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The Western New Mexico University Board of Regents held a special meeting December 20, 2024 for the purpose of discussing the contract of university President Dr. Joseph Shepard. In the public portion of the meeting, Shepard read from a prepared statement announcing that he will be stepping away from his role as president on January 15, 2025. Shepard noted that media coverage of the university, centered on its handling of financial matters, has proved a distraction from the significant accomplishments WNMU has achieved under his 13-year leadership. His decision to step away from the presidency, he said, was in the best interest of the university’s students and faculty, who could proceed to focus on academic excellence without distraction. Reading from a prepared statement, Shepard said that he was most proud of how the university transforms students’ lives through their education journey. “At every graduation ceremony I witness a fundamental educational process of...

Representatives from the Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) visited the Western New Mexico University campus on Dec. 5, 2024, to present the university with a $100,000 rebate check for installing four electric vehicle (EV) fast chargers. WNMU installed the EV fast chargers earlier this year with the assistance of Freeport-McMoRan. The chargers are in the Fine Arts Center Theatre parking lot, near Ben Altamirano Field and the solar array. By offering free access to EV chargers, WNMU and Freeport-McMoRan aim to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles and reduce reliance on traditional fossil-fuel-powered transportation. This initiative not only benefits the university community but also contributes to the overall reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the region. The rebate was awarded as part of PNM’s Transportation Electrification Program (2022-2023), which provided up to $25,000 per charging station to offset the make-ready costs to install the EV...

This fall, 387 students earned degrees or certificates from Western New Mexico University, and the Mustang community celebrated their achievement through a hybrid commencement ceremony that allowed for the participation of both graduates on campus and those living and attending WNMU at a distance. Of the graduates who received diplomas from WNMU this fall, 213 chose to participate in this year’s fall graduation ceremony on December 13, 2024, with 165 walking across the Fine Arts Center Theatre stage and 48 participating over Zoom. WNMU awarded 79 associate degrees, 114 bachelor’s degrees, 107 master’s degrees, 58 graduate certificates, 7 undergraduate certificates and 22 fast track certificates. Additionally, 62 WNMU undergraduates across all programs graduated with honors, including members of the WNMU Honors Program. To achieve the distinction, students must earn a 3.5 GPA or higher. WNMU President Joseph Shepard, who presided over the ceremony, thanked the families...

The Western New Mexico University Board of Regents approved the development of new programs as part of the university’s five-year plan and heard from faculty, staff and student leadership representatives during their meeting, conducted in a hybrid manner, Thursday, December 12, 2024. Regent President Dr. Mary E. Hotvedt presided over the meeting from the Seminar Room located in the university’s Student Memorial Center along with Student Regent Trent Jones, with Regents Dr. Lyndon Haviland, Dal Moellenberg and Dr. Daniel Lopez joining virtually. Due to the large number of community members attending the meeting, the board began by amending the agenda to allow public comments at the beginning of meeting. Comments were largely focused on the recent special report from the state auditor’s office. With no old business to consider, the regents spent a portion of the meeting hearing updates from across campus as presented by WNMU President Joseph Shepard, Faculty Senate...

WNMU Social Work major Madeleine Trevino started her social work studies at Eastern New Mexico University in her hometown of Roswell, NM. But during her second year in the program, her father died, and she found a need to take some time away from school. Because the ENMU social work program uses a cohort system, meaning that students move through the courses in a set order, Trevino knew she would not be able to just resume her program when she was ready to return to school; she would have to wait for the next cohort. Instead, she said, she started looking at other options and found that she could complete her degree online through WNMU. Now in the final semester of her program, Trevino, who is a NM Opportunity Scholarship recipient, said she was inspired to go into social work by her mother. “I am a second-generation social worker,” she said. “My mother worked for CYFD for 20-some years. I saw the work that she did, the children she helped, the connections she was able to...

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the founding of the WNMU Student Symposium, which was held Wednesday, December 4 and Thursday, December 5, 2024. The symposium, which provides a showcase for student academic and creative achievement, took place in the J. Cloyd Miller Library. Occurring in conjunction with the symposium was a Career Expo that brought to campus a number of area employers. Students had an opportunity to learn about working for the various employers and about openings available. The format for the symposium resembles an academic conference, with individual oral presentations, group presentations and panels, and a poster session, where students have a chance to talk with visitors about their projects. The keynote speakers for this year’s symposium were Anais Orantez Middleton, president of MEChA, and Juanwon Anderson-Verdell, WNMU graduate student and Director of Student Life and Success. Students presented on a wide variety of topics, ranging from...

The growing season in Silver City may be limited, but the WNMU grounds crew stays busy year-round. The university currently has eight grounds workers and a grounds manager. Each is assigned a different area to maintain, according to Fermin Lopez, Director of Facilities and Maintenance. “Anything green on campus, they take care of it, from mowing to trimming bushes, shrubs, ivies—you name it,” said Lopez. “They pick up trash and just keep all the grounds looking good.” Fall is an especially busy time for the crew, as all the trees on campus mean there are a lot of leaves to clean up. “As the winter comes, they shift gears and also help with events in their down time,” explained Lopez. “We have the Jingle and Mingle coming up, and they will help with moving trees onto Regents Square. They will assist with tables and chairs.” They also string the many lights that decorate the campus for the winter holidays. “When we have inclement weather,” Lopez...

A team of WNMU faculty, community members and a graduate student are engaged in a multi-year project to inventory all of the plants growing in Silver City. For most of the plants the team identifies, a specimen is collected and preserved to become part of the Dale A. Zimmerman Herbarium, housed in Harlan Hall. When collecting a specimen is not feasible, for example, with large cacti, or when a plant is endangered or rare, team members instead document the plant with photography. Founded in 1957 and later named after its founder, a former WNMU faculty member, the Dale A. Zimmerman Herbarium, consists of a large workroom and library for the study and mounting of specimens, as well as a spacious attached room housing pressed specimens. There are currently over 34,000 specimens in the collection, and they are available for faculty, students and visitors to use for research and education. According to Professor of Biology William Norris, one of the goals of the Silver City Flora...

Western New Mexico University is closed for Fall Break, November 25-29,...

When Victor Romero lost his job at the Chino Mine due to cutbacks at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, an opportunity arose to finally pursue a longtime dream of getting a higher education. Romero was eligible for free tuition as part of the Trade Adjustment Assistance program overseen by the U.S. Department of Labor. He decided to take his career plans in an entirely new direction, and he enrolled at WNMU to study Elementary Education. “When I lost my job in 2021, things were not easy,” explained Romero. “But I wanted to be an inspiration for my kids to show them when there are hurdles, you can overcome them. … When things are tough, that is the time to rise.” His decision to study Elementary Education was inspired by his own childhood experiences as a bilingual (Spanish/English) student. Originally from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Romero moved to El Paso as a child, where he attended elementary school. But Romero struggled as a child because his third-grade class...