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The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) has informed Western New Mexico University that the university has been reaccredited for the next 10 years. The accreditation decision was made following a rigorous peer review, evaluation and site visit, according to WNMU Accreditation Liaison Officer Connie Rooks. HLC is a private, nonprofit institutional accrediting agency. HLC Accreditation validates the quality of the institution and is essential for the university to continue offering federal financial aid. Rooks said that the site visit, which occurred in October 2024, went smoothly. “We were really excited about the type of feedback we were getting,” she said. At this visit, a delegation of individuals with extensive experience in higher education came to the campus to speak with students, faculty, staff and administrators. The path leading to the site visit was rigorous, said Rooks. While the accreditation process is always ongoing during the ten-year cycle, she said,...

Every day, students in Puerto Palomas, Chihuahua, and Columbus and Deming, New Mexico, navigate two countries, two languages, and two distinct educational systems. For these young U.S. citizens living in Mexico, crossing the U.S.-Mexico border to attend school is just another part of the routine. But for the faculty members from the WNMU College of Education, a recent visit to this border community was an eye-opening experience—one that revealed both the challenges and importance of bilingual education in the borderlands. The day trip to Deming, Columbus and Palomas was organized by Professor of Education and Associate Dean of the College of Education Alexandra Neves. It was prompted by a desire to better understand the students that the university is educating and to better understand the students that education majors will have in their classrooms. Many WNMU education students come to the university from Deming, said Neves, and the university also has dual enrollment...

Welcome to spring semester 2025! Enrollment is still open for spring courses, which begin Monday, January 13, 2025. Students interested in enrolling should contact their...

Western New Mexico University held a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony in honor of the university’s newest and largest public sculpture, Dec. 12, 2024. The event celebrated Professor Emeritus Michael Metcalf’s newly installed work, Collaboration: The Student’s Journey. WNMU President Joseph Shepard opened the dedication by addressing why public art is so important to the university. “The arts,” said Shepard, “are what make us human. … The arts are about moving beyond your current generation.” Shepard noted that Metcalf had made a profound difference to WNMU intellectually, artistically, and as a colleague. “Today,” he said, Metcalf “gets to make an indelible difference for generations to come with his artwork.” After thanking all the people that helped bring about the sculpture, Metcalf spoke about his inspiration for creating it, the university’s Applied Liberal Arts and Sciences program. “I was curriculum chair at the beginning of it, so I...

Students in the WNMU School of Business are outpacing their peers at other institutions according to the results of standardized testing. Students in the bachelor’s degree program in Business Administration are given an examination administered by Peregrine Global Services that assesses their understanding of a variety of business subjects, including economics, marketing, human resource management and business ethics. Their knowledge of these topics is tested first when they begin their academic study and again when they complete the program. In recent years, WNMU students have consistently outperformed students at other universities both nationally and regionally. On the most recent outbound exam, WNMU students averaged 77.96% on the subject matter tests, while their peers at other southwestern universities averaged 64.03%. WNMU students scored especially highly in economics, marketing, human resource management and the global dimensions of business, and they outperformed...

When Western New Mexico University graduates Megan Custer and Itzela Darkenwald walked across the Commencement stage in December, their journeys were already part of a larger story. The two were among ten students featured on The College Tour this year, a nationally broadcast program that showcased the unique experiences of WNMU students. Now, as they embark on new chapters, their stories are a testament to the vibrant campus community that helped shape their paths to success. Custer, who played volleyball for WNMU and earned a BAS in Kinesiology in 2022, received her BSN this fall with plans to enter the nursing field in her hometown of El Paso. Her immediate goal is to pass the NCLEX, the licensure test required of all nurses, and then she will seek work close to family and friends in Texas. While Custer has been interested in health care for a long time, she credits the WNMU School of Nursing and Kinesiology for helping her to better identify and hone her interests....

Western New Mexico University will be on Winter Break, December 23, 2024 to January 1, 2025. Many offices will be closed during this time. The following offices will be open December 23, 26, 27 and 30, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.: University Advising Center Office of Financial Aid Office of the Registrar Office of Admissions & Recruitment Office of Graduate Admissions &...

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...