Dear NMHU Community:

Last Wednesday and Thursday, I had the pleasure of visiting our Farmington Center. Many thanks to Robert Anaya and Patrick Wilson, who organized a full day of meetings with our students, our partner institution, San Juan College, local organizations, the Upper Fruitland Chapter of the Navajo Nation, and alumni. It was an inspiring visit. I heard many great stories about academic persistence from our students and how essential they find our staff and faculty who work at the centers, and Sharon Doom and Rey Martinez were singled out as being particularly helpful. Many of those students had earned multiple degrees from NMHU, and many were even working at San Juan College. We also met with SJC President Dr. Toni Hopper Pendergrass and her executive team, and we discussed some ways we can improve the seamless transfer of students from SJC to NMHU. We’ll be planning a transfer summit to help work on those issues soon. I look forward to attending our Farmington commencement celebrations this spring.

Our students also raised some challenges they face at the center ranging from financial aid, the transferability of their classes, and to the difficulties of balancing work and family with their studies. We know being part of a university means constantly working to make things better, and that is something I’m committed to as President. We can’t work on things if we don’t know about them, and while some issues may take a while to fully address, I know we can make progress for our students.

Thanks to all who participated to make it a great visit, including Rebecca Moore, Geri Glover, Paul Grindstaff, Nicole Boulom, Denice Spicer, Cesar Abarca, Patrick Wilson, Gina Hartmann, and Juli Salman.

I continue to build a positive relationship with the city of Las Vegas. I recently met again with Mayor Romero and Councilman Martinez to discuss our ongoing partnership with the Gene Torres Golf Course and what’s possible as we continue to explore the land and housing development there. I also hosted the Mayor, the County Commission Chair Harold Garcia, and Regents Smith and Sanchez at the university residence.

On Friday, September 27, our Board of Regents met and discussed many important issues. The Board took action on:

• Policy adoption on Anti-Hazing and Anti-Fraternization in Athletics
• Selection of the general contractor (Franken Construction) for the new Facilities Building
• Approval of the NMHU Mental Health Student Wellness Center & HU Cares Renovation Project
• Approval of the revised transcript hold policy, which, in alignment with mandates at the federal level, means that NMHU will release a transcript even if a student has an outstanding balance with the university
• Commissioned their Land Development Committee to explore financing options as we take our next steps in developing golf course land

Some Recent Highlights:

• First up, some pictures from the Farmington trip. Here’s us meeting with San Juan President Toni Hopper Pendergrass and her team:
  
• And then one of the best parts of the trip, getting to meet and talk with students. Much of the conversation and feedback from the students in Farmington was their overall appreciation for the faculty and staff who go above and beyond in providing support, encouragement, and resources to help students graduate and succeed.
  
• Being President is truly a great job–I get to do some memorable things. Here’s the Upper Fruitland Chapter of the Navajo Nation presenting NMHU a flag; we want to fly the flags of all our tribal partners on our campus:
  
• While I was in Farmington, Tisha attended our annual Out of the Darkness Run for Suicide Awareness. This event was first hosted by CARES in 2013. Well done to Leon Bustos and all who contributed to making this event a huge success. Below is a photo of some students in their glow gear.
  
• Switching to athletics, we held our first game–Volleyball, in a close win over Adams State–on our newly refinished floor last week:
  
• Our football program has started a “Cowboy Walk” before every game, home or away. Everyone is welcome to join the team in their mile walk around the track, typically held at 7:00 AM for 12:00 kickoffs. I’ve joined a few times already this semester:
• State House representative candidate Anita Gonzales was our honorary captain for the Western Colorado football game. Anita is currently the Deputy Director of NM MESA and has been a longtime supporter of Highlands. As she’s running unopposed in the general election, we look forward to working with her in the upcoming legislative session.
  
• On September 19, the NMHU Sweetheart Cheer Team held a meet and greet with NMHU Soccer & Volleyball teams. The Sweetheart Cheerleaders provided the players a home cooked dinner and the players spent some time playing on the field with the littles. Thanks to the Sweethearts for the support!
  
• On Thursday, I was honored to meet with the Albuquerque Public Schools Indian Education Program with Dr. Rebecca Moore and Dr. Melissa Riley. They presented their work building an Indigenous Knowledge Roadmap, and I was able to speak for a few minutes about some of our institutional efforts to improve student outcomes.
• Welcome back Dr. Spintz Harrison as Assistant Director of the Native American Center at NMHU. During his previous tenure, we realized great success in Native American student enrollment and student engagement. His experience fostering a supportive environment for Native American students will undoubtedly continue to benefit the university community. Dr. Harrison’s leadership will be instrumental in creating programs that respect and promote Native American culture, boost educational opportunities, and increase student retention.
• The Department of Languages & Culture, the Language Learning Center, and HU Cares sponsored a Dance Workshop for Hispanic Heritage Month where they taught traditional New Mexican dances. Looks like fun:
  
• Today, as this message goes out, I’m developing partnerships with leaders in Sante Fe, including Superintendent of Sante Fe Indian School Christie Abeyta, Sante Fe City Councilor Lee Garcia, and Sante Fe Public School Superintendent Larry Chavez. My thanks to Benito Pacheco who has developed great relationships with these entities already and who is facilitating our continued conversations. At each of my meetings with leaders throughout the state, I begin with a simple question: “How can Highlands serve you?” This leads to great discussions as we identify together how we can meet our state’s educational goals.

Upcoming Events:

• Homecoming Week kicks off on Monday, October 7th. We’ve got HU Talks throughout the week. I’m giving one on Monday at 9:00 AM, titled “Baseball: My First Love.” All of these are on Zoom and you can see the full list at https://nmhufoundation.org/homecoming-2024.
• The HU Talks are just the start of the week’s festivities.
  • On Thursday 10/10, The H-Club Hall of Fame Induction Banquet begins at 5:00 PM in the SUB Ballroom.
  • Friday 10/11 is particularly busy:
    • The naming ceremony for the Joseph E. & Nancy L. Montoya Highlands Student Center, held in the Student Union Ballroom at 8:30 AM
    • Alumni Association Meeting at 12:00 in Rodgers Hall
    • The Cowboy Lounge & Silent Auction in the SUB Ballroom at 5:30
• Saturday starts with the Homecoming Parade at 9:00 and the game itself, versus Chadron State University at 12:00. Volleyball takes on Metro State Denver that night in Wilson at 6:00 PM.
• Please join me and my family at these events!

Congratulations:

• Like I’ve said before and I’ll say again, I’m constantly impressed at how many wonderful things our staff, faculty, and students do for our community. Professor Jennifer Lindline, Chair of the Natural Resources Management Department, let me know that a crew of NMHU Environmental Geology students and faculty participated in the Pecos River Cleanup Day. The day was notable because the event was basin-wide, connecting communities from Pecos, NM to Pecos, TX who simultaneously united volunteers in cleaning up Pecos River stretches. I know that Dr. Lindline (and me!) are very proud of the NMHU student volunteers who gave up their Saturday to clean up litter and protect our natural resources:
  
• Last, but not least, Dr. Melanie Zollner, Assistant Professor of Management in the Department of Business Administration, has been the faculty advisor for the NMHU Society of Human Resources Management Chapter since Spring 2020. Under her leadership, the chapter was awarded the 2021 – 2022, 2022 – 2023, and 2023 – 2024 Merit Award for its excellence and achievement during three consecutive Student Chapter Merit Award periods from the SHRM organization. Dr. Zollner is establishing a pattern of excellence through her work with students.

If you have an item or event you’d like to be featured here, please forward that to your relevant Vice President.

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