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Western New Mexico University was named one of the most affordable nursing school programs in the southwest by Mometrix Test Preparation, a college planning resource. In an analysis of over 100 nursing schools in Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona and New Mexico, research experts identified the 30 most exceptional programs, specifically cataloging programs with high graduation rates, top National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) pass rates and low tuition costs. “Western New Mexico University offers high-quality nursing education at fraction of the price students pay at most institutions, so students are able to invest more of their time in learning and ultimately spend their energy on improving the health of their neighbors and communities,” said Dr. Kim Petrovic, who is Associate Dean for the WNMU School of Nursing and Kinesiology. All of the highlighted schools have an NCLEX pass rate of at least 73% and an annual tuition cost of less than $10,000. WNMU tuition runs at...

This op-ed was written by Charnelle Lee, who is the Western New Mexico University Undergraduate Nursing Programs Coordinator and a New Mexico Nursing Education Consortium Nurse Educator Endowment Award Winner. Intensive care units throughout New Mexico are operating beyond capacity. Hundred-day hospital stays are almost commonplace now but were unheard of before 2020. Nurses, aging along with our U.S. population, are retiring. As demand for healthcare services mounts, the shortage of registered nurses worsens. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the nursing shortage by increasing the number of patients entering the healthcare system and skewing the patient-to-nurse ratio toward dicey territory. Nursing staff shortage can lead to errors and higher morbidity and mortality rates. Longer, more taxing shifts also lead to nurse burn-out and turnover, which interrupts the continuity of care with similarly dismal consequences for patients. It’s a cycle that can only be broken by...

Before beginning toward a nursing degree at Western New Mexico University – Deming, Elizabeth Villegas worked for Deming Public Schools Equity Department. The native of Palomas, Mexico, authored this feature story to demonstrate the impact one organization, and even one specific person, can have on young people’s lives. “I decided to write about a mentor and a high school student that are part of the Migrant Education Program because I was familiar with the kind of work the Equity Department does,” Villegas told the Deming Headlight, which published this article she wrote. “I used to live just across the border. When I graduated high school, I moved to Ciudad Juarez. I got married and moved to Deming when I was 20 years old in 2019.” Feeling she had too much time on her hands, Elizabeth enrolled in a CNA course. But pandemic-related delays prevented her from being able to work right away, so she got a job as an educational assistant with Deming Public Schools. It...

The Western New Mexico University Board of Regents received updates from state leaders, accepted a clean audit report, approved sabbatical leave for one faculty member, and added an academic behavior policy during their virtual meeting Thursday. As per tradition, the meeting followed Grant County Day at the legislature, where higher education representatives contributed on virtual panels covering topics such as economic development and public health, along with education at all levels — referred to as “cradle to career pathways,” which New Mexico leaders are looking to invest in. Along with a pair of $12 million asks to develop a workforce training facility in the mining district and move the university toward becoming carbon neutral by 2025, WNMU made a $12 million capital outlay request to realize a proposed Early Childhood Center of Excellence, which is stated to be necessary in attracting students from birth and training teachers all the way up through the master’s...

A new partnership between Western New Mexico University and San Juan College allows for seamless transfers, centers support for students within their home community, and remedies critical shortages of workers in select disciplines, most notably education. “We are saving students tuition dollars and time by outlining what they need to take at San Juan College to transfer into our programs,” said Dr. Patti West-Okiri, who is WNMU Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs. This so-called 2+2 program empowers students to complete two years at the community college then matriculate for their final two years at WNMU. “The goal is to make it so that students don’t repeat content or don’t take more classes than necessary to attain a bachelor’s degree,” Dr. West-Okiri said. The first round of programs for SJC students looking toward enrolling at WNMU include natural sciences, business, psychology, social sciences and education, an area in crisis that both...

The Western New Mexico University Department of Cultural Affairs has been approved for a $15,000 Grants for Arts Projects award to support ¡Fiesta Latina! The WNMU Cultural Affairs signature event is a celebration of our region’s Latin American heritage, customs and traditions often includes traditional children’s activities, a tequila tasting, a charro show, and a juried artisan mercado featuring the traditional folk-art of 30 artisans from across Mexico and the U.S. ¡Fiesta Latina! is among 24 projects in New Mexico and 1,248 across America totaling $28,840,000 that were selected to receive this first round of fiscal year 2022 funding in the Grants for Arts Projects category. “The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support arts projects like this one from Western New Mexico University that help support the community’s creative economy,” said NEA Acting Chair Ann Eilers. “WNMU Cultural Affairs in Silver City New Mexico is among the arts organizations...

“When I first heard of the 'Hope' project, for some reason I thought of a poem that I wrote a couple years ago,” said WNMU fine art and graphic design student Felix S. Gutierrez. “I took heavy inspiration from the poem, integrating its ideas in my ceramic piece ‘Many Pathways.’” The poem was also his muse for in the digital art piece “New Beginning,” which depicts a journey to find a brighter day through spirituality. "But I invite the viewer to interpret what type of journey that the people are going through,” Felix said. “The art piece displays how people have the capacity to help one another, no matter how risky it may be to find the right path. ’New Beginning’ reflects the spirituality experienced through people coming together and helping one another for a greater cause.” The original poem by Felix S. Gutierrez: There is a path placed at our feet we do not know what lies ahead but we bear the scars from what we had led. As we look forward, we see...