2020 - New Mexico Highlands University

Shawna and Isaac Sandoval Distinguished Young Alumni for Homecoming

Las Vegas, N.M. – Isaac and Shawna Sandoval, successful restaurant entrepreneurs in Las Vegas, share the distinguished young alumni award. The married couple earned their Bachelor of Fine arts degrees from Highlands in 2010 and their Master of Fine Arts degrees from Ft. Hays State University in Hays, Kansas, in 2013. “We decided there was…

LouElla Marr-Montoya Distinguished Alumna for Homecoming

Las Vegas, N.M. – LouElla Marr-Montoya distinguished herself as a higher education administrator, educator and counselor, as well as community leader and public servant, for more than 35 years. She served on the Highlands University Board of Regents from 2015 – 2019, serving two years as the vice-chair. Marr-Montoya has been honored numerous times, including…

HU Program to Improve Social Work Access for Native Communities

Las Vegas, NM – The new director for Highlands University’s Native American Social Work Studies Institute will help improve access to trained professionals in Native communities. Melissa Riley, who was hired as the director of the institute July 20, began her career as a lay social worker and brings broad experience in education, social services,…

Athletes Join Forces With Area Students To Beautify Riverwalk

Las Vegas, NM – Approximately 100 Highlands athletes joined forces Oct. 3 with students from Las Vegas’ other educational institutions to clean the Gallinas River Park and paint its historic bridge. The project was part of Las Vegas’ new community-based volunteer organization, Vecinos Juntos. Vecinos Juntos, meaning, “neighbors together,” is a partnership between the City…

Professor’s New Book Poetically Explores Movement

Las Vegas, NM – A memorable journey is never limited to the physical act of leaving one place and arriving at another. It is often a hard-to-describe recipe of our experience, sense of place in the present, reflection, and our hopes and ambitions. It’s a path worn by those who have stepped before us, where…

HU Student Unearths Post-Civil War Injustice

Las Vegas, NM – A new window into the lives of post-Civil War African Americans in Texas has been opened thanks in part to the work of a Highlands student. Reign Clark, a graduate student in Highlands’ Southwest Studies program, is the project lead for an excavation project of Texas prison cemetery, which was forgotten…

HU Professor’s Book Explores Vigilante Mob Violence Against Women

Las Vegas, NM – The likelihood of vigilante mob violence against women increases when economic inequality rises and governments discontinue enforcing gender norms, according to a recently published book by a Highlands University sociologist. Rebecca Álvarez, an assistant professor in Highlands’ Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice, studied cases across the globe where women…

Students help preserve important wetlands

Las Vegas, NM – A wetland habitat near Watrous, New Mexico, is healthier thanks in part to Highlands student volunteers. Along with members of the Hermit’s Peak Watershed Alliance, the Albuquerque Wildlife Federation and Ft. Union Ranch, the students helped restore a section of Wolf Creek approximately 20 miles northeast of Las Vegas. “Our most…

Grant Helps HU’s Social Work Program Expand Access

Las Vegas, NM – Hispanic and low-income students will have increased access to social work fields thanks to a pilot project funded by a five-year grant at New Mexico Highlands University. The $3-million Developing Hispanic Serving Institution grant from the U.S. Department of Education will help the university’s Facundo Valdez School of Social Work undertake…

Highlands Joins Citywide Volunteer Effort

Las Vegas, NM – Las Vegas’ educational institutions joined forces with the city’s government to promote volunteer opportunities for the community’s students. Representatives from the City of Las Vegas, New Mexico Highlands, Luna Community College, the United World College and the two city school districts signed an agreement during a small ceremony Sept. 11 to…

HU Kicks Off Fourth Year of Power of Service Program

September 10, 2020 Las Vegas, N.M. – New Mexico Highlands University will kick off its fourth year of Power of Service Sept. 24, a program that works to train employees to provide exceptional customer service to students. This year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Power of Service trainings will be delivered via the Zoom…

School of Education Joins Honorary Society for Teachers

September 9, 2020 Las Vegas, N.M. – The New Mexico Highlands University School of Education joined the Kappa Delta Pi honorary society for teachers. Since 1911, Kappa Delta Pi has worked to foster excellence in education and promote fellowship among those dedicated to teaching. “Teachers are foundational to a democratic and just society,” said Mary…

New Grant Funds Best Practices in Teacher Training

September 9, 2020 Students from New Mexico Highlands University embark on paid 10-month residencies in Albuquerque, Bernalillo, Pojoaque Valley, and Santa Fe public school districts. Los Alamos, N.M. —Los Alamos National Laboratory and New Mexico Highlands University join forces with four public school districts to increase the number of highly skilled teachers in the state,…

Reynaldo Maestas New Director for Center for Professional Development and Career Readiness

September 8, 2020 Las Vegas, N.M. – Reynaldo Maestas is the new director for the Center for Professional Development and Career Readiness at New Mexico Highlands University and will lead an expansion of the office, thanks to additional funding from the New Mexico State Legislature. The legislative award is for $165,000 and comes from Research and…

Highlands Joins City Volunteer Effort

Las Vegas NM – Las Vegas’ educational institutions and government will officially join forces to promote volunteerism from the community’s students. Representatives from the City of Las Vegas, New Mexico Highlands, Luna Community College, the United World College and the two city school districts will sign an agreement to formally create Vecinos Juntos de Las…

Spintz Harrison New Native American Liaison

September 3, 2020 Las Vegas, N.M. – Spintz Harrison is the new Native American liaison at New Mexico Highlands University. Harrison, whose heritage is Shoshone and Navajo, comes to Highlands from Kansas State University, where he taught in the Department of American Ethnic Studies from 2017 to 2020. “I am Native American and understand…

Highlands Virtual Homecoming Oct. 19 – 24

September 2, 2020 Las Vegas, N.M. – Mark your calendars for an exciting week of virtual Highlands Homecoming 2020 events the university is planning for Oct. 19 through Oct. 24. The theme for homecoming this year is “Cowboy Connection” and all the virtual events are free. “My biggest goal for virtual Highlands Homecoming 2020 is…

Alumnus Isaac Roybal Creates Mobile App for Higher Education

August 28, 2020 Las Vegas, N.M. – New Mexico Highlands University business alumnus Isaac Roybal launched a new mobile app for higher education that connects students with their professors via short video exchanges, expanding face-to-face interaction during the coronavirus pandemic when many courses are delivered online. Some universities piloting Roybal’s new smart phone technology tool,…

Seventh New Mexico Painters Exhibition Will Be Virtual

August 26, 2020 Las Vegas, N.M – This year marks the seventh New Mexico Painters Exhibition at Highlands University, which will be virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The virtual exhibition will be launched online Oct. 18 at http://galleries.nmhu.edu/currently-at-the-kennedy-gallery/ “The most important thing about the virtual exhibition is that in this difficult time, we’re still…

Political Science Professor Elaine Rodriquez Appointed to Las Vegas City Council

August 24, 2020 Las Vegas, N.M. – New Mexico Highlands University political science professor Elaine Rodriquez was appointed to the Las Vegas City Council for Ward 3 at a public hearing Aug. 19. After a unanimous vote by the city council, Rodriquez was sworn into the position, which she begins officially in September. Las Vegas…

Yearly Archives: 2020