the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr with an annual ceremony on Monday, January 18. The event begins at 9:30 a.m. in the Mustang Dining Hall. Free to the public, the ceremony will include a viewing of the I Have A Dream speech, delivered by King in 1963. Each year, a community member is recognized for distinguished service to the community with the Martin Luther King Jr. Service Award. This year’s honoree is Mike Carillo, Administrator of the Grant County Detention Center. A WNMU graduate, Carillo has an extensive career in the criminal justice field. He served as a Grant County Sheriff’s deputy from 1972 to 1979, a Bayard Police Chief from 1980 to 1982, Grant County deputy from 1983 to 1985, and Grant County Sheriff from 1987 to 1990. Most recently, Carillo served as Deming Police Chief during a 20-year career with the Deming Police Department. Carillo has been active with the community, partnering with Western New Mexico...

Area children attending Growing Tree, a program of the Early Childhood Programs at Western New Mexico University, will soon benefit from a grant awarded by the Brindle Foundation. The $15,000 grant will support the Growing Tree program, a 5 star, nationally accredited infant and toddler program, located at Silver Opportunity High School. Growing Tree serves children of teen parents as they pursue continued educational opportunities at both the Silver High School and at WNMU. Currently serving 14 students, Growing Tree’s tuition fees do not cover the cost of the program. The grant will support the operations of the program, allowing Growing Tree to continue to provide high quality care and education for the children of area teen youth. “The cost of providing quality infant and toddler care continues to,” said Shannon Rivera, Executive Director of Early Childhood Programs. “This funding supports us in delivering consistent caregiving in the classroom by qualified...

Dr. Dale Zimmerman’s life experiences are as colorful as the birds documented in a new memoir, Turaco Country: Reminiscences of East African Birding, a lengthy publication that took more than a decade to write. Zimmerman’s memoir details a half-century of ornithological investigations in East Africa, researching birdlife and wild habitats through decades of change in the country for which he considers a second home. “I have been in love with Africa since I first went there in 1961,” said Zimmerman. “The memoir details my experiences from 1961 to 1992 where I made over 20 trips to the country.” While a professor and head of the biology department at Western New Mexico University, Zimmerman was awarded a national science grant allowing him to explore birdlife, at a time when the subject material had seen little investigation. Often traveling with his wife Marian, also an ornithologist and botanist, the couple’s adventures are brought to life in the more than...

An exhibition of the work of Silver City artist Karen Lauseng opens January 14. Ms. Lauseng will speak at WNMU Parotti Hall at 6:30 p.m., followed immediately by an opening reception at 7:30 p.m. at the McCray Gallery, adjacent to Parotti Hall. The exhibition runs January 14, 2016 through February 18, 2016 at the McCray Gallery of Contemporary Art on the Western New Mexico University campus. Karen has an MFA in metalsmithing and jewelry making from Kansas State University. She traveled extensively and moved to Silver City in 2003. From 2009-2011 she was the Silver City Arts and Cultural District (ACD) Coordinator. During her two-year tenure at the ACD she helped establish a strong foundation for meeting the visionary goals and objectives of the town's Cultural Plan. For the past 5 plus years she has been teaching an art class at the Santa Clara Housing Authority on a volunteer basis. Her students are seniors and disabled folks; most reside in the mining district. Karen has...

For spearheading successful cyberterrorism and cybersecurity initiatives in the country of Spain, Jose Luna has been awarded the distinguished Merit Cross by the Spanish Guardia Civil, Spain’s elite military organization and police force. Since 2010, Luna has been assigned to the Naval Station in Rota, Spain. He serves as a criminal investigator for the Department of the Navy and supports counterterrorism operations in Europe. The Merit Cross award, which he received on November 20, is the latest in several recognitions through the last two decades. After graduating from Douglas High School in Douglas, Arizona; Luna enlisted in the Marine Corps and served in Okinawa, Japan. He graduated from Cochise College before earning degrees in Sociology and Administration of Justice from Western New Mexico University, where graduated summa cum laude in 1993. Since then, Luna has led a prominent career in criminal justice at the national level working for the U.S. government in several...