News

Mario LaFragola, the Business Advisor at Western New Mexico University's Deming Small Business Development Center, was recognized last week as New Mexico's Financial Services Champion by the U.S. Small Business Administration New Mexico District Office. The award was presented at Albuquerque's Sandia Golf Club last week during a breakfast ceremony hosted by the Small Business Administration, the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce and the New Mexico Small Business Development Center Network. "I think that the award is reflective of the network working as a team. I try to take the knowledge I have and share it through the network to help everyone get money, and that's what most of our clients need," LaFragola said. "By working together, we can do so much." "The New Mexico Financial Services Champion Award is a well-deserved honor for Mario LaFragola, who provides financial advice to entrepreneurs and small business in this area," said Dr. Miguel A. Vicéns, Associate Dean...

Western New Mexico University President Dr. Joseph Shepard will meet with His Majesty Chitimukulu Sosala Kanyanta Manga II, the king of Zambia's largest ethnic group, on Wednesday, May 9, 2018, in Albuquerque. Along with Western New Mexico University's Board of Regents Chairperson, Jerry Walz, they will discuss international educational issues and the possibility of Western New Mexico University providing higher education to the 6 million Bemba-speaking people of the south-central African nation of Zambia. The meeting is a result of ongoing conversation between representatives of Manga II and WNMU, who have discussed WNMU's online offerings and are considering the potential for Zambian students to enroll in classes at the university's main campus in Silver City. "We are looking forward to a very productive meeting that, we envision, may benefit Western New Mexico University and provide higher educational opportunities to the people of Zambia," President Shepard said. Walz...

The 265 Western New Mexico University students who are walking in the Spring 2018 commencement ceremony on Friday, May 11, 2018, will hear from Antonia Coello Novello, who is a medical doctor and holds a master's in public health as well as a doctorate in public health, and who was the first female and first Hispanic U.S. Surgeon General. Graduation takes place in Old James Stadium starting at 2 p.m. It will also be live-streamed online. For guests who have limited mobility, a wheelchair-accessible area will be reserved at the top of the stairs in Old James Stadium. The Puerto Rico-born commencement speaker has a bachelor's and a medical doctorate from the University of Puerto Rico, and Dr. Novello served a pediatric internship and residency at the University of Michigan, completing her subspecialty training in pediatric nephrology at University of Michigan and Georgetown University. Dr. Novello also received both a master's and a doctorate in public health from Johns...

During their meeting in Albuquerque on Friday, April 27, 2018, the Western New Mexico University Board of Regents voted to grant New Mexico Lt. Governor John Sanchez an Honorary Doctorate degree at this spring's commencement ceremony. They also unanimously approved the 2018-2019 Budget, the Final Budget Adjustment Request and the Quarter 3 Financial Actions Report and revised both the 2018-19 Tuition document and the Capital Projects Transmittal for Underground Utilities that were presented at the last meeting. Regent Chair Jerry Walz and Student Regent Arlean Murillo were joined by regents Janice Baca-Argabright, Dan Salzwedel and Carl Foster at Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town, while others phoned in from campus in Silver City. When the regents voted to give Lt. Governor Sanchez an honorary doctorate degree, Western New Mexico University President Dr. Joseph Shepard said, "This degree is equally an honor for Western as it is for him." Shepard described instances when Lt....

Western New Mexico University was recently host to a post-doctoral researcher from Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon in Monterrey, Mexico. Rosa Maria Cruz Castruita, Ph.D., wrapped up her first of three short residencies in Silver City this week. She and Dr. Takahiro Sato, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology at Western New Mexico University, are collaborating on articles during each of her visits. "This month, we wrote an article about the effect of physical activity on the physical condition and psychologic condition of adults, specifically seniors," said Cruz, whose doctoral thesis is centered around why people do or don't exercise. Cruz and Sato's research overlaps. In Mexico, she studied one group of two dozen adults over six weeks, administering an exercise program throughout the research period then measuring their physical condition afterward. Sato conducted a similar exercise program with a smaller group of seniors in Silver City, also testing the participants' fitness...

The Mustang Editor Eric Lowe previewed a living history presentation that the WNMU History Program is hosting in partnership with the New Mexico Japanese American Citizens League. Below is an abbreviated version of his article, but you can read the full piece on The Mustang and learn more about the event here. The New Mexico Japanese American Citizens League will perform "Nisei, The Greatest Generation: Soldiers, Protesters & Prisoners of WW II" at Light Hall Auditorium on Saturday, April 28, beginning at 1 p.m. "Nisei, The Greatest Generation" presents authentic stories of the American-born sons and daughters of Japanese immigrants who grew up during the Great Depression and reached maturity during World War II, serving their country as soldiers, protesters of internment, and survivors of a mass incarceration by their government. The 90-minute program, hosted by Western New Mexico University's Social and Cultural Sciences, will cover three historic events, focusing on the...

The Western New Mexico University Friends of Clay and the Institute for Rural Social Work Research are collaborating on the Barbara Peppey Memorial Plants People and Pots Project to bring potted plants to area assisted living facility residents in memory of former School of Social Work faculty member Barbara Peppey. To kick off the project and remember its namesake, the groups will hold a brief ceremony on campus Thursday, April 19, at 3 p.m. They will unveil an Arizona Sycamore and a memorial plaque in honor of Peppey then enjoy light refreshments. The ceremony will take place on the eastern side of the parking lot adjacent to the university's ceramics studio near the Mustang tennis courts. Before her tragic death in 2016, Barbara Peppey was an avid potter at the university's ceramics program amd a Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Rural Social Work Research, an independent not-for-profit corporation informally affiliated with Western New Mexico University. As a...

A Deming family recently opened an endowed scholarship in memory of Alma Barr Feil, who was a passionate nurse and an involved community member over her 61 years in Luna County. The Alma Feil, RN, Scholarship, was established with the Western New Mexico University Foundation in mid-April and will benefit Deming High School graduates enrolled at WNMU with plans to enter the medical field. Paul Feil founded the Alma Feil, RN, Scholarship to honor his late wife's legacy. "Her life was about giving to others. Her efforts made the community a better place to live, something we hope to continue doing in Deming with this scholarship," he said. The Missouri native earned her nursing diploma from the St. Louis City Hospital Program then met and married medical intern, Paul "P.A." Feil, moving to California with him. In 1950, Alma and P.A. put down their roots Deming, where her love of family, people, community and culture flourished. While her husband and family were Alma's priorities,...

Western New Mexico University's Great Race will run April 15 - 21, 2018. With events on every day of the week, this university tradition will again unite students in competition and promote comradery among Mustangs and the Silver City community in its 51st year. The event concludes Saturday with a public festival in Old James Stadium and the spectator-friendly race. Great Race began in the spring of 1967 when a few students wanted to get out of their residence halls to do something exciting. That first year, they raced down Rhoda Road on bed mattresses, according to legend. The following year, they formalized the race, creating teams and - inspired by the Indiana 500 - encouraging students to build their own cars. Now organized by the Mustang Entertainment, Western New Mexico University's student programming board, Great Race has grown into a colossal demonstration of school spirit over several activity-packed days. Highlights include the long-beloved King of the Mountain...

Last week, five young entrepreneurs from Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua visited Western New Mexico University to learn about growing a business from the ground up. With the help of Western New Mexico University's newly launched Studio G, a business incubator site and free virtual hub for students and recent grads, the students learned how to turn their big ideas into viable businesses.   "Last week, we helped these students begin their journeys to business ownership and start preparing for some of entrepreneurship's most common challenges," said Assistant Professor of Management Dr. David Scarborough, who is championing Studio G at Western New Mexico University.   To excite and empower young entrepreneurs, Western New Mexico University's School of Business became a Studio G site under New Mexico State University's Arrowhead Center and is now helping local businesses start and grow. The virtual space for student entrepreneurs is meant to rear small business and...