Press Releases

For the fourth consecutive year Western New Mexico University will team up with the Silver City MainStreet Project to host the Bash on Broadway on Saturday, August 16. Offering socialization for both new and returning students, the event signifies the exciting arrival of the fall semester with music, games and dancing in historic downtown Silver City. WNMU President Joseph Shepard will deliver a State of the University Address at 5:30 p.m. in the Silver City Museum outdoor patio.  After updating the community with an account of current and future happenings, Broadway Street will be closed between Bullard Street and Texas Street from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. Live music will be provided by local band Hell To Pay. Community groups and small businesses can register to have free booth space by contacting 575.538.6336 or news@wnmu.edu. The fall semester begins Monday, August...

A public forum is scheduled for Wednesday, August 13 at 5:30 p.m. for community members to give input regarding scheduled campus lighting updates. One of the university master facilities plans and sustainability goals is to explore a campus wide and complete LED lighting upgrade on the exterior of all campus buildings and parking lots. This includes replacing existing outdated, problematic and inefficient light fixtures throughout the campus exterior in efforts to positively enhance a sense of wellbeing, safety, clarity, and improve energy efficiency that will dramatically lower the university’s operating cost. WNMU is inviting members of the community to share ideas and concepts that will help maximize the goal of enabling the university to be a more night sky friendly campus to its neighbors and community. The meeting will take place in the Global Resource Center auditorium. For more information, please contact 575.538.6336 or...

This year’s Silver City Clay Festival’s Clay Archaeology Panel, Clay is Life, will once again be hosted by Western New Mexico University Museum on the WNMU campus at the Besse-Forward Global Resource Center Auditorium on Saturday, August 2 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. The 2014 Archaeology Clay Panelis designed to be a free-flowing panel discussion and audience Q&A with prominent archaeologists conducting research in the American Southwest on the many forms of clay found in archaeological sites throughout the prehistoric Southwest. The panel moderator will encourage audience members to ask questions relating to panelist’s research, current and past, and special topics. Special topics include the visibility of children in prehistory in the ceramic record; the analyses of pollen and other residues recovered from ceramics and the insights these analyses have into prehistoric cultural social networking, dynamics, and interaction when combined with other information and...

Western New Mexico University’s (WNMU) President Joseph Shepard presented the 2014 President’s Award to the Silver City League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council 8003.  The Council was honored for their longtime community service and dedication to education in Grant County and New Mexico. LULAC Council 8003 has been helping students achieve their potential by awarding educational scholarships to students wishing to continue their studies in higher education. With the vision of its original founders, Apolonio “Polo” and wife Donna Sierra, the council began hosting fundraisers to collect money for the annual student scholarships. The first award amount was $250 and quickly escalated to several $1,000 scholarships a year. “We’re proud to be able to recognize some of the most inspiring members of our community,” said Dr. Joseph Shepard, President of WNMU. “Without the relentless hard work this group has put forward year after year, many students...

The temporary closure of Cornali Field ended recently when park rules were posted at each entrance to the Virginia Street property, owned by Western New Mexico University. The posting of rules followed a community meeting led by WNMU President Joseph Shepard on July 1 where he heard from area residents who expressed interest in the continued use of Cornali Field as a dog park. The signs list 19 rules developed for the safety of the dogs and the dog owners when visiting Cornali Field. The temporary rules will be in place for a trial period of six months or until new rules are established. A committee of community members is being formed to help develop permanent rules and dog park hours. The advisory group is made up of area residents who signed up at the initial forum on July 1. WNMU is working with Silver City Animal Control and area enforcement personnel to develop effective enforcement measurements. Cornali Field Rules: A.Dog defecation is to be immediately removed by...

Western New Mexico University Museum and the Francis McCray Gallery of Contemporary Art will be the joint venues for Neo-Mimbreño 2014, a Silver City Clay Festival exhibition, on Saturday, August 2.  Neo-Mimbreño 2014 is a juried fine art exhibition of contemporary works influenced or inspired by designs of the ancient Mimbres potters of the Southwest. Artists entering the exhibition were encouraged to creatively reinterpret, personalize, or carry the Mimbreño vision into new formats and media. “Exhibiting Neo-Mimbreño 2014 at these two campus venues highlights the link between the past and the present; the prehistoric culture inspiring the artists featured in the University Museum’s permanent exhibition of Mimbres pottery and culture and the contemporary art created by the artists that personalizes the Mimbreño vision in new formats and media,” said Dr. Cynthia Ann Bettison, WNMU Museum Director. Silver City artists Diana Ingalls Leyba and Susan Berry are the...

The Western New Mexico University Foundation announced the annual list of scholarship recipients awarded by the Western Bank Bootheel Foundation. Theseven scholarship recipients represent students in the second year nursing program. Selection is based on academic progress, dedication to the nursing profession, projected financial need and requirements for scholarship application. The scholarship committee includes Bob Martin, Chairman of the Board for Western Bank; Joe Heidrick, WNMU Nursing Department Chair; LeAnn Robinson, Socorro Rico and Debra Brundage. The seven students selected met the criteria needed to be awarded. The nursing program at WNMU is a nationally accredited program. Degrees offered include the Associate Degree in Nursing and the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. The WNMU Foundation wishes to thank the efforts of the Bootheel Foundation; a nonprofit, charitable foundation established by Western Bank, its shareholders and employees who are dedicated to...

Western New Mexico University Vice President of Business Affairs Sherri Bays has accepted the position of Vice President of Business and Finance for West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas. Bays will end her 18-year tenure at WNMU on July 31. “It has been an honor to serve WNMU in several different capacities over the last 18 years. I will truly miss my WNMU family and cherish the friendships I have made not only at the University but within the community,” said Bays. “This is an excellent career opportunity for me and I will also be closer to family.” The announcement was made by WNMU President Joseph Shepard to the university community where he expressed his thanks and praise for Vice President Bays. “Over the last three years that I have had the privilege of working with Sherri, I have discerned that she is one of the best in the business,” said Shepard. “I will personally miss her insights, business acumen and high standards.” As Bays concludes...

Western New Mexico University’s (WNMU) President Joseph Shepard will present the 2014 President’s Award to the Silver City League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council 8003 on Saturday, July 26 at WNMU. The council will be honored for their longtime community service to Grant County and New Mexico. “We couldn’t think of any other organization that deserves to be recognized for their hard work and dedication in the Grant County community more than the LULAC Council 8003,” said Dr. Joseph Shepard, President of WNMU. “The members’ passion for service and education has changed the lives of thousands in Silver City and in New Mexico.” Through more than three decades, the LULAC Council 8003 has offered scholarship awards to students in Grant County who wish to continue their studies in higher education. With the vision of its founders, Apolonio “Polo” and wife Donna Sierra, the council began hosting fundraisers to raise money for the annual student...

Western New Mexico University is hosting a public meeting to discuss the future use of Cornali Field, a park commonly used by dog owners in the community. The meeting will take place on Tuesday, July 1 at 7:00 p.m. in the Global Resource Center. Due to recent aggressive behavior by some dogs at the park, the meeting is an opportunity for community members and university officials to discuss how the park should be used in the future for the safety of all visitors and animals to the park. Located on Virginia Street, Cornali Field is on university property. It has had many uses in the past but is now commonly used by dog owners as a dog park. For more information, community members can contact the Public Information Office at...