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Western New Mexico University will honor its fall 2021 graduates with a hybrid commencement ceremony on Friday, December 10, at 2 p.m. WNMU is again giving graduates and guests the option of participating virtually or in person at the WNMU Fine Arts Center Theatre. Of the nearly 350 diplomas that WNMU will award to 316 students completing their programs this fall, 95 are master’s, 128 are bachelor’s and 42 are associate degrees, along with 56 graduate certificates, 20 fast-track certificates, and five certificates. Just over 110 of the fall degree recipients are opting to participate in the graduation ritual in person, while almost 80 are choosing to participate from afar. The WNMU fall 2021 commencement ceremony will now take place in campus’ largest indoor venue, the Fine Arts Center Theatre, where graduates and attendees alike will be required to wear masks in accordance with state and university health protocols. While the in-person portion of the ceremony was...

Western New Mexico University President Dr. Joseph Shepard created a new division of Compliance and Communications, announcing that Julie Morales would head it as a vice president. Promoted from Chief of Staff after nearly three decades of services at WNMU, Morales will oversee the division, which will contain the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the Office of Marketing and Communications and will manage the university ombuds, legal matters, governmental liquor licenses, and Inspection of Public Records Act requests. Additional areas under this new division at WNMU will be Accessibility Support Services, Mimbres Press and the New Mexico Basic Economic Development...

The local community is invited to the campus of Western New Mexico University for the annual holiday tradition known as Jingle & Mingle on Friday, December 3, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Themed Candy Cane Lane this year, Jingle & Mingle hosts an evening of children’s crafts and games, live music, sparkling winter decorations, warm beverages and sweet treats hosted by WNMU Cultural Affairs. Jingle & Mingle Down Candy Cane Lane will be held in Regents Square, which will become a winter wonderland with a dozen Christmas trees and other Yuletide displays. “Celebrating the season in a safe, festive outdoor environment gives the people of Southwest New Mexico a chance to get into the holiday spirit and enjoy each other’s company,” said WNMU Cultural Affairs Program Coordinator Alexandra Tager. “There will be plenty of photo ops for families, so come gather the family around our 15-foot Christmas Tree, or one of the many giant inflatables, for that special holiday...

Presenting at IV Congreso Internacional de Ciencias Administrativas this week were Dr. Miguel A. Vicéns, who is Associate Dean of the Western New Mexico University School of Business and an associate professor of finance, and Dr. Gordon Flanders, who is the MBA Program Director and Assistant Professor of Marketing in the WNMU School of Business. Dr. Vicéns presented “The Challenges of Business Administration in the New Worldwide Landscape for Higher Education,” while Dr. Flanders addressed the question “How Does International Trade Affect Your Life?” The virtual conference held by and for the University of Sonora, which is a close partner with...

WNMU student nurses witnessed and immediately acted to assist those involved in a rollover accident on Silver City’s 32nd Street last week. Student nurses Zaige Perry, Samantha Corral and Lisa Uzueta said they are thankful for the experience they’ve learned from in the WNMU School of Nursing, which prepared them to stay cool and collected while assessing the patients and providing a report to the emergency medical responders who arrived on scene later. The Level III nursing students had just finished volunteering at the COVID-19 vaccine clinic at Gila Regional Medical Center when their senses alerted them to something that wasn’t quite right across the street. “I saw a car. It didn’t look normal. It was riding on this fence and I saw the car roll under the fence,” Perry said. That’s when their training kicked in. So far this semester, they’ve learned through a dozen simulations with high-fidelity manikins that simulation lab coordinator Lorenzo Saenz...

Paige Pinto earned her bachelor’s in accounting from the WNMU School of Business in May and is enrolled in our MBA program now. The Native New Mexican from the fourth corners region started at WNMU directly after graduating from high school. “For me, at first going to college meant getting away from home — just like any other 17- or 18-year-old. As a Native, though, whether a person is successful in college depends on having financial and interpersonal support,” she said. At WNMU, Paige was able to access the necessary support, earning WNMU Foundation private scholarships designated for Native American students, getting hired for student worker positions, and building relationships with mentors and advisors. Paige worked in the WNMU Museum, stepped up to lead the university’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, served as the chapter president of Delta Mu Delta International Honor Society, and recently began a graduate assistantship with the MBA program director....

This fall, Yen Chu received a Student Research and Professional Development funding award to aid her in creating an undergraduate branch of Mimbres Press at WNMU. “An undergraduate arm of Mimbres Press at WNMU will increase opportunities for students to gain experience in skills like editing, modifying their own work, and getting their own work published,” she said. Appointed as a member of the Mimbres Press advisory board in May 2021, Chu was tasked with spearheading the undergraduate branch with the assistance of fellow student Katie DeLong and under the guidance of WNMU Humanities professors Kate Oubre and Dr. Heather Steinmann. “The SRPD grant was given to me because I wanted to give a couple of students an incentive to work with me as editors. Katie is my first ‘hire,’” Chu said. As the ambassador-at-large and chief editor, Chu is currently calling for students to submit their work for possible publication and apply to become student editors. “I want to...