Press Releases

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, El Paso Branch will offer a presentation to WNMU students and the public on Thursday, November 5 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 pm. in the Global Resource Center Auditorium on campus. The presentation will cover monetary policy and the role of the Fed to influence employment, monitor jobs, to stabilize prices and the availability and cost of money and credit, include reserve requirements, discount lending and open market operations. The Federal Reserve Bank is divided in 12 districts; the Dallas district oversees all of Texas, the southern two-thirds of New Mexico and about half of Louisiana through its three branches, in El Paso, Houston and San Antonio. The presentation is organized by the WNMU School of Business. For more information contact Dr. Francisca Reyes at 575-538-6326.       Western New Mexico University has served the people of the state of New Mexico and its surrounding areas as a comprehensive, regional,...

It was several years in the making before Kaity Ellis met Ranger, a multipurpose service dog and new lifelong partner. The pair is now inseparable. Ellis is a junior from Deming, New Mexico. She was born with several disabilities including the inability to walk. She is legally blind. “Ranger gives me so much independence and a lot more confidence in myself,” said Ellis. “He opens doors and picks up my phone.” Ellis is a well-known student at both Deming and Silver City campuses. For the last two and a half years she has become a familiar face, recognized by most students for her efforts to raise awareness about people with disabilities and her leadership position with the Associated Students of WNMU. Since being matched with Ranger in March, she is reenergized to bring change to the process in acquiring a service dog. “When she was six years old, we started looking for a dog,” said Phyllis Connor, Ellis’ grandmother and caretaker. “We were turned down...

Western New Mexico University has launched a new emergency alert system allowing university employees and students to receive text alerts during emergency situations. The software system, called Rave Alert, was launched with a test alert to users on Monday, October 26. More than 4,000 users received a short text message notifying them of the testing and giving them an idea of future alert notifications. “In light of the ongoing safety concerns at universities across the country, we want to have every tool at our disposal for keeping our students and employees safe while on campus,” said Isaac Brundage, Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. The system is used by several universities in the country and has the capability of sending text and email messages, allowing responses from users and reporting data. All university employees and students have been opted in to receive notifications; however, they can opt out and are responsible for updating their...

Western New Mexico University will be offering a free flu vaccine clinic on Friday, October 30 in the School of Nursing Building. Members of the public as well as university students and employees can take advantage of this clinic offered for two hours beginning at 8:30 a.m. Participants, if applicable to them, are requested to bring their Medicare, Medicaid or insurance card for review. The WNMU Student Health Services office is partnering with Grant County Public Health to provide this clinic. For more information, contact 575-538-5318. Press option...

Junior Shannon Rich (Folsom, CA/Folsom) and sophomore Kelli McGhiey (Pearl City, HI/Sacred Hearts Academy ) were named to the All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Academic First-Team as the Western New Mexico University volleyball team led the conference with 11 total players on the list that was released Thursday. To be eligible for consideration, a student-athlete must carry a 3.30 cumulative grade points average and must have been an active student at the institution for at least two consecutive semesters or three consecutive quarters. The First-Team was voted on by the league's sports information directors. Joining Rich and McGhiey was seniors Chyler Imai (Kapaau, HI/Kohala), Barbara Soranzo (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil/Mestre Santa Barbara), sophomores Kelsie Bailey (Albuquerque, NM/El Dorado), Opal Drapeau (Denver, CO/Bishop Machebeuf Catholic ), Morgan Lyneis (Victorville, CA/Apple Valley), Taimane Passi (Honolulu, HI/Iolani),Taryn Schriner (Dayton, NV/Dayton ) and...

Ian Harvie, a comedian and actor whose most recent work includes starring in the Golden Globe award-winning TV series Transparent, will perform live at the Fine Arts Center Theater on Thursday, October 22 at 7:30 p.m. Free to WNMU students and $15 per person for community members, the performance will be a funny and educational night of comedy touching on gender issues as seen through the eyes of Harvie, a transgender person. Harvie was the opening act for comedian Margaret Cho before beginning his television career. He eventually turned cross-country headliner and became a groundbreaking transgender comedian. In 2014, Harvie performed in his first live standup comedy special, Ian Harvie Superhero. Praised by critics, Harvie has been referred to as the most unique stand-up comic in the country by Frontiers Magazine. His comedy special, Ian Harvie Superhero, was selected by over 25 film festivals worldwide and won several awards. Harvie’s performance will be the headline...

The public is invited to an art opening called “JuarezX: Dragged Across Borders”, opening Friday, October 16 at 5:30 p.m. in the McCray Gallery. The exhibit features work by artists from Juarez who have been literally and conceptually dragged across borders. “We are invited to reflect and question the intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality, migrant status and being,” said Peter Bill, McCray Gallery Director. “The artwork explores the U.S. Mexico border as a place in its own right, a dreamland, a laboratory, a labyrinthine maze whose walls are filled with poetic language and images.” The artists include Yorch, an urban artist presenting graffiti art on panel highlighting life on the border; Gabriela Hernandez, an undocumented Seaburry Fellow and NMHU alumna, whose work features a series of banners representing the struggle of the LGBTQ community; Pulso Ans, a graffiti artist by night and art gallery owner by day, commands spray paint canisters to produce...