Dear NMHU Community,

Quite a lot is happening here at Highlands and in the world today, so here are a few thoughts and some updates on exciting activities here. First, I’ll start with why I believe Highlands is so important. Education is one of the most powerful tools we have for addressing the complex challenges of our time. From climate change to public health crises, from economic inequality to political polarization and violence, solutions demand critical thinking, innovation, and informed decision-making. A Highlands education equips individuals with the knowledge to understand problems at their root and the skills to design creative, sustainable responses. We foster scientific discovery, technological advancement, and civic engagement, all of which are essential for building stronger and more resilient communities.

Education also cultivates empathy, cultural awareness, and collaboration. In a world marked by division and rapid change, the ability to engage with multiple perspectives and work across differences is vital. Classrooms, universities, and training programs provide spaces where future leaders learn not only how to think but also how to listen and cooperate.

To me, the Highlands Way is inquisitive, respectful, civil, understanding, fearless, creative, brilliant, and kind. We are the leaders who model respectful dialogue. Anger never persuades, and hostility never leads to inspired solutions.

No easy transition, but here we go–Homecoming is here! Many thanks to our headlining Homecoming Week sponsor, Quality Care. We’ve got a full slate of events, including the Out of the Darkness 5K, the H-Club Banquet, the H Club Golf Tournament, the dedication of the Cares Counselling Center in the SUB on Friday morning, and Operation Glow behind the Natitorium on Friday evening. Sandwiched in there is a Board of Regents meeting and an Alumni Board meeting on Friday. After all that, relax with a drink at the Cowboy Lounge event on Friday evening in Kennedy (buy tickets through the Hometown Ticketing at https://events.hometownticketing.com/boxoffice/nmhu/entity/schools/3).

All of that builds towards a great weekend of NMHU athletics, including Volleyball Alumni Night and a game against Westminster on Friday at 5:00 PM in Wilson Complex, and then the football game against South Dakota School of Mines on Saturday at 1:00 PM in Sanchez Stadium. I hope to see you there. Our women’s soccer team also takes on Fort Hays in Kansas and we know they will come home with a victory.

The Homecoming Parade will start from the Plaza at 10:00 AM on Saturday. Carla O’Neil will be our Homecoming Marshall, and we have a nice write-up about her on our website. You can check it out here: NMHU Announces Carla O’Neil as this Year’s Homecoming Grand Marshal – New Mexico Highlands University.

For football, a big congratulations to freshmen running back Jeffrey Jones, who set the all-time NMHU single-game rushing record with 385 yards against Western New Mexico in our 69-55 win two weeks ago, and that same effort also set the Division 2 record freshmen single game rushing record. He was also named the D2Football.com national offensive Player of the Week:

Thanks to everyone on campus, in Athletics, Student Life, and at the Foundation who helped organize all these great events. Everyone is getting into the Homecoming spirit, and it’s wonderful to see so much participation from students, faculty, staff, and the community. We’ve got decorations going up everywhere for the dorm and department decorating contest,

Our dining services and Sodexo got into the spirit, hosting a Homecoming Kickoff event on Wednesday in the dining hall:

The Out of the Darkness 5K also attracted a large crowd:

Some Recent Highlights:

At the Board of Regents meeting, we’ll be discussing our recent trip to Puebla, Mexico, and the signing of an important Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Anáhuac University, which will allow for students and faculty exchange between our two universities. Puebla is a beautiful city in central Mexico with over 200 universities and a rich cultural history. Our MOU with Anáhuac is our first step in strengthening our collaboration with the region and helping to reinvigorate a study abroad program for Highlands students and faculty. Many thanks to Dr. Luis Florres Porras, who helped organize the trip and introduced NMHU to not only Anáhuac but to two other universities in the region, UDLAP and UPAEP. We are working on MOUs with both of them as well. Here’s a picture of me signing the MOU with the Anáhuac president:

Then some pictures of Anáhuac, UDLAP, and UPAEP. One thing those universities did well was branding on campus–I particularly liked the metal letters. Seemed like a perfect place to take graduation photos:

Last Friday, CARES organized a showing of Bring Her Home, an important documentary highlighting the ongoing crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. Ruth Buffalo, an activist featured in the film, joined via Zoom with a panel consisting of student Kayl Rainer and alumna Tiffany Jiron to discuss the movie.

The library hosted an Archives to Action program on September 16, 2025, where Dr. Jim Abreu, educator, administrator, and HU alum, discussed his experiences as a student athlete and later educational leader in Northern New Mexico. He spoke with program participants about how student athletes balance their roles as athletes, scholars, and community members. After his presentation, Dr. Abreu viewed athletic material from the university archives with librarian Katie Gray and Dr. Bilgesu Sumer:

The library also held its annual Edible Book Festival, a fund-raiser. Fun to see the creativity on display:

Congratulations:

Congratulations to Dr. P.J. Sedillo, an Associate Professor in the Special Education department, who is now the  Associate Editor of The Journal of Advanced Academics, which is “a peer-reviewed quarterly journal that focuses on research that supports and enhances advanced academic achievement for students of all ages. JOAA explores strategies for increasing academic achievement, curricular innovations that challenge high performers, programs that promote high levels of academic achievement and engagement, ways to best measure and assess the performance of students who excel, and pathways that prepare students to engage in high-level and rigorous academics.” Thanks to P.J. and the rest of our faculty who serve important roles as editors and reviewers for many academic journals.

Congratulations to the Department of Business Administration and Dr. Melanie Zollner. NMHU’s SHRM Chapter has been recognized for a Merit Award for the academic year 2024-2025, https://vlrc.shrm.org/s/article/Student-Merit-Award-Winners. This recognition comes from the Society for Human Resources Management [SHRM] organization. This marks four consecutive years of earning the Merit Award. Well done.

Save the date:

After Homecoming this week, we’ll be turning our focus to the Matanza. Get your free tickets now at https://www.nmhu.edu/ilfeld-auditorium/tickets/:

Respectfully,

Dr. Neil Woolf
President
New Mexico Highlands University