News

In analyzing this fall’s census data, Western New Mexico University found that the 10 percent drop in enrollment this year was largely due to the decrease in dual enrollment students. In examining the causes, WNMU found a correlation between the decline and the loss in qualified instructors, due to the Higher Learning Commission’s new accreditation requirements. Dual enrollment accounts for nearly eighty percent of WNMU’s drop in overall enrollment. “We’re down 324 undergraduate students. Of those, 247 are dual enrolled,” WNMU President Dr. Joseph Shepard said. Some WNMU faculty members who facilitated the 100-level courses taken by dual enrollment students no longer met the Higher Learning Commission’s Qualified Faculty Requirements. “We had to change how we vet the instructors for the program. A handful of them did not have the current qualifications to teach the courses for college credit,” Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management...

As a result of the Edwina & Charles Milner Women in the Arts lecture given by One Million Bones founder Naomi Natale and project manager Susan McAllister at Western New Mexico University in late September, the One Million Bones project found a permanent home. Moved by the lecture and inspired by the project, the partners in Bear Mountain Arts (John McNulty, Jeff Brown, Tom and Sharon Dukes, Diane Fisher, Linda Brewer and John Rohovec) approached Natale and McAllister about moving their exhibit to Silver City. They offered to host One Million Bones in a permanent installation on location at Bear Mountain Lodge. During a tour of the acreage surrounding Bear Mountain Lodge, Natale and McAllister came upon a wide meadow, surrounded by trees and bisected by a seasonal creek. The women said the site immediately spoke to the vision they held for a permanent resting place for the bones. “Our vision for this permanent installation was that these bones, if you were to come upon...

In his coverage of GLAM week, Eric Lowe, editor of The Mustang student newspaper, wrote about Dr. Alice Driver’s presentation “Reporting on LGBTQ Migrants in Central America,” which she gave in Light Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 10. Driver spoke about the courage and struggle of LGBTQ migrants, particularly those she has encountered in her latest project in San Salvador, the world’s most dangerous city. “Driver’s mission was to chronicle the struggles of the trans gender migrants in Central America. While people who identify as trans can often face their own struggles in the United States, things are far worse for those in San Salvador,” Eric wrote. “In the Latin American countries, trans people, specifically women, are not accepted, being denied even the most institutional of rights such as employment, healthcare and even education. Driver said that while trans women struggled merely to exist in that society, trans men more or less went unperceived, receiving the same...

New Mexico International Trade Expert Jerry Pacheco with The International Business Accelerator will give a free presentation to Western New Mexico University students and the public on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at the Light Hall Theater. The seminar will cover destinations for New Mexico’s exports, New Mexico’s ports of entry, trade with Mexico, recent developments and trade leads, among other topics. “Jerry Pacheco promotes businesses in Mexico and the U.S. so has a lot of knowledge about the bi-national relationships, particularly in trade. He is a board member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ El Paso Branch and advocates for economic growth in New Mexico,” said organizer Francisca Reyes, Assistant Professor of Economics in the WNMU School of Business. The presentation is organized by WNMU School of Business and Delta Mu Delta as part of the department’s lecture series, and it is open to the public. “We are inviting members of the...

Registration for Western New Mexico University’s Spring 2018 semester opened this week, and many students have already secured their class schedules. “It seemed like we had students in our office registering for classes all day long on Monday,” Director of Admission Matthew Lara said. “I was happy to see so many students getting an early start on spring registration.” The WNMU Admissions Office encourages those who haven’t yet registered to do so soon. The term begins Tuesday, Jan. 16, and ends Thursday, May 10. The deadline to register and add, drop or change classes is Jan. 22. But due to course rotation, the key to enrolling in classes that count toward students’ majors is being at the front of the line. “Students who register early are more likely to succeed and graduate on time,” said Devin Stroman, the Office of Admissions and Recruitment Student Services Coordinator. It is also important that undergraduate, new and transfer students meet with...

Six Western New Mexico University students enrolled in applied technology programs received scholarships from the Southwest New Mexico Home Builders Association. The awards ceremony took place earlier this month during a luncheon on the WNMU campus. Shyla McBride, Luke Vega, Wellington Woodward and Wesley Lamb each earned a $250 check, while Charles “Clay” Rice and Gilberto Barrios Jr. each received $500. The scholarship recipients are all WNMU freshmen who attended Grant County high schools, except Wellington Woodward, who attends both Silver High School and WNMU as a dual enrollment student. Five are pursuing Welding Technology, while the other is in Electrical Technology. Rice graduated from Cliff High School and started on the Welding Technology track through WNMU’s dual enrollment program, which offers high school students an opportunity to begin their post-secondary educations while still in high school. “My grandpa was a welder, and my uncle’s a welder. I...

Western New Mexico University signed agreements with four universities, including Universidad Tecnológica de Paquimé and Universidad de Occidente, during the First International Meeting of Universities on campus last week. WNMU also signed letters of intent with 13 other universities, including Universidad Technológica de Cuidad Juarez and Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, during the two-day convention. Organized by WNMU Language Institute Director Manuel Rodriguez, the First International Meeting of Universities spanned Oct. 12 and 13 and included institutions from both Mexico and Costa Rica. “For the first time ever, the WNMU Division of External Affairs welcomed seventeen universities for the purpose of collaborating and growing together in mutual interests,” Rodriguez said. With the aim of supporting WNMU’s efforts to launch an ecotourism program, the event featured seminars focused on educational tourism industry opportunities both locally and in Latin...

The Western New Mexico University Board of Regents renewed President Joseph Shepard’s employment contract at a special meeting in Silver City on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017. The board unanimously voted to approve President Shepard’s new contract, extending his term of employment through June 30, 2021, while adding performance incentives for five annual objectives. “Of my eight years on the board, this contract has been one of the most thought-about items. A great amount of work went into it,” said Board President Jerry A. Walz, Esq. Regents present included Walz; Board Vice President Janice Baca-Argabright; Regent Member Carl Foster, Ph.D.; and Student Regent Arlean Murillo. Regent Dan Salzwedel, Ph.D., was unable to attend the meeting, but Foster shared a statement of Salzwedel’s support for the new contract. The board analyzed contracts and benefits packages from other universities in New Mexico and institutions in surrounding states. “We must remain in the...

Western New Mexico University students will have a couple opportunities to learn about some of the institution’s departments and officially declare their majors at upcoming Declare Your Major events. The School of Education scheduled a Declare Your Major Night in the Intramural Gym on Tuesday, October 24, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The Humanities and Business departments set their Fall Carnival Declare Your Major Night for Wednesday, October 25, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the parking lot between Hunter and Bowden halls. The School of Education’s event is “for all undeclared students in the university at large or for prospective students,” according to Dr. Trinidad Tolar, who headed the organizing committee. Students can hear from School of Education alumni and engage in activities related to subjects like math, early childhood, reading, art and psychology. Computer-equipped kiosks will be set up in the gym, so students can register for classes or declare their...