Greetings, New Mexico Highlands!

I want to begin with a heartfelt thank you for the warm welcome my family and I have received. We are all excited to be part of the New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, and regional communities, and we look forward to exploring our new home.

As I begin my time here at NMHU, I anticipate meeting each of you at various meetings or events or I hope you will come by and say hi. Please consider inviting me to your events–I’m happy to attend or even speak at them. You will certainly see me at many of our student performances and athletic events, and I hope the NMHU community will join me to show our support.

In the coming weeks, I will work with the Board of Regents, faculty, staff, and students to establish initial goals and priorities, beginning with a focus on student success. Retention and graduation are valuable metrics, and it is important to remember that they come from a culture of achievement, excellence, community support, and engagement.

We will also work to improve fiscal stability and transparency. To this end, we will begin to engage budget authorities in the creation, development, and management of institutional budgets. I have asked that Vice President Gonzalez begin work to establish an institutional budget committee that will advise me on budget development-related budget issues. I invite participation from our shared governance partners and campus community to maximize the inputs into our budget. More to come here!

There are also several short-term projects that I plan to work on. I want to develop partnerships with our tribal nations and install and fly their flags alongside other international flags on campus. We are also so close to achieving the federal designation of Non-Tribal, Native American Serving Institution. Let’s work together to achieve this very significant milestone. I’ll also begin efforts to improve and modernize our residence halls by working with state and private partners to refurbish existing halls and/or to build new ones.

I am here to serve our great campus community to progress NMHU’s mission to provide opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to attain an exceptional education by fostering creativity, critical thinking, and research in the liberal arts, sciences, and professions within a diverse community.

New Mexico Highlands University is already an amazing place and it is also filled with great potential. That potential is within our grasp. I look forward to working with you all.

Best Wishes,

Dr. Neil Woolf
President
New Mexico Highlands University