Press Releases

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...

Joshua Odom and Ruth Moyer were determined not to become statistics when they enrolled in the Adult Education Services program at Western New Mexico University. Both high school dropouts, and without a steady job, this past fall they decided to make a turn in direction. “I felt like it was time for me to do something with my life,” said Odom a 29-year-old Las Cruces native. “I had been in and out of jobs and had a rough childhood.” A few months after enrolling in the Adult Education program, Odom is one of two students to be recognized as the Outstanding Student of the Year by the State of New Mexico in February. Of the 28 Adult Education Services program in the state, Odom and Moyer were selected from the WNMU-based program. “This is the third year in a row that the Outstanding Student of the Year is chosen from our program,” said Debbie Maldonado, program director. Odom was born with cerebral palsy. His left hand is immobile which he describes as a small...

Indigenous poet and memoirist Joy Harjo will be the featured artist in the next Edwina and Charles Milner Women in the Arts event on Thursday, March 2. Harjo will share her works and her experience as an international poet, writer, performer and saxophone player of the Mvskoke/Creek Nation beginning at 6:30 p.m. in Light Hall Theater. Harjo will also be featured as the guest speaker for the Women’s Voices: Past and Present event earlier in the day, at 4:00 p.m. in the Miller Library. A Writing Across the Curriculum program, Women’s Voices will also feature readings by several WNMU faculty and staff members. Often cited as a playing a formidable role in the second wave of what critic Kenneth Lincoln termed the Native American Renaissance of the late 20th century, Harjo is the author of several books and has released five award-winning albums of original music. In 2009, Harjo received the Native American Music Award (NAMMY) for Best Female Artist of the Year. She is the...

Western New Mexico University will be celebrating the annual Great Race competition for a 50th time during the last weekend of April and alumni are invited to participate in the festivities. The Office of Alumni Affairs has opened registration for Great Race weekend, which begins Friday, April 28 with several events culminating with the race among alumni throughout the Silver City campus. “The entire university community is excited to welcome back alumni for this special event,” said Amanda Moffett Lane, WNMU Alumni Director. “This is going to be a memorable weekend for former students that have participated in WNMU’s biggest tradition.” Alumni events include a Welcome Social with live music on Friday, April 28; the Breakfast of Champions prior to the race on Saturday, April 29; and a special VIP race for former Great Race team members following the student race, among other events. “WNMU graduates know that among the memories made while on campus,...

Tax season has arrived and with it comes Tax Help New Mexico. Western New Mexico has offered the program in partnership with the State of New Mexico for over 30 years as a free service to those that qualify. Students work as volunteers at the WNMU site, one of the states’ 48 locations. All students are accounting majors that can also use their experience as a three-credit course. Student volunteers are required to pass three exams testing their knowledge of tax preparation prior to working for Tax Help. The free service is available for people with annual family incomes of $54,000 or less, with an exception for people who earn more than that due to Social Security income. To have a tax return prepared, individuals must have an original Social Security card, a picture ID, W-2s from all employers and a bank account with routing number for direct deposit. Housed in Light Hall room 119, tax preparation is offered Mondays 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and Tuesdays and Thursdays...

The Small Business Development Center at Western New Mexico University is hosting series of four workshops for small businesses focused on digital media. The workshops are designed to educate area business owners and non-profit organizations on how to grow their businesses through effective online marketing, branding and customer service tools. Keynote speaker is David Anderson of Tokmatik, the leading platform for TikTok promotion. With millions of customers having made orders for TikTok likes, followers, and views on the Tokmatik platform, Anderson will share his insights in growing an online business in this competitive landscape. “The question today is not whether to be online, or to have a well done website,” said Lawrence Garcia, Small Business Development Center business advisor. “The real question is how far can you go in your online marketing journey.” Wednesday, February 15 Marketing Your Brand for Success (Part 1) with Sabrina Pack 5:30 p.m. – 7:00...