Alan’s Monday Message for July 10th
Good Monday morning, Aggies! Last week was a short week due to the 4th of July. On Wednesday, I had a number of small group and 1:1 meetings. It was a quiet day in the office. It allowed me to think about some big issues I want to address and how I might undertake them.
On Thursday morning, I had more 1:1 meetings and then I attended an EAB webinar for new Provosts. It was focused on the state of the higher education. I attended the IT Strategic Planning committee before meeting with Lourdes Alvarado-Salas and Diana Molina-Barragan to review the Provost’s budget.
For Friday, my wife accompanied me to work to help clean up my office. She had seen it on Thursday and thought I needed help organizing and displaying all the NMSU swag I have received since my arrival in April. I had a meeting with Dave Maddox to review various projects and their status. In the afternoon, I had a meeting to review budgetary issues involving start-up packages with the VPR Luis Cifuentes, A&S Dean Enrico Pontelli, Associate Dean Michele Shuster, and Senior Associate Provost James McAteer. To end the day, I walked to the NMSU Bookstore living room on the 2nd floor and was interviewed by Associate Provost, Dr. Patrick Turner in the NMSU Bookstore as part of the Aggie Beat. It was the first time I have been to the bookstore in my two plus months at NMSU.
NMSU’s Unsung Heroes
This week, I received three recipients for being NMSU Unsung Heroes.
Jessica Savage (Arts and Sciences Scholarship Coordinator) – As Carol Campbell, Joe Lakey, and Michele Shuster shared, Jessica Savage has served as the scholarship coordinator for the College of Arts and Sciences since 2012. Jessica oversees about 300 scholarship accounts that award close to $1M to about 600 different students served by the college each year. Many of these accounts have idiosyncratic rules that require Jessica to coordinate with the NMSU Foundation, with Financial Aid, and with the 22 academic departments (and 2 ROTC programs) that make most of the awards to their students. Each student who receives a Foundation scholarship is required to submit a thank you letter. Jessica oversees this process, making sure that the letters are suitable to send to the donors we count on to support our students. Jessica also interacts directly each semester with a lot of students in critical financial need. Professor Campbell, who has been able to observe Jessica at work due to proximity of their offices, notes that “Jessica is a very caring and careful person who works diligently to be sure students are informed about the scholarships available to them. Her open-door policy gives her the chance to talk with students in our program and our scholarship coordinator when questions of timing and eligibility arise. She is incredibly knowledgeable about where the support is located and how to gain access.” Thank you, Jessica, for being student-centric and supporting our students.
Christopher Landt (Senior Systems Analyst for Library) – As Dean of Library Kevin Comerford noted, Christopher has built, maintained, and safeguarded Library systems for nearly thirty years. In that time, he has worked on every system in the Library and he has shared his knowledge as a faculty member at Dona Ana Community College. His work continues to prove essential for healthy Library operations. Thank you for ensuring our library systems are operational for our users.
Darlynna John (Senior Web Developer for Library) – Dean Kevin Comerford shared the following about Darlynna. She is the Senior Web Developer for the Library. In that role she has helped make both the Library website and the Library Sharepoint site strong and successful. A talented web developer and graphic artist, she has also authored a series of outstanding training modules for Library employees so that they can use Library systems to the fullest. Darlynna, your work is helping patrons and employees alike make the library more user friendly.
Kudos
The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) officially extended NMSU College of Business accreditation for another five years. The Peer Review Team's recommendation for extension of accreditation of the business and accounting degree programs offered by the College of Business has been concurred with by the Continuous Improvement Review Committee and Accounting Accreditation Committee, and also ratified by the Board of Directors. Congratulations to the College of Business!
VPR Luis Cifuentes informed me on Friday that Dr. Jennifer Curtiss, Associate Professor of Biology is being awarded a National Science Foundation Mid-Career Advancement Award (MCA). The MCA program offers an opportunity for faculty at mid-career stage to substantively enhance and advance their research program and career trajectory. A primary objective is to ensure that scientists and engineers remain engaged and active in cutting-edge research at a critical career state replete with constraints on time that can impinge on research productivity, retention, and career advancement. Thus, by (re)-investing in mid-career researchers, NSF hopes to establish a more diverse scientific workforce (more women, persons with disabilities, and individuals from groups that have been underrepresented) at high academic ranks. The MCA provides protected time and resources to overcome existing constraints and enable advancements in creativity and productivity. Congratulations Jennifer on this significant award!
ACES Dean Rolando Flores shared with me this year’s ACES awardees. I want to congratulate all the ACES Awardees. This signifies your important contributions to ACES and NMSU. Kudos to everyone!
- ACES Team Award for “Living Well With Inflation.” Team Members: Beatriz Favela, Bryce Jorgensen, Desaree Jimenez, Dianne Christensen, Joy Czmyrid, Richard Griffiths, and Susann Mikkelson
- Malone Farms Distinguished Staff Award (non-exempt): Off Campus: Janice Bernal
- Mobley Family Endowed Distinguished Research Award
- Research Early/Mid-Carter: Sergio Martinez-Monteagudo
- Research Advanced/ Senior Carver: Shengrui Yao
- Charles Tharp Farms Distinguished Service Award: Shanna Ivey
- Distinguished County Extension Agent Award: Beatriz Favela
- North American Colleges & Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) 'Teaching Award: Pete Mitchell
- Distinguished Cooperative Extension Service Award: Mindy Turner
- Outstanding Global Work Award: Manoj Shukla
- Distinguished Professional Staff Award (Exempt Staff):
- On Campus: Ruba Mohamed;
- Off Campus: Shad Cox
- Distinguished On Campus Staff Award (non-exempt): Liz Lopez
- Distinguished Teaching Award - Early Mid-Carver: Rachel Gioannini
- Leyendecker Agriculturist of Distinction Award: Kim O'Byme
- Family & Consumer Science Industry Award: Willis Fedio
- Outstanding Family & Consumer Science Teacher Award: Dianne 'T. Kemp
- Outstanding 4-H Agent Award: Talisha L. Valdez
- School of HRT'M Industry Leadership Award: Mark Burden
