Alan's Monday Message for February 19th

Last week started with my review of the tenure and promotion cases. I am past halfway through all the reviews. This year there are 44 total cases across the university. One of the enjoyable parts of the review is seeing the amazing work our faculty are doing and learning about how they are making a difference. After reviewing cases during the morning, I met with the Provost staff for our weekly check-in. Afterwards, I walked to Corbett Center ballroom to attend the Lunar New Year celebration sponsored by the Asian and Pacific Islander program. The even celebrated the Year of the Dragon. My kudos go out to Dr. Zooey Sophia Pook for leading this event. For the rest of the day, I worked on more tenure/promotion reviews. 

On Tuesday, I had a number of 1:1 meetings followed by the Deans bi-weekly meeting. D'Anne Stuart attended the meeting to share the current capital outlay priorities of the institution. In the afternoon, I met with Diana Molina-Barragan and James McAteer to review the Provost's budget and then I welcomed the Department of Energy (DOE) representatives to campus and share how appreciative we are for the partnership funding we have with the DOE on a number of projects. I then held a meeting with one of my direct reports prior to going to dinner with teh Department of Energy representative at La Posta de Mesilla. Dean Kevin Comerford of the Libraries shared this photo from Santa Fe at Higher Education Day. 

Wednesday started with several 1:1 meetings followed by the Operational Learning meeting in Gerald Thomas auditorium. Danielle Staley, Director of Undergraduate Admissions shared an overview of undergraduate recruiting and admissions. These sessions have been well-received and productive as a means of better understanding what each presenting unit does. After the meeting, I visited with the Innovative Media and Extension Learning Game Lab in Gerald Thomas Hall. To end the day, I held another direct report 1:1 meeting before picking up my order of chocolate covered strawberries from the ACES fundraiser outside Gerald Thomas Hall. 

To start Thursday, I had some 1:1 and small group meetings. After lunch, I held another APR meeting with one of my direct reports prior to going to O'Donnell Hall to attend the UPAC meeting. I also attended a HEST Integrenerational Mentoring Panel event to end the day. I applaud HEST and Dean Yoshi Iwasaki for creating a mechanism for supporting students and faculty. Here is a picture of the event: 

Friday was devoted to reviewing tenure and promotion packages. My goal is to get the overwhelming majority of the cases reviewed by the end of February. Soon afterwards, we will post the final decision letters to all the applicants at the same time. Prior to lunch, I walked to the Atkinson Recital Hall and watched a subset of our marching band perform before 300 high school students we were visiting as part of the Southwest Honor Band. Our band did a great job of energizing the recital hall and as I mentioned to Fred Bugbee and Steven Smyth, they did an exemplary job of getting all the attending high school students excited about being a part of the NMSU Pride of New Mexico. Afterwards, I walked to Gerald Thomas Hall where I am starting a "Lunch with the Provost" at the 100 West Café for a few people to have lunch with me. For the first luncheon, I invited HEST's Phil Post, Ana Lopez, and Blanca Araujo. We had a nice conversation and they gave me some recommendations for places to eat in Las Cruces outside of Mesilla. I am going to try and have lunches whenever the 100 West Café is open and invite a cross-section of faculty, staff, and academic leaders to have a casual conversation over a meal. 

NMSU Op-Ed

On Valentine's day, College of Engineering Dean Lakshmi Reddi wrote this informative op-ed about the history and critical impact of NMSU's engineers ahead of this week's National Engineering Week. 

Announcements

This coming Wednesday morning, February 21st from 8:00am to 9:00am, there will be a welcome reception for Dr. Ranjit Koodali, Dean of the Graduate School and Associate Provost for International Affairs. It will be held in the Hadley Hall Lobby. Light refreshments will be provided. Please turn out and welcome Ranjit to NMSU. 

This week, the Provost office is launching an internal search for a new Associate Dean for the Graduate School/International Affairs. Senior Associate Provost James McAteer is chairing the search committee. The following people have agreed to serve on the search committee: 1) Denise Rodriguez-Strawn, NMSU Global; Matthew Lara, ISSS; Kari Cena, Education Aboard; Kari Bellavita, Graduate School; Adi Ghalasi, Graduate Student Council; David Rutledge, Graduate Council; Winnie Lee, Department Head; Hameed Badawy, Faculty Senate; and David Jauregui, Associate Deans Academic Council. The applications are due March 8th followed by review of applications, and finalists interviews happening in March when Dean of the Graduate School/Associate Provost for International Affairs Ranjit Koodali is on-campus to make the hiring decision.

In a few weeks, the Provost office will also be launching an internal search for a permanent Deputy Provost. We are doing this since James McAteer’s original appointment was for only two years and expires in August 2024. I have asked College of Arts and Sciences Dean Enrico Pontelli to chair the search committee. The following people have agreed to serve on the search committee: 1) Vimal Chaitanya, Vice Chair for Faculty Senate; 2) Kate Terpis, Chair of ADAC; 3) Audrey Dijean, Member of the Graduate Student Council; and 4) Ricardo Ramirez, Department Head of Entomology, Plant Pathology, and Weed Science. We anticipate the search will launch sometime in early March with applications being due later March followed by review of applications, interview with the search committee and subsequently an interview with the Provost prior to making a final decision in April.

The Provost office will launch an internal search for a permanent Associate Provost for Accreditation and Assessment. This position is to replace retired Associate Provost Shelly Stovall. College of Business Dean Bryan Ashenbaum will chair the search committee. The search committee consists of the following members: 1) Joe Lakey, ADAC representative; 2) Calixto Melero, Institutional Analysis representative; 3) Erica Surova, Community Analysis representative; 4) Marlene Chavez-Toivanen, NMSU Grants representative; 5) Forrest Kaatz, NMSU Alamogordo representative; 6) Jennifer Hodges, NMSU DACC representative; and 7) Elsa Arroyos, Department Head representative. The search will launch sometime after spring break and conclude before the end of the semester with Senior Associate Provost James McAteer making the appointment after the search committee reviews applications and interviews finalists.

As VPRCED Luis Cifuentes wrote, “Last week, many of us were privileged to attend Professor Corey Ciocchetti's inspiring exhortation to improve NMSU's campus climate. From February 26 to March 1, we have an opportunity to put his words into action.”

During Research and Creativity Week (RCW), over 180 students, faculty, and staff will present their work. Prioritizing attending their presentations speaks volumes about our commitment to fostering a supportive, collegial, and vibrant research, scholarship, and creative activity community.

The agenda for the 2024 Research and Creativity Week is up! You can find it linked here. The website has the week's full agenda, links to register for different events, flyers, and more. Let's spread the word about RCW far and wide!

Being there for our students matters. A room filled with department heads, program directors, committee members, mentors, and colleagues sends a powerful message that we care. Let's show our support for the RCW participants. Thank you!

Research and Creativity Week 2024

The 100 West Cafe launched their lunch dates and menus this past week. For further information, go to this website. If you have not experienced the food and service, I highly recommend trying it out. Our students do a great job.

Greetings from the Graduate School!

Dean Ranjit Koodali extends an invitation to the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition to be held on Friday, March 1, in Domenici Hall 109 from 9.00 AM to 12:00 noon. The 3MT competition provides an opportunity for graduate students to distill key findings of their research within three minutes such that a general audience can understand. We look forward to seeing you!

Cecil Rose, Director of Black Programs shares this announcement - Black Programs, NMSU Athletics, the NMSU Department of History, and the Dona Ana NAACP chapter are commemorating significant African American and Black milestones throughout NMSU and Las Cruces history in the Celebrating the Firsts Recognition set for 11 a.m. this Thursday, Feb. 22nd at the Villanueva Victory Club-Fulton Center, 3rd Floor. Dr. McKinley Boston, the first African American Athletic Director at NMSU, Anita (Maxwell) Skipper the first NMSU WNBA Player and recorded the first NCAA stat line men or women, and Doris Hamilton, the first African American principal in New Mexico will be recognized. This event is open to all students, faculty, and staff and the Las Cruces community.

NMSU's Unsung Heroes

This week, I received one recipient for being a NMSU Unsung Hero.

Irma Marshall (Administrative Assistant, Department of Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Business) – Dr. Frannie Miller nominated Irma Marshall as an unsung hero. Irma is working part-time, having retired, but then, after her replacement moved on to another job, Irma returned – I think primarily out of the goodness of her heart. There is nobody on campus that does a better job of exemplifying quiet, unselfish industry. Irma is the rock of our department and provides the type of detail-oriented focus that plays a large role in our ability to serve students and keep graduation-on-time rates high. If she has a moment where she is not busy, she uses it to organize the closets, tidy our area, she truly does not ever stop working.

Irma’s institutional knowledge is nothing short of amazing. She exemplifies professionalism and organization. When I came back for my job interview, full of nerves, anxiety, and hopefulness, seeing Irma’s smiling face created the exact same sensation that she frequently provided when I was a student with those same exact sentiments. She does a tremendous amount to help our students navigate their nerves, anxieties, and to achieve what they are hoping, and she has been doing it with the same quiet, unassuming dedication for generations of students.

Kudos

The College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Executive Director Samantha Barany informed Kevin Melendrez, NMSU’s Faculty Athletic Representative that CSCAA has selected New Mexico State's women's swim & dive team for our Scholar All-America award. Please help me in recognizing Coach Rick Pratt and the entire team for their impressive academic accomplishments. Rick has been instrumental in the success of New Mexico State program, and we take great pride in celebrating the leadership of this coaching staff and the remarkable achievement of your student-athletes. The achieved a team 3.65 gpa with 9 - 4.0s. This is the team’s highest team gpa in Coach Pratt’s tenure. Congratulations to our Aggie women’s swim and dive team!

Quote of the Week

“When employees respect each other and get along in the workplace, it’s how productivity increases, morale increases, and employees are more courteous to others.” Maureen Wild