Dear NMHU Community,

This past week has been buzzing with activity—a full slate of games on Saturday, Pride Week this whole week, Earth Day activities on Wednesday and Friday, Business Week culminating in the celebration on Friday in Central Park, and our Employee Recognition Breakfast on Thursday. It was great to see campus so busy and everyone so excited about our upcoming commencements. Here’s us gathered for the Employee Recognition Ceremony, where we recognized faculty and staff who have completed 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and even 40 years of employment at NMHU:

Congratulations in advance to everyone who will be graduating!

On Saturday, we had the spring football game, alongside wins by baseball and softball, the soccer alumni game, and we wrapped up the evening by serving over 200 students in Stu Clark, then having a Fiafia performance by our Hawaiian, American Samoan, and Tongan students over in Wilson. A long day, but a true showcase of NMHU athletics:

I attended the Jazz Ensemble last week in Sala de Madrid. I’d never seen a performance on that stage, so it was good to see that space utilized. The ensemble certainly packed the audience in, and Dr. Edward Harrington, Music, did a great job leading, as always.

Thanks to everyone who participated in Research Day last Friday–always an impressive event where our faculty and students get to showcase all the outstanding work they’ve done in the past year. A special thanks to the Faculty Research Committee for organizing the event.

Dr. PJ Sedillo, Education, working with the President’s Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, has organized a full slate of activities for Pride Week, including a flag raising on Monday and culminating in presentations and bingo on Friday. PJ’s book talk will be on Friday at 4:00 PM on the third floor of the SUB, so be sure to join. Here’s a snapshot of us at the flag raising in the Cultural Park:

We’ve had a number of activities surrounding Earth Day this week, including events on Wednesday in Central Park and on Friday organized by the New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute:

Upcoming Events:

• Next week, we have the year-end Athletics Banquet over in Wilson on Wednesday evening (4/29).
• The Student Leadership Banquet is on Thursday night in the SUB ballroom (4/30).
• The International Student Club will be hosting their Timeless Tradition Cultural Event, a potluck showcasing different cuisines from around the world, at 5:00 PM in the SUB Ballroom on Wednesday, May 6.

Congratulations:

The Natural Resources Management Department celebrates its students for their abstract acceptances at next week’s 2026 New Mexico Geological Society Annual Spring Meeting. Undergraduate Environmental Geology students Isaiah Archuleta and Colman Lee are presenting their senior capstone research, and M.S. Natural Science-Geology student Kamren Moore is presenting her in-progress master’s thesis work. Dr. Jennifer Lindline is presenting, along with coauthors Kiara Takacs (recent M.S. Natural Science–Geology graduate), Daniel Chadborn, and Marine Foucher, our ongoing work on the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire's impact on Gallinas River water quality. A photo of our outstanding students in action:

Forestry undergraduate student Tomas Gonzales received a poster award at the Land and Water Summit in Albuquerque (March 5-6). https://www.landandwatersummitnm.org/. This 2026 Land & Water Summit focused on nature-based solutions in arid climates. The conference was sponsored by the Ciudad Soil and Water Conservation District and held at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. Tomas, mentored by Julie Tsatsaros, presented a poster that won “best poster that represents the theme of reciprocity with nature–from theory to reality.” This award demonstrates how our curriculum emphasizes querencia:

The NMHU Forestry Club, led by Samantha Martinez, planned a trip in collaboration with the Society of American Foresters New Mexico Chapter, NM EMNRD Forestry Division, and the Carson National Forest to visit the McGuffey Ridge project to learn about how cut-to-length forestry equipment, combined with proactive management, can help reduce wildfire risk, lessen the impacts of an on-going Douglas-Fir tussock moth outbreak, and improve forest health. Students were able to network with the state Forester, Laura McCarthy, and numerous other professionals.

If you have any congratulations you’d like to share, please let your VP know, and they can forward the information for inclusion in the biweekly message.

Respectfully,

Dr. Neil Woolf
President
New Mexico Highlands University