Monday Message for June 5th
Good 1st Monday morning of June. Today is National Thank you Day. I want to start by saying, “Thank you to all NMSU employees for everything you do to advance our institution.” No matter what your job is, it takes a team effort to bring everything together. While we often take for granted what people do, let’s remind ourselves of the power of saying thank you and appreciating what others do for us. I want to take a moment to send a special thank you to all our NMSU off the Las Cruces campus. While I still have to visit the Grants campus, I have visited Dona Ana, Alamogordo, and our Apache Point/Sunspot personnel and each time, I have walked away impressed by the commitment of everyone I have met. Your work is much appreciated and I have shared my experiences with the Chancellor and I know he feels similarly.
To start the week, I worked on administrative duties throughout Monday and focused on short-and long-term plans to advance both academic affairs as well as strategic system services. On Tuesday, I zoomed into a Regents committee meeting on student success. We discussed the Basic Needs Survey, which illustrated some disturbing data on basic needs insecurity. At 10am, the Deans and I drove to UTEP to meet with our counterparts. We had lunch together and started discussions on ways we might collaborate on borderland related issues. After lunch, I met with John Wiebe, UTEP’s Provost and each Dean met with their UTEP counterpart individually or in a small group. We then took a tour of UTEP campus before we returned home to NMSU. We anticipate hosting our UTEP counterparts in late September/early October. This meeting will include greater participation with faculty associated with the areas identified for synergistic collaboration.
To start Wednesday, I had a few 1:1 meetings prior to attending a meeting with the Board of Regents Audit and Risk committee. After lunch, I attended the Board of Regents special meeting online. At the Board of Regents meeting, they approved a posthumous degree for Emilia Rueda to be awarded at our 2023 December graduation ceremony. Emilia’s life was cut short due to a tragic murder-suicide. She was a student in the Department of Art and as Department Head Margaret Goehring noted, Emilia was an excellent student, and had just started the upper-level classes, and displayed a keen eye for detail and technique as well as a strong conceptual and theoretical foundation. In addition, the Board of Regents approved the operating budget for fiscal year 2024. I finished the day with more 1:1 and small group meetings.
On Thursday, I had some 1:1 meetings and attended to administrative duties. In the afternoon, I visited with US Senator Ben Ray Lujan’s field representative, Melanie Goodman along with NMSU Governmental Relations Interim Assistant Vice President, Clayton Abbey and Government Relations Specialist, Aggie Saltman. I shared my thoughts on academic and research priorities for NMSU and where we would welcome any support Senator Lujan may be able to assist us in advancing NMSU’s mission. Afterwards, I walked to the University Art Museum to select some student and faculty artwork to display in the Provost’s office. Art Museum Director, Marisa Sage and Collections Curator, Courtney Uldrich helped me identify some pieces to exhibit in the Provost’s office. They will be coming to my office next week to ensure all the pieces selected are displayed appropriately.
On Friday, James McAteer drove Department of Astronomy Head Jason Jackiewicz, Nancy Chanover, National Solar Observatory Director, Valentin Pillet, and myself to Apache Point (APO)/Sunspot (SSO) Observatories. It was an approximately two hour drive. When we arrived, we toured the 3.5 meter telescope with Jamey Eriksen, APO Director of Site Operations. Afterwards, we took a tour of the 2.5 meter Sloan, and Dunn solar telescopes prior to having lunch with the APO and SSO staff in the Visitors Center. If you have not visited Apache Point/Sunspot Observatories, I highly recommend it. The Sunspot Observatory is open to the public. After lunch, we drove around the SSO facility prior to returning to Las Cruces. I walked away in awe of the APO/SSO telescopes and operations. Being from Hawaii, where the largest telescope in the world is being proposed to be built on Mauna Kea, this opportunity to visit Apache Point/Sunspot was insightful and gave me a new appreciation for the work our astronomist are doing to understand the sun, stars, and galaxies and to learn about both our past and future. I want to thank everyone who hosted us for the warm welcome and hospitality. It was another example of the variety of ways in which people contribute to NMSU’s mission as a land- and space-grant institution. I hope to organize some type of event at APO/SSO next year, so that everyone can experience what I did and walk away inspired.
New Upcoming Exhibitions at the University Art Museum
Marisa Sage, Director of the University Art Museum shared the following information about the upcoming exhibitions opening on Thursday, June 22nd starting at 5:30pm to 7:30pm. The exhibition will run from June 22nd through September 16th. Here are the links for all three exhibitions:
Agnes Martin & Karen Yank: Meditations on Mentor and Student
NMSU’s Unsung Heroes
This week, I received three recipients for being NMSU Unsung Heroes.
Vince Engling (Student Program Coordinator) – As Dr. Tony Marin shared, Vince Engling has dedicated 32 years of service working with southern New Mexico youth through the TRIO Upward Bound Program that serves students in the Gadsden and Las Cruces school districts. Vince demonstrates kindness and understanding in working with first-generation, income sensitive students who strive to improve their social mobility by completing high school and college education. Vince has assisted hundreds of students to meet their academic, career, and personal goals through his mentoring and teaching of self-advocacy skills. Vince is always positive in working with students and assists them to capitalize on the many assets and strengths they possess in order for them to meet their aspirations. Vince is a professional who produces the highest quality of service to our Future Aggies, with humility, and truly is an “Unsung Hero.” Thank you Vince for exemplifying the values of an unsung hero, i.e., humility and servant leadership to others!
Marci Milam (Academic Success Center Program Director) – According to Dr. Tony Marin, Marci epitomizes the meaning of an unsung hero. Marci oversees Campus Tutoring Services, the Career Closet as well as the Nusenda Center for Financial Capability. Through Marci’s tireless efforts—she has ensured that the academic and non-academic support services she and her peer staff deliver meet the expectation of our NM State Aggies. Marci fosters partnerships with our academic community as well as administrative divisions in order to meet the needs of our student body. Marci also recognizes the importance of giving back OR paying it forward by dedicating her free time to community service projects that make a difference in the lives of Las Cruces area residents. Marci dedicates her time as a board member of the Warrior League, an organization that provides opportunities for special needs children to participate in T-Ball as well as dedicating time to organizations such as Jardin de Los Ninos which provides childcare and educational services to homeless and near homeless children in Dona Ana County. Marci is a humble “Unsung Hero.” Marci, on the part of NMSU, thank you for serving our students and going above and beyond.
Gary Nichols (Physical Science Laboratory Security) – As Chris Scott and Zach Frost of the Physical Science Laboratory Facility Security Office wrote, “Gary’s been part of PSL’s history for over 30 years.” As “the face” of PSL, he was the first person everyone would see when they entered Anderson Hall. Gary hails from New Hampshire and served his country proudly as a soldier in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam era. During his time on active duty, he took part in radio operations as part of a Military Intelligence team. He moved to New Mexico years after his enlistment and began working at PSL. He played an integral role in the protection of PSL to include the Antenna Range near A-Mountain as well as the Seven-Acre Anderson Hall controlled complex. To say that he will be missed would be an understatement. We wish Gary the very best in retirement and thank him for always going above and beyond for PSL and NMSU.
Kudos
College of Arts and Sciences Awards for Excellence in Mentorship - The Faculty Mentorship Award seeks to honor faculty members that have gone above and beyond in providing mentorship to their students. This award is unique because to be considered, faculty members must be nominated by a student. This award is truly a testament to the impact faculty members have on their students. Awardees for 2023:
- Nicholas Beltran: College Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry; Dr. Beltran was nominated by a former student who wrote “Growing up, I never had a mentor in school. There was no teacher or adult who really believed in me or motivated me. It wasn't’t until I met Professor Nicholas Beltran that I felt true support or empathy from someone. My biggest dream is to one day pursue a career in forensic science. For that reason, I am double majoring in chemistry and criminal justice. During my first chemistry lecture, I realized that my skills in the subject were not where they needed to be. For that reason, I began to feel insecure and discouraged. I was able to switch to one of Professor Beltran’s lectures and it only took one of his lectures to make me truly fall in love with chemistry. Dr. Beltran has given me so much courage and help that I don’t want to give up. It was because of his encouragement that I have not and will not give up on my dream.”
- Kathryn Hanley: Professor of Biology; Dr. Hanley was nominated by a student who works in her lab. In their nomination submission the student writes “Dr. Hanley is by far the best professor and mentor I have worked with because she genuinely cares about her students and pushes us to be our best. She makes every student feel cared for and goes out of her way to check in and support us when we need it. She gives every student an equal amount of attention, which prevents toxic lab culture and students competing for her attention/approval. As a result, our lab feels like one big family, and I believe that’s a direct result of Dr. Hanley’s mentoring style. Despite a very busy schedule, she still finds time to meet with every one of her students each week outside of our weekly lab meeting. Dr. Hanley leads by example, and being in her lab motivates me to be the best scientist I can be.”
- Jean-Paul Vessel: Professor of Philosophy; The nominator writes, “Dr. Vessel does not impose his beliefs on his students but rather challenges them to think critically and justify their own beliefs. He expects nothing but the best from his students and when one falls short, he makes sure to do what he can to ensure the student continues to grow. From my personal experience, Dr. Vessel helped me realize the potential I have. Like many students, I used to underestimate myself, but Dr. Vessel has encouraged me to develop myself into a better philosopher by telling me what my strengths and weaknesses are. He takes this a bit further by helping me come up with ways to turn those weaknesses into strengths and continuously checks in to ensure that I am keeping that momentum. Dr. Vessel understands that many students come from disadvantaged positions in life, but he makes it his responsibility to catapult them to success as much as he can.
