News

Western New Mexico University initiated a marketing campaign in August 2015 that recently earned recognition by a national higher education marketing agency. Two awards were given to WNMU by the Higher Education Marketing Report for the university’s marketing campaign including a Merit Award for its “Be Here” campaign and a Bronze Award for the Homecoming 2015 t-shirt design.   “We’ve had many long nights of planning and discussing what approach to take to communicate to our prospective students,” said Alvaro Nunez, WNMU Marketing Coordinator. “We are starting to see the effectiveness of the campaign and are happy to be recognized with these awards.” WNMU initiated the campaign in August to targeted groups throughout the southwest. The campaign focuses on traditional students graduating from high school and community college students looking to transfer to a four-year university. Campaign artwork is featured on brochures, billboards and airports in New Mexico,...

Students graduating in the Expressive Arts Department will be showcasing artwork in the end-of-semester exhibition at McCray Gallery. The public is invited to an opening reception on Friday, April 8 at 4:30 p.m. Seven students will be showcasing work in different mediums including sculpture, photography, drawing, painting, printmaking and new media. Students graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree will give artist talks at 5:30 p.m. Graduating students showcasing work include Chelsea Boone, Jennifer Castanon, Dana Farr, Laurie Ford, Carmen Ruiz, Casney Tadeo and Christopher Theulen. The exhibit will be on display through the commencement ceremony on Friday, May...

Tony Award winning playwright and distinguished NMSU Professor Mark Medoff has once again chosen a graduate student work to direct. Every year Medoff takes submissions from current and former students, all entering their scripts for a chance to work with the well-known director and see their work come to life. This year the script called I, Custer written by Neal Adelman was chosen. The Las Cruces Community Theatre presented I, Custer in March to rave reviews and now the play will come to Silver City at the Webb Theater on the campus of Western New Mexico University for one night only on Saturday, April 9 at 7:30 p.m. WNMU Associate Professor Ann Marie Elder served as the Production Stage Manager and Sound Designer for the production in Las Cruces and is now bringing the play to the Silver City community. A $10 donation is suggested with free admission to WNMU students. Adelman was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas and now lives in Las Cruces. He writes plays and short...

Birds of Chicago, a collective based around JT Nero and Allison Russell, will appear at Little Toad Creek, in historic downtown Silver City, on Friday, April 8 at 8:00 p.m. The band’s music is described as having echoes of mountain gospel, street corner doo-wop and classical soul. Born in 2012, Birds of Chicago has released three albums. Recently featured on NPR’s Morning Edition, the group is currently on its album release tour, showcasing songs from its recently released Real Midnight. The group tours 200 nights per year and has developed a fervent following in southwest New Mexico having previously performed for the annual Pickamania! festival hosted by the Mimbres Region Arts Council. Group members describe their music as secular gospel and NPR’s recent review added that the new album shows “us a way to fully live with the awareness that nothing’s forever and everything’s at stake.” The Office of Cultural Affairs is sponsoring the event in an effort to...

Western New Mexico University is appearing at the top of several online lists for academic quality and outdoor setting. College Value Online ranked WNMU fifth in its top lists of most affordable hottest desert colleges. The website describes WNMU as a perfect college for students in search of a friendly small town. Also noted are the wilderness opportunities with the main campus located at the doorstep of the Gila National Forest. “There is no other university in the country that has the advantage of having access to the rich educational resources of the Gila,” said Abe Villarreal, WNMU Director of Communications. TopEducationDegrees.org ranked WNMU as one of the 50 most affordable small colleges offering a master degree in education. Ranked at number 32, the website’s editors noted that graduate students at WNMU enjoy one-on-one mentorship and individual attention from faculty. WNMU offers the Master of Arts in Teaching degree for teachers already in the classroom,...

Residents living in Lordsburg are now better connected to the world with the addition of several computer stations at the Lordsburg-Hidalgo County Library. Western New Mexico University and Power New Mexico (PNM) partnered with the City of Lordsburg to provide five desktop computers, a printer and scanner for public use. Prior to March 4, 2016, only one computer was available to the entire Lordsburg community. “People of all backgrounds and needs come into the library that need a computer,” said Christina Salinas, Library Director. “Students do research, people apply for jobs and visitors print out bus passes.” Before the addition of the new computers, library visitors had to make appointments to use the single computer station, and they were limited to one-hour use per patron. “We have more than doubled the use of computers since March 4,” said Salinas. Built in 1937, the Lordsburg Hidalgo County Library building is a registered historic building. Wi-Fi...

Western New Mexico University’s nationally recognized School of Nursing is growing its bachelor’s degree program in nursing (BSN), working to better prepare nurses for healthcare careers. ­ More than 40 students are admitted each year into the School of Nursing, which has been offering an associate degree program since 1988. Students traditionally become nurses after graduating from the associate degree program and passing a licensure exam. The new focus is to graduate nurses with a bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN), better preparing them for a career in nursing and transitioning into administrative roles. “Large cities and major hospitals are not hiring associate degree prepared nurses,” said John Scarbrough, School of Nursing Associate Dean. “With a bachelor’s degree you can work anywhere.” WNMU is one of only three state-supported institutions offering the pre-licensure Baccalaureate in Nursing (BSN) program in New Mexico, out of 26 total pre-licensure...

Community members with disabilities in the Silver City area will be participating in Hoops 4 Hope, an afternoon of indoor games hosted by Western New Mexico University, on Monday, March 21 at 6:00 p.m. in the Intramural Gym. The fourth annual event is open to any member of the community with a learning or physical disability. Those wishing to attend will receive a free t-shirt and a pizza dinner. “This is one of our favorite events to host on campus,” said Abe Villarreal, WNMU Director of Communications. “It is important for our student body to interact with this special community of people that teach us so much about themselves and ourselves.” The goal of the annual event is to accomplish four hopes: a hope to bring students together to learn about people with disabilities, a hope to build common ground among different people through athletics, a hope to have students feel comfortable with people of different backgrounds, and a hope to learn more about how we...

Students and faculty of Western New Mexico University’s clay Expressive Arts Department will hold the 11th Annual Friends of Clay Pottery Sale on Saturday, March 19, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at 208 N. Bullard in downtown Silver City, next door to the Pink Store. The sale will feature an expansive selection of pottery and clay art works donated by current and former WNMU clay students, faculty, and professional potters. All proceeds from the sale will be used for the benefit of WNMU’s clay program. Sponsored by “Friends of Clay,” the annual pottery sales have grown in size each year since 2005, and have been an astounding success. Funds raised by the group are used to enhance and promote ceramics and the WNMU clay program through the offering of lectures, workshops, trips, scholarships, as well as assisting in the purchase of equipment and supplies for the university clay studio. A main attraction of the annual sales has been the wide variety of clay works offered,...

First grade students at Harrison Schmitt Elementary School are already thinking about attending college and Western New Mexico University officials are welcoming them 11 years before they graduate high school. Students in Mrs. Denise Ruelaz’ first grade class were recently given Letters of Acceptance by WNMU President Joseph Shepard along with university paraphernalia, in an effort to welcome the Class of 2031. The acceptance ceremony took place in Mrs. Ruelaz’ class on Friday. Mrs. Ruelaz and her teacher’s aid Mrs. Castillo are both alumni of WNMU. They decorated their class in purple and gold, and asked their students to wear Mustang shirts. “WNMU means so much to me and my family,” said Mrs. Castillo, who organized the event to teach her students the importance of attending college. “I let my kids know that they didn’t have an option and they had to attend college after high school.” Castillo graduated from WNMU and her three children are currently...