News

A Deming educator and WNMU alumna has won the prestigious Milken Educator Award. Magali Gomez (BSW ’12, MSW ’17, MAT ’23) earned the award because she has “established herself as a steadfast teacher leader and inspiring mentor who works every day to support her colleagues and achieve notable academic and personal growth for her students,” according to a news release from the Milken Family Foundation, which sponsors the awards. The Milken Educator Awards target early- to mid-career teachers who have demonstrated excellence in teaching and who offer strong long-range potential for professional and policy leadership. The award comes with an unrestricted $25,000 prize. In addition to the monetary award, recipients join a cadre of other Milken Educators and receive powerful mentorship opportunities. Gomez works at Ruben S. Torres Elementary in Deming, where she teaches fifth grade students bilingually in both Spanish and English, and teaching in a small town has...

WNMU awarded two honorary doctorates at this year’s fall Commencement, one to former NM Representative Rodolpho Martinez (BS ’78) and another to former director of the Legislative Finance Committee David Abbey. Rodolpho Martinez Born in Santa Rita, NM, Martinez worked in the mining industry for Kennecott Copper and Phelps Dodge, retiring as a senior planner for the electrical department in 2006. In addition to that career, Martinez has also been involved in public service for more than 27 years. He has served as a Bayard city councilor, mayor, county commission chair, and as NM 39th Legislative District Representative. Martinez is a US Air Force veteran of the Vietnam War. He has received the “Profile of Courage” award from the Vietnam Veterans of America NM State Council, and he has continued to advocate on behalf of veterans. Martinez said that one of the greatest challenges of his time in the Legislature was weathering the years when there was no capital outlay...

This fall, 371 students earned degrees or certificates from Western New Mexico University, and the Mustang community celebrated their achievement through a hybrid commencement ceremony that once again 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, 206 chose to participate in this year’s fall graduation ceremony on December 8, 2023, with 141 walking across the Fine Arts Center Theatre stage and 65 participating over Zoom. WNMU awarded 78 associate degrees, 119 bachelor’s degrees, 136 master’s degrees, 49 graduate certificates, 10 undergraduate certificates and 13 fast track certificates. Additionally, 77 WNMU undergraduates across all programs graduated with honors, including members of the WNMU Honors Program. To earn the distinction, students in a graduate program must receive a 4.0 GPA, and students graduating with an undergraduate degree or...

The Western New Mexico University Board of Regents awarded emeritus designation to two retiring WNMU employees, approved 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 7, 2023. With no old business to consider, the regents spent a portion of the meeting hearing updates from across campus as presented by Faculty Senate President Dr. Scott Smith, Staff Senate President Adele Springer and Associated Students of WNMU President Elizabeth Gonzales. Regent Chair Dr. Mary Hotvedt presided over the meeting from the Seminar Room located in the university’s Student Memorial Building along with Student Regent Trent Jones, with Regents Dr. Lyndon Haviland and Dal Moellenberg joining virtually and Dr. Dan Lopez not present. During his report, President Dr. Joseph Shepard informed the board of a recent article regarding the university’s...

When Kimberly Woodard (BS ’03, MAIS ‘08) began work as the WNMU Student Services Coordinator in August, she had never run a food pantry before. Now, managing the One Stop on campus is one of her essential job responsibilities. Woodard, whose background is in social work, has embraced the challenges of her new position enthusiastically. In particular, she has established, or in some cases re-established, relationships with a number of statewide and community partners. One of those partnerships is with Roadrunner Food Bank, the largest food bank in New Mexico, which currently makes deliveries to the One Stop twice a month. “In December they will be bringing a mobile food pantry to campus,” Woodward said. At this mobile event, each household served will be eligible to take home 40 pounds of food. The One Stop also partners with St. Francis Newman Center, the Gospel Mission and the Commons Center for Food Security and Sustainability. The latter has a commercial kitchen,...

The 19th WNMU Academic and Research Symposium and Career Fair was held Tuesday, Nov. 28 and Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023. 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 fair that brought in a number of area employers. Students had an opportunity to learn about working for the various employers and about openings available. According to Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Kate Oubre, the symposium provides students with an opportunity to become more confident public speakers. “It is an opportunity for students to practice public presentation in a different way than they do in a classroom,” said Oubre. Oubre acknowledged that presenting one’s work publicly can feel quite daunting, so the organizing committee works to ensure that the symposium brings some levity and fun. “We have a...

WNMU held a town-hall style discussion on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023 to share information and gather input regarding a new initiative on food security and sustainability. The meeting was well attended by community members, including representatives of a number of potential collaborative partners. “While I am pleased by this, I am not surprised by because of the community in which we live,” said WNMU President Joseph Shepard in his opening remarks, “We live in a community that really has a robust care for each other.” The need for solutions to food insecurity are increasingly pressing, said Dave Chandler, the Director of the Commons Center for Food Sustainability and Security, who was asked to speak at the town hall. “We are seeing unprecedented need in the classroom,” he stated. Another guest at the event, Sarita Cargas, Associate Professor of Human Rights at UNM, provided some background on how widespread food insecurity is among college students, faculty and...

Like many student organizations, the Native American Student Alliance (NASA) lost momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic. A new group of students, however, have re-chartered the organization and are already knee-deep in coordinating this year’s activities, according to NASA President and graduate student in Early Childhood Education, Rebekah Stevens (Choctaw). The signature event for the fall semester was Native American Day, held on November 15. NASA worked with dining hall staff to coordinate a lunch of traditional indigenous foods based on recipes provided by NASA students. The day also included a screening of the award-winning film “Smoke Signals.” The highlight of Native American Day was a forum on “Navigating Native American Culture Today.” The panelists for the forum included Dr. Perry James (Navajo), WNMU Adjunct Faculty; Bill Bradford, Chiricahua Apache Nation Attorney General; and Joe Saenz, Chiricahua Apache Nation President. The forum was moderated by NASA...

Brooke Rodgers started her college career in San Francisco, California, but when WNMU Head Women’s Basketball Coach Josh Pace reached out to her, she was ready to make a change. She was anxious to leave the big city, to be closer to her family in Phoenix and to find a university that would allow her to better balance her academic life with the demands of playing collegiate basketball. “I knew Coach Pace would get me to where I wanted to be as a player,” she said. The one wrinkle in her plan was not about basketball but about academics and career preparation. “I want to become a screenwriter after I graduate,” said Rodgers. At her previous university, her major was Writing for Film and TV, a program not offered at WNMU. Luckily, she was able to design her own degree program through the WNMU Interdisciplinary Studies program with concentrations in English and Psychology that will allow her to continue developing as a screenwriter. “I was always told that I was a good...