News

Study Abroad: Critical Language Scholarship Program

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The CLS 2015 Application Is Now Available! Fill out an application at www.clscholarship.org/apply or find out more on our Information for Applicants page. Applications are due Wednesday, November 12, 2014 at 8:00 PM Eastern Time. About the Program The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program is a fully-funded overseas language and cultural immersion program for American undergraduate and graduate students. With the goal of broadening the base of Americans studying and mastering critical languages and building relationships between the people of the United States and other countries, CLS provides study opportunities to a diverse range of students from across the United States at every level of language learning. The CLS Program is a program of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Languages Offered The CLS Program is part of a U.S. government effort to expand dramatically the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign...
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Bond C Passage Will Benefit University Museum Infrastructure

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The University Museum is one of three campus buildings that will benefit from the $6 million in funding of General Obligation Bond C is approved by voters on November 4. About $3.8 million will be used to install climate control (humidity/ventilation/air conditioning/heating) and fire suppression systems and for upgrades to the existing security system. Climatic control and fire suppressions are critical to improving environmental conditions to enhance visitor learning and researcher experiences and collections preservation, ensuring visitor and staff safety, and reducing potential loss of or damage to irreplaceable objects and a historic structure that are part of our collective history. “The visitor experience will be dramatically improved with these important upgrades,” said Dr. Cynthia Ann Bettison, University Museum Director. “We are excited that it will be air conditioned and properly heated for the first time in the building’s nearly 100 year...
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AmBank Donates Billboard Use For Bond C Campaign

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AmBank, soon to known as First American Bank, has once again partnered with Western New Mexico University in promoting the statewide General Obligation Bond C campaign. AmBank temporarily donated the use of its billboard on Highway 180 for the use of promoting the campaign. The billboard features artwork and messaging similar to other billboards across the state with Bond C information describing the estimated 1,400 jobs and $139 million in infrastructure funding to colleges and universities in New Mexico that will occur if a majority of voter’s approve the bond’s passage on November 4. “We are glad to support Western New Mexico University,” said Mike Trujillo, AmBank President. “We are supportive of Bond C and getting information out there about the campaign.” With voter approval, WNMU will receive $6 million in funding that will benefit technology updates to Light Hall, renovation of Fleming Hall and planning money for future improvements to Harlan...
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GO Bond C: Our Region’s Future

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This fall, voters in our region will go to the polls to cast their ballots for everything from who will be our governor to who will represent our community in the state Legislature. One of the most important questions facing our community this year will be the statewide higher education bond referendum -- General Obligation Bond C. This year’s General Obligation Bond C (also referred to as GO Bond C) will ask voters to set aside more than $139 million for nearly every public college and university in the state. If passed, this year’s GO Bond will allocate $6 million to Western New Mexico University which will be used to finish the renovation of Light Hall, add needed fire suppression and HVAC systems to the WNMU Museum, and provide planning money to begin the renovation of our science building, positively impacting our students and our region. Should the GO Bond C pass, it will NOT increase your property taxes. What it will do is create jobs and boost our local economy. The...
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Take Back The Night Event To Focus On Sexual Violence

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Western New Mexico University is partnering with several community organizations to participate in Take Back The Night, a nationwide event focusing on eliminating sexual violence. Set to take place on Tuesday, October 28, Take Back The Night will include guest speakers and a march through historic Downtown Silver City. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Student Memorial Center patio where the march will begin. The march will proceed down College Avenue and through Broadway and Bullard Streets. At the end of the march will be guest speakers, a photo booth, food and prizes. Take Back The Night is sponsored by The Center For Gender Equity, El Refugio and Silver Regional Sexual Assault Support Services. More information is available by contacting...
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WNMU To Open State’s First Center For Gender Equity

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Western New Mexico University has a new initiative called The Center For Gender Equity. It is the first center focusing on all genders on a college campus in New Mexico and its opening marks another step in making the WNMU campus an open and diverse community for students. The new Center will have a ribbon cutting and open house on Thursday, October 30 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Located on 1211 Mississippi Street, The Center will be the home of programs and initiatives celebrating gender and sexual identity diversity and inclusion for students at WNMU. “We are focused on students having a safe area to do work and study without them feeling like they are judged for anything,” said Marilynn Grijalva, a junior from Douglas, Arizona. Grijalva is one of five students working for The Center and developing programs such as the National Coming Out Day that took place on October 9. “I think a lot of students will open up their minds,” said Grijalva. “They are sometimes...
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UACJ Officials Visit WNMU, Sign Agreement With Language Institute

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Officials from the Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez (UACJ), a university located in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico; visited the Silver City campus on Friday, October 17 to sign an agreement with Western New Mexico University’s Language Institute. Both universities previously signed a Memorandum of Agreement in June during a visit by WNMU officials to the UACJ campus. “We have signed a couple of agreements and we are here to put it into action, to bring new ideas forward, and to go further in developing our partnership,” said Deirdre Dazan, UACJ Director of International Relations. At least 17 UACJ officials met in Silver City with faculty and staff members representing several academic areas including education, social work, nursing, business, occupational therapy and Spanish. The meeting was designed to create dialog among representatives from both universities specific to the disciplines which both see as areas of opportunities for exchanges among faculty and...
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GO Bond C Will Provide $6 Million In Funding

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General Obligation Bond C Will Provide $6 Million In Funding To WNMU For Infrastructure Updates   Bond Money Will Help Fund Higher Education Without Raising Property Taxes While Creating Jobs  Silver City, NM – This fall voters in Grant County will have the opportunity to invest in the state’s public colleges and universities without any increase to their property taxes. General Obligation Bond C (also referred to as GO Bond C) proposes a total of $139,755,000 for New Mexico’s public colleges and universities, of which $6 million will be allocated to Western New Mexico University. These funds will be used to improve and upgrade the university’s main campus in Silver City. These voter-approved projects create new jobs in Grant County, all without increasing property taxes. Voter approved GO Bond C funding is the only source of funding for many New Mexico-based public colleges and universities. Many institutions use GO Bond C as an opportunity to repair and...
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Regents Approve President’s Contract, New Master’s Program

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The Board of Regents met on Tuesday, October 14 and approved two agenda items with unanimous votes. Regents voted to begin the process of introducing a new Master of Science degree in Clinical Nurse Leadership. Administered by the School of Nursing, the new graduate program will be the first such program in the state of New Mexico. Courses will be administered through a partnership with New Mexico State University and the University of New Mexico. “We have had tremendous support from the community, including HMS (Hidalgo Medical Services),” said Dr. Sherry Bassi, associate professor of nursing. “The program is completely online and includes 400 to 500 hours of clinical immersion.” The Board also approved a new four-year contract for President Joseph Shepard. The contract extends the President’s tenure through June 30, 2018. A long list of community leaders attended the meeting and spoke in favor of President Shepard’s performance since his appointment in...
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Annual MLK Day Event To Include Essay Competition For Area School Students

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Students of all ages in the Grant County, Luna County and Hidalgo County school districts are invited to participate in an essay contest titled “The Dream: What It Means To Me”. Essay participants will be celebrated along with other special guests at the annual Martin Luther King Jr Day celebration on Monday, January 19 on the Western New Mexico University campus. For the high school division, a panel of submission readers will select one student participant to receive a paid semester of tuition to WNMU. High school entries should be a minimum of three paragraphs in length. Essays should address what the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. means to the student. Essay writers from the elementary and middle school levels should submit essays that are a minimum of one paragraph in length. These essays should also address the meaning of the Martin Luther King Jr legacy to each writer. Essays can be written in any language. Entry deadline is December 1. All entries will be...
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