Alan's Monday Message for February 5th
Last week started with Sunday dinner with our new Graduate School Dean and Associate Provost for International Affairs, Ranjit Koodali. He was in town for the entire week as part of his transition to Las Cruces. Based on my conversation with him, he had a busy schedule meeting with a variety of people. On Monday morning, I worked on administrative duties before meeting with Diana Molina-Barragan, the Provost’s budget person. We meet every other week to assess the Provost’s commitments and budget. In the afternoon, I had an Annual Performance Review (APR) meeting with one of my direct reports followed by something new we are trying out in the Provost’s office. When I was Dean, I used to have Monday weekly check-ins with my direct staff and I decided it might be beneficial to re-institute this year at NMSU, so every Monday, Cindy Garrett, James McAteer and I will meet for 15-30 minutes to check-in and share anything coming up during the week that we need to apprised of. We’ll see how this works and assess over time whether it is worthwhile to institutionalize into our weekly activities. Afterwards, I had a 1:1 meeting with Dean/Associate Provost Koodali. I am impressed with his positive energy, “can do” spirit, and solutions orientation. I finished the day with another 1:1 meeting.
On Tuesday, I participated in the Graduate School’s budget meeting with Graduate School Dean Ranjit Koodali, Diana Molina-Barragan, and Kim Rumford. Over the course of the spring semester, Dean/Associate Provost Koodali will be transitioning the international operations to be integrated with the graduate school. Before lunch, I walked around campus. After lunch, I had another APR meeting with another direct report. I then met with the College of Engineering leadership to discuss a space request. For the rest of the day, I worked on administrative duties.
To start Wednesday, I read a Chronicle of Higher Education article that James McAteer shared with me. It is highly relevant for NMSU, so I am sharing it with everyone here. I hope it generates discussions and ideas within every unit at NMSU. For the rest of the morning, I attended to administrative duties prior to attending the Operational Learning session with Audit/OIE/OPR presenting in the Health and Social Services Annex Auditorium. I want to thank Ken Glascock, William Nutt, and Donna Ottaviano for presenting their respective units of Audit, OIE, and OPR. It was a well-received and productive session. As I shared with Ken, William, and Donna, I want them to present once a year to provide an update on their activities.
On Thursday, I had another APR meeting with a direct report and then attended the Faculty Senate meeting in the afternoon. Most of the day was devoted to working on annual performance reviews for my direct reports. This year, I have twelve direct reports. I am also starting to review the tenure and promotion packages from the colleges who have submitted their complete package of cases. I hope to review and get decisions out as soon as possible. In the evening, I attended the basketball game against Liberty. During halftime, I participated in a recognition ceremony for all our student athletes who achieved a 3.0 gpa or higher. The team won in overtime, 79-73.
Friday was devoted to visiting Cooperative Extension Service (CES) offices in Deming, Silver City, and Lordsburg with ACES Associate Dean Jon Boren and Director of the Southern District Tom Dean. This was my 4th trip visiting our cooperative extension service facilities and my first time to the southwest portion of the state. During our roadtrip, we encountered rain, sun, wind, and snow. First, we visited Luna County Extension Services and met with County Program Director Jack Blandford, Katherine Turner, and Beatrice Dominguez (who was conducting an ICAN event). We toured the African rue site and drove around Deming to see various work the Luna CES is doing with its partners. Afterwards, we drove to Silver City where we met with County Program Director/4-H Ag Agent Jessica Swapp, Carlie Gatlin, Angela Owens, Lauren Baker, four 4-H students, and community partners. Following our visit to Grant County, we drove to Hidalgo County CES and met with County Program Director/4-H Agent Savannah Graves, Melissa Burrola, and Dawn Conover and more community partners. Throughout the day, it was heartwarming to hear about the work our CES people are doing in their local communities to positively impact students and their partners.
Friday was also the official census day for NMSU system. The official enrollment data will take a few weeks to be confirmed, although this link provides you a good unofficial enrollment count by campus. Overall, NMSU system is up 4.7% from a year ago. This is good news.
Announcement
This coming Wednesday, February 7th, Associate Dean Jon Boren will be presenting about the Cooperative Extension Services (CES) operations at our now bi-weekly operational learning session in Gerald Thomas Auditorium Room 194 from 11:30am to 12:30pm. We had to change the time to secure a location. Come learn about CES and all the new things happening to support the our land grant mission and the state. Following this on Wednesday, February 14th, Danielle Staley will be presenting an overview of NMSU undergraduate recruitment and admissions operations. On Wednesday, February 28th, Ann Goodman will be providing an overview of Dean of Students and student discipline operations.
Aggie Nation – The Provost office and the College of Business Ethics Boot Camp are sponsoring a presentation by Dr. Corey Ciocchetti from the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business on "Be a Leader You will Follow" on Thursday, February 8th from 3:30pm to 4:30pm in the Hardman Jacobs Learning Center Room 125. Dr. Ciocchetti’s talk will focus on improving NMSU’s culture and climate and what each individual can do to make it happen. We need all hands on deck. If you want to improve NMSU’s climate, then please attend and rsvp your attendance through the QR code or URL. There will be a zoom option for those who register.
Dr. Sophia Sangwanthong shared the following: The Annual Asian and Pacific Islander Program Lunar New Year will take place from 12-2PM on February 12th in the Corbett Ballrooms. There will be Korean food, a lion dancing presentation, and more performances and activities! Last year more than 300 people attended this very important celebration of East Asian culture and we would love if you could come out to learn and show your support. Let’s celebrate the Year of the Dragon!
We will be celebrating International Mother Language Day on February 21st from 6:30PM-8:30PM in the Corbett Ballrooms. This important day, which began in Bangladesh, is honored by the UN as a recognition and celebration of linguistic and cultural backgrounds. NMSU students from backgrounds across Asia will be performing, as well as NMSU students from across the world, to honor their mother languages and cultures. Indian food will be served.
On Friday, February 23rd, we will be partnering with the Astronomy Dept to bring you The Lantern Festival Celebration from 6:30- 8:30PM at the Tombaugh Observatory. You can observe the Moon, Jupiter, and other astronomical objects, and learn more about this important Chinese festival!
Everyone at NMSU is welcome and we hope to see you at our events. Please see attached flyers and reach out to me directly if you have any questions. Thank you so much to everyone who attended Roshni and helped us create such a wonderful success.
Patrick Turner shared this flyer about the upcoming First Year and Student Success Initiative for finding an academic major on Tuesday, February 20th from 10am to 1pm in the Corbett Center Ballrooms on the 3rd floor.
NMSU's Unsung Heroes
This week, I received one recipient for being NMSU Unsung Hero.
Rebecca Martinez (Agricultural Experiment Station Operations Manager) – Associate Director for AES Lara Prihodko wrote the following: I would like to nominate Rebecca Martinez from the AES main office as an Unsung Hero of NMSU. Rebecca ‘Becca’ Martinez is the Operations Manager for the Agricultural Experiment Station (AES) in the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences (ACES). She has been with the College of ACES for more than 12 years, first as a student employee and advancing to her current position. Becca is the ‘Go To Person’ for all things administrative in AES. She manages the daily operations of the AES Director’s office, handles administrative actions, and oversees and supports all administrative positions under the AES unit, including at the 12 offsite centers. If you have a question about anything AES, Becca is often the first stop. Becca’s administrative leadership, her professionalism, her knowledge of how things work at NMSU, and her willingness to go the extra step are critical to the success of AES and a tremendous resource for the College of ACES and NMSU. Plus, she’s great to work with. We couldn’t do it all without her.
Quote of the Week
"Criticize the behavior, not the person. Praise in public, criticize in private. Praise with emotion, criticize without emotion." Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson
