Press Releases

The Western New Mexico University Foundation celebrated the group of 40 donors who joined the President’s Society during its inaugural year, committing to give at least $1,000 in unrestricted funds annually, with a reception, a lecture, a recognition wall reveal and an al fresco dinner on campus in August. “This is the beginning of a community we hope continues growing,” WNMU Foundation Director Jodi Edens-Crocker said. The Foundation created the President’s Society to honor those who demonstrate support of WNMU through annual unrestricted gifts. “Unrestricted donations allow the university flexibility as needs evolve,” Edens-Crocker said. Some of the inaugural President’s Society members gifted as much as $75,000 in this first year, while many of the gifts were between $5,000 and $10,000 apiece. “These amounts are good indicators of people’s desire to be part of the positive changes happening at WNMU,” Edens-Crocker said. Each inaugural President’s...

The Life Quest Scholarship in special recognition of Dr. Richard F. Rodriguez was established with the Western New Mexico University Foundation in late September. The gift to the WNMU Foundation was presented in a ceremony, which included four other community organizations that received donations from Life Quest, Inc., which closed due to loss of funding from the state and so distributed its liquid assets to area nonprofits in order to continue Life Quest’s legacy in Grant County. “It’s a lemons into lemonade day,” said Debra Frasca, former CEO of Life Quest, Inc. Funded through an initial gift of $104,000, the endowed scholarship was created by Debra Frasca and Pam Gibson on behalf of Life Quest, Inc., and its board of directors. The Life Quest Scholarship in special recognition of Dr. Richard F. Rodriguez is meant to support WNMU students pursuing careers in special education and also WNMU students who have disabilities and are majoring in any field. “A university...

The Western New Mexico University Museum in Fleming Hall will reopen to the public on Monday, October 8, 2018. It will be open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. while the transformation is being completed. The WNMU Museum’s new exhibits are being installed through this winter and next spring, so lower floor rooms will open in phases over the next few months. The WNMU Museum, which opened in 1974, will celebrate its 45th anniversary with a grand reopening black-on-white gala during CLAY Festival 2019. The date when the WNMU Museum’s collections will reopen to research, loans and tours will be determined as the transformation progresses. Home of the world’s largest collection of Mimbres artifacts, the WNMU Museum was temporarily closed while its official home, historic Fleming Hall, underwent a $3.2 million transformation funded through WNMU’s allocation from the 2016 General Obligation Bond for Higher Education. Updates on the WNMU Museum’s transformation and...

Western New Mexico University Cultural Affairs will present a retrospective exhibition by Edwina Milner at the Francis McCray Gallery of Contemporary Art. The public is invited to the opening reception on Thursday, October 4, 2018, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. The exhibit, called “Seeing it Her Way: The Artistic Journey of Edwina Hawley Milner” will remain up through Saturday, November 3, 2018. The opening coincides with the Silver City Art Association’s Annual Red Dot Weekend at the Galleries, and refreshments will be available from The Duck Stop food truck. Milner’s sustained art practice is represented in this exhibition with an array of drawings, paintings and mixed-media artworks that she created over more than 65 years. “These works embody the joy of art and art-making and also hold the life lessons of a person who always sees the glass as half full,” said Faye McCalmont, WNMU’s Special Assistant to the President for Cultural Affairs. In this exhibition, guest...

The Western New Mexico University Foundation recently awarded four scholarships to nursing students enrolled at WNMU for the 2018/2019 academic year. The scholarships were all made possible by donations from one family that has been providing scholarship support to WNMU students for 17 years. Silver City’s Martin family created the Robert and Ione Martin Scholarship, the Frank and Bernice Parrish Scholarship, the Robert and Ione Martin State Match Scholarship and the Frank and Bernice Parrish State Match Scholarship, which were awarded to WNMU students Jeffrey Arrington, Amanda Mondello, Celina Sircy and Mikaela (Morris) Turner, respectively. “It is our pleasure to give scholarships, and we are proud of all nursing students and the exceptional program offered at WNMU,” said Bob Martin, who is a longtime WNMU Foundation supporter and the owner of Western Bank in Silver City. Recipients of the WNMU Foundation’s Martin family scholarships are selected annually through...

The Western New Mexico University board of regents passed the Revised Capital Projects Transmittal for World Of Wings Café to Einstein Bros. Bagels; decided to award the WNMU president’s bonus only on his annual evaluation for 2018-19 per his current contract and forego any additional bonus outcomes; and approved a new mileage reimbursement rate and meal per diem policy for the university at their meeting on the main campus on Monday, September 17. Collective bargaining negotiations are still underway between WNMU and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, so a new agreement was not ready for approval by the board and the item was tabled. Vice President for Business Affairs Kelley Riddle presented the Revised Capital Projects Transmittal for World Of Wings Café to Einstein Bros. Bagels, which is slated to open later this year in the Brancheau P.E. Complex. The total project budget is $921,613, and WNMU’s current food service vendor, Sodexo, will be...

Western New Mexico University professor Dr. Jennifer Johnston, who studies the relationship between news coverage and mass shootings, addressed the federal commission on school safety in Washington, D.C., this summer. Dr. Johnston had the ears of U.S. Education Secretary and Commission Chair Betsy DeVos, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen while briefing the commission on her research, which points to a possible three-fold decrease in mass shootings if the media did not name shooters. “From 1950s to the year 2000, there were only about two incidents per year. Last year was a record of 30 mass shootings in 2017,” Dr. Johnston said. “In an examination of the usual suspects and potential causes of mass shootings, media contagion is the one potential cause that has a corresponding meteoric rise.” Eleven studies, including Dr. Johnston’s out of WNMU, have...

The Western New Mexico University Cultural Affairs fall season kicks off with a concert by Americana trio Red Molly on Thursday, September 13, 2018. The fall season is packed with seven concerts, two artist lectures and exhibits, a documentary film, and one exotic visual performance. WNMU Cultural Affairs will be continuing its President’s Chamber Music Series and the Edwina Milner Women in the Arts lecture series this fall through this spring. From throwback bands like Hotel California — A Salute to the Eagles and folksy vocalists like Red Molly to high-energy performances like SIRO A — Techno Circus, the WNMU Cultural Affairs fall lineup appeals to families and to university students. “We are very excited about this season’s offerings and eager to welcome the community onto WNMU’s beautiful campus to experience arts and culture. We scheduled a mix of high-quality performances and visual arts to provide something for everyone,” said Faye McCalmont, WNMU’s...

The Western New Mexico University Foundation honored alumna, professor and longtime friend Linda McGee for four decades of service by naming a study lounge in historic Light Hall after Linda and her late husband, John. “It’s fitting that the space is for students, because the McGee’s whole relationship with the university has been about supporting students,” WNMU Foundation Director Jodi Edens-Crocker said. “Naming the lounge after them was our way of recognizing a lifetime of supporting students.” Linda graduated with a bachelor’s in accounting in 1969 and has contributed on campus ever since. She was an accounting professor for more than 30 years, retiring ranked as a full professor in 2010 and beginning her service on the WNMU Foundation Board of Directors. “I’m proud of my relationships with my students and so honored to see them grow into valuable members of society,” Linda said, noting that the naming of the study lounge means much to her. “I’m...

This November, voters in Grant, Luna, Hidalgo and Catron counties will be asked to invest in the state’s public colleges, universities and specialty schools. General Obligation Bond D (referred to as GO Bond D) is asking voters to approve more than $128 million for needed renovations, upgrades and improvements. Voting on GO Bond D will not increase property taxes. In Silver City, approval of Bond D will mean an allocation of $6,000,000 for Western New Mexico University, which will fund the completion of the Harlan Hall renovation project. The university is upgrading the existing but outdated natural science department facilities. “GO Bond D is the primary source of funding that Western New Mexico University has to re-invest in our historic buildings and modernize facilities. By upgrading technology and improving safety, we give our students experiences that will help them contribute positively toward a better New Mexico future,” WNMU President Dr. Joseph Shepard said....