Other NM universities announcements

Five dozen middle and high school teachers from New Mexico and 12 other states are participating in a new professional development program at New Mexico State University that aims to sharpen skills in the culinary arts, hospitality management and sustainable agriculture.

NMSU's School Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management and Arrowhead Center's Innoventure Program developed the professional development program for secondary education teachers through a $500,000 grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

 Portales, NM – Oct. 23, 2024 – Fifty years ago, Duane W. Ryan, director of broadcasting at ENMU, brought public television to the high plains of Eastern New Mexico. In celebration of this accomplishment and Ryan's contributions, Eastern New Mexico University will rename the broadcast center in his honor during KENW's 50th anniversary celebration on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 2 p.m.

ENMU will host a special ribbon-cutting ceremony on the patio at the newly named Duane W. Ryan broadcast center at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26. Following the ribbon cutting, there will be a public reception and tours of the KENW studios.

La Sociedad para Las Artes at New Mexico State University will host a public reading event for alumna Melanie Sweeney as part of the Nelson-Boswell Reading Series, which invites visiting writers to NMSU to share their work with the community. The series is named in honor of writers Antonya Nelson and Robert Boswell, who began their teaching careers at NMSU.

Melanie Sweeney, a writer of contemporary romance. She will read from her debut novel "Take Me Home." Sweeney's next title, "Where You're Planted," will be released next summer. An NMSU alumna, Sweeny received her Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing. NMSU MFA student Mariana Franzon Erazo will read from her thesis prior to Sweeney's reading.

The Borderland and Ethnic Studies department at New Mexico State University has begun an interdisciplinary research-art project, "Shahadat Theatrical Readings," based on Manal Hamzeh's 2020 book, "Women Resisting Sexual Violence and the Egyptian Revolution: Arab Feminist Testimonies."

The book is a result of eight years of relational and on-the-ground research that she started in 2012 between Las Cruces, Amman, Jordan, and Cairo, Egypt. In the book, Hamzeh's scholarship refutes Western imperialist feminist narratives about the Revolution and Arab women, and legitimizing Arabyya research methodologies of shahadat and haki –public political testimonies and trust-based intimate conversations.

The New Mexico State University Board of Regents will present alumnus Gale Harvey, class of 1962, with an honorary Doctor of Science degree in recognition of the decades of support he has provided to the university and his contributions to science. NMSU Interim President Mónica Torres will present the award at the NMSU commencement ceremonies starting at 6 p.m. on Friday, December 13 at the Pan American Center.

"We proudly honor Gale Harvey for his outstanding service and support to both the university and the Foundation," said Sylvia Y. Acosta, CEO of the NMSU Foundation. "This honorary doctorate reflects his ongoing dedication to advancing education and his legacy of generosity in supporting our Aggies. He's helped countless students achieve their dreams, and we are truly grateful."

Whether you're looking for a special gift or want to treat yourself, you can scratch your shopping itch later this month at the annual jewelry sale at New Mexico State University.

Metalsmithing students in NMSU's Department of Art will have hundreds of one-of-a-kind, handmade, wearable art pieces at their 42nd annual jewelry sale. The one-day event runs from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 28 at the coffee shop in the NMSU Bookstore on 1400 E. University Ave., with two hours free parking for customers.

"The jewelry sale gives the students experience as professionals in the jewelry industry," said Motoko Furuhashi, associate art professor. "The students learn jewelry advertising, marketing, accounting, customer care and jewelry production."

New Mexico is once again seeing a decrease in teacher vacancies, according to a report by New Mexico State University's Southwest Outreach Academic Research Evaluation and Policy Center.

A report last year found a slight increase in these vacancies. As of Sept. 9, there were 1,259 educator vacancies in New Mexico, with 737 teacher vacancies. Last year, there were 751 teacher vacancies, indicating a 2% decrease in 2024. In 2022, there were 690 teacher vacancies.

As in 2023, the area with the highest need was special education, which had 280 teacher vacancies, making up 38% of all teacher vacancies. Elementary teachers had the second largest total with 179 vacancies, or 24% of all teacher vacancies.

New Mexico State University will continue a new tradition established in 2023 to acknowledge people and organizations working to positively impact economic development in New Mexico. Nominations are now being accepted for the 2024 Kevin B. Boberg Excellence in Economic Development Award. The award's first winner, Jon Barela, CEO of the Borderplex Alliance, an economic development and policy advocacy organization, was honored last fall at the 2023 NMSU Outreach Conference.

The award is named after Kevin Boberg, who helped launch Arrowhead Center at NMSU and was its first director and CEO. Boberg passed away in March 2021.