The fifth annual Aggie Shark Tank, sponsored by the Hunt Center for Entrepreneurship and hosted by Arrowhead Center at New Mexico State University, will be held on Thursday, October 3 at the ASNMSU Center for the Arts, 1000 East University Avenue in Las Cruces.
The event allows NMSU student and alumni entrepreneurs to pitch their business ideas to local and national “sharks” for the chance to gain investment or other types of assistance to help their business grow.
“We’re grateful that there are leaders in business who are willing to share not only their financial investment in our students and alumni, but also crucial advice and connections from their years of experience,” said Carlos Murguia, Arrowhead Center’s Shark Tank manager.
Sisbarro appreciates seeing the new ideas that come out of students and alumni.
“Aggie Shark Tank is one of my favorite things to be involved with,” said Sisbarro. “Since its creation we’ve seen the program grow and the students’ new business ideas really grow and expand. It’s exciting to be a part of it and I look forward to this year’s Shark Tank experience.”
Aggie Shark Tank is open to the public from 4-6:30 p.m. with a reception to follow. Sharks are local investors and nationwide venture capitalists eager to see new businesses, and include Beto Pallares, fund manager of Arrowhead Innovation Fund; Samara Mejia Hernandez, founding partner of Chingona Ventures; Lou Sisbarro, cofounder of Sisbarro Dealerships; and Jason Torres, a healthcare angel investor.
While the audience is not solicited for investment of any kind, it’s a great way to watch and learn about new developments coming from student and alumni startup businesses, and join participants at the reception. Get your free tickets today by registering online.
Clarence Fielder, history professor emeritus at New Mexico State University and teacher in Las Cruces Public Schools for more than 50 years who died in 2015 was a much-loved educator.
He was also a passionate preservation advocate who led restoration efforts for Phillips Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal (C.M.E.), the first African American Church in Las Cruces.
Now Fielder’s own history will be preserved for future generations when his archive of papers, photographs and videos of his life and the restoration of Philips Chapel are donated to the City of Las Cruces Museum System.
Phillips Chapel Restoration Group will give a public presentation about his life at 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21 at the Branigan Cultural Center, 501 N. Main Street.
“Beyond his distinguished career as an educator and his role as a community leader, Clarence was the soul and guiding spirit of the project to restore the oldest extant African American church building in New Mexico,” said Beth O’Leary, NMSU anthropology professor
Late NMSU professor emeritus Clarence Fielder’s archive will be donated to the Las Cruces Museum System. Talk about his life, Phillips Chapel restoration will be presented at 3:30–4:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21 at the Branigan Cultural Center.
emerita who worked closely with Fielder on the restoration, which was completed in 2014. “Built in 1911, it also served as a school for Black children during the period of segregation in the Las Cruces Public Schools (1925 -1954).”
Fielder led NMSU faculty, students and community volunteers in restoration efforts Philips Chapel was founded by Fielder’s grandfather and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its significance to the African American Community. The church is located at 638 N. Tornillo Street.
“The Clarence H. Fielder Archive will preserve for posterity the record of Clarence’s life, the restoration of Phillips Chapel and the history of the African American Community of Las Cruces,” O’Leary said.
The New Mexico State University system has posted an increase in overall student enrollment numbers – the first such increase since 2010.
“We are very pleased with these topline results, and it clearly shows NMSU has stabilized enrollment and is poised for sustained growth,” said NMSU Chancellor Dan Arvizu. “It’s exciting to see so many students and their parents responding to NMSU’s strong appeal. In conversations with new students we consistently hear that they come here because they want a top-tier education with a highly diverse student body at one of the lowest costs in the nation. It’s a great time to be an NMSU Aggie.”
For fall 2019, the NMSU system’s unduplicated headcount was 24,041. NMSU’s Las Cruces campus had a total student headcount of 14,298 up from 2018. In addition, enrollment for NMSU’s Graduate School was also up, reversing a multiple year decline. Notably, NMSU’s community college enrollment also saw year-over-year increases particularly on the Doña Ana and Carlsbad campuses.
In the coming weeks, the university plans to continue analyzing enrollment data, particularly as it relates to student retention, diversity and social mobility.
“No single action made the difference. Instead, many small actions taken by so many people across our campuses to advance our student success goal is the story here,” said NMSU President John Floros. “That’s why it’s important for us to continue to monitor key metrics that drive performance in student success as part of our NMSU LEADS 2025 strategic plan.”
NMSU LEADS 2025 outlines student success and social mobility as its first goal. Objectives for this goal include diversifying, optimizing and increasing system-wide enrollment. Increasing student learning, retention and degree attainment are also priorities. Another key goal is ensuring that the university is fiscally responsible while keeping costs affordable for students.
The NMSU system includes its campuses in Las Cruces, Alamogordo, Carlsbad, Grants and around Doña Ana County.
According to the U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges for 2020 National Universities rankings, New Mexico State University has been recognized as a top tier university for the seventh time in the last eight years.
“Although it’s great to be recognized as a top tier institution, our goal is to become one of the best in the country when it comes to student success and social mobility, research and creativity, and community engagement,” said NMSU President John Floros. “The implementation of our new strategic plan, NMSU LEADS 2025, will assure that we improve in all these categories in the years ahead.”
This year, NMSU is tied for 263 with Old Dominion University, University of Alabama-Huntsville and others. NMSU ranks 134 in top public schools, tied for 134 in undergraduate engineering programs and tied for 195 in undergraduate business programs.
Additionally, NMSU ranks tied for 119 for top performers on social mobility, a new category, and 189 in ethnic diversity.
The methodology for the U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings is based on outcomes (35 percent), faculty resources (20 percent), expert opinion (20 percent), financial resources (10 percent), student excellence (10 percent) and alumni giving (five percent).
In the August issue of The Hispanic Outlook on Education Magazine, NMSU was recognized on the Top 100 Colleges and Universities for Hispanics list. NMSU ranked 48th in both total enrollment for four-year schools and total graduate degrees granted, master’s and doctoral degrees, using data from the Department of Education (2017).
Additionally, the 2019-2020 Center for World University Rankings rated NMSU in the top four percent of institutions of higher education worldwide. With 20,000 degree-granting institutions of higher education worldwide evaluated, this year NMSU ranked 783rd overall and earned a national rank of 187th.
For a complete list of the U.S. News & World Report rankings, along with the methodology, visit their website.
In the August issue of The Hispanic Outlook on Education Magazine, New Mexico State University has been recognized on the Top 100 Colleges and Universities for Hispanics list.
NMSU ranked 48th in both total enrollment for four-year schools and total graduate degrees granted, master’s and doctoral degrees, using data from the Department of Education (2017).
In 1989, NMSU was officially designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, and at that time at least 25 percent of undergraduate full-time students were Hispanic. As of fall 2018, 57 percent of the undergraduate full-time students at the Las Cruces campus are Hispanic.
Earlier this month, the 2019-2020 Center for World University Rankings rated NMSU in the top four percent of institutions of higher education worldwide.
With 20,000 degree-granting institutions of higher education worldwide evaluated, this year NMSU ranked 783rd overall and earned a national rank of 187th.
To view the Top 100 edition of Hispanic Outlook click here.
With increased popularity and usage of unmanned aerial systems, commonly referred to as drones, keeping the skies safe is critical. New Mexico State University is part of a team conducting testing to help the Federal Aviation Administration achieve that goal.
As one of the seven FAA-approved Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Sites, NMSU’s Physical Science Laboratory hosted three days of flight testing, July 16-18, for an FAA project, “Task A18: Small UAS Detect and Avoid Requirements Necessary for Limited Beyond Visual Line of Sight Operations: Separation Requirements and Testing” at the Jornada Experimental Range, north of Las Cruces.
“All of this testing is about safety,” said Henry Cathey, NMSU PSL research and development engineering manager. “Flight safety is number one. We want to make sure that folks, who are in aircraft, can fly safety with UAS or drones in the air.”
The flight testing involved various flying encounter scenarios between UAS and manned aircraft to determine if the UAS could detect the aircraft and respond with a maneuver to avoid it. An AI-based autonomous collision avoidance system from Iris Automation called Casia was used on the UAS to help it see the world as a pilot does.
Two types of UAS, a multi-rotor and a fixed wing, with the Iris system onboard, and two manned, NMSU vehicles, the CTLS Light Sport
Flight testing conducted at New Mexico State University for the Federal Aviation Administration in July consisted of using unmanned aerial systems and manned aircraft. (NMSU photo by Josh Bachman)
aircraft and Spyder Ultralight aircraft, which posed as the intruder aircraft, were used in the flight testing.
Considerations for encounter scenarios included safe separation distances between vehicles of at least 100 feet in lateral separation and 250 feet in vertical separation. The vehicles conducted tests at different encounter angles and cross patterns. Flights were conducted at two altitudes: 100 feet for the UAS and 500 feet for the manned along with 400 feet for the UAS and 650 feet for the manned. The testing assessed when the Iris system was triggered and its limits.
Cathey said the next step includes collecting the data and post processing the information, which will take weeks. Flight information on both the UAS and manned vehicles was collected, and the research team will plot together the information to show the encounters.
“At that point we will be able to help map this particular system to give the FAA an idea of what this technology is capable of,” he said.
“We have several more flight test events before we actually come up with a comprehensive plan, but we are using each flight test event to further expand the data we need to collect and how the operations need to run,” said Bill Oehlschlager, FAA UAS technical project lead. “We are using each incremental step to collect more data and make it safer for when we actually do this testing.”
Iris Automation CEO and co-founder Alexander Harmsen, who attended the flight testing, said he was pleased how his system responded.
Joe Millette, New Mexico State University unmanned aerial systems pilot, and Cheryl Contreras, Iris Automation deputy head of flight operations, manage flight operations during detect and avoid technology flight testing NMSU hosted in July for the Federal Aviation Administration. (NMSU photo by Josh Bachman)
“The system is doing everything we expect it to do,” he said. “We’re having these encounters. The system, it detects the aircraft, it tracks it and classifies it. It is able to tell the difference between a drone, a helicopter, a small, fixed-wing aircraft and a cloud or a bird.”
As one of 15 core universities for the FAA UAS Center of Excellence, NMSU is also working with the University of North Dakota, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Kansas State University and Mississippi State University on the research project. NMSU, UND and UAF are each hosting flight testing on detect and avoid solutions.
Officials present for the testing included NMSU personnel, FAA sponsors, FAA technical leads, FAA interns, Iris Automation flight personnel, industry representatives, UND and UAF personnel.
Testing on other technology solutions such as ground-based, visual/optical systems, radar and acoustic is also planned, and NMSU is slated to host additional flight testing.
“We are trying to help push those technology solutions forward. There are going to be lots and lots more vehicles in the air in the coming years and we want it to be done safely,” Cathey said.
’15 Visions,’ a collection of paintings from Las Cruces artist and New Mexico State University alumnus George Mendoza, will now grace the halls of the University of Los Angeles’ School of Dentistry.
The collection features 15 unique pieces spanning over two decades of Mendoza’s artistic career. But the number 15 also serves a dual purpose for Mendoza, as it marks the age that he began losing his eyesight to juvenile macular degeneration.
Mendoza’s condition has eroded away most of his central vision, leaving him with what he describes as ‘kaleidoscope eyes.’ But it’s through this lens that Mendoza, who graduated from the individualized studies program at NMSU in 1978, is allowed to create his unique works.
“I’m what they would consider an “abstract artist,” said Mendoza. “Mostly because of my partial blindness, I’m not able to paint in much detail. So my art itself becomes very abstract, very colorful, and ‘whimsical,’ as it has been described.”
The art featured in the collection was narrowed down from a previous exhibit, ’26 Visions,’ which was put on display in September 2018 at the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital in New York City. It was this display that caught the attention of UCLA’s School of Dentistry, which requested a similar selection of work to be displayed on their first and third floors.
To celebrate the installment of this new collection, a reception in Mendoza’s honor will take place at the UCLA School of Dentistry on Monday, April 9.
In addition to his contributions to the art world, Mendoza is a championship runner, having competed twice in the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes Olympics. He has also written multiple books, and served as an illustrator for the children’s book ‘Colors of the Wind,’ which tells the story of how he thrived as an athlete and artist during the onset of his condition.
“At this stage – I’ve done it all,” said Mendoza. “I’ve been in two world Olympics, written two books, had two movies based on me, my idea is to share my life story to give hope, especially to those blind people who think they can’t do anything. This collection serves as both a thing of beauty and potential source of inspiration at the same time, and that’s kind of my goal right now as an artist.”
Two of Mendoza’s previous pieces, ‘Desert Splash’ and ‘When We Dance,’ are currently on display on the second floor of Domenici Hall at the NMSU campus.
The online early childhood education master’s program at New Mexico State University has been named among the top 20 such programs in the country, according to an online ranking site that researches graduate programs in the U.S.
The website www.onlinemasters.com also found the NMSU program to be among the most advanced studies, said Barbara Montgomery, the site’s program recognition manager.
“This speaks to the amazing work that the program is doing and demonstrates to our 100,000 monthly visitors that the program provides quality education that can help students with their career aspirations,” Montgomery said.
The NMSU online early childhood education master’s program, housed in the College of Education’s School of Teacher Preparation, Administration and Leadership, ranked 19th among 50 universities ranked by the website.
The site states NMSU “provides students with advanced studies to improve their knowledge and skills in early childhood education. This program prepares students for advanced practice in teacher education and gives them the skills to work with families, program management and other areas related to early childhood development.”
“What an honor for our university,” said Susan Brown, interim dean of the College of Education. “I am so proud of our wonderful faculty and staff who are responsible for this award.”
In November, the website also ranked the Education Administration program as the best for multicultural leadership careers. That program is also housed in the School of Teacher Preparation, Administration and Leadership.
For a complete list of ranked schools, visit their website.
All three TRIO Upward Bound programs at New Mexico State University have received supplementary awards from the U.S. Department of Education for approximately $120,000 for STEM programming.
NMSU’s Las Cruces Public Schools/Gadsden Independent School District, Alamogordo Public Schools and Hatch Valley Public Schools TRIO Upward Bound programs each received approximately $40,000 to include additional science, technology, engineering and mathematics components into the program’s curriculum.
Upward Bound is a federally funded TRIO program, which is comprised of eight programs designed to identify and provide services for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. Upward Bound provides fundamental support to participants in their preparation for college entrance. The program provides opportunities for participants to succeed in their precollege performance and in their higher education pursuits.
Upward Bound serves high school students from low-income families, and high school students from families in which neither parent holds a bachelor’s degree. The goal of Upward Bound is to increase the rate at which participants complete secondary education and enroll in and graduate from institutions of postsecondary education.
The Las Cruces/Gadsden program serves 90 students from five target high schools (Las Cruces, Mayfield, Oñate, Gadsden and Santa Teresa), while 60 students are supported at both Hatch Valley and Alamogordo.
“STEM education creates critical thinkers, increases science literacy and enables the next generation of innovators,” said Rosa De La Torre-Burmeister, TRIO Upward Bound program director. “STEM is the future, and as educators it is our responsibility to prepare the leaders of tomorrow to have the knowledge, skills and abilities by providing curriculum that allows for STEM computational thinking and project-based learning. This award is allowing each one of the programs to expand our collaborations and partnerships outside of the classroom.”
The Las Cruces/Gadsden TRIO Upward Bound program in collaboration with NMSU’s College of Business and Department of Accounting and Information Systems Assistant Professor Rajaa Shindi will begin including STEM projects in its Saturday sessions this spring semester, which prepares the students for the summer sessions.
Phase one of the collaboration will prepare the students to develop projects while applying STEM methods to a community service donation project in conjunction with TRIO day February 23.
Phase two of the collaboration allows students to explore the integration of computational thinking for structuring and processing their learning through extraordinary experiences in STEM. At the end of the summer, students will deliver their projects as a scientific research and business proposal.
“This isn’t about just knowing the material in a given STEM domain; it’s also about the breadth of a student’s education,” Shindi said. “We all hear it. Computational thinking, problem solving and critical thinking are vital 21st-century skills. At the college level, we need to be aligned with what’s happening in technology, where so many aspects of professions are rapidly changing and improving. Our students will need to be adaptive in order to succeed.”
The STEM initiatives at Hatch Valley have included students creating a digital portfolio, learning how to code using Java and developing digital media projects during the academic year, according to Lourdes Ambriz, TRIO Upward Bound program director for Hatch Valley.
In the summer, she hopes to include STEM projects such as a cybersecurity camp at New Mexico Tech, STEM camp at NMSU’s Las Cruces campus and a partnership with the Bureau of Land Management.
At Alamogordo’s TRIO Upward Bound program, students are taking a computer science course during the Saturday sessions with a focus on Java programming using Alice, an innovative programming environment that makes it easy to create animation for telling a story. The course is designed to be a student’s first exposure to object-oriented programming.
During the academic year, other STEM activities include participation in the Challenger Learning Center of Las Cruces’ Lunar Quest Mission, learning about the science behind laser tag systems and hands-on experiments involving the physics of flight with wind tunnels, according to Toni Dixon, TRIO Upward Bound program director for Alamogordo.
Along with summer STEM camps, Dixon hopes to expose students to professional careers through work-study partnerships with STEM-related industries.
New Mexico State University’s Partnership for the Advancement of Cancer Research (PACR) received a $5.8 million grant renewal from the National Cancer Institute to continue its efforts to bridge cancer health disparities in underserved communities.
The collaboration between NMSU and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle (commonly known as ‘Fred Hutch’ or ‘The Hutch’) has received more than $30 million in grants, shared equally since 2002.
Together, the partnership is diversifying the community of scientists underrepresented in cancer, cancer health and biomedical research by supporting programs for students, postdoctoral researchers and faculty. Partner institutions aim to grow and support the number of highly trained underrepresented students to have the skills and knowledge to fill cancer research positions throughout the nation and increase outreach efforts on cancer awareness and education to underserved populations in the Southwest and Pacific Northwest.
“I joined the team over 15 years ago and have seen the impact of the opportunities this partnership creates for NMSU students, faculty and staff,” said PACR’s new Lead Program Director and NMSU biology professor Graciela A. Unguez.
“In this new cycle, we plan to continue improving the training of our students and junior faculty, while also building on our past success with community outreach to increase cancer screening – especially among the underserved in this region. This is a great opportunity for NMSU to be bold.”
In the last 16 years, NMSU and Fred Hutch have trained nearly 700 students and 84 postdoctoral researchers and faculty in cancer-related research.
Reducing the cancer incidence and mortality rates of underserved populations requires multidisciplinary efforts involving teams of diverse investigators. The collaborative program between Fred Hutch, a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center, and NMSU, a minority-serving institution, has allowed the two organizations to work together in a successful collaboration for 16 years.
The new five-year cycle includes two pilot projects and two full research projects that will run for three years and focus on health disparity issues in underserved populations.
The projects will address topics such as diagnostic biases in predicting breast cancer risk, understanding social determinants of health, promoting healthy eating and gardening in Navajo families and efficacy of education programs for Hispanic mothers diagnosed with cancer. After three years, PACR will select additional projects to pursue for the remainder of the grant cycle.
The partnership is impacting the region through culturally relevant outreach programs designed for largely Hispanic and Native American populations. Recent efforts include educational and screening programs on colorectal and breast cancer, as well as programs centered around nutrition and wellness.
Through participation in health fairs and regional events, as well as training community groups on cancer screening and evidence-based practices, the collaboration has impacted more than 10,000 community members in New Mexico and West Texas by providing cancer and health education, access to outreach programs, cancer screening kits and more.
A key element of the collaboration’s continued success is the inclusion of faculty, staff and students from a wide variety of disciplines in research and academia. The partnership engages individuals from the Cooperative Extension Service and five of the six colleges at NMSU: agricultural, consumer and environmental sciences, arts and sciences, business, engineering and health and social services.
As a testament to PACR’s success, many program participants are continuing their research outside of the partnership in positions locally and across the United States. Current and previous program participants have accrued more than $24 million in additional funding for cancer-related research since 2007.
The funding comes from a large, comprehensive grant called the U54. With this $5.8 million, five-year renewal, Partnership for the Advancement of Cancer Research: NMSU and Fred Hutch will continue working towards creating lasting impacts for underrepresented communities.
For more information on the work of the Partnership for the Advancement of Cancer Research visit cancer.nmsu.edu or call (575) 646-5104.
Info graphic shows impacts of the impacts of the Partnership for the Advancement of Cancer Research over the past 16 years. (Graphic courtesy Kaitlin Englund)
More than 1,200 New Mexico State University students are projected to participate in the fall commencement ceremony.
Commencement weekend will begin the evening of Friday, December 7, with a hooding ceremony for doctoral candidates at the Pan American Center at 6 p.m.
Following that, students receiving their bachelor’s and master’s degrees will be honored Saturday, December 8.
The ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. and candidates from the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business, College of Education, College of Engineering and College of Health and Social Services will be recognized.
NMSU will recognize Ramakrishna and Ammu Devasthali as the honorary degree recipients during Friday’s ceremony.
Additionally, 456 associate degrees and 171 certificates will be conferred to students graduating from NMSU Dona Ana Community College, NMSU Alamogordo, NMSU Carlsbad and NMSU Grants this fall.
The Pan American Center will open one hour prior to each ceremony. Tickets are not required. Graduates should check in east of the Pan Am in Lot 32.
Arrowhead Drive between Triviz Drive and Stewart Street along the Pan Am will be closed during commencement. Graduates and the general public should park in the lots to the north and east of the Pan Am, with handicapped parking to the north and northeast of the building.
For family and friends who cannot make it out to the commencement ceremonies, Information & Communication Technologies Video Services will be live streaming them via this link.
Media covering the event should park in the south lot and obtain a media pass in the tent located in Lot 32, east of the Pan Am.
A key part of many fields such as oil and gas exploration, mining, gas storage, carbon sequestration and geothermal energy development is being able to predict what is under the Earth’s surface.
New Mexico State University faculty and students will now be able to use cutting-edge techniques to analyze the subsurface structure of the Earth thanks to a donation of software worth more than $2.1 million from Petroleum Experts, Inc.
“We are very excited that our faculty and staff will have access to the Move software package,” said Nancy McMillan, Regents professor and department head of NMSU’s Department of Geological Sciences. “We appreciate the donation from Petroleum Experts, Inc. This will allow us to apply state-of-the-art methods of structural analysis for teaching and research.”
Reed Burgette, assistant professor of geological sciences, initiated the request for the software, and is coordinating the use of the Move software suite following the donation from Petroleum Experts, Inc.
“This software gives NMSU students the opportunity to learn skills relevant to employment in a variety of sectors,” said Burgette. “It allows users to construct 2D cross-sections as well as 3D models using available surface and subsurface geologic observations.”
A geometric model of the deformed crust can be restored to an un-deformed state to test for compatibility of the model with principles of structural geology and to understand the history of deformation through time. Additional modules of the program permit analysis of the relationships between faults and fractures and stress and strain in the deformed crust.
NMSU geological sciences faculty and students conducting research on tectonics – large-scale processes affecting the structure of the Earth’s crust – will use the software to understand the history of active and past deformation in diverse settings, including the Rio Grande rift of southern New Mexico, the Transverse Ranges of southern California and the Tien Shan Mountains of Central Asia.
“The Move software will enable faculty and students to pursue new directions in research at NMSU,” said Burgette. “This will be a great opportunity for our students to work with the kinds of 3D modeling tools they will be expected to master once they graduate and are in the workforce.”
The New Mexico Alliance for Minority Participation has received a five-year, $4 million grant renewal from the National Science Foundation for 2018-2023.
New Mexico State University is the lead institution for the statewide program that was created in 1993.
New Mexico AMP helps underrepresented minority students in the state with activities designed to increase student recruitment, retention and graduation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The program also supports academic and professional development of underrepresented STEM students.
“This continued funding allows us to continue the programs we’ve been successful with, and to better understand what makes them work. We continually assess our programs so that we can make them as effective as possible,” said J. Phillip King, New Mexico AMP director and civil engineering professor at NMSU.
With the newest funding from the NSF STEM Pathways and Research Alliances, New Mexico AMP will include a new social sciences component. Social science experts will increase the availability of contexts and opportunities for experiences that promote the development of a positive academic and scientific identity. The social science component will broadly disseminate learning from a rigorous, mixed methods social science research project and translation into practices for New Mexico AMP and to encourage change in STEM education, King said.
“The NM Alliance for Minority Participation has a long track record of great work to create opportunities for students to pursue careers in STEM disciplines – and in supporting students as they embark on that journey,” said Richard L. Wood, interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of New Mexico.
“Equally important, NM AMP systematically reaches out to students who sometimes have been excluded or have excluded themselves from considering such careers. This will help UNM and all of New Mexico’s universities be part of creating the pipeline American society needs, of diverse leaders comfortable collaborating with people from all kinds of backgrounds. That the National Science Foundation recognizes this good work with the new grant only confirms what we know from experience: this work matters for our students and for the future we will all share.”
Since New Mexico AMP was established, the number of bachelor degrees in STEM fields for underrepresented minority students has more than tripled from 253 in 1992-1993 to 858 in 2015-2016. The percentage of bachelor degrees in STEM fields awarded to underrepresented minority students doubled from 24 to 48 percent during that period as well.
Approximately 1,500 students in New Mexico are served through outreach, mentoring, tutoring, bridge programs, undergraduate research, learning communities, professional development workshops and presentation events.
While NMSU is the lead institution, the New Mexico AMP partnership has seven university partners: Eastern New Mexico University, New Mexico Highlands University, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Northern New Mexico College, University of New Mexico and Western New Mexico University; and seven community college partners; Central New Mexico College, Luna Community College, NMSU-Alamogordo, NMSU-Carlsbad, NMSU-Dona Ana Community College, Santa Fe Community College and San Juan Community College.
A public screening at New Mexico State University of ‘ALTERNATE ENDINGS, ACTIVIST RISINGS’ will highlight the impact of art in AIDS activism and advocacy.
The event will be free and open to the public and held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. November 30 at the Creative Media Institute theatre on the NMSU campus located at 2915 McFie Circle.
This event is a co-presentation between the University Art Gallery, Department of Art, CMI and Gender and Sexuality Studies at NMSU.
An estimated 1.8 million new infections have been reported in 2017 alone and the arts play an imperative role informing communities of the most current HIV/AIDS epidemic crisis according to Marisa Sage, director of the NMSU art gallery.
The showing will tell short stories from six community organizations and collectives – ACT UP NY, Positive Women’s Network, Sero Project, The SPOT, Tacoma Action Collective and VOCAL NY. The program represents a wide range of organizational strategies, from direct action to grassroots service providers to nation-wide movement building, while considering the role of creative practices in activist responses to the ongoing AIDS crisis.
Introducing ‘ALTERNATE ENDINGS, ACTIVIST RISINGS’ will be Sage, Laura Anh Williams, associate professor of interdisciplinary studies, and Catherine Jonet, associate professor of interdisciplinary studies, in collaboration with Amy Lanasa and Evan Curtis from the CMI and the students of CMI 303 Cinema Review.
“Many of our students are at the age where they should be having realistic conversations about HIV/AIDS, but they feel the epidemic does not affect them, or they are too uncomfortable to have the conversation,” Sage said.”Arts and artists have and continue to play a fundamental role in shaping broader societal understandings of HIV and working within communities like Las Cruces to show that everyone can be impacted by the virus: straight, queer and trans people, people who are old and young, people who use drugs, sex workers, people of color and indigenous peoples.”
For more information on free parking you can visit NMSU’s Website. To view art work associated with ‘ALTERNATE ENDINGS, ACTIVIST RISINGS’ visit the visualaids website.
In celebration of November as Native American Heritage Month, the University Museum at New Mexico State University will host a symposium bringing together Indigenous water protectors to share their perspectives and their work protecting water in a growing international water crisis.
The events surrounding ‘Indigenous Symposium: Water Protection,’ will be held Nov.14-15 and will give an opportunity for the indigenous leaders to share stories and solutions to protect water resources. All events are free and open to the public. They are also bilingual.
The symposium will feature Jose Gomez, a Maya Mam Indigenous Water Defender from Guatemala currently on tour in the western United States to meet with other indigenous leaders and activists fighting to protect their waters.
“As Indigenous people, creating international links with communities from other countries strengthens our struggle for the protection and stewardship of our common resources,” Gómez said. “Solidarity helps us acquire information about, and intervene in, the capitalist system’s plans against our people.”
Gómez is also the co-coordinator of the Association of Communities for Development and the Defense of Land and Natural Resources (ACODET) which is a coalition of Indigenous communities in Guatemala’s rural Ixcán region that has used grassroots organizing to halt construction on the Xalalá project – a mega-dam that, if built, would flood multiple communities and have a devastating impact on life in the region.
The opening ceremony will be held on Wednesday Nov, 14th from 9-10 a.m. outdoors near the Corbett Center and will feature NMSU anthropology professor Don Pepion and the Piro Dancers. That evening, Gómez will give a presentation from 5:30 – 7 p.m. at the Branigan Cultural Center.
Multiple events are scheduled for Thursday, November 15. The first is an unveiling of the Water Protector Mural at 4:00 p.m. with Barricade Culture Shop and Murals of Las Cruces at 1305 East University Avenue.
The Indigenous Water Protector Panel will follow from 5:30 – 7 p.m. in the College of Health and Social Services Auditorium, Room 101A. This event features six Indigenous water protectors who will discuss their work and experiences.
The celebration will continue at the University Museum with the ‘Water is Life Celebration’ from 7-9 p.m. with music, dance, Indian tacos and more. It will feature performances by the dance group Danza Omecoatl, Artson, Native American Music Award winner, and a local band Papayas con Chile
There will also be a silent auction of art by Ome, Francella, and Saba, with proceeds benefitting ACODET, as well as two Indigenous art installations on view in the museum: ‘Pictograff: The Art of War Prayer’ and ‘Live Long and Prosper: Sci-fi Images in Contemporary Indigenous Art.”
New Mexico State University, in celebration of Native American Heritage Month, invites everyone to the “Indigenous Symposium: Water Protection” on Nov. 14-15. (Courtesy Photo) NOV18
El Paso Herald-Post El Paso News & Opinion
