Monthly Archives: May, 2017

1. New Initiative Aims to Spark Lifelong Learning Culture

   Las Vegas, New Mexico – A new initiative at New Mexico Highlands University aims to spark a culture of lifelong learning. Highlands President Sam Minner launched HU: Learning Happens Here this spring. “One of the great advantages of working at a university is being around smart people who are interested in their own intellectual development,”…

2. Planning Ahead Can Help Reduce College Debt

   LAS VEGAS, NM – Despite earning a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree, Joseph Dominguez left college without something many people feel is part of a university experience: debt. “It’s freedom,” said Dominguez, a Highlands University alumnus. “Now that I’m in the work world, it’s beneficial to me since I’m not sending a part of my…

3. Gil Gallegos Named Professor of the Year

   Las Vegas, New Mexico – New Mexico Highlands University named computer science and engineering professor Gil Gallegos Professor of the Year for 2016 – 2017. Each spring an independent selection committee composed of students, faculty and staff reviews the nominations for Professor of the Year and selects a winner. A coalition of Highlands students nominated…

4. Monthly Accreditation Forum May 23 Focuses on Mission, Strategic Plan

     Las Vegas, N.M. – Highlands University’s monthly accreditation forum May 23 focused on accomplishments for the mission and strategic plan. “Over the past two years, we’ve focused on closing the loop of moving from the strategic plan to concrete accomplishments to improve the student experience at Highlands,” said Brandon Kempner, who directs the university’s…

5. AAUW Girls Can Program at Highlands May 19

   Las Vegas, N.M. – Fifth grade girls from Las Vegas, New Mexico gained hands-on career knowledge from Highlands University science faculty and community members at an AAUW Girls Can program May 19 at the university. The Las Vegas Chapter of the American Association of University Women joined forces with Highlands to present Girls Can, which…

6. Endangered Boreal Toads Donated to Zoos

   Las Vegas, N.M. – New Mexico Highlands University is donating endangered boreal toads raised from eggs in a biology laboratory at the university to zoos in the U.S. for conservation efforts and education. Boreal toads are extinct in New Mexico. The Detroit Zoo National Amphibian Center, Denver Zoo, and Staten Island Zoo are accepting the…

7. Javier Gonzales Mayor of Santa Fe Delivers Commencement Address

   Las Vegas, N.M. – Resist division and hatred, Santa Fe New Mexico Mayor Javier Gonzales told graduates at the Highlands University main campus commencement May 13. A record number of 1,051 students graduated from Highlands and its centers, with 633 earning their diplomas in Las Vegas. Of these total graduates, 66 percent earned bachelor’s degrees and 34 percent…

8. Retired Biology Professor to Serve in Peace Corps

   Las Vegas, N.M. – A retired Highlands University biology professor will devote her experience teaching science to high school students in Ghana through Peace Corps service. Mary Shaw, who taught at Highlands from 1993 – 2016, begins her Peace Corps training May 27. “I have always been drawn to international service and the chance to…

9. Alumna Mary Jean Habermann López Wins Top Bilingual Education Award

   Las Vegas, N.M. – The New Mexico Association for Bilingual Education recognized Highlands University alumna Mary Jean Habermann López with its highest honor for her lifelong impact on bilingual education. Habermann López received the Ben Luján Lifetime Achievement Award at the NMABE annual conference April 29. Lujan, who died in 2012, was the longtime New…

10. Students Raise Their Country’s Flag at Ceremony

    Highlands University students Narendra Boppana, left, Shabari Bejagam, Swaroop Raja Marni, Lavanya Chigurupati, Jhansirani Munukuri, and Poonampreet Kaur salute the flag of their home country, India, at the International Flag Raising Ceremony May 4 at the university’s Centennial Tower. The university’s International Education Center sponsors the flag ceremony each year. Students from 35 countries attend…

11. Spring Media Arts Exhibit May 10

    Las Vegas, N.M – Highlands University media arts and technology students will showcase their work in the department’s Spring Exhibit May 10 at 5:30 p.m. The exhibit is open to the public and is in the Media Arts Trolley Building at 1183 San Francisco Ave., which opened in August 2017. “This exhibit will be an…

12. Ph.D. Bound Graduate Will Focus on Literature With Timely Themes

      Las Vegas, N.M. – Justin Rogers said he will focus on 19th century British and Irish literature in his doctoral studies because it’s pertinent to modern-day issues. Rogers graduates from Highlands University May 13 with a master’s degree from the Department of English with an emphasis in literature. He begins his Ph.D. studies in…

13. HU’s New Provost Outlines Goals

    Las Vegas, NM – Ensuring the ongoing focus on mission-driven planning is one of the top priorities for Highlands University’s new provost. “Working with the Higher Learning Commission, the university’s accrediting agency, to shape Highlands’ future is the utmost of importance,” said Roxanne Gonzales, who became Highlands’ provost and vice president of academic affairs in…

14. Photo Exhibit Explores Views on Landscape

    Las Vegas, NM – A photo exhibit at Highlands University explores the impact of landscape on humans and humans’ impact on the landscape. Places, on display Highlands’ Kennedy Alumni Hall Gallery from May 8 – July 7, features photographs by Christine Hauber and Sean Weaver. “In a world of constant movement, I am drawn to…

15. First Climate Awareness Summit at Highlands

    Highlands University adjunct biology professor Brian Miller, left, talks with Michael Soulé, Michael’s wife June Soulé, and Highlands psychology professor Linda LaGrange before Highlands’ first Climate Awareness Summit April 29 in the Student Center. Soulé was the keynote speaker at the summit. He helped found the Society for Conservation Biology and the Wildlands Project and…