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Western New Mexico University Artist-in-Residence Elizabeth Gerdeman is well familiar with art residencies, having traveled as far as Armenia and Switzerland on previous residencies. Her current position at WNMU, though, is her first in the American southwest. “I knew that I wanted to do an artist’s residency in the southwest—I was looking particularly in New Mexico—but I hadn’t found that nice combination of what this residency seems to offer: to be immersed within both an academic and local community imbued in the arts and surrounded by wilderness,” she explained. The university’s location is especially important to Gerdeman because of the nature of her work. “I am driven by places that exist at the intersections of nature and culture,” she said, “where my interdisciplinary practice of painting, installation, and site-specificity continues to evolve from experiences in such varied and complex areas of the world.” Gerdeman, who holds a BFA from the...

Western New Mexico University has a lot at stake on this November’s ballot. In addition to General Obligation Bond 3, which would fund the construction of a new Early Childhood Center for infants and toddlers, the university is also invested in General Obligation Bond 2, which benefits libraries statewide. GO Bond 2 funding is designed to support supplemental library acquisitions, including books, equipment, electronic resources, collaborative library resources and information technology projects. Bond 2 would provide approximately $19 million for public libraries, school libraries, tribal libraries and academic libraries. If it passes, $6 million would go to fund academic libraries across the state, according to Samantha Johnson, the director of WNMU J. Cloyd Miller Library. A portion of that money “would be spent on library databases purchased by a statewide consortium and available to all public higher education institutions in New Mexico,” said Johnson. These...

Faculty members in the WNMU Counseling Program recently presented at the Rocky Mountain Association for Counselor Education and Supervision on their efforts to promote competencies in providing remote mental health services. The Counseling Program has a nationally registered telemental health training program that all counseling students are required to complete. “Students who have completed the program meet the training requirement necessary to becoming a Board Certified Telemental Health Provider,” said Associate Professor Benjamin Jenkins. “Ours is the only counselor preparation program in the nation to have such a requirement.” Through telemental health counseling, counselors and clients can meet remotely with the aid of technology, such as video conferencing. This kind of counseling is especially needed in rural areas, said Assistant Professor William Lane, who leads the Counseling Program. “Many rural and frontier communities have limited access to licensed...

The Western New Mexico University School of Business hopes to grow its dual degree agreements with Mexican universities. Through these agreements, students are able to earn degrees from both universities, the Mexican university and WNMU, at the same time. WNMU currently has fifteen students in the program, all students from Mexico studying in Silver City. The program has not yet had a U.S. student study in Mexico; however, that opportunity is available, said Assistant Professor Iván Ibarra Sánchez, who oversees the program for WNMU. In addition to having a rich cultural immersion, said Ibarra, students from the U.S. would also enjoy economic benefits if they took part in the opportunity. “They will be spending three semesters there, and they will be paying tuition as students, which is about $300 dollars per semester, and food and housing is a lot more affordable down there,” he said. “So that is a win-win.” The students from Mexico studying at WNMU have the...

Founded in 1893, Western New Mexico University is situated on the traditional lands of the first inhabitants of the southwest. The university recognizes and honors the Indigenous peoples, past and present, that have protected and stewarded these lands since time immemorial. As an institution committed to diversity and inclusion, WNMU strives to build sustainable, respectful relationships with sovereign Native Nations and Indigenous communities....

Associate Professor of Bilingual Education and Spanish Gregory Robinson Guerra recently gave a presentation at an international conference on reading at the Central Regional University of Azuero in Panama. Invited to participate by the conference’s organizer, Robinson Guerra presented on Central American short stories. In “Characteristics of Central American Short Stories of the 20th Century,” he focused on several twentieth century authors—including the Panamanian writer Rogelio Sinán—and provided a method of narrative analysis that could be applied to other works. Explained Robinson Guerra, “I analyzed the stories and pulled some of the ways the author writes—about characters, how they create the scenarios, what is the time of the narration.” Robinson Guerra, who is from Panama and specializes in Central American short stories, said his presentation was well received. “I showed the frame that I used to analyze the stories,” he said. “I had a lot of...

By David Abbey and Ronnie Birdsong Nelson Mandela said it best, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” This fall, voters can invest nearly $230 million in our state’s public colleges, universities, and specialty schools serving blind, deaf, visually impaired or hard of hearing students without raising their property tax rates. Supporting General Obligation Bond 3 would provide funding to pay for renovations, safety improvements, technology upgrades and replacement of decades-old facilities at educational institutions in 29 communities across 23 counties throughout New Mexico. It would also create an estimated 2,300 new jobs. A certificate, two-year or four-year degree makes financial sense for our students. Research shows individuals with an associate’s degree earn about $141 more a week than those who have a high school diploma. At the same time, bachelor’s degree holders earn about 86% more, on average, than individuals...

After a childhood spent straddling the U.S-Mexico border, fourth-year student Valeria Adame has found a niche for herself studying Business and Marketing at Western New Mexico University. Her choice of majors seemed a natural fit. “My family has always had different kinds of businesses,” she explained. Adame grew up in Puerto Palomas, Chihuahua and went to school in Columbus and Deming, New Mexico. “I would commute every single day,” she said. Going to grade school in Columbus, her commute was fairly short, but the border crossing lengthened her days. “We wouldn’t get back home sometimes until about 5:00 ,” said Adame. In high school, with the extra distance from the border to Deming, her days were even longer. “Some students would take naps on the way to high school,” she said. Despite the long days, Adame’s parents wanted her to go to school in the United States for the opportunities that were opened to her. “I have always been guided toward...

Western New Mexico University is experiencing steady growth, with a 5% increase in first-year student enrollment for fall 2024 compared to the previous year. This growth reflects the university's sustained enrollment overall for the 2024-2025 academic year. In the lead-up to the fall semester, WNMU received a record number of first-year applications, highlighting the rising interest in WNMU among high school graduates. This surge continues the trend of renewed interest in higher education and workforce training programs, made possible through the New Mexico Opportunity Scholarship that provides qualifying New Mexicans tuition-free access to education and training. As one of the nation’s original Hispanic Serving Institutions, WNMU serves a large Hispanic population, with fall ’24 enrollment reflecting a nearly 2% increase in the population, underscoring the university’s ongoing commitment to expanding opportunities The number of international students attending WNMU has also...

Katie Poirier, the new Director of Food Security and Sustainability at Western New Mexico University, is ramping up for a busy fall semester. In October, Poirier expects a new greenhouse to arrive on campus, the centerpiece of a campus garden being developed on a plot of land on the WNMU Silver City campus. The new food security and sustainability initiative was launched by WNMU President Joseph Shepard late in 2023 at a well-attended and lively Town Hall event. The initiative is backed by a generous donation from WNMU Regent Vice President Lyndon Haviland and her husband, Thomas Neff. Poirier, who most recently served as Executive Director of the Growe Foundation in Boulder County, Colorado, is a graduate of Arizona State University, where she received a BA in sustainability with a concentration in urban dynamics and an MS in sustainable food systems. Poirier is not daunted by taking on a project of the scale WNMU is launching. “I have done vacant lot transformation...