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At the conclusion of Western New Mexico University’s 25th annual basic rural economic development course last week, students presented prescriptive economic development strategies for three New Mexico communities — Doña Ana, Sierra and San Juan counties — to three of the top economic development minds in the state, who were hypothetically seeking to underwrite the implementation of these plans. Using real data, the students assessed each communities’ strengths, needs and estimated what it would take to bring the necessary number of jobs to completely wipe out unemployment and boost the economy overall in their respective communities. Their presentations are archived here. The group assigned to assess Doña Ana County wrote a jobs-focused plan to enhance and strengthen the economy over ten years. They guessed the county would need to add 14,115 jobs to sustain growth in a decade and assessed that the county will likely get a majority of those jobs from the employer...

Laurie Ware, a graduate of Western New Mexico University’s Elementary Education program, was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and traveled to Central Asia with three professors and 11 other secondary teachers from New Mexico and Arizona this summer. Ware wrote an extended curriculum unit for an English Language Arts workshop that she brought back to the States and will implement in her New Mexico classroom. “I will also be creating a module to expose my students to the Kazakh language,” she said. In addition, Ware took close-up pictures of her students’ faces as well as portraits of students in the villages along the Silk Road. “Some scholars believe that the Navajo people may originate from a mountain region in Mongolia and think that many native people in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan look similar to Navajo people,” Ware said. Her goal is to have her students write narratives based on these comparisons. Her superintendent recommended she apply for the...

Western New Mexico University Assistant Professor of Philosophy & English Dr. Phillip W. Schoenberg was awarded a fellowship to attend National Endowment for the Humanities’ Summer Institute for College and University Faculty called Reviving Philosophy as a Way of Life this month. Hosted by Wesleyan University, the institute includes scholars from around the country who are interested in exploring proposals that philosophers and philosophic traditions have suggested for living well. About a quarter of those who applied were selected for this fellowship, and Dr. Schoenberg was chosen in part because of his role at New Mexico’s only public Applied Liberal Arts and Sciences university. He was hired at WNMU last fall in order to update the humanities curriculum and build a philosophy minor, which is important to WNMU as it builds an identity as a liberal arts institution. Dr. Shoenberg said the two-week summer institute is about teaching and sharing ideas to bring back to...

The Western New Mexico University School of Business has recently been granted Full Reaffirmation of Accreditation under the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). This is the third reaffirmation of the WNMU School of Business, and the accreditation runs for ten years. Associate Dean of the School of Business, Dr. Miguel Vicéns, attended the 30th Annual ACBSP conference to accept a certificate of WNMU’s accreditation and continue learning with School of Business faculty from all across the nation. “I am extremely happy to have achieved full reaffirmation of our accreditation. The ACBSP assures the quality of our degrees, as well as the international recognition of quality in our programs. As part of this reaffirmation, the School of Business has established a five-year strategic plan, a marketing plan, and an assessment plan to ensure continuity of quality programs,” Dr. Vicéns said. The ACBSP Baccalaureate/Graduate Degree Board of...

Western New Mexico University professor of sociology and Co-Director of the Center for Gender Equity and Social Justice, Dr. Emma Bailey, is currently a Fulbright Scholar and worked in Xalapa Veracruz, Mexico, for the spring 2018 semester. She formally taught two courses this past semester — U.S. Interventions in Central America and U.S. Cultural Regional Differences — and is teaching U.S. Latinos, a short course, in June. Dr. Bailey also gives presentations at the Universidad Veracruzana. Her speaking topics include “Donald Trump’s First Year of Government,” “Gender in Intercultural Communication” and “Being Feminist in the United States.” Dr. Bailey also participates in the International Relations Program and North American Studies at the university. International partnerships remain at the core of the Fulbright mission, and Dr. Bailey has worked with alongside Mexican students and faculty, not to mention the other Fulbright Scholars in Mexico. “I have...

In order to continue the progress being made on the campus underground utilities and College Avenue beautification project, College Avenue will be closed to all traffic just west of the Cooper Street intersection and just east of the D Street intersection. The closure begins Monday, June 11, and will remain in effect through the duration of the project. Traffic will be rerouted on 8th Street via Cooper Street (southbound) and Bayard Street (northbound) and via D Street, however the public should avoid the area while the project is underway. Access to the Student Memorial Building/Brancheau PE Complex/Light Hall/Castorena Hall/Felipe de Ortego y Gasca Cultural Center parking lot will be available through the west entrance, as the east entrance will remain closed until the project’s completion as well. The normally one-way exit will function as a two-way entrance and exit, so courtesy and caution should be exercised. During this road closure, the sidewalk is also closed to...

Western New Mexico University's artists-in-residence, Krissy Ramirez and Chelsea Boone, are opening their exhibit, "From Clay to Metal," with a reception on Wednesday, June 6. Both graduates of WNMU's Expressive Arts Department, they will discuss their work beginning at 5:30 p.m. The exhibit will hang through Friday, June 22. A clay artist, Ramirez' portion is a collection of 18- to 20-inch sculptural mannequins. "I call them my headless Barbies," she said. Raised in the border town of Douglas, Arizona, Ramirez struggled with body dysmorphia as a teen. "Making these unnatural-looking Barbies is a way to express how I felt about my experience and a way to raise awareness that many people go through that at some point. The bodies are headless so viewers can put their own faces on the sculptures," she said. "I thought that having this ideal body would help me be a better person so I could find a good male mate. Also, in the Mexican culture, appearance reigns. I'm trying to get away...

Western New Mexico University's second annual ¡Fiesta Latina! will run June 22 - 24, 2018, in Old James Stadium on campus. The mostly free event unites people and celebrates Latin culture through traditional activities, children's workshops, music and dance performances, a tequila tasting, and, for the first time ever this year, a film and discussion series, designed to give attendees a more in-depth understanding of the artisan process. "¡Fiesta Latina! gives people opportunities to explore new cultures and discover the beauty of ancient handcraft trades," said WNMU Assistant to the President for Cultural Affairs Faye McCalmont, who organizes the international festival. With Darren Cordova y Calor headlining the event and National Heritage Fellow Eva Ybarra, who is known as La Reina del Acordeón (The Queen of the Accordion), in the lineup, ¡Fiesta Latina! features ticketed evening concerts and several free live afternoon performances. ¡Fiesta Latina! also provides...

Western New Mexico University inducted four alumni into the School of Education's Hall of Fame this spring. Honored for their exceptional professional careers and for the care they showed their students, the 2018 recipients; were Daniel C. Castillo, '85, of Silver City; Shelby L. Alexander, '79, '81, of Grants; Arturo Perales, '74, '77, of El Paso, Texas; and Joe Edward Quintana, '85, '91, of Glendale, Ariz. "They exemplify dedication to something beyond self," WNMU President Dr. Joseph Shepard said of the inductees at the Hall of Fame luncheon on Friday, May 11. "This university has a long and proud tradition of preparing teachers, and this year's recipients represent the quality of educators WNMU produces," said Associate Dean of WNMU's School of Education Dr. Debra Dirksen. Castillo, a retired Silver High School math teacher, was recognized for 27 years of service, teaching, mentorship, leadership and advocacy. "In Mr. Castillo's classroom, students felt driven but...

The Western New Mexico University Board of Regents approved a number of changes to policy, promoted 20 faculty members, approved tenure for six faculty members, debated the methodology behind salary studies, granted emeritus status to six faculty and staff members, and also elected new officers during their meeting on campus Thursday, May 10, 2018. Regent Chair Jerry Walz; Regent Vice Chair Janice Baca-Argabright; Regents Dr. Dan Salzwedel and Dr. Carl Foster; and Student Regent Arlean Murillo were all in attendance in the seminar room of WNMU's Student Memorial Building. The regents heard the methodology behind and findings of the Faculty and Staff Salary and Benefits Committees' surveys and, in a four to 1 vote, approved their proposals, agreeing to use the committees' recommendations as guiding principles in the production and implementation of a revised salary process, scheduled to be enacted in 2019. Faculty salary advisor Dr. Steve Chavez said the Faculty Salary and...