UNM-GALLUP IS A PARTNER IN BUILDING A BETTER NEW MEXICO By Dr. James R. Malm, Professor of Business and Chancellor | This past summer—in the midst of this ongoing pandemic—UNMGallup celebrated the accomplishments of our Class of 2020, including our first cohort of graduates receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. Upon her graduation this summer, Allison Begay—one of our nursing graduates—shared her pride and accomplishment with our campus community: “My experience at UNM-Gallup will remain near and dear to my heart,” she explained. “Nursing school has been the hardest thing I have ever done. The long nights, early mornings, studying all the time, getting to clinicals on time, and preparing for some of the hardest exams I’ve taken in my life—all experiences that have been a part of my life for more than two years.” In my role as chancellor of UNM-Gallup, I have the honor and pleasure of witnessing the development of our students as they pursue their educational and career goals in our classrooms and then leave our campus prepared to enter into careers that make for a stronger New Mexico. Like Allison, our students go on to work in New Mexico hospitals and healthcare facilities. They work in our state’s manufacturing sector and on the construction crews that build our commercial buildings and homes. And they go on to pursue other higher educational goals in our state’s colleges and universities. Our
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students are exemplary citizens who participate in our New Mexico workforce. In the coming months, our state leaders will have ongoing discussions, including in the Legislative Finance Committee, to explore forthcoming difficult decisions regarding our state’s higher education system, which includes UNM-Gallup. There are some hard budget realities we are all certainly facing, and I commend each of our state legislators and governor for their discernment and stewardship of our state during these incredibly difficult times. But I also want to convey the good work of our university as our leaders make these decisions to illustrate the important role UNM-Gallup plays in the lives of our students, our local community, and the state of New Mexico.
CURRICULUM INNOVATION & PRIORITIZATION
Without a doubt, curriculum innovation is essential to the continued success of UNM-Gallup while ensuring that we are meeting student needs, local workforce demands, and fulfilling our mission for this 21st century. To ensure that the programs offered at UNM-Gallup fulfill our mission, we implemented this past summer what we called the Committee for the Review and Prioritization of Certificate and Degree Programs of the University of New Mexico Gallup. This committee was comprised of members from our faculty and department chairs who embarked together on a lengthy review and scoring process for program quality and relevance. The scoring process considered such questions as: 1) What is the local and regional demand for the program; 2) What are the enrollment trends; 3) What is the curriculum quality and relevance; and 4) What are the graduation and retention rates—to name just a few of the many scoring criteria used in the committee’s evaluation process. The committee also examined how our programs interact with other colleges and universities within the state as well as the need for additional ongoing partnerships or process improvements in collaboration with the UNM main campus. In a shared-governance fashion, our program prioritization committee reviewed over 37 programs at UNM-Gallup while providing recommendations for improvements and the eventual deletion of six programs that no longer meet our high standards for curriculum excellence. As baby boomers continue to retire at a fast rate, local communities and business leaders struggle to fill industrial manufacturing positions in our state; and are turning to UNM-Gallup to help fill the void with
