Author Archives: Abe Villarreal

Students and faculty of Western New Mexico University’s clay program will host the 12th Annual Friends of Clay Pottery Sale on Saturday, April 1, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., on North Bullard in downtown Silver City, next to the Pink Store. The sale will feature a diverse selection of pottery and clay art works donated by current and former WNMU clay students, faculty, and professional potters. All proceeds from the sale will be used for the benefit of the WNMU clay program. Sponsored by a group of supports known as the “Friends of Clay,” the annual pottery sales have grown in size each year since 2005. Funds raised by the group are used to enhance and promote ceramics and the WNMU clay program through the offering of lectures, workshops, trips, scholarships, as well as assisting in the purchase of equipment and supplies for the university clay studio. A main attraction of the annual sales has been the wide variety of clay works offered, from beginning-student pots to...

The sounds and influences of Southern Spain will be on display during a special performance by Flamenco dancer and choreographer Jesus Munoz on Friday, March 24 at 7:00 p.m. in the Fine Arts Center Theatre. The event is titled Red Note, and will include the art direction of Munoz, an internationally renowned flamenco performer. A highly demanded teacher and performer, Munoz was trained in Spain and New Mexico. He has performed throughout the United States, Canada and Spain, sharing the stage with nearly every known Flamenco performing arts company. Munoz is presently architecting the Jesus Munoz Flamenco dance and music company focusing on the preservation of the artist’s unique improvisational methods. Currently residing in Albuquerque where he serves as the director and founder of Clasa Flamenca School of Flamenco, in 2016, he was the featured solo artist at Lincoln Center for the exhibit 100 Years of Flamenco in New York City. Admission to Red Note is $15 per person...

An international Latin string quartet will be the featured performing artists in the upcoming President’s Chamber Music Series concert on Tuesday, March 21 in Light Hall Theater. The concert is the fourth and final Chamber Music event for the spring semester, concluding a series of concerts featuring acclaimed musicians from throughout the country. La Catrina String Quartet is a recognized as the new vanguard for contemporary American string quartet repertoire. The group is comprised of four performers originating from throughout Latin America including Mexico, Venezuela and Chile. Hailed by Yo-Yo Ma as “wonderful ambassadors for Latin American music,” the group’s mission is to cultivate new works by living U.S. composers and the programming of existing Latin American works that are rarely performed. The concert begins at 7:00 p.m. and admission is $15 per person. Tickets can be purchased and picked up in Hunter Hall. The President’s Chamber Music Series is...

Community members with disabilities in the Silver City area will be participating in Hoops 4 Hope, an afternoon of indoor games hosted by Western New Mexico University, on Monday, March 27 at 6:00 p.m. in the Intramural Gym. The fifth annual event is open to any member of the community with a learning or physical disability. Attendees will receive a free t-shirt and a pizza dinner. “This is one of our favorite events to host on campus,” said Abe Villarreal, WNMU Director of Communications. “It is important for our student body to interact with this special community of people that teach us so much about themselves and ourselves.” The goal of the annual event is to accomplish four hopes: a hope to bring students together to learn about people with disabilities, a hope to build common ground among different people through athletics, a hope to have students feel comfortable with people of different backgrounds, and a hope to learn more about how we interact with each...

Western New Mexico University officials met with representatives from the Universidad Pedagogica del Estado de Sinaloa (UPES) in the Silver City campus on Wednesday to sign a memorandum of agreement between the two institutions. The agreement lays out a plan to offer collaborative projects including joint research projects, staff and faculty exchanges, student exchanges, joint conference and seminar events, and information exchanges. UPES was established in 2013 and is located on three campuses in the Mexican cities of Culiacan, Los Mochis and Mazatlan. UPES focuses on training education professionals in undergraduate and postgraduate courses. WNMU proposed offering traditional and online courses for UPES students looking to study English language and other subject matters advancing their education degrees. “We know how valuable it is for our Mexican students to receive this cultural immersion experience which puts them ahead of their traditional classroom learning...

Making its way through the New Mexico state legislature is House Joint Memorial 14, designating Western New Mexico University as the liberal arts and sciences university for the state. New Mexico does not have a public four-year higher education institution designated with a specific liberal arts and sciences identity. The bill would specify WNMU as the applied liberal arts and sciences university, emphasizing the application aspect of the liberal arts curriculum. “The workplace is changing frequently and substantially. Employers are looking for candidates who are well-rounded, can adapt to change, and possess more than technical skills in a single area,” said Dr. Jack Crocker, WNMU Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. “Essential skills are critical thinking, effective communication, quantitative reasoning, and the ability to make practical application of knowledge.” The skills and behaviors gained from a liberal arts and sciences education are outlined in...

The 50th Annual Great Race celebration will take place Saturday, April 29, 2017 and will include an outdoor Mustang festival event with live music, food and family games at Old James Stadium on the Western New Mexico University campus. Area vendors including local restaurants, food trucks, civic and non-profit organizations can register for a free booth presence at the festival. The event will begin at 10:00 a.m. and end at 1:00 p.m. on the WNMU campus. Established in 1967, this will be the 50th consecutive year for the Great Race event, a student-created tradition involving racing carts, teams and a week of activities. “Many alumni and former Great Race team members are reaching out to us and sharing their excitement to be on campus,” said Abe Villarreal, WNMU Director of Communications. The Great Race will start and finish lines are near Old James Stadium where Mustang Festival attendees will be celebrating and watching the teams compete. Registered vendors are...

The School of Education at Western New Mexico University is hosting an Open House event on Wednesday, March 8 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the Martinez-Fall Building. The event is open to all current students and those interested in enrolling in programs the School of Education offers. Degree programs include bachelor degrees in elementary education, secondary education, special education and early childhood education with teaching field and endorsement options in 15 areas that include bilingual education, mathematics, language arts, Spanish, science education, reading, and TESOL. The Master of Arts programs offer several areas of study with endorsement options and focus areas such as Counseling, Educational Leadership, Information Technology and Design, Reading, Bilingual Education, TESOL and others. Registration for the upcoming summer and fall semesters opens March 20, 2017. The fall semester begins on Monday, August 14, 2017. Prospective students and their families...