Dear NMHU Community

These past two weeks have been amazing. Thank you to those I’ve met and to those I haven’t yet met, I look forward to meeting you soon. It’s been busy with meetings and travel, and it’s all been very exciting. I am inspired by your dedication to Highlands, Las Vegas, and the communities we serve. Everyone I have met has shared their commitment to move NMHU forward, especially in terms of helping our students and community.

I’m grateful to our public servants who are assisting with the water treatment project. Knock on wood, with the pre-treatment system being installed this week, we seem to be turning the corner. I’ve met with Mayor Romero three times, and we are discussing further collaborative efforts. I’ve also been pleased to learn that our Foundation has student and staff fire relief funds, where members of the NMHU community can receive up to $500 (students) or $1,000 (staff and faculty) in support of otherwise unreimbursed, documented losses. Contact tlaw@nmhu.edu for more information.

I am planning on sending biweekly campus updates to provide information about how we are moving our great institution forward. I’ll provide brief bullets of what has occurred the past few weeks and provide a sense of the projects I’m working on. If you have ideas, please send those in to the President’s Office via president_office@nmhu.edu

Meetings:

• Senator Pete Campos, a lifelong advocate and supporter of Highlands.
• Secretary Stephanie Rodriguez from the State Higher Education Department and staff.
• Visited the Rio Rancho Center and staff with Regent Robert Lucero and Regent Frank Sanchez.
• Student Regent Cody Rivera.
• The public affairs staff at Intel to discuss potential partnerships and grants.
• Multiple community leaders, including city, county, and education officials. Many thanks to Regent Sanchez for setting up various meetings in Albuquerque and Las Vegas.
• New and existing donors who are investing in Highlands.
• I’ve also been walking around campus meeting folks in their offices, and I plan on continuing to do this over the next few weeks.

Recents Steps Taken:

• Forming Institutional Budget Committee with representation from shared governance and union partners.
• Forming a Presidential Task Force to strategize Non-Tribal, Native American Serving status from the federal government. Participation is welcome.
• Forming a policy council to shore up institutional policies and procedures with shared governance and campus partners.

Finally, my family and I would like to extend our gratitude to the university facilities team for making available the university residence for our arrival. They had a short turnaround time and have done a fantastic job.
The last section of my bi-weekly email will include campus congratulations and news. If you have an item you’d like to appear, please forward that to your relevant Vice-President.

Campus Congratulations and News:

• Dr. PJ Sedillo has been appointed as the Editor of The British Journal of Learning and Teaching. This is a prestigious appointment, please join me in extending our congratulations.
• Welcome to Louisa Pacheco, Dual Credit Coordinator, who came to Academic Affairs from the Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences where she served as an administrative assistant. She has her BS in Psychology & MS in Clinical Psychology, both from NMHU. She graduated from Robertson HS and was even a dual credit student! Louisa is located in Mass Communications 123A, (505) 454-3166.
• Congratulations to Dr. Henrietta Romero, our University Registrar, who was selected for the Distinguished Service Award from RMACRAO (Rocky Mountain Association of Collegiate Registrars & Admissions Officers). She will be presented the award at their Business Meeting next week.
• The Director of Institutional Research and Data Management search will resume. We hope to have campus visits in early fall.
• Johana Burciaga, Senior Accountant with the Business Office, obtained her CPA license.
• Welcome to our new athletic coaches:
• Meg Grose, Volleyball
• Chris Freije, Men’s Wrestling
• Lindsey Fearing, Women’s Basketball
• Amanda Evans, Women’s Soccer
• Marc Benjamin, Softball
• Kurt Taufa’asau, Football

Upcoming Events:

• We’ve begun planning for upcoming statewide hearings with the New Mexico Higher Education Department that will take place on our campus later this summer.
• Mora County Fiestas Parade starting at 10:00 am on July 20th.

Respectfully,
Dr. Neil Woolf
President, New Mexico Highlands University