2005, Fall

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fall 2005

daring deeds magazine

The

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A l u m n i

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S P I E S & S E C U R I T Y G U Y S , B Y S T E A M & B Y F O O T, L O B O E X P E C TAT I O N S & H O M E C O M I N G R E F L E C T I O N S


Looking at:

contents 18 Full Steam Ahead

On the Cover: An FBI surveillance photo shows

Art Lindberg, ’58 BA, leaving a drop

point he’d arranged with Soviet spies.

BY MARY CONRAD Family history plus a UNM history class inspired Kim Smith’s career as trainmaster of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad in Chama, New Mexico.

Nick Layman

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22 Walk to Remember

BY GREG JOHNSTON Indefatigable Caleb Smith, ’95 BA, ’96 BAFA, has walked—and documented— every block of Manhattan.

Lindberg’s daring led to the Soviets’

24 Mission: Possible

arrest in 1978.

BY JANICE MYERS Retired from the Secret Service, Dennis Maez, ’81 MAPA, now heads his own international security firm.

28 Spy Saga

12 Athletics: Mad about the Lobos! An in-depth look at what the UNM athletics program can really accomplish. B Y C A R O LY N G O N Z A L E S

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Fall 2005, Volume 24, Number 1 THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO; Louis Caldera, President; Karen A. Abraham, Director, Alumni Relations; UNM ALUMNI ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: Angie Vachio, President, Albuquerque; Roberto Ortega, President-Elect, Albuquerque; Lillian Montoya-Rael, Treasurer, Santa Fe; Coleman Travelstead, Past-President, Albuquerque; Gene Baca, Corrales; Michelle Hernandez, Albuquerque; Ruth Schifani, Albuquerque; Judy Zanotti, Albuquerque. MIRAGE is published three times a year, in April, August, and December, by the University of New Mexico Alumni Association for the University’s alumni and friends. Address all correspondence to UNM Alumni Relations Office, MSC 01-1160, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM 87131-0001. Send all Album information to the attention of Margaret Weinrod. Send all changes of address to the attention of Records. Send all other correspondence to the attention of Mary Conrad. To comply with the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, UNM provides this publication in alternative formats. If you have special needs and require an auxiliary aid or service, please contact Mary Conrad. Phone: 800-258-6866 (800-ALUM-UNM) or 505-277-5808. E-mail to Mary Conrad: mconrad@unm.edu or alumni@unm.edu. Web address: www.unmalumni.com

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Nick Layman

courtesy Art Lindberg

BY STEVE CARR Posing as a discontented Naval officer, Art Lindberg, ’58 BA, helped the FBI identify and capture three Soviet spies in Operation Lemonade.


s

album

32 Conversation: Hands-On Ethics

compiled by Margaret Weinrod.

Four professionals discuss the prominence of ethical issues in everyday medical decisions. MODERATED EDITED

BY

BY

JOAN

MARY

GIBSON

CONRAD

Look for a friend on every page! Keep us posted!

Looking Around: 3 Album

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4 Reflections: Through the Window

UNM President Louis Caldera shares his view of the university.

Mirage was the title

5 Connections

of the University of

10 Alumni Outlook

New Mexico yearbook until its last edition in 1978. Since that time, the title was adopted by the alumni

36 Development: History in the Making A UNM alumna has begun a scholarship fund honoring former UNM student and history professor Benjamin Sacks, ’26 BA. BY DANA HERRERA

38 Merchandise Everyone’s A Lobo!

magazine which continues to publish

Look At This!

vignettes of This issue of Mirage includes a special pull-out schedule UNM graduates.

for UNM Homecoming 2005. Save it and join us!

Send your news to Margaret Weinrod The University of New Mexico Alumni Association MSC 01-1160 1 University of New Mexico Albuquerque NM 87131-0001. www.unmalumni.com/community Better yet, e-mail your news to mweinrod@unm.edu. Fall (August) deadline: May 1 Winter (December) deadline: September 1 Spring (April) deadline: January 1

Theo R. Crevenna, ’43 BA, ’45 MA, has received special distinction in recognition of his 60 years’ dedication to the socio-educational, economic, scientific, and cultural development of the Americas from the OAS and the Inter-American Organization for Higher Education. Theo is deputy director of UNM’s Latin American and Iberian Institute. Edith Isaacs Ervin, ’52 BA, wrote recently, recalling her family’s trek in 1950 to New Mexico in a 1941 Plymouth from Connecticut. She now lives in Mercer Island, Washington. Her late father, Murray Isaacs, ’53 BABA, ’56 MA, taught history at Belen High School, among other schools. Pete V. Domenici, ’54 BSED, New Mexico’s senior US senator, was honored as the Albuquerque Museum Foundation’s Notable New Mexican for 2005. Frederick “Ted” Howden, ’55 BA, is chief deputy district attorney for the 13th Judicial District in New Mexico where he oversees criminal cases tried in Cibola, Valencia, and Sandoval counties. He serves under another UNM alum, district attorney Lemuel Martinez, ’89 MA, ’95 JD. Bill Krum, ’60 BAFA, is president of Baum’s Music in Albuquerque, an establishment he first encountered as a music student at UNM. Thirty years later, he bought the firm. Robert Tinnin Jr., ’61 BA, of the Tinnin Law Firm in Albuquerque, has been recognized in the field of labor and employment law by Best Lawyers in America. He has been in the list every edition since the publication began in 1983.

The University of New Mexico

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Through the Window B Y

U N M

P R E S I D E N T

From the window of the president’s office in historic Scholes Hall, one enjoys a fine view just across the Duck Pond of the striking west front of the University of New Mexico library, the building’s original wing and entrance. Built in the 1930s, these two structures, Scholes Hall and Zimmerman Library, remain great examples of the work of famed architect John Gaw Meem, and UNM’s eighth president, James F. Zimmerman, for whom the library is named. Meem drew his inspiration from New Mexico’s storied past and its unique tradition of “Spanish-Pueblo architecture;” Zimmerman, who took the lead in acquiring Public Works Administration funding for the buildings’ construction, was motivated by a powerful belief in UNM’s potential even in the midst of the Depression.

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C A L D E R A

Today the University of New Mexico is continuing to build on the strengths of its distinguished heritage and distinctive aspirations. I am pleased to report, as I enter my third year as the university’s 18th president, that the face of the campus is continuing to change and grow in new and exciting ways. Our major building initiatives in the fall of 2005 include the following: • Pete, ’54 BSED, and Nancy Domenici Hall, home to revolutionary neuro-imaging research on mental disorders conducted by the MIND Institute, the BRAIN Center, and the UNM Mind Imaging Center, was dedicated with a grand ribbon-cutting ceremony in June. • The Barbara and Bill Richardson Critical Care Pavilion and UNM Children’s Hospital is now under construction. When completed in the fall of 2007, this $234 million hospital expansion project will house a maternity center, newborn intensive care and adult critical care units, emergency and trauma services, private patient rooms, and two dedicated floors for the Children’s Hospital. To date it is the largest public building project ever undertaken in New Mexico. • A new $4.2 million Lobo basketball practice facility, featuring a reception area, two practice courts, and new offices for men’s and women’s basketball coaches and staff, broke ground in June and should be open by November. Finally, a $125 million bond issued by the university this summer will complete the funding for several major projects at UNM: • The School of Engineering will embark on new state-of-the-art facilities, the Centennial Engineering Center, at a cost of $34 million. • George Pearl Hall, designed by world-renowned architect and UNM alumnus Antoine Predock, will house the School of Architecture & Planning and a new Fine Arts Library.

• The bond will fund a portion of a $65 million Cancer Research and Treatment Center, as well as a Health Science Education building at the Health Sciences Center. • It also will underwrite a new Science and Math Learning Center, enable badly needed renovations to the Communication and Journalism building and the biology laboratories at Castetter Hall, and support a wide variety of other construction projects and infrastructure investments across the main campus. These many building projects represent an ambitious agenda for revitalization and growth, particularly at a time when federal and state budget constraints are threatening the traditional funding streams of higher education. They reflect our conviction that UNM must boldly seize its future to fulfill its promise of being one of the leading research universities in the country. They are very much in the spirit of Meem and Zimmerman, who also sought new ways to extend the reach and impact of the university during a time of serious economic challenges. Today UNM is serving more New Mexicans than ever before, forging a national reputation for the quality and diversity of its educational and clinical enterprises, and making a global impact in medical and scientific research. These activities, along with the continued development of the campus, are the sum and substance of our intention to take our place among the nation’s top research universities. The active participation and support of alumni, faculty, and staff are critical to advancing this bold agenda. Our students, our state, and your alma mater deserve no less. I deeply appreciate the contributions, large and small, of every alumnus who is helping to make UNM the remarkable institution that it is today! GO LOBOS!


new connections Isotope First: New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has co-signed an agreement to establish the first medical isotopes center in the country. The New Mexico Center for Isotopes in Medicine is a partnership between Los Alamos National Laboratory and the UNM Health Sciences Center College of Pharmacy. The center’s objective is the discovery and development of new isotope-based drugs and technologies for diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

http://hscapp.unm.edu/calendar/output/ index.cfm?fuseaction=main.release& EntryID=3776 Administrative Medley: President

Louis Caldera has appointed Reed Dasenbrock, former dean of the UNM College of Arts and Sciences, as interim provost, replacing former provost Brian Foster. Dasenbrock has appointed associate Arts and Sciences dean Vera Norwood as interim dean. Norwood will be the first woman to serve as dean of Arts and Sciences. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000517.html#more Worldly Resource: Martin Brennan, presently the ambassador to Zambia, has been named a Diplomat in Residence at UNM for the 2005-06 academic year. Brennan has been a member of the Foreign Service since 1976, serving in Washington, Uganda, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Taiwan, and Portugal. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000628.html#more

research and funding connections Sevilleta Support: US Representative

recently announced $3 million in federal funding for the new UNM Sevilleta Research and Education Center, a major ecological research project in the New Mexico desert near Socorro, New Mexico. The center will complement the current Sevilleta Field Research Station, which is in need of a facility for training and to house Heather Wilson

research equipment and high-speed computer connections. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000511.html#more

album

The Human Fly? Biology professor

received a $1.375 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the connection between the hearts of fruit flies, or Drosophila, and how certain genetic heart ailments form in humans. Richard Cripps

Nasario Garcia

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http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000527.html#more River Checks: A group of leading river scientists, including UNM’s Cliff Dahm and Jennifer Follstad Shah, published a paper in the journal Science recently presenting first-of-its-kind research on the state of river restoration in the United States. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000627.html#more Otterly Good News! Researchers at UNM have discovered the first physical evidence of a river otter not seen in New Mexico in more than 50 years, according to a conservation bulletin. The Southwestern river otter, once a thriving subspecies across the state of New Mexico and the Southwest, is considered one of the most endangered mammals in North America and arguably the world, says UNM Research Associate Professor Paul Polechla. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000640.html#more American Indian Teaching Scholarships:

A three-year, $900,000 grant from the New Mexico State Department of Education is allowing the College of Education to provide scholarships to American Indian students interested in teaching in Native American communities. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000510.html#more Conservation Commitment: A Getty Campus Heritage grant of $120,000 is allowing UNM to prepare a university conservation plan. The campus preservation committee is evaluating the historical significance of campus architecture, surveying every building constructed before 1970.

Nasario Garcia, ’62 BA, ’63 MA, has just published Old Las Vegas: Hispanic Memories from the New Mexico Meadowlands (Texas Tech University Press), his 17th book. In Spanish and English, the book comprises a medley of compelling subjects, both joyful and sad, ranging from folk healing, politics, religion, and education to witchcraft and superstitions. He lives in Santa Fe. Donald L. Ivers, ’63 BA, has been appointed to the office of chief judge of the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. He resides in Alexandria, Virginia. Raymond G. Sanchez, ’64 BA, ’67 JD, received the Walking the Talk Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hispano Roundtable of New Mexico in recognition of his lifetime effort to improve the overall quality of life for New Mexico Hispanics. Raymond also serves on the UNM Board of Regents. He lives in Albuquerque. John Williams, ’64 BA, has retired after 30 years of service with the United Nations, mostly in Thailand but also in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vanuatu. He worked in economic affairs: agricultural development, investment, and trade. He now lives in Menlo Park, California. Harold Reynolds, ’66 BABA, has joined the Albuquerque office of Grant Thornton as a senior associate in the tax division. N. Aldine Sheppard, ’66 BAA, has retired as owner of Custom Jeweler & Gold in Albuquerque. Thomas Hunter, ’67 MSME, is president of Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque. He was previously in charge of Sandia’s nuclear weapons defense programs. Vera Norwood, ’67 BA, ’69 MA, ’74 PhD, has been named to the New Mexico Humanities Council board. Vera is interim dean of the UNM College of Arts and Sciences.

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honorable connections Congratulations! Distinguished

professor of biology James H. Brown was one of 72 new members elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Membership is considered one of the highest honors that can be accorded a US scientist or engineer. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000629.html#more Top UNM Honor: Physics professor

has been selected UNM’s 50th Annual Research Lecturer, the highest honor the university bestows on a faculty member. Kenkre, selected through a peer review process, gave a lecture entitled “Movers and Shakers in Physics and Biology” in the spring. Nitant Kenkre

Nick Layman

http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000503.html#more http://www.unm.edu/news/Releases/ 05-02-22kenkre.htm

Work-Family Work: An article by

associate professor Michelle Arthur, Anderson Schools of Management, has been recognized as one of the top 20 research papers for the annual Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for excellence in work-family research. Arthur’s “Share Price Reactions to Work-Family Initiatives: An Institutional Perspective” was selected from more than 2,000 articles published in 52 leading English-language journals in North America and Europe. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000537.html#more Japanese Journey: Ken Carpenter, associate director of international programs and studies, traveled to Japan as one of six US administrators selected by the Fulbright Scholarship Board and the US State Department to study the Japanese education system. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000550.html#more

Wow! A Wilson! Melissa Bokovoy, associate professor of history and Regents’ Lecturer, has been chosen one of two dozen scholars who will be in residence for the 2005-2006 academic year at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The center supports research in the social sciences and humanities. Bokovoy is an internationally recognized expert on 20th century Yugoslavia. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000643.html#more

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No Small Recognition: History professor Paul Hutton received his fourth Western Heritage Award, this time for his article “It Was But a Small Affair: The Battle of the Alamo” in the February 2004 issue of Wild West magazine. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000598.html#more Literary Laurels: Mary Helen Lagasse

is the winner of this year’s Premio Atzlán, established by Rudolfo and Patricia Anaya to encourage Chicano and Chicana writers, for her novel, The Fifth Sun (Curbstone Press). http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000534.html#more Cortez Williams, professor emeritus of African American studies, was recently honored “for his historic work and research on the history of blacks in the Western United States” by the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution Charles Dibrell Chapter of Albuquerque. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000528.html#more

student connections Glad Grads: President Louis Caldera conferred a projected total of 2,625 degrees upon UNM main campus graduates in May: 1,749 bachelor’s degrees, 552 master’s degrees, five post-master’s degrees, 99 doctorates, 92 juris doctorates, 57 medical doctorates, 70 pharmacy doctorates and one education specialist. http://www.unm.edu/%7Emarket/ cgi-bin/archives/000633.html#more Dream Come True: While a UNM

senior, Qiao Liang won the highly competitive Merage Foundation for the American Dream Fellowship. She is one of only 14 recipients nationwide and was presented the $20,000 award at a ceremony in


California in June. Liang, who majored in mathematics, received her bachelor’s degree summa cum laude in May. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000634.html#more Huge Honors: Two UNM students are among a select group receiving the nation’s most prestigious scholarships. Jesse E. French was one of 75 recipients from 65 US colleges and universities named a 2005 Truman Scholar, and Frank Hemingway was one of 320 selected a Goldwater Scholar. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000574.html#more Retention Rise: Seventy-five percent of the freshmen who entered UNM in the fall of 2002 came back to school in 2003. The number is a point of pride for the university, which is using an expanding series of Freshman Academic Choices to bring a very diverse student body of freshmen into the mainstream of a large university. http://www.unm.edu/news/Releases/ 05-04-07retention.htm International Ups and Downs: The number of international students at UNM decreased by 2.2 percent in fall 2004 from fall 2003, according to the UNM Office of International Programs and Studies. During the same period, the number of international scholars and study abroad participants has increased. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000618.html#more

media connections Murder as a Media Event: Associate

professor of communication and journalism Dirk C. Gibson is serving as an expert source for national print and broadcast media regarding the BTK killer, charged in Kansas with 10 counts of murder. Gibson’s theory is that serial murder is not accurately explained by conventional

psychological or sociological paradigms. His study of 500 serial murderers spanning 600 years finds that they are rhetorically motivated “media events,” which lead to the real motive, the desire to send and receive communication. His book, Clues from Killers: Serial Murder & Crime Scene Messages, describes 10 such cases in detail. High Ranking: UNM graduate programs in education, engineering, law, and medicine are ranked among the best in the nation in the April 4 issue of US News & World Report. The listing of America’s best graduate schools for 2006 includes 12 UNM programs. Among them are rural medicine (2nd), clinical law (8th), and family medicine (9th). http://www.unm.edu/news/Releases/ 05-04-06rankings.htm Look at the Outlook: The April 11 issue of Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education rates UNM among the top graduate schools and programs for Hispanics. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000607.html#more Story Line: Alice Letteney, executive

director, UNM Valencia, took the lead in a recent Associated Press article about a “single definition of higher education” that Congress is proposing. http://www.unm.edu/news/Releases/ 05-04-13letteney.htm

miscellaneous connections High Tech High: The UNM Board of

Regents has approved a resolution supporting a new charter high school to be located near the UNM main campus, emphasizing math, science, and technology. The school, with the proposed name “High Tech High at UNM Albuquerque,” will offer an accelerated curriculum and

album Reed Barnitz, ’68 BAR, and Carol Sperling Barnitz, ’69 BAR, ’85 MSPE, are longtime coaches with Albuquerque Public Schools. Reed has coached Highland High’s swimming team for a total of 21 years, and was a founder and coach of Duke City Aquatics. Carol has coached the Manzano High volleyball team for 33 seasons. Adrienne Antink Bien, ’68 BA, has celebrated her 20th anniversary with Medical Group Management Association in Englewood, Colorado, where she serves as vice president for learning and networking. Adrienne also is this year’s chair of the component relations section of the American Society of Association Executives. She lives in Lakewood, Colorado. Kathleen York Haaland, ’68 BS, is a professor in the departments of psychiatry and neurology, UNM School of Medicine, and a neuropsychologist at the Albuquerque Veterans Affairs Medical Center. She is vice-chair for research in psychiatry and is a past president of the neuropsychology division of the American Psychological Association. Recently, she was named a VA Research Career Scientist and editor-in-chief of the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society. She lives in Albuquerque. Edward Wolfe, ’68 BME, ’73 MM, teaches instrumental music in California and is completing his 35th year in public school teaching. At San Dimas (California) High School, he is responsible for three concert bands, two jazz ensembles, drum-line, colorguard, music theory, and two jazz combos. Patricia Madrid, ’69 BA, ’73 JD, has been named one of Hispanic Business Magazine’s 2005 Elite Women. She is New Mexico Attorney General. Steve Prentice, ’70 BA, ’77 MA, retired last year from the Albuquerque Public Schools after 31 years as a social studies teacher. His wife, Elaine, ’88 MA, is a high school counselor. Their youngest son, Christopher, is a Regent’s Scholar at UNM. Connie Capers Thorson, ’70 PhD, and professor emerita at the University Libraries at UNM, and James L. Thorson, professor emeritus of English, have received Fulbright teaching awards for the 2005-2006 academic year. Connie will teach courses in library science at the Belarusian State University of Culture and Arts. Jim will teach American literature at the Belarusian State University for Linguistics. Both institutions are in Minsk, Belarus. Alex Pattakos, ’71 BA, is the author of Prisoners of Our Thoughts: Viktor Frankl’s Principles At Work, with a foreword by Stephen R. Covey. Alex lives in Santa Fe. f a l l

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unm prepare students for successful college careers. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000536.html#more Trip to Taiwan: UNM President Louis

recently led a group of UNM researchers to Taiwan to visit Tsing Hua University in Hsinchu where a Memorandum of Agreement was signed regarding student and faculty exchanges. Caldera

http://www.unm.edu/news/05-02-14/ taiwan.htm

BSN for RNs—Online: The College

Mayoral Counsel: Albuquerque

of Nursing has created an option for registered nurses who want to earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing to do so online.

Mayor Martin Chavez, ’75 BUS, will be one of 13 instructors teaching sophomore seminars in career awareness this fall.

http://hsc.unm.edu/about/features/ distanceed.shtml

http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000630.html#more

Legal Business: The UNM School of Law has initiated a new economic development program to expand its business law curriculum and increase economic activity in the state.

Patent Promotion: The Science &

http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000512.html#more

Technology Corporation @ UNM is celebrating 10 years of working to commercialize research at the university by honoring the newest patent holders at the institution.

Jennifer Savage

A Slice of Campus Life: Tony Cipollone

A N T I C I P A T I O N : Just the thought of pastry chef Tony Cipollone’s delectable cakes can set the UNM community salivating!

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In the summer of 1960 at a small bakeshop in Montreal, Canada, 14-year-old Tony Cipollone tied a white baker’s apron around his waist for the first time. Nearly half a century later, Tony has yet to retire that garment, with chocolate batter stains and yellow frosting smears paying tribute to the miles it has traveled. Tony has found a home as UNM’s pastry chef. Catering sales have tripled since his arrival, now 21 years past. Passersby often slow their pace to ogle his glistening incarnations on display in the SUB. “We don’t have (cafeteria-style food) here,” he boasts. Whether dispersing marital advice to young couples picking up their wedding cakes or chatting with the “regulars”—professors and students who visit the bakeshop—Tony has won the heart of the university community. Known nearly as well for his stories as his pastries, Tony shares the tale of an enormous sponge-cake filled with guava cream shaped into a descending feather serpent, created for a local Mayan exhibit, that gained international acclaim. He fires off details about a gingerbread castle designed for a Yuletide feast, a Lobo head crafted from 400 pounds of chocolate, and a February morning when he came across a nude model posing for a photographer in the old UNM fountain. While he has witnessed changes in politics and aesthetics during the past two decades, some things remain the same: “Students will always eat the cookies and the older crowd will always like the Danishes,” he says.

— JENNIFER SAVAGE


album Louis A. Peréz Jr., ’71 PhD, is the author of To Die in Cuba: Suicide and Society. Louis is a professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

UNM Salutes:

Join us on campus as we celebrate Albuquerque's Tricentennial, Friday, September 23. Free events include campus tours, demonstrations, storytelling, lectures, entertainment, and more. http://www.unm.edu/news/Tricentennial/home%20page.htm

In 2004, 15 faculty members, some working in teams, were awarded patents. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000638.html#more Alumni Count: The UNM Alumni

Count initiative aims to increase alumni giving at the University of New Mexico. Part of this initiative, the Cherry & Silver Society, was recently established by the UNM Foundation. The society honors dedicated alumni who make at least one gift to UNM every year after graduation. http://www.unm.edu/news/Releases/ 05-03-10alumnigiving.htm Agora Wants YOU: Agora—a campusbased all-issue helpline, open to all—would like to thank 35 years of dedicated and empathetic volunteers who have assisted countless callers. The helpline has received its first grant from the United Way in order to do publicity, outreach, and development. Included in the grant’s scope is an initiative to get in touch with all those from Agora’s past. If you have helped others through Agora by being a volunteer, please get in touch with Agora by phone or e-mail so that the organization can hear your stories, share pictures,

and give you the news on its development. Agora plans to have an awards banquet for current and past volunteers. Contact Agora if you would like an invitation. www.AgoraCares.org, agora@unm.edu, 505-277-3013 Fine Friends: The Friends of Art is a volunteer association of people who support the growth and development of the University of New Mexico Art Museum and Jonson Gallery. The Friends assist in bringing important works of art to the museum, in building a permanent collection through purchase and donation, and in securing financial resources for exhibitions and educational programming. Friends’ contributions have resulted in the acquisition of more than 470 key works in the Museum’s collections. These include Georgia O’Keeffe’s early watercolor “Tent Door at Night,” Pieter Bruegel’s “Sleeping Militia,” a wonderful 17th century polychrome statue from Mexico, and, most recently, a set of four important lithographs by Juan Gris. Call 505-277-3428 for information about membership.

Judith Olch Richards, ’71 MA, is the editor of the recently published Inside the Studio: Two Decades of Talks with Artists in New York. She is executive director of Independent Curators International in New York City. Alicia Allman Snyder, ’71 BA, ’81 MA, member of the Albuquerque Southwest Corps of Canine Volunteers, initiated the “Read to the Dogs” literacy program in collaboration with the Rio Grande Valley Library System. This successful program is in its third year of operation. Gary J. Wolfe, ’71 BS, has recently joined the staff of the Vital Ground Foundation as its executive director. Vital Ground is a land trust focusing on the conservation of grizzly bear habitat. Gary lives in Missoula, Montana. Marc Giaccardo, ’72 BARC, ’77 MARC, has taken a tenured position at the University of Texas at San Antonio to create a new construction science program within the School of Architecture that will focus on serving the needs of a diverse, first-generation student population and on the use of sustainable construction practices. He was recently elected to the board of directors of Solar San Antonio, a chapter of the Texas Solar Energy Society. Kirk Gittings, ’72 BUS, is the subject of a new book, Shelter from the Storm: The Photographs of Kirk Gittings, by Gussie Fauntleroy with an introduction by VB Price. There will be a 32-year retrospective exhibit at the Albuquerque Museum in September 2005. Gittings has a studio in Albuquerque. Jim Maddox, ’72 BUS, has begun a three-year term on the board of directors of the National Association of Realtors. He also serves as the New Mexico member of the Realtors Political Involvement Committee that coordinates the association’s lobbying efforts with the US Senate, House of Representatives, and regulatory agencies. He owns Maddox & Company Realtors in Albuquerque. Peggy Roberts, ’73 BABA, has joined the Albuquerque Community Foundation as director of finance and charitable gift planning. Sarah Allison Thornton, ’73 BUS, is now Clerk of Court for the US District Court, District of Massachusetts. Previously, she worked for the judiciary for a number of years and was a trial lawyer in Maine for 18 years. Jose Griego, ’74 MA, ’91 PhD, has been named president of Northern New Mexico Community College in Española. f a l l

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Truth in Slogans? By Angie Vachio, ’75 MA, President, UNM Alumni Association

Nick Layman

alumni outlook

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here are so many slogans in our lives that when someone comes up with a new one, we tend not to pay much attention to it. At first glance, this year’s homecoming slogan, “Honoring the Past, Building the Future,” comes across as, well, just another slogan. But after paying a bit more attention to it, I realized that it aptly reflects our role as an alumni association. As students, we benefited from the many gifts of the university. In its classes, we learned about the wonders of the world around us.

From its professors, we learned about passion and curiosity. From its books and resources, we learned about great thinkers, researchers, artists. From our fellow students, we learned about different ways of being, each as valid as the next. And from the university, we alumni took new skills and newly discovered talents. Most importantly, we took the means to contribute to our community—as wage earners, family members, professionals, and volunteers. We often talk about university pride, and I know we are proud of the University of New Mexico— its educational offerings, its research efforts, its academic and athletic strengths. But I believe we can take the greatest pride in our contributions to those around us, to our community. Albuquerque is celebrating its 300th anniversary this year. The city’s tricentennial slogan is “An Illuminating Experience,” which applies equally well to our UNM education. I hope we will all carry some of the light of our education with us—and share it with others— as we make our life journeys.

O H , T H E P L A C E S Y O U ’ L L G O ! These four College of Nursing alumni went to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, in support of Operation Enduring/Iraqi Freedom for a year. Left to right are Lieutenant Commander Brenda Kenderdine, ’91 BSNU, Lieutenant Michael Tafoya, ’94 BSNU; Lt. George Womble, ’96 BSNU, and LCDR Carla VanDyke, ’90 BSNU, ’01 MSNU. When not deployed with the US Navy, Brenda works PRN at Albuquerque’s Presbyterian Hospital labor and delivery and at UNM Hospital trauma ICU; Michael works at UNM ICU; George works at Presbyterian ER; and Carla works at Presbyterian as a wound/ostomy nurse.

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Picture Yourself Here Next Year! Educational Travel Adventures 2006 www.unmalumni.com/edtravel/travel.htm Following is the lineup of our new educational travel opportunities coming up in 2006. We hope to see you on one of these trips in the near future! January 27-February 7 Cruise the Panama Canal February 1-14 Treasures of Indochina March 24-April 1 Paris City Holiday April 7-14 Peru, featuring Machu Picchu May 18-29 Alumni Campus Abroad–Greek Islands July 9-18 Family Adventure in Costa Rica September 5-13 Alumni Campus Abroad–Portugal October 13-21 Lakes and Mountains–Switzerland and Northern Italy November 9-17 Prague/Budapest Escapade Trips and dates are subject to change. For additional information, contact Charlene Chavez at the Alumni Relations Office at 505-277-5808 or 800-258-6866.


Fall Fun—and Then Some! Alumni Association Chapter Calendar • www.unmalumni.com August 6 August 13

Austin Chapter Annual Ice Cream Social Denver Chapter 2nd Saturday Lobo Breakfast

August 14

Denver Chapter Annual Picnic and Auction

August 18

New York Area Chapter Happy Hour

August 20

Austin Chapter – Albuquerque Isotopes vs. Round Rock Express

August 21

Los Angeles Chapter Hollywood Bowl and Tailgate

August tba

San Diego Chapter Green Chile Fest

September 10

Austin Chapter Chile Roast and Picnic

September 10

Chicago Chapter Caravan to Columbia, Missouri for Lobos vs. Tigers

September 10

Atlanta Chapter Annual Green Chile Roast

September 11

Washington DC Chapter Annual Green Chile Roast & Taco Picnic

September 17

Las Vegas Chapter Green Chile Roast & Picnic

September 18

New York Area Business Meeting & Social

September 24

Northern California Annual Green Chile Roast & Picnic

September 25

Los Angeles Chapter Annual Green Chile Fest

October 1

Chicago Chapter Annual Green Chile Fiesta

October 1

Lobo Football & Tailgate at TCU

October 22

Lobo Football & Tailgate at SDSU

October 22

New York Area Chapter Halloween Event

November 12

Chicago Chapter TV Party UNM vs. Utah

November 18

Austin Chapter Women’s B-Ball @ Texas

December 3

Austin Chapter Holiday Pot Luck

December 3

Chicago Chapter Hot Chile Nights Pot Luck Party

December 4

Seattle Chapter Holiday Pot Luck

December 4

New York Area Chapter Holiday Pot Luck

December 4

San Diego Chapter Holiday Get-Together

December 10

Los Angeles Chapter – Lobos vs. Washington at the Pond

February 2006

San Diego Chapter Basketball Bash – Lobos at SDSU

album James A. Morris, ’74 PhD, has published a limited portfolio edition of Oku Pin, The Sandia Mountains of New Mexico. Unique aspects of the Sandias are explored—weather, flora, fauna, geology, wildlife, and their contribution to the human spirit. This edition is a completely new version of the 1980 publication. Morris lives in Baker Valley, Oregon. Pam Leslie Walker, ’74 BA, ’97 MS, has received a US patent for a gunshot residue kit. Police use the test to swipe a crime suspect’s hand to determine if he/she has recently fired a weapon. Pam recently completed 25 years at Sandia National Laboratories. John B. Mondragon, ’75 DED, and Ernest S. Stapleton, ’48 BA, ’54 MA, are co-authors of Public Education in New Mexico (UNM Press) that examines key educational issues in New Mexico’s history. Both live in Albuquerque. Denise Tessier, ’75 BA, is editorial page editor of the Rio Rancho Journal and West Side Journal and also writes editorials for the Mountain View Telegraph. She has been an editorial writer and member of the Albuquerque Journal’s editorial board since 1998. Denise lives in Cedar Crest. Lois Fellows, ’76 BSED, has received her license as a Unity Teacher in Pastoral Care from the Association of Unity Churches in Lee Summit, Missouri. She is a chaplain at Unity Christ Church of Bon Air in Richmond, Virginia. Lois continues to work at Amelia County Middle School as the library media specialist. She lives in Midlothian, Virginia. Maxann Shwartz, ’76 BSPE, has recently returned to Albuquerque from California. She is a licensed clinical psychologist and has set up a private practice specializing in psycho-educational and neuropsychological assessments, and psychotherapy. She works with athletes, especially golfers, as she is a Class A (LPGA) teaching professional. Charles M. Carrillo, ’78 BA, ’84 MA, ’96 PhD, received the Ralph Emerson Twitchell Award for significant contribution to history from the Historical Society of New Mexico for his book, Saints of the Pueblo. He lives in Santa Fe. Steve Dillon, ’78 JD, left the legal profession 15 years ago to become owner of Out of the Blue, a retail specialty toy store, in Albuquerque. Henry Sikorski, ’92 PhD, is vice president for institutional advancement at Farmingdale State University of New York where he has taught since 1988. He and his wife, Francine Delieto Sikorski, ’78 MA, live in Garden City, New York.

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mad about the lobos! B Y

C A R O L Y N

G O N Z A L E S

Can Lobo athletics meet the expectations of Lobo fans?

It’s all about the Lobos. Performing well or struggling, they occupy front-page real estate of local papers, lead sportscasts, and provide fodder for talk radio. Everybody has an opinion about the teams and their performance and few

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Nick Layman

keep their thoughts to themselves.


album especially in football and men’s and

Money Money Money! The fiscal constraints are real. UNM’s

women’s basketball—the greater the

athletic budget, according to athletic

expectations on the part of the university,

director Rudy Davalos, is $21 million.

the media, and the community.

Other schools, BCS (Bowl Championship

Not satisfied that the UNM football

Series) schools especially, spend upwards

team earned bowl berths three consecutive

of $70 million on athletics. “For our

years, questions arise about the program’s

budget, our success ratio is very good,”

ability to get a subsequent bowl bid and

Davalos says.

win a bowl game. Not satisfied that UNM was one of

“We should be pleased and applauding UNM athletics for what it

only 11 schools to send both men’s and

has accomplished despite its financial

women’s teams to the NCAA basketball

limitations,” says UNM alumni relations

tournament this year, grumbling begins

director Karen Abraham, a university

about the teams’ ability to advance at

leader for more than 30 years.

the “Dance.” Conversations with Lobo insiders

Making It Work

reveal real and perceived strengths and

UNM football coach Rocky Long

weaknesses in the UNM athletic program.

notes that the Lobo football program’s

Are fans’ expectations in line with what

budget is “near bottom” even among

is achievable and with the university’s

Mountain West Conference schools.

priorities?

“We’re at a big financial disadvantage.

Those associated directly with UNM

I spend as much money in my entire

athletics cite fiscal limitations as a major

recruitment budget as is spent to

drawback of varying consequence. They

recruit one player at UCLA,” he says.

also cite UNM’s location in the Mountain

Stephen P. Comeau, ’79 JD, is author of “An Overview of the Federal Income Tax Provisions Related to Alimony Payments,” published in the American Bar Association Family Law Section’s Family Law Quarterly, Spring 2004. It was selected for reprint in the GP Solo Magazine annual edition, “The Best Articles Published by the ABA” in March 2005. He lives in Albuquerque. Stephan A. Dobyns, ’79 BA, and Claire B. Dobyns , ’00 BABA, are at home in Santa Fe on Lobo Lane. Both were longtime bankers with Sunwest in Albuquerque and now work for Century Bank in Santa Fe. Claire is a CPA and Step is the accounting manager and corporate secretary of the bank. Amalia Amaki, ’81 BAFA, has had a show this summer of her work, “Boxes, Buttons, and the Blues,” at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC. Amalia resides in Atlanta, Georgia. Freddie J. Romero, ’81 JD, has been appointed by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson to serve as district judge for the Fifth Judicial District in Chaves County. He lives in Roswell. Walter Archuleta, ’82 MA, ’02 PhD, has received the Matías L. Chacón Lifetime Achievement Award at the 33rd New Mexico Association for Bilingual Education Conference. The Santa Fe resident retired last December after 30-1/2 years in New Mexico public education. Steven C. Jensen, ’82 BA, has been promoted to captain in the US Naval Reserve. He is a resident of Tucson, Arizona.

Bernadette Martinez

The better the Lobos perform—

Long notes the $55 million BYU spent

Time Zone—aka the Media Twilight

on its football facility, the $10 million

Zone—which affects national visibility

the University of Utah spent renovating

as a hindrance to recruitment. And they

its facility—not even taking into account

cite the legislative requirement that

the Olympics investment—and the

New Mexico students receive 25 percent

$8 million the University of Wyoming

of UNM’s athletic scholarships as both

spent on its stadium. “BYU compares to

a challenge and an opportunity.

Tennessee and Oklahoma for facilities.

G L A D , N O T M A D ! UNM athletics director Rudy Davalos expects the Lobos to be competitive, aiming for conference championships. The true fan, he says, “is happy to have a football team that is beating UNLV, Utah, and Air Force,” instead of criticizing the strides we’ve made.

Bernadette F. Martinez, ’82 BABA, is now vice president-workforce development and performance management for Verizon Communications. She resides in Weehawken, New Jersey. James Thomas, ’82 BABA, retired from the Navy after 20 years and now works for his old command as a civilian. He is fleet liaison officer at Military Sealift Command in San Diego and is responsible for logistics policy. f a l l

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is overachieving. They play above their talent level, which continues to improve with success. They work hard and they play hard.” “We had four bowl teams in seven years. [UNM’s last bowl game was in 1961.] It took us 36 years to go to a bowl. We were tickled to death to be one of the schools selected,” Davalos says. “Anyone who gripes about us losing

Nick Layman

three bowl games doesn’t care about the Lobos. Those are not fans. They don’t come to our games—they just love to criticize,” Davalos says. “The real Lobo fan is very happy to have a football team that’s beating UNLV, Utah, and Air Force.”

“Our team is overachieving. They play above their talent level, which continues to improve with success. They work hard and they play hard.” — Rocky Long, Lobo Football Head Coach Good facilities make recruiting easier,”

are, but out-of-state we still get questions

Long says.

about visas,” he says.

Abraham says that the money available

state schools offer 25 percent of their

competition. “To look at ourselves from

athletic scholarships to New Mexico

that perspective is a disservice to the

students. Long—who tries to recruit

level we’ve been able to attain,” she says.

in-state but can shift the burden of the

Richard Stevens, ’74 BA, Albuquerque Tribune sports columnist, says football

requirement to other sports—doesn’t view this as an impediment.

players want to go where they will have a

“We end up getting those players

better chance to be on television and gain

who fit into UNM, Albuquerque, and

the visibility needed for the NFL draft.

New Mexico,” he says.

“They want to play in the Big 10, Big

What the program lacks in dollars

East, ACC—on teams that consistently

and cents the Lobo coaching staff makes

play in the BCS,” Stevens says.

up for in skill and sense.

Long concedes that getting more

14

The state legislature mandates that

to BCS schools creates a different tier of

“We’ve done a good job of evaluating

national attention would help high

and developing quite a few players

school coaches and players to “know us,

who have performed better than their

respect us. People in-state know who we

recruiting status.” Long says. “Our team

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Abraham notes the discrepancies between UNM and say, Nebraska or Michigan, in its approach to football. “Nebraska fans’ allegiance is to the football team, not to the university. We want our alumni to be boosters, but we don’t want athletics to be the sole identity of the university,” she says.

Relying on Smarts The women’s basketball program, unlike most UNM programs, outspends its Mountain West Conference counterparts by $200,000-$300,000, according to Davalos. “Given its budget, facilities, and fan support, it should be good,” Davalos says. Head coach Don Flanagan, in his 10th season at UNM, met his initial goal to win the conference. “Then the goal was to take the team to the NCAA. We’ve done that. To develop a top-25 program you have to recruit at the national level. The top 10 programs recruit the top 30 players. We’ve never


gotten a top 100 player,” he says. And

“We have earned some national

yet, “one or two great recruits (could)

respect. We schedule against nationally

turn your program around quickly.”

known, quality teams: Minnesota–Final 4;

“Programs that are funded by football or men’s basketball”—UNM’s is not—“have access to more resources to get top athletes,” Flanagan says. As a result, he recruits differently. “We

Texas–national champions; Oklahoma– Final 4; Arizona State–Sweet 16,” he says. “For us to take it to the next level we need regular national media attention,” Flanagan says, adding that

go after players with the intangibles —

he would like to see local television

smart, reliable, responsible, hard-working,

show more games.

and the strong character that comes from a good family,” Flanagan says. Flanagan’s players have been as stellar in the classroom as on the court. All those

Flanagan says that the Pit has a great name, a great reputation. “But it exceeds the quality of the facility. The Pit needs to be widened—the mezzanine

album Conrad M. Rocha, ’83 BA, ’86 JD, of Albuquerque, has been promoted by the Menaul School to vice president. Gloria Montoya Salazar, ’83 BSME, ’03 MBA, and her husband opened Reflections Funerals & Life Celebrations last November in Albuquerque. Reflections is a full-service funeral home with a retail store for funeral and grief-related items. Scott V. Nystrom, ’84 MAPA, has been appointed executive director for the 2005 White House Conference on Aging in Washington, DC. The conferences are designed to develop research and action recommendations for America’s older workers and retirees over a decade. Scott lives in Gaithersburg, Maryland. David W. Velasquez, ’84 BSPE, has served the past year as president of the New Mexico High School Coaches Association. He has been the head track coach at Tularosa High for 10 years. He is also an assistant coach in boys basketball and football. He lives in Alamogordo.

Nick Layman

John R. Vigil, ’84 BUS, ’88 MD, writes that The Phoenix Medical Group to which he belongs has announced the start of a new and innovative medical practice, Doctor On Call. This practice provides personal physician services in the Albuquerque area 24/7. Acute care to children and adults is provided in the patient’s home, place of employment, hotel, or in the group’s walk-in clinic.

“We go after players with the intangibles—smart, reliable, responsible, hard-working, and the strong character that comes from a good family.” —Don Flanagan, Women’s Basketball Head Coach who have stayed in the program have

is too crowded. The ceiling and roof

graduated, some have 4.0 gradepoint

should be reinforced to accommodate

averages, and several are interested

a replay screen,” he says. “We need to

in pursuing medical careers, he says.

improve the facility for our fans.”

Gretchen R. Bull, ’85 MA, received the Elementary Teacher of the Year 2004 award from the National Office of Indian Education Programs, Bureau of Indian Affairs, as well as Teacher of the Year 2004 from the Wal-Mart Corporation, Gallup, New Mexico. The awards recognized the quality of her teaching at Wingate Elementary School, Fort Wingate, New Mexico. Elizabeth “Betsy” Case, ’85 PhD, is director of research on special populations for Harcourt Assessment in San Antonio, Texas. She is in her eighth year with Harcourt after 26 years in teaching and administration. Luis A. Diaz, ’85 BSEE, president of Codorado, has acquired the online business, www.dental-mart.com, retailer of dental products for the consumer. He lives in Santa Paula, California. W. Michael Jennings, ’85 BA, has joined The Mahoney Group as manager of sales for the New Mexico branch. He has 10 years’ experience in commercial insurance and finance, and resides in Albuquerque.

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Success Breeds Success Davalos says that the budget for the men’s basketball program is at the top

you don’t win the conference tournament,” he says. Although he acknowledges the Pit is

champions every year,” Davalos says. Davalos says that to be more competitive UNM should reduce the

third of the MWC, “so we expect them

in need of upgrades, he says it isn’t a

number of sports to provide greater

to be a contender.”

detractor from players’ choosing UNM.

resources to the remaining programs.

“Making it to the tournament is an

“Success breeds a following,” he says.

fewer NCAA programs. We are at 24,

accomplishment. Only the top 25 percent in the country make it. We want to see the men establish a consistency of

“Given our budget, we should have

The Rest of the Sports Story Davalos takes stock of some of the

up from 21 several years ago. Because of Title IX, we can’t cut any women’s

getting to the NCAA every year. That

programs: Women’s swimming, men’s

programs and there’s not a men’s

will improve their seeding,” he says.

and women’s track and field need to be

program I’d get rid of,” he says.

Before the 1992-93 season UNM had been to the NCAA tournament only three times. In the subsequent 12 years, it has been seven times. Coach Ritchie McKay, coming off his third season as men’s basketball head coach, says the team underwent major attrition over the first 24 months of his tenure. “Now we have the pillars in place and are demonstrating team success,” Nick Layman

he says. McKay, like Flanagan, notes the character strength, unselfishness, and great work ethic of his players as hallmarks of his program. He also points to the coaches as “men of integrity.” McKay says that recruitment suffers because there are only a few strong local players produced. “With the exception of Kenny Thomas, no All-Americans

“Now we have the pillars in place and are demonstrating team success.” —Ritchie McKay, Men’s Basketball Head Coach

have come out of the state,” he says. “But it is getting better.”

Stevens notes the importance of

country, he says. “Baseball is up and

giving homegrown athletes an opportunity

“don’t have experience making the

down. We should be contending for

to compete and to gain an education. “In

schedule for UNM basketball,” McKay

national conference every year,” he says.

the scheme of things it isn’t important

says. “The selection committee members

Softball and volleyball are both down.

for UNM to win a national championship.

realize we need home games for revenue.

“We expect our coaches to be

It’s more important to give money to

They also know the formula to be

competitive and we are in the majority

Title IX programs to give New Mexico

considered for an NCAA at-large berth if

of sports. We want to be conference

student athletes a chance. My daughter

Critics who complain about scheduling

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better, but cross country is 10th in the

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has as much or more of a right to an

of the UNM family, they had to ensure

athletic scholarship as a kid from

the students did that,” he says.

West Texas (who comes) here to play football,” he says. Those programs help UNM meet its

UNM has more than 200 student athletes with a GPA of 3.25 or better. “It is a balancing act with athletics,

legislative mandate to provide 25 percent

academics, and social behavior. If you

of its athletic scholarships to in-state

recruit marginal people —academically,

athletes. “I’m not telling Rocky, Ritchie,

socially, athletically—you have problems,”

or Don that they have to recruit in-state,

Davalos says. “The coaches have done

so other sports have to make up the

a great job of recruiting good students.”

difference,” Davalos says. Taking note of facilities, Davalos

Because the UNM program has been producing “good citizens,” as Abraham

says, “We have a good golf course, the

says, it is successful at bringing in

tennis courts are fine, and softball has a

corporate dollars. “Companies want to

new field. The baseball team has a good

partner with the program because we’re

arrangement with the use of Isotopes

doing something right,” Davalos says.

Park. We have improved upon the football stadium.” Greg Remington, sports information

Stargazing Former assistant women’s basketball

director, says that UNM will never

coach Hazel Tull-Leach knows about

be able to compete for the kinds of

winning, having played for Texas Tech,

facilities and amenities available in other

the 1993 national champions. “It’s having

institutions. “Some of their high school

your team performing at their peak at

training facilities are better than ours.

the right time of the season, it’s having

Baylor athletes have their own cafeteria

key players stay healthy, it’s scheduling

while our team will be headed over to

that gives your team the best chance to

Rudy’s Bar-B-Que,” he says.

show their stuff.”

Support Systems

be in alignment.

In short, she says, the stars have to So where would Davalos put money

But Lobo fans can’t count on

if he had a fatter budget? “I would put it

“star-luck” for a championship. Tight

into academics. I would like to have an

budgets, restrictive recruitment, and a

academic support building complete

slanted media market frequently leave

with state-of-the-art computer labs for

the fans and UNM in the dark.

our student athletes,” he says. When he arrived at UNM 12 years ago,

On the other hand, Lobo athletes make their own luck. Going to class,

the focus was on athletic performance

making the grade, and earning their

exclusively, he says. That changed. “We

diploma is the best chance most have

set a tone [that] we wanted our athletes

to be winners.

to go to class, to do well academically. If coaches wanted to stay here, be a part

album Mark Murphy, ’85 MS, recently joined the Albuquerque office of Parametrix as senior scientist. Mark has over 28 years of experience in environmental and earth sciences, with particular expertise is in rangeland and aquatic ecosystem restoration in the arid Southwest. Darlene Robertson, ’85 BA, has joined “It’s Just Lunch,” a dating service for professionals, as a sales director. She lives in Albuquerque. Jon W. Tuttle, ’85 MA, ’89 PhD, has been named Francis Marion University’s Board of Trustees Research Scholar for 2005. He specializes in dramatic and modern literature at the Florence, South Carolina, institution. Bob Bidal, ’86 MBA, has returned to New Mexico to join the Century Bank commercial lending team in Santa Fe as a senior vice president. Betty Chavez, ’86 BABA, is president of Stixon Labels and New Mexico Plastics in Albuquerque. The company is a pressuresensitive label manufacturer and distributor of printed paper and plastic packaging. Paul Daly, ’86 MD, a physician specializing in family practice at Medical Associates of Northern New Mexico, is in Germany serving his second term of duty with the US Army Reserves. G. Bryan Fleming, ’86 BA, is associate director of admissions at The Blake School in Hopkins, Minnesota. He was recently appointed to the city council of Prior Lake, where he resides, and has launched a residential land development company, Fleming Land Holdings. Nicole Plett, ’86 BAFA, ’89 MA, has been appointed project manager for the Women Artists Archives National Directory (WAAND). WAAND will provide a comprehensive website directory to archival collections holding primary source materials of women visual artists active in the US since 1945. The project was developed by Rutgers University Libraries and funded by the Getty Foundation. Nicole lives in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Kathy Cantrell, ’87 BABA, ’93 MAPA, has resigned as deputy director of the New Mexico Commission on Higher Education and will return to Florida to repair her properties damaged in last year’s hurricane. Elizabeth Farr, ’87 BS, ’04 MAAC, of Albuquerque, has joined the accounting and auditing department of Burt & Nagel CPAs as a staff accountant. Wendy Swedick, ’87 BABA, has joined Accion New Mexico as chief operations officer. She lives in Albuquerque.

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looking at kim smith

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full steam ahead B Y

M A R Y

C O N R A D

The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad in Chama, New Mexico, is coming round the bend, with a UNM

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Mary Conrad

alumna waiting in the station.


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The turquoise skies shine blindingly behind the singeing black locomotives. Like metal shavings to magnets, tourists flock to the freshly painted railroad cars and the yellow clapboard station. Train buffs are born and others come alive at the dank smells of burning coal, boiling water, and sweaty steel. The eerie harmonics of the steam whistle penetrate the din of the crowd. The conductor bellows the passengers aboard, and the rhythmic breathing of the massive engines quickens. The 120-year-old Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railway begins its climb over the 10,000 foot Cumbres pass from Chama, New Mexico, to Antonito, Colorado.

Off-Season Workings

Track Record

Just a few months earlier the tiny mountain town of Chama lies dormant, its restaurants and shops shuttered and its 900 residents only beginning to sense the coming season. A brisk wind and the shouts of a few pre-teens playing basketball on the school grounds are its only sounds. Kim Smith opens the door to the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad (CTSR) Depot, left closed since the running of the Christmas Train in December. Dust particles dance in the streaming light. As general manager of the Rio Grande Railway Preservation Corporation, Kim is responsible for the operations of the historic steam locomotives. CTSR—the source of Chama’s tourism industry—is in turn responsible for the viability of the community.

To an outsider, Kim seems an unlikely trainmaster. The petite blonde in the light blue jacket is one of an elite group: women railroad administrators comprise only four percent of the country’s total. “I didn’t know girls could run railroads!” an octogenarian once chortled to Kim. “You’d be surprised what girls can do,” she told him. Unlikely until the outsider learns that Kim comes from a long line of railroaders. Her great grandfather, Homer Smith, was a gandydancer who helped lay the original line across lower New Mexico for the Southern Pacific. Her grandfather, Terrel Smith, was a machinist for the Santa Fe in Albuquerque. Her father, John “Terry” Smith, was a “maintenance of way” foreman for the Santa Fe. And her uncle and two cousins were train engineers.

J U S T T R A I N S E N S E : When dry forests and the risk of fire threatened to shut down the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, general manager Kim

Stephen Lekson, ’88 PhD, provided the text for Canyon Spirits (UNM Press), and Florence Lister, ’41 BA, supplied the foreword. The book provides an overview and accessible explanations of Puebloan architecture, subsistence, astronomy, rock art, and ceramics, as well as local environmental conditions and regional geology. Jennifer L. Stone, ’88 BA, ’91 JD, is general council, New Mexico Department of Health. She and her husband, Edward Stone, ’87 BUS, live in Albuquerque. John Oetzel, ’89 BA, ’04 MPH, is now chairman of the UNM department of communication and journalism. Dana Tai Soon Burgess, ’90 BUS, is artistic director of the Washington, DC, contemporary dance troupe, Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Company, which won the 2005 Mayor’s Arts Award for Excellence in an artistic discipline. The troupe traveled to Riga, Latvia, in March and to New York City in May. Patricia E. Boyle, ’91 MS, has joined the New Mexico Center for Nursing Excellence as its new executive director. She will administer the fiscal, personnel, planning, and meeting functions of the center. Patricia lives in Belen. Sandra Coca, ’91 BABA, was recently promoted to accounting manager from payroll and benefits supervisor at Port Townsend Paper Corporation in Port Townsend, Virginia. Milton Ospina, ’92 MCRP, is co-author of Measuring Up: The Business Case for GIS (ESRI Press). The Redlands, California, resident is the ESRI urban and regional planning and economic development solutions manager, and communications chair of the American Planning Association information technology division. Lee Sandoval, ’92 BABA, ’02 JD, has joined the Walther Family Law firm in Albuquerque. He also teaches accounting at the Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute. Anne Wilson, ’92 MA, has had a second book of poetry, Recuerdos, published by Finishing Line Press this year. Her Solea, a book of Flamenco poetry and the story of the author’s life in New Mexico, was published the year before. Anne teaches at the University of San Diego and in the USCD Extension and conducts summer workshops. Garrett M. Young, ’92 BUS, has completed his doctorate of education from the University of Sarasota. He lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. Ellis Dawson, ’93 BUS, ’96 MS, is now working for USA Basketball as a manager of competitive programs. USA Basketball is based in Colorado Springs.

Smith enrolled in a wildland fire-fighting class and convinced the US Forest Service to let the train roll. f a l l

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Unlikely until the outsider understands the connection between Chama and the CTSR, as Kim does. After growing up in Belen, New Mexico, and after a year at UNM, Kim moved to Chama in 1975. “Coming into the valley, it grabbed my heart and I knew I was home,” she says. For 15 years she owned and ran the Elk Horn Lodge, then moved to Albuquerque for another stint at UNM and a marketing job at Merrill Lynch, ultimately returning home to Chama in 1995 and building a second motel, the Vista del Rio. While at UNM in 1989, Kim enrolled in an American history class that inspired her new career. “My fascination with railroads was tweaked, as I learned about how important they were for the advancement and development of America,” she says. According to Paul Hutton, the UNM professor who taught the course, “the rails tied the nation together after the Civil War—thus, Union Pacific,” and they “led to the settlement of the entire Far West by 1900.”

Fire Engine In 2000, seeking a new challenge, Kim was named marketing director of the Rio Grande Railway Preservation Corporation, the non-profit organization formed by the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad to run the trains. The trains, track, and historic buildings associated with them are owned by the states of New Mexico and Colorado and overseen by the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad Commission, comprised of two commissioners from each state. Kim’s mettle was tested two years later when her appointment as general manager coincided with one of the toughest times to face the railroad. The Federal Railroad Administration expressed concerned about a portion of the track, so the railroad “voluntarily stood down”—closed—until repairs were completed. 20

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Just when the CTSR was ready to open, the US Forest Service closed the train down again because of extreme fire danger. “I had 80 employees with no job,” Kim says, “and a business with no way to produce income.” The financial losses for the communities the railroad served would be devastating. “The train is the economic engine of the community,” says Kim. “When it closed, I thought the town was going to dry up and go away. “I couldn’t make it rain,” Kim says, “so I went to work.” Kim enrolled herself and 25 employees in wildland fire-fighting classes. “I convinced the US Forest Service that we could operate safely and that if we did start a fire, I had my own fire department on the train, available for duty.” The plan worked, although the effects of the season still linger. In 2000, the train had hosted nearly 50,000 passengers. The next year started off with a 10 percent growth rate that was completely stunted by the impact of 9/11 upon travel and tourism. After the lost momentum of the 2002 season, its ridership in 2003 sank to approximately 17,000. In 2004, the number increased to 30,000. This summer, the hoped-for figure is 45,000, says Steve Malnar, executive director of the CTSR Commission. (See sidebar.) For her part, Kim was named Woman of the Year by Progressive Railroading magazine.

Train of Thought After five years with the CTSR, Kim has developed a working philosophy about historic railroading. First, “you can’t anticipate what’s going to happen,” says Kim. “I’ve learned to let things advance at their own pace, to accept what the railroad gives you and deal with it.” Whether it’s a forest fire or a rare derailment, “you take the circumstances and do what you can.” (Kim’s enthrallment with the speedy world of NASCAR may counterbalance her placid attitude at work.)

Second, the railroad is “truly a family. I recognize and respect that, and use that knowledge in making decisions.” Kim’s own family has participated recently in the life of the Cumbres & Toltec. Until her father had to seek lower altitude for his health, Kim’s parents took up residence in Chama. Her mother, known as “Granny Smith,” became a parlor car attendant, who also kept an eye on Kim’s young daughter. Her dad became an invaluable resource. “If I have a problem, I can go to Dad,” Kim says. “He has been instrumental in solving track and personnel issues. The railroad was his way of life. He knows the anomalies.” He also attracted an entourage of employees who loved to hear his railroad tales.

Whistle Stop… and Go Kim loves the sound of the train whistles. “You can hear them resonate for miles through the valley,” she says. “I can sit on my porch and tell (from the signals) if the train is moving backward or forward. I can tell if no one is attending the locomotive, because I can hear the valve lift.” When she hears the whistle for the first time in the spring, Kim says it’s “exciting…and sobering. While not exactly a call to arms, it is a reminder to all of us that we’ll soon be running trains.” The shadows lengthen as the train pulls into its home. Kim takes in the tired, smiling faces— sunburned but happy—of the passengers as they chat. The engineers pose for final shots with the travelers. A child snuggles his sleepy head into a parent’s shoulder. The sights belong to the relaxed, exuberant atmosphere of a new adventure absorbed. And the rewards belong to Kim Smith at this moment when, she says, “I know I’ve done my job.”


album Salvador A. Cicero, ’94 BA, has taken a three-year leave of absence from the Mexican Foreign Service to become the director of the American Bar AssociationAmerican Bar Foundation Anti-Trafficking in Persons Program in Ecuador. Peter Haines, ’94 BS, teaches US history at Leavitt Middle School in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is the head lacrosse coach. He still plays lacrosse with the “Sin City” men’s team. His wife, Kara E. Bridges Haines, ’95 BSED, is a third grade teacher at Bilbray Elementary in Las Vegas.

W E S T B O U N D O N W I N D Y P O I N T : In the 1880s, the rails of the Rio Grande Railroad San Juan Extension, including what is now known as the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, were laid three feet apart, instead of the more common four foot, eight-and-a-half inch US standard. The narrow gauge fit in the tight spaces of the mountainside where silver beckoned. Today’s visitors ride the rail for pleasure and nostalgia rather than riches.

t

Making Tracks (plans for the future) The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is owned by the states of New Mexico and Colorado and managed by a bi-state commission. Steve Malnar, ’65 BBA, serves as the commission’s executive director. The railroad is operated by the Rio Grande Railway Preservation Corporation (RGRPC). William Albert, ’66 BSCE, serves as the president of the RGRPC board of directors. RGRPC is a non-profit corporation formed by the Friends of the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, itself a 501(c)(3) organization, with more than 1,800 members. The Friends’ mission is “to interpret the railroad for the public and to preserve the historic structures and rolling stock” not in use for passenger train service. While ticket sales almost cover the train’s operating costs of nearly $2.5 million, they don’t cover the capital expenses for train and track repairs. The commission has launched a campaign to raise more than $31 million needed over the next five years for locomotive rebuilding, right-of-way improvements, passenger car restoration, and infrastructure costs.

Websites:

www.cumbrestoltec.com for train information and tickets www.cumbrestoltec.org for information about the friends of the railroad, a non-profit volunteer organization www.cumbrestoltec.com/commission.php for information about the Cumbres Toltec Scenic Railway Commission, an interstate agency www.whistleman.com to hear the sounds of a steam whistle

Michelle Naka Pierce, ’94 BA, ’99 MA, is co-author (with Veronica Corpuz) of Tri / Via, an epistolary collection of innovative poetry. Michelle teaches writing and pedagogy and serves as director of the Naropa University Writing Center where she is an assistant professor. She lives in Boulder, Colorado. Susan M. Hapka, ’95 JD, has been promoted to shareholder in the Albuquerque law firm of Sutin Thayer & Browne. Juanita Martinez, ’95 BA, received her PhD in biochemistry from the University of Oregon in 2001. Last fall, she completed a three-year NSF post-doc fellowship at UNM under Maggie Werner-Washburne studying the genomics of stationary-phase yeast, published in Molecular Biology of the Cell. Alison Rosner, ’95 BA, ’01 JD, has joined the Albuquerque law firm of Sutin Thayer & Browne to practice in commercial litigation, creditors’ rights, and secured collections. Loretta A. Naranjo-Lopez, ’96 BABA, ’00 MCRP, is principal of ARCH + PLAN Land Use Consultants. She is also a City of Albuquerque retiree and a recently elected board member of the Public Employees Retirement Association. Sarah Shortle, ’95 ASRA, ’03 BS, has won the 2004 PIMA Medical Institute Clinical Teaching Award for the third time. Sarah is radiology supervisor at UNM Hospital. Everett C. Robinson, ’96 BUS, is now director of marketing and public relations for Northland Pioneer College, a comprehensive, de-centralized community college serving northeastern Arizona. He lives in Showlow. Jennifer C. Bebo, ’97 AAPE, ’01 BSPT, practices physical therapy at the Gallup Indian Medical Center where she is a commissioned officer (LTJG) in the US Public Health Service. Jeffrey Lamar Coleman, ’97 PhD, received tenure in May 2004 and has been promoted to associate professor of English at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. He expects his first collection of poetry, Spirits Distilled to be published in 2005 by Red Hen Press. Ynez Villalobos Coleman, ’97 MS, is a f a l l

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walk to remember photo and story

By greg johnston

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Few folks have taken as large a bite of the Big Apple as Caleb Smith has. You could say the Duke City native son ate the

whole thing.

In 2004, Caleb achieved a

Caleb Smith ’95 BA, ’96 BFA,

milestone that few others have accomplished: he walked every city block of Manhattan Island in

walked all of Manhattan.

New York City—a total of 508.38 miles or 6,718 blocks. Caleb Caleb Smith, ’95wasBA, motivated to do so after moving

’96 BAFA, walked all

to NYC five years ago and

of Manhattan.

B L O C K B U S T E R : After walking 6,718 New York City blocks, Caleb Smith takes a breather on the UNM campus.

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discovering many off-thebeaten-path treasures.


Columbia University and walked to the Battery on the southern tip of the island, before blacking out the 11-mile excursion on the map. “One of my favorite days was when I was around 157th Street. I heard about this staircase that was the last remnant of the Polo Grounds where the New York Giants played.” The historic stadium was torn down in the 1950s and replaced by housing projects. “It was really cool to discover that staircase,” Caleb says. After walking farther that same day, Caleb came upon a mansion dating back to the 18th century, said to be one of the oldest buildings in Manhattan. The home had served as headquarters for General George Washington during the Battle of Brooklyn in the Revolutionary War. Caleb and the curator had a great afternoon discussing New York history and architecture. Caleb chose to finish the walk on December 19, 2004. The date coincided with the anniversary of Thomas Keane’s trek 50 years earlier. Like-minded Keane had also walked every New York City block. Caleb says since he began he has learned of a few others who also completed the urban trek. The last mark on the map was made at 33rd Street, which runs along one side of the Empire State Building. Caleb says that from almost anywhere on Manhattan, you can look up at the majestic skyscraper and see the twinkling of flash cameras atop the observation deck. After several toasts in a nearby bar, sure-footed Caleb recalls, “I took the elevator to the top and sent my own camera flashes across Manhattan.” Caleb created a website , www.newyorkcitywalk.com, to document his two-and-a-half year excursion into every nook and cranny of New York City’s vast urban landscape.

album traffic engineer at the Maryland Department of Transportation where she has worked for the past six years. She obtained her Professional Engineer license last year. The Colemans live in St. Leonard, Maryland. Cynthia Klessig, ’97 BA, is currently a research specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School. She was lead field researcher and trainer on an NIH-funded study of narcotic use in chronic pain patients. The study will be published next year. Cynthia is now lead field researcher on a study of college-student health habits. Dean N. Lavallee, ’97 BS, spent two years on a Church of the Latter-Day Saints mission in Brazil. He and Becky Merrill Lavallee, ’00 BSND, were married in 2000. He has a veterinary practice at the Carlsbad Animal Clinic after attending the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences from 2000 to 2004. Sophie Wadsworth, ’97 MA, has had her book, Letters from Siberia, published by the Comstock Review. She is the winner of the 2004 Jessie Bryce Niles Chapbook Award for Poetry. Sophie lives in Harvard, Massachusetts. Kathleen M. Wilson, ’97 JD, has been named president-elect of the New Mexico Defense Lawyers Association. Wilson is a shareholder with Keleher & McLeod in Albuquerque. Jeffrey Casey, ’98 BA, ’00 MBA, and Charlotte Price Casey, ’98 BA, live in Honolulu where Charlotte heads the human resources function for a federal contractor’s South Pacific region. Jeff is the systems engineer for SAIC at Hickam Air Force Base and is working toward his BS in computer science from the University of Hawaii. Mary Alice Garcia, ’98 BA, has been promoted to fraud and abuse administrator at Molina Healthcare of New Mexico located in Albuquerque.

Lindsay E. Jones

“If you’re in New York, go see the Brooklyn Bridge. Go see the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty— all those places are fantastic. But it’s not like it stops there,” says Caleb. “Just keep going and looking around every corner. Take your time. Sometimes it will be a slow reveal. It won’t be like fireworks.” Caleb’s parents are Patricia and Warren Smith. Both have held faculty positions—in English and foreign languages and literature, respectively— at UNM. Caleb says the urge to explore new settings and revisit the past is directly attributable to them. “On vacation, we could be at a someplace like a Wal-Mart parking lot and my Dad would imagine and describe the European Army coming over the hill at the site. It was my mom that gave me the sense of these less famous sites being important.” Caleb’s idea of formally documenting his walks came to him one day in April of 2002. His website describes the eye-opening experience. “I began visiting as many neighborhoods as I could. One day I turned down 29th Street from 5th Avenue and found a nice surprise, the Church of the Transfiguration or the ‘Little Church Around the Corner.’ It’s a beautiful old building, set back from the grid. Many years ago it was sort of a tourist attraction. It occurred to me that the real secrets of Manhattan lie in the east-west streets.” Caleb bought a map and began marking with a Sharpie pen the streets that he walked. The project started May 16, 2002. The beauty of the project, he says, was that he could begin anywhere and stop anywhere and pick it up anytime. It was essential to be alone to observe and experience the many urban offerings. “I always had my camera and notebook,” he says. One sweltering summer day he left his job at the art library at

Lindsay E. Jones, ’98 MA, has joined the Phoenix-based law firm of Gust Rosenfeld. Her practice focuses on education law, including elections and employment matters. She lives in Scottsdale. f a l l

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What we call adventure, Dennis Maez, ’81 MAPA, calls a career.

mission possible 24

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However you measure it—geographically or culturally—

Leslie Hoffman, ’99 BA, has joined Acción New Mexico as communications manager in Albuquerque.

Española, New Mexico, is a long way from the White

David Alexander, ’00 BS, is now a senior minister at New Thought Ministries of Oregon in Portland.

House. While Northern New Mexico has yet to yield a

Adam Battaglia, ’00 BABA, is a freshman at Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine, class of 2009.

Commander-in-Chief, local boy Dennis Maez, ’81 MAPA, grew up to be the next best thing: a Secret Service agent protecting the President.

Make that presidents, plural. Maez has jogged with George Bush the first and felt Bill Clinton’s pain on the death of the former First Dog, Buddy. “He was absolutely devastated,” says Maez. But those moments were mere blips on the intensity scale of his Secret Servitude. The adrenaline spiked for Maez in 1990, at the height of the drug wars. He recalls the episode: “Mr. Bush planned to attend the Cartagena Drug Summit. Another agent and I went down about two and a half weeks ahead of time to conduct a threat assessment advance.” There they uncovered a plot to assassinate the President by shooting down Air Force One. “We had to make a recommendation as to whether or not it was safe for him to come,” says Maez. Bush did indeed attend the summit safely, but the agents themselves might have been targets: In a conversation caught on tape, “friends” of infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar offered to bring him their heads “in a basket.” Fortunately, Escobar declined.

(In and) Out of the Blue Secret Service agents aren’t born; they’re made. Maez began his law enforcement career on the Albuquerque Police Department. He sprinted up the ladder of success, however, with a promotion to detective, investigating property crimes and then homicides. The policing prodigy was quickly promoted to Sergeant and was subsequently made a field supervisor (at the time, the youngest officer ever entrusted with a supervisory position). After eight years with APD, he joined the Secret Service as a Special Agent in the agency’s Albuquerque office. He was hired by Ken McWethy, ’65 BA, who was then Special Agent in Charge. Maez speaks fondly of McWethy, who was instrumental in shaping the new recruit’s understanding of the job. “Ken said, ‘We may stand in the shadow of the President, but we’re not part of the presidency. We’re there to protect the office.’” McWethy embodied the philosophy of what Maez calls the “best trained, most professional law enforcement force in the world. These men and women are extraordinarily

Catherine Begaye, ’00 BA/JD, has joined New Mexico Public Defender in Santa Fe as an assistant appellate defender. Lindsay Burkhart, ’00 BA, is now a high school social studies teacher at Oxnard High School in Oxnard, California. Jared Gianquinto, ’00 BA, was a member last February of an annual mission at Temple University’s School of Dentistry to alleviate the physical suffering of the poor and disadvantaged. He spent a week in Jeremie, Haiti, providing free dental care to residents of surrounding villages. David Pacheco, ’00 BA, is an attorney/ legal staff associate at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Sarita Nair, ’00 MCRP, ’03 JD, practices in the areas of nonprofit, corporate, probate, and trusts at Sutin Thayer & Browne law firm in Albuquerque. Andrea K. Robeda, ’00 BA, ’04 JD, has joined the Albuquerque law firm of Modrall Sperling as an associate and member of the litigation department. She will focus on employment, education, and insurance law. Sarah Cohen, ’01 BABA, has received her JD degree from the University of Houston Law Center and recently opened her own law practice, Apple & Cohen. Howard Jow, ’01 BSCS, has joined Eclipse Aviation in Albuquerque as a software engineer. Jennifer Lowe, ’01 BUS, has been hired as fund development associate for the Girl Scouts of Chaparral Council in Albuquerque. Hui Zhuang, ’01 BABA, ’04 MBA, now works at KPMG in Albuquerque as an audit associate. Margaret Garduño, ’02 BABA, now serves on the Santa Fe Community College governing board. Izabella Kovarzina, ’02 BA, has received the Executive Women’s International Albuquerque chapter scholarship for the 2005-2006 year. She will continue her education at UNM.

S E C U R I T Y S P E C I A L I S T : Life is not dull for Dennis Maez, who once protected the President and now watches out for private clients. f a l l

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Maez can tell you where not to. He’s a veritable Michelin guide of restaurants to avoid. His fluency in Spanish is a skill that’s invaluable in assessing situations and “vetting” locals in Mexico and Latin America.

courtesy Dennis Maez

Special Services for Special Circumstances

K E E P I N G P A C E W I T H T H E P R E S I D E N T : Protecting President Clinton meant on-the-job fitness-training for Secret Service agent Dennis Maez, right.

dedicated. The Secret Service is the only agency charged with protecting the most powerful leader in the world.” According to Maez, the Secret Service recruits independent thinkers. “You have to be able to react to rapidly changing situations.” But agents are alike in one critical area—loyalty. Few people would willingly take a bullet meant for a President—especially if it’s a candidate they voted against. “When you join the Secret Service, ideology goes out the window,” Maez stresses.

he was assassinated—not to protect himself or his successors, but to clamp down on the rampant counterfeiting of US currency. “It wasn’t until 1901 that the Service began protecting the President,” Maez explains. Maez enjoyed a 21-year career in the Service, rapidly advancing through its ranks. On the way he developed relationships with Congressional

“Leave nothing to chance. The more you know, the better prepared you can be.” —Dennis Maez

No Cloaks, No Daggers You won’t find Maez in a trench coat and sunglasses. “The only thing secret about the Secret Service is the name,” he says. While the public tends to identify the Service with protecting the President, many of the agency’s 3,300 agents conduct investigations into financial crimes. In fact, the Service was established by Abraham Lincoln in April 1865—on the day

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Now, almost two years after retiring from the Service, Maez heads his own international security firm, Maez Security Consultants (MSC). “We’re a ‘boutique’ firm,” he says. “Unlike huge security firms that are hired to protect an entire workforce in places like Iraq, we specialize in providing security for individual executives under special circumstances.” MSC associates have accompanied executives and their families on foreign vacations, provided security for gatherings of high-powered COOs with controversial agendas, and tracked disgruntled investors threatening violence against major financial institutions. An assignment can be as short as one phone call or as long as several months. “People hire us because of our ability to analyze a situation,” he says. “It’s like the old joke where a consultant comes in to fix a manufacturing problem. He looks the machinery up and down, takes a piece of chalk and makes one X. He sends a bill for $10,000.50. ‘That much

delegates and an array of law enforcement agencies. In LA, he helped investigate organized crime. Then it was off to DC for two years in the intelligence division and four years of protecting Presidents Bush and Clinton at the White House. His forte was, and is, protective intelligence. While Fodor’s can tell you where to stay in a foreign country,

for drawing an X?’ questions the client. He replies, ‘Fifty cents for the chalk; $10,000 for knowing where to draw the X.’” Most frequently, MSC is hired to perform what is known as “vulnerability assessment and risk analysis” for corporate clients, much of which consists of on-site surveys. A typical project may involve tracking down the


album Javier Alejandro Lorenzo, ’02 MAMU, is artistic director of the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque. In February he conducted a performance of Maria de Buenos Aires (Astor Piazzolla and Horacio Ferrer) with a cast from Buenos Aires at the Center. Nancy McDonald, ’02 PhD, has been promoted to director of academic affairs for the University of Phoenix’s New Mexico campus in Albuquerque. She has also been named to the 2004 edition of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers.

courtesy Dennis Maez

John Probasco, ’02 BS, attends the University of California-San Francisco School of Medicine following his time at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. Thomas R. Rodella, ’02 BUS, from Española, has been appointed by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson to serve as Rio Arriba County Magistrate Judge.

K E E P I N G P A C E W I T H T H E “ P O P E - M O B I L E ” : As Pope John Paul II greeted Baltimore in 1992, Dennis Maez, left, a member of the Secret Service, kept watch alongside.

source of company theft, as in truck hijackings that cost companies millions of dollars a year. “They don’t necessarily want to build a case against the offenders,” says Maez. “They just want to stop the bleeding.” In such cases, Maez says, “We do what we call a ‘sprinkler’ analysis. We diagram the flow of manufactured goods and look for patterns in where, when, and how the thefts occur.” Maez also studies corporate documents related to operational planning and corporate security policies and procedures.

Risky Business There are some assignments that Maez rejects out of hand. “I have to be honest with the client. I can’t misrepresent a situation. Sometimes what they want to do is foolhardy, and I can’t guarantee their safety.” While real estate agents chant “location, location, location,” Maez says, the security consultant’s mantra is “plan, plan, plan.” MSC’s client list

includes six CEOs, for whom the company performs security analyses and personal protection. Whether the client is traveling in a foreign country or attending a very public event, Maez makes contingency plans for extracting the individual from a dangerous situation. He familiarizes himself with the route to the nearest hospital and how to Medivac a patient. “Studying intelligence is also critical,” he says. “Leave nothing to chance. The more you know, the better prepared you can be.” It doesn’t hurt to have a network of trustworthy individuals in the area, either. If all else failed, would Maez resort to violence? The answer is an emphatic no. “I don’t carry a gun,” he says. “If I have done my job, I won’t need one.” Evidently, clients are extremely pleased with Maez’s on-the-job performance. Forget the American Express card: Some very influential people won’t leave home without him.

Tracy L. Alexis, ’03 BA, is working with Strategic & Learning Services in Albuquerque as a project specialist. Her two primary clients are Sandia National Laboratories and the City of Albuquerque Office of Economic Development. Mae Araujo, ’03 BUS, has started a chapter in New Mexico of the private, non-profit American Research Center in Egypt in affiliation with the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology. Check out http://www.pharolux.org or www.ARCE.org. Liz Burt, ’03 BAFA, has joined “It’s Just Lunch” in Albuquerque as a dating coordinator. Jaime Dawes, ’03 JD, has joined the Albuquerque law firm of Sheehan, Sheehan & Stelzner as an associate. Andrea Harbison, ’03 BS, has received an MS in medical genetics from the University of Cincinnati. She has accepted a faculty position at the University of Texas, Houston, and will be doing genetic counseling at different outreach clinics in the city. Jennifer Christina Richardson y Garcia, ’03 BABA, works for the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department and is seeking an MBA from New Mexico Highlands University. Jennifer lives in Santa Fe. Shad James, ’03 MBA, has been promoted by the Jaynes Corporation to vice president for project management. He lives in Sandia Park, New Mexico. Deborah LaPointe, ’03 PhD, is assistant director for education development at the UNM Health Sciences Center.

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By all accounts, Art Lindberg was a quiet and modest man. He had been in the military for nearly 20 years, since graduating with a geology degree from UNM. It was 1977 and Lindberg—

Central to an FBI sting operation, Art Lindberg, ’58 BA, helped identify and capture three Soviet spies.

now retired from a senior management position with Jersey Central Power & Light Company—was a US Navy lieutenant commander, serving as procurement director at the Naval Air Engineering Center

spy saga

in Lakehurst, New Jersey.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE:

not your ordinary glass of lemonade

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played a pivotal role in capturing Soviet spies, Art Lindberg has found new interests in the Association

C A R R

of Former Intelligence Officers. Nick Layman

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Almost three decades since he


album At 41, Lindberg was becoming bored with his duty assignment. Retirement was still two years off. The procurement department was functioning well. He had been successful in incorporating the use of computers into the procurement process. Still, he longed for more excitement. On June 27, 1977, Lindberg’s desire became reality. After a series of meetings with Terry Tate of the Naval Investigative Service (NIS), Lindberg accepted a potentially deadly, top-secret assignment, subsequently dubbed “Operation Lemonade.” His life would change forever.

The Right Ingredients As procurement director, Lindberg had assumed the meetings initiated by Tate in April were for contractual investigations. “No need for alarm,” he thought. “I was confident of my operation and knew things were going well. I had no idea that Tate had ‘ulterior’ motives.” In May, Tate asked Lindberg if he would consider an extremely dangerous and sensitive assignment for his country. “All I knew was that there would be no monetary reward. Because the operation was classified “Top Secret,” it could never be shared with friends, associates, or family. And it could involve danger and travel to strange destinations,” says Lindberg. “Specifics of the assignment would not be revealed until after I had agreed to accept the challenge.” Lindberg later learned what the FBI already knew: the Soviets were using their United Nations mission in New York City as an espionage base, and the New York-New Jersey area was perfect spy territory. The FBI suspected a connection between the Soviet Merchant Marine and the KGB, using a

vacation cruise ship as a floating center for spies. The FBI had been looking for someone to serve as a go-between, offering to sell American classified information to the KGB, and eventually trapping the Russians. Lindberg fit the bill.

Reading the Recipe The official offer was made to Lindberg minutes before he began a one-week vacation with his in-laws on the eastern shore of Virginia. The FBI gave him that week to make up his mind. He cycled the same questions over and over again in his head: “What am I accepting? Why should I take on something new? What impact will it have on my family? What will it do to my life? Is there any benefit to me personally? Why should I do it?” Late in the week, Lindberg came to the realization that just maybe he was being called upon by a higher entity to serve his country. “The Sunday before we left, I went to a small Methodist church where about 40 people were in attendance,” Lindberg says. “The only thing I heard throughout the service was the preacher saying, ‘Seize opportunities to serve God and your country.’” “It became a very critical element of the entire operation,” says Lindberg. “I relied on it for strength. Once I heard it, the decision to take the assignment was very simple.” Lindberg never imagined nor could he have dreamed what the results of his simple “yes” would be. At the time, he knew nothing about five men—a Baptist, three Jews, and a Ukrainian nationalist—suffering the extreme hardships of captivity in the Soviet Union’s gulag system with no hope of release for at least 10 years.

Linda Lasswell Spaulding, ’03 BA, is the author of Walking Home on the Camino de Santiago (Pilgrims Process) about her pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Linda is a unit administrator and production coordinator for the Ovation Series at Popejoy Hall. Michael Youngman, ’03 BSCE, is project manager for the Rio Rancho office of the JB Henderson Construction Company. He lives in Tijeras, New Mexico. Amber Abercrombie, ’04, has been accepted into the Teach for America Corps and will be teaching secondary math in the San Francisco Bay area. Sidnee Peck, ’04 BABA, has joined Meyners + Company in Albuquerque as a staff accountant in the audit department. Michael J. Simmons, ’04 BS, has been promoted to the rank of Navy ensign and is with the specialized diving division at Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center in Panama City. Kathryn E. Toner, ’04 PhD, received the Atkinson & Kelsey Excellence in Family Law Award last year. The award is given to a graduating student who has shown excellence in family law studies. Kathryn lives in Sandia Park, New Mexico. Jason A. Peters, ’04 MAAC, has been hired by KPMG in Albuquerque as an audit associate.

Daily Lobo News Members of the staff of the 1978-79 Daily Lobo staff have recently reconnected with each other and with Mirage: Former Lobo editor-in-chief Debra Levy Martinelli, ’79 BA, is director of communications for the University of Oklahoma College of Engineering. She also is a free-lance writer whose work has appeared in numerous publications, including Sooner Magazine, Law Office Computing, Legal Assistant Today, NurseWeek, New Mexico Business Journal, and Mirage. She and her husband, Johnny, live in Norman, Oklahoma. Mike Hoeft, ’79 BA, former Lobo news editor and staff writer, is a general assignment reporter for the Green Bay (Wisconsin) Press-Gazette. He’s been with the newspaper nearly 18 years. He and his wife, Patty, have two daughters. The family lives in Oneida and enjoys sailing on Green Bay. Mike cross-country skis, rides a recumbent bike, and dreams of spending winters back in New Mexico.

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The plan was put into motion. Suddenly Lindberg was living three lives, each “separated from the others by impenetrable walls,” he recalls. Not only was he a dutiful US Naval officer, he was also a husband and father actively involved in family activities, including picnics, scouting, swim club, PTA, homework, church, and Sunday school. His third life was just beginning— that of a clandestine agent. Meetings with special agents from the FBI became mutual evaluation sessions. The secretive nature of the mission was reiterated as was the mantra: “no benefits, no money, possible travel, no sharing with anyone—not even your wife—no one.”

Stirring the Pot In late July, after the FBI was satisfied with his background and potential, Lindberg bought a ticket at the New York office of the Soviet-run March Shipping Line and boarded the MS Kazakhstan for a cruise to Bermuda. The plan was to entice the Russians into an espionage trap. “It was a very lonely cruise,” recalls Lindberg. “I didn’t get to interact with anyone. I was assigned my own cabin and sat for meals with three ladies—an older woman and her two daughters. They tolerated me and I tolerated them. “The crew was aloof, standoffish, and didn’t interact. The main reason was because they were afraid someone would see them talking to a non-Soviet and non-Communist. They were on a short leash and very controlled. There was KGB on board, which is what we were trying to find out.” Following the weeklong, uneventful cruise, Lindberg handed a note he had written the night before to the last officer on board before disembarking. In it he said he was an American naval officer interested in making some additional money before retirement, and that he could provide information of interest

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courtesy Art Lindberg

Secret Ingredient

B I T I N G T H E B A I T : A surveillance camera captured this photo of Soviet spy Valdik Enger in 1978 as he pockets information left for him by Art Lindberg.

to the Soviets. The note contained a telephone number, and a time and day to call. Lindberg signed it, “Ed.”

First Sip On August 30, Lindberg pulled his Ford Maverick into the parking lot of a diner in central New Jersey with the designated outside pay phone. He was a few minutes early and didn’t know if the Soviets would take the bait. At 11:45 a.m., the call came. “Hello, Ed,” said an accented voice. “My name is Jim. We got your message and would very much like to meet with you. I’ll call you again—same time, same number—a week from today.” Operation Lemonade was on. Entrenched in carrying it out successfully, Lindberg headed back to the base at Lakehurst.

Second Sip A week later, he received the second phone call with more instructions from the Soviets. They told him to drive to a Sears store in nearby Asbury Park. Thirty minutes later he arrived and the phone rang. He was instructed to reach under the shelf where he found a note inside a magnetic key case. The note was extensive, containing instructions about their next point of contact and a series of more than 30 questions designed to size up Lindberg and his abilities. Did he have access to classified information such as the

Trident missile launched by submarine? Was he willing to deliver materials to the Soviets? Could he take classified materials home from work? Lindberg answered, convincingly.

Sweetening Over the next several months, the meetings and details became more involved as the stakes grew higher. The camouflage for the notes ranged from crushed Marlboro cigarette packs to Coca-Cola cans to Tropicana orange juice containers—stuff no one would bother to pick up or give a thought to. Inside each container were messages and thousands of dollars in $20 bills. “I would disguise the containers with glued-on dirt, making them look like trash,” says Lindberg. “During this period I got $20,000 from the Soviets, all of which was turned over to the FBI. I saw later where they evaluated the information to be worth $30 million. The information I passed was all Navy classified documents that had been declassified for this operation, except for the final documents.”

Glassmates On October 15, 1977, Lindberg delivered classified information regarding anti-submarine warfare and left it at a specified drop point inside New Jersey’s Garden State Parkway. With his life on the line, Lindberg had a keen sense of his surroundings, and was keeping an


eye out for any information at the drop-off points that might help identify the Russians. “Without being obvious, I was looking for plate numbers and descriptions of cars,” says Lindberg. “I would turn that information over to the Bureau.” Lindberg likened the undertaking to a James Bond operation: “I could press a button giving me a flat tire in case I needed to cause a delay. I used miniature cameras mounted in my car grille and taillights to take pictures of cars. The FBI anticipated communication spots so that we could record phone calls. This thing got to be kind of neat, in retrospect.” After the October 15 drop-off, Lindberg told NIS and FBI agents about a dark blue car with New York plates reading “XLT.” It turned out to be registered to Rudolf Chernyayev, a Soviet employed by the United Nations as a personnel officer, and one of the key players. By April 1978, NIS and FBI agents had identified two other Soviets: Valdik Enger, on staff at the UN Secretariat, and Vladimir Zinyakin, the Third Secretary of the Soviet mission to the UN.

Big Gulp On Saturday, May 20, 1978, the time arrived to catch the Soviets with information that would lead to their arrest—information that could convict them of conspiracy to steal military secrets. They needed to be caught red-handed. The back of Lindberg’s car was gutted and replaced with peat-moss containers filled with Styrofoam. Two FBI agents were hidden in the trunk of his car. Teams of agents on the ground were instructed by one of the agents in the trunk where the drop would transpire. Lindberg made the drop at the appointed time and spot, near a clearing on a seldom-used service road. There he placed an orange juice carton with five, seemingly plastic, 35 mm film containers. Because spies are known to carry acid with them in order to destroy

evidence, the film containers were actually made of titanium, with reverse threads, sealed with epoxy. After making the drop, Lindberg walked back to his car, got in, and drove off. Shortly after leaving the site, Lindberg heard one of the agents in his trunk scream into his walkie-talkie. “They got them!” the agent said. “They got them!”

Thirst Quencher The FBI had arrested Chernyayev, Enger, and Zinyakin. Chernyayev and Enger were charged with conspiring to buy military secrets. They were convicted and sentenced to 50 years’ imprisonment. Zinyakin, with diplomatic immunity, was deported. Nearly a year after their arrest and months after their conviction, Chernyayev and Enger were taken to Kennedy Airport in New York and led to the front of a Russian Aeroflot while five Soviet dissidents—a Baptist, three Jews, and a Ukrainian nationalist— were led out the rear.

Cooling Off President Jimmy Carter later wrote in his memoirs that Operation Lemonade was the greatest humanitarian act of his presidency. It was the first and only time Soviet spies have been swapped for nationals, says Lindberg, to whom Carter awarded the Legion of Merit for his outstanding service to the country. “It broke the logjam on emigration from the Soviet Union,” says Lindberg. “It became easier for people to leave. I am extremely proud of having played a part in it.” “Lemonade opened a whole new area of interest to me,” says Lindberg, who is currently president of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers, northeast region. “It has given me a much greater appreciation of being an American and of all the freedoms America stands for. Tied in with that is a thankfulness for all that so many have done and continue to do defending our freedoms.”

album Former Lobo news editor and copy editor Anna Poole, ’79 BA, lives in Edmonds, Washington, and writes a weekly restaurant review for The Herald, a Washington Post newspaper in Everett, Washington. She’s also writing a novel about the Santa Fe railroad. Jim Fisher, ’79 BUS, former Lobo photo editor, is an assistant professor in the communication department at the University of Utah. Linda Gleason Fresques, ’80 BUS, former Lobo arts editor, currently directs the communications and media relations efforts of an environmental consortium based at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. She does not consider herself an Aggie, even though NMSU is the source of her income. Linda and her husband, Fred, have two children.

in memoriam Eunice Herkenhoff Adams, ‘29 Iva Tompson-Beers, ‘34 Paul R. Jones, ‘34 Frances E. Young, ‘35 Ralph S. Bowyer, ’37, ’46 Reba Caldwell, ‘38 Stanley Koch, ‘38 Louise Anderson, ‘40 Joe B. Baker Jr., ‘40 George H. Johnston, ‘41 Lois Margaret Lee Santilli, ’40, ‘52 Allen Billmeyer, ‘41 John Hedrick, ‘41 Mary R. Wells, ‘41 Reba Pauline Caldwell, ‘42 Lucile Wilson Caton, ‘43 Dorothy McCain Abrahamson, ‘44 Marion Elvin St. John, ‘44 Charlotte M. Johnson Toulouse, ‘44 Douglas G. Denniston, ’45, ‘48 Paul Patterson, ‘47 Edward J. Neff, ‘48 Lauren C. Harper, ’49, ‘52 Steffen R. W. Johnson, ‘49 Willard E. Prekker, ‘49 Clarence D. Smith Jr., ‘49 Arthur H. White, ‘49 William Elgie Fields, ‘50 Emily Ann Fuhs, ’50, ‘55 Jane Reese Heinsch, ‘50 Marjorie Richerson Johnson, ’50 Donald P. McKee, ‘50 Richard Joseph Rudolph, ‘50 Richard E. Smith, ‘52 Robert S. Smolich, ‘50 Roger G. Cox, ‘51 Alton Kelsie Hallman, ‘51 John H. Imrie, ‘51

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Joan Gibson: I’m wondering how you became interested in medical ethics. Anne Simpson: Doing geriatrics, you see

a lot of ethical issues. In medicine, in general, I don’t think an hour goes past where I don’t see some ethical dilemma. For me, the biggest issue tends to be informed consent. David Hovda: My area of interest has

always been traumatic brain injury. As chairman of an Institutional Review Board (IRB) at UCLA concerned with mainly animal research, I was brought into a number of situations, such as an inquiry regarding falsified information or consent that clearly wasn’t informed. The School of Medicine asked me to hold a class on ethics and scientific integrity, which I’ve now taught for seven years. Eva Caldera: I studied philosophy in

college but was looking for a career that would have an impact on the world around me. So I went to law school and into practice, then took a few years off with my children. When we arrived in New Mexico, I took Anne’s ethics course. During one session, a light went on that a lot of the skills I had learned as a lawyer—to negotiate and mediate and solve problems—were an

hands-on ethics

Four professionals discuss the ethical

issues and decisions

“Every time I go to work,

they deal with in

I feel privileged to do

practice, research,

this. If you don’t have

and teaching.

that humility, you’re more apt to make mistakes

MODERATED BY JOAN GIBSON EDITED BY MARY CONRAD

M I R A G E

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Nick Layman

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and cross lines of ethics…” —David Hovda


integral part of what you need in the context of ethics. I ended up teaching a bio-ethics class in the law school, and, with Rob Schwartz, I’m going to teach a bio-ethics and the law course in the UNM Honors Program. Joan: Anne and Dave raised the issue

of informed consent. Informed consent in the geriatric world and informed consent in the research world have similarities and differences. Anne, talk to us a little about informed consent with your elderly patients. Anne: I tend to take care of the frail-elderly, the old-old. They’re not in a place where you can reasonably think of curing whatever they have. They’re probably going to die unless it’s a treatable infection. You work with them and negotiate their treatment in terms of what they want, how they see their life and the quality of their life. You talk with them about their illness process, making sure they understand the risks and benefits of treatment, no treatment, and alternative treatment. Often they won’t accept the standardof-care treatment. Patients have a right to refuse medication as long they understand the implications. Some of these people have dementia, in which case you talk with their families. Joan: So, informed consent in the

clinical setting involves people’s right

essentially to choose to accept or refuse treatment that is proposed to them. The origins of that informed consent come not from the clinical setting but from the research setting, where it’s important that people have the right to choose whether to participate as a subject in research. Dave, how would you explain the importance and the limits of informed consent as you practice on a daily basis? Dave: With traumatic brain injuries, most patients are very young— between 15 and 25—and most are male. Those who come into the ER are in a coma, so I’m not going to get informed consent from them. When treatments have to be started within minutes after arriving to the ER, it is very hard to get informed consent. Families in the ER whose loved one qualifies for our research protocol are in the midst of their worst nightmare. They want to trust me emphatically, so I’ll always get the response, “Please do whatever you can.” Yet these research protocols do carry some risk. When I discuss this during the first hours, it’s obviously not getting through. So we’ve implemented a double consent, the downside of which is that it hurts our ability to start some important studies very early. For double consent I have a family member or a loved one sign a consent the day the patient is admitted to the hospital. Then, after things have

“Idealistic young law students are committed to the idea of the legal system as a place for accountability.”

Nick Layman

—Eva Caldera

album more in memoriam Charles Richardson, ‘51 Didio B. Salas, ‘51 Mary Jo Bailey, ‘52 Aaron E. Duran, ‘52 Andrew L. Garcia Sr., ‘52 George E. Paul Jr., ‘52 John Milton Puckett, ‘52 Jean Elaine Ashley, ‘53 Ted P. Gillespie, ‘53 Martin Scott Jones, ‘53 Alton Meador, ‘53 Ada Vivian Wester, ‘53 Charlotte Owen Williams, ‘53 Dorothee Murphy Butler, ‘54 Leonard E. Hauser, ‘54 Thomas Brandenburg Hughes, ‘54 Jo Wayland McMinn, ‘54 Harold Michael Parks, ‘54 Bill G. Taylor, ‘54 Fred Joseph Dyer, ’55, ‘57 Joe B. Saunders, ‘55 Patrick C. Heard, ‘56 Charles E. Wheeler, ‘56 Donald B. Court, ‘57 Alfonso Marquez, ‘57 Andres (“Casey/Andy”) E. Martinez, ‘57 Ray Edwin Brown, ‘58 Charles Lockhart, ‘58 W. George Perkins, ’58, ‘65 D. Lynne Edgerly, ’59, ‘84 Clarence Lee Watson, ’59, ‘98 Loyola F. West, ‘59 Donavan J. Jacobson, ‘59 Leroy T. Brannon, ‘60 Alice Blue Figge. ’60 John A. Randall, ‘60 Joe B. Baker, ’61 Robert Creeley, ‘62 King Wah Gee, ‘62 Magdelene “Maggie” Howell, ‘62 Damian John Jelso, ‘62 Ramon “Milo” Naranjo, ‘62 Sister Francis John Rzeppa, ‘62 Kathleen W. Weber, ‘62 Gerald L. Traut, ’63, ‘65 Marvin F. Burianek, ‘64 Thomas M. Schultheis, ‘64 Donald Joseph Hosterman, ‘65 Larry G. Bowman, ‘67 William R. Chester, ’67 A. Maurice Chamberlin, ’68, ‘81 William C. Madden, Jr, ‘68 Jean M. Musser, ‘68 Hollis Dale Stout, ‘69 Allen Paul Gerlach, ’70, ’73, ‘88 V. Glenn Prentice, ‘70 Nancy van Meter, ‘70 Charles Wayne Shiplet, ‘70 Thomas Allen Astholz, ’71, ‘75 Patsy A. Fisher, ’71, ‘76

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“In medicine, in general, I don’t think an hour goes

some ethical dilemma.”

Nick Layman

past where I don’t see

—Anne Simpson calmed down, 24 or 48 hours later, I’ll come back and say, “Can we have another conversation? This is what we decided to do, and have begun. Are you still in agreement with this?” Most of this population have very little or no insurance. To manage a head-injury patient, the bill is somewhere around $1 million to get them in the ICU, and $25 million to get them back into society. When I consent a patient for our head-injury protocol, they get follow-up neuro-psych, MRI scans, and counseling, all paid for out of my National Institutes of Health grants. If they don’t sign, they don’t get anything. This is not the proper way to influence individuals to sign up for research protocols, but it happens. People in desperate need look for research protocols they can participate in.

Joan: What about the law as an instrument

of social justice? I can get my daughter’s treatment paid for if we sign up for this protocol, but if we don’t sign up, sorry, out of luck. Is there a role for the law here? Eva: I wish I could point to some kind

of impact litigation on behalf of people who don’t have adequate healthcare and health insurance. It’s a major policy problem at a level higher than just the legal system, which many people struggle with in this country. But we aren’t moving in a clear direction. Joan: I wonder how young lawyers-to-be see the profession of law today moving, not just in the redressing of individual wrongs and holding individuals accountable, but in serving as a vehicle for moving the community forward.

would cringe, I would say that the law

set (professionals) apart

commitment to a vocation,

that the needs of the people they serve—not their own interests— would guide them.” —Joan McIver Gibson Nick Layman

m a g a z i n e

“In the 12th century, what

a calling, and their promise

committed to the idea of the legal system as a place for accountability.

M I R A G E

among generations about privacy issues, perhaps because of the prevalence of the internet and computers. Young people growing up now don’t have as much concern for their privacy as older people. So while we have this elaborate framework for privacy protection, it’s tightly linked to gathering lots of data to keep track of people. It becomes a double-edged sword, and an issue my law students aren’t particularly concerned about.

Dave: Although some of my colleagues

Eva: Idealistic young law students are

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Eva: There seems to be a difference

from others was their

Joan: This might sound like a fairly

extreme case, but you just described almost the full range of ethical issues: the young population, the old population, the desperation that we have when a loved one is sick. What I like about the double consent is that the conversation isn’t over. The physician comes back to review with a family member where we are, what we’re doing. It’s a process that may build a level of understanding you wouldn’t get otherwise. My hat’s off to you. Eva, is the conversation between this clinician and researcher the sort of thing that interests law students?

has worked, to a degree. Certainly there are things we are legally required to do today in our ethical treatment of animals and humans for research, that we used to take for granted, relying on a higher moral standard. Take HIPAA (federal guidelines and regulations protecting the identities of patients or research subjects), for example. Physicians always knew not to talk about patients by name in the elevators or the corridors, but either we got lax or things just weren’t quite tight enough.


Joan: In the 12th century, when universities

Joan: It may be that our professional

were first starting, the definition of a professional was somebody who received a university degree: lawyers, physicians, and clergy. What set them apart from others was their commitment to a vocation, a calling, and their promise that the needs of the people they serve—not their own interests— would guide them. When you talk now to young people interested in going into one of these professions, what is your advice that is both inspirational and realistic?

education in the past focused on the individual, but we work, live, and breathe in systems. Teaching young professionals how to understand the working of systems and to manage them rather than be managed by them may be a new professional competence.

Eva: Students seem a bit overwhelmed by the System. They feel unable to change or respond to certain systemic issues, and may end up moving in a direction that they don’t want, becoming cynical about what they can accomplish in a professional life. So one of the things I focus on is trying to assure young people that even in this large, complicated, challenging world, individuals still can make a difference. It matters that you have the confidence in yourself to try, and to hold yourself to the high standards that ideally being part of a profession means. Believe in yourself. It sounds like a simple message, but it’s more and more difficult given the amount of information that students have to learn and the complexities of the world.

Anne: I tell them to really investigate

what a profession means. If it’s medicine, then talk to me, talk to other people. I invite them to the nursing home to see what it’s like being there. Then they need to look at what they value in their life and what they want to contribute to a profession, and to decide whether or not the two are compatible. It takes an incredible amount of education, personal commitment, and time. Dave: Graduate students and others interested in this field always ask what motivates me to do this. I tell them it feels natural, not like a job. Every time I go to work, I feel privileged to do this. If you don’t have that humility, you’re more apt to make mistakes and cross lines of ethics you wouldn’t have crossed before. If it’s something you feel privileged to do, then you’ve made the right decision.

P A R T I C I P A N T S Eva Caldera, JD, research professor, UNM School of Law; associate director, UNM Institute for Ethics; UNM First Lady David Hovda, ’79 BA, ’83 MS, ’85 PhD, Lind Lawrence Eminent Scholar, professor of neurosurgery and of molecular and medical pharmacology, UCLA School of Medicine; director, UCLA Brain Injury Research Center Anne Simpson, ’93 MD, Rust Professor and director, UNM Institute for Ethics; associate professor of internal medicine/division of geriatrics, UNM School of Medicine; chair, Bio-Ethics Committee, University Hospital Moderator: Joan McIver Gibson, PhD, retired director, UNM Health Sciences Ethics Program

album more in memoriam Larned “Larry” Asprey, ‘72 John R. Bergstrom, ‘72 Victor M. Garcia, ‘72 Lorie L. Loch, ‘72 Don Ray Moody, ‘72 Don Rhinehart, ‘72 Theresa Sleight, ’72, ’77 Lloyd F. Aker, ‘73 Juan J. Gallegos, ‘73 William Leonard Grandia, ‘73 Ida G. Havens, ‘73 Alert W. Webb, ‘73 William W. Webster, ‘73 Valerie Gerard Dillon, ’75, ‘80 Sherry Reisfeld, ‘75 Albert D. Loya, ‘76 Gilbert Louis Sena, ‘76 Allen David Snagel, ‘76 Marjorie Ruth Bates, ‘77 Alfred Bruner, ‘77 Mary Claire Bachechi, ‘78 Faye O. Gabaldon, ’78, ‘81 Cecile Powell, ’78, ‘87 Lawrence Michael Via, ‘78 Deborah Lynn Dominguez, ‘79 Dorothy VanderZee, ‘79 Roger Earl Alderman, ‘80 Curtis Anthony Barefoot, ‘80 Mary Sue Davis Crane, 80 Lynn Ann Hertel, ’82, ’86, ‘04 John Phillip Livingston, ‘83 John Gregory Baugh, ‘84 Richard Carbajal Jr., ‘84 Chris R. Jaramillo, ’84, ‘89 Clentis W. Bailey, ‘85 Mary E. Gray, ‘88 Carol Wright-Strawderma, ‘88 Elmer James Powdrell, ‘89 Pete Ross, ’89, ‘92 Arthur Thomas Tulloch, ‘89 Lorencita Castillo, ‘91 Amy Beth Yatsco Jaeger, ‘91 Stephen Tabet, ‘91 Cory R. Fine, ’92, ‘94 Margarita Moreno Cordova, ‘93 Lynne Jones Lazelle, ‘93 Margarita Moreno Cordova, ‘93 Scott Bradley Leonards, ‘93 Frances Perea Roybal, ‘94 Dennis Khetselius, ‘96 Victor Lee Mcintyre, ‘97 Terry Sue Tafoya, ‘97 Dwight James Chase, ‘98 Natasha Williamson, ‘01 John M. Batcheller, professor emeritus Norman B. Levit, professor emeritus Frank A. Logan, professor emeritus John L. Omdahl, professor emeritus Cullen Bryant Owens, professor emeritus

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history in the

j

D A N A

H E R R E R A

Joyce Duncan Falk, ’60 BA, from Hobbs, New Mexico, reconnected with her former history professor and mentor, Benjamin Sacks, in a most unusual way. In San Diego’s Gaslight District, miles away from Albuquerque and almost 40 years after graduating, Falk spotted Sacks amongst the

courtesy UNM Archives

myriad of people bustling through the promenade.

THE RIGHT ANSWER: For 30 years at UNM, professor Benjamin Sacks knew how to communicate with students, straying from the traditional approach to history.

At 101, history professor Benjamin Sacks, ’26 BA, is the inspiration for a scholarship fund, begun by a former student.

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“I was coming from dinner,” recalls Falk. “When I glanced down to a level below the promenade, one of the people looked familiar. Sure enough, it was Professor Sacks about to go to a theater performance.” This chance encounter after so many years brought back fond memories of this innovative teacher who opened Falk’s eyes to a world of ideas she had not known before.

Coming to New Mexico At age 101, Benjamin Sacks is an active historian, prolific writer, former professor, educational policymaker, and, for Falk, an unforgettable mentor. Originally from Pennsylvania, Sacks recounts his first visit to UNM as an undergraduate transfer student from the University of Michigan in the 1920s. “It was very cold in Ann Arbor, so I decided to go west.” He notes that, at the time, exploring the relatively uncharted Southwest and attending a campus with only about 500 students were big risks for him. Nonetheless, New Mexico’s colorful landscape and warm climate appealed to the budding historian, and he soon called Albuquerque home. As an undergraduate, Sacks discovered a passion for British history. He excelled academically, and was active in Lobo athletics. He played for the basketball team and even earned a spot for himself in the UNM Athletic Hall of Honor. Though he left UNM after graduating in 1926 to pursue master’s and doctoral

degrees, it wasn’t long before New Mexico beckoned him back.

A Talent for Teaching In 1929, the year that marked the beginning of the Great Depression, Sacks returned to Albuquerque with his newly minted PhD from Stanford University. UNM’s history department soon approached him to teach freshman western civilization courses. “I liked it so much at UNM that I stayed on,” he says. Fortunately for the university, Sacks was no ordinary professor. Students, such as Falk, flocked to the professor who incorporated acting into his lectures and gave moving talks on Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony. Sacks integrated cultural history into his lessons and strayed from what was then traditional political history. He also introduced themes of modern liberalism, including reason, tolerance, and humanism in his courses. And, in keeping with his athletic nature, he interacted with students outside of class by organizing the handball championship in New Mexico 30 years straight.

Changing History, Changing Lives Falk credits Sacks for influencing her academic path when she was an undergraduate, encouraging her to take classes from different professors of European history. “It was Professor Sacks who urged me to go to graduate school and to pursue the application for


making the fellowship with which I earned my PhD,” she says. Mentoring students such as Falk is only one of the legacies Sacks left at UNM. As a member of the UNM community, the professor also contributed to policy and program changes. “I’d like to think that I made a contribution to the evolution of the university,” says Sacks. “We had about six or seven teachers at UNM whose accomplishments contributed to the school’s being granted a doctoral program. It was my generation of UNM professors who brought the PhD to campus.” After 30 years of teaching at UNM, Sacks left to accept an offer from Arizona State University. After retiring from ASU, Sacks moved to California. For the past 30 years, he has lived and worked in San Diego, where part of his historical research has included investigating famous figures from the legendary Hotel Del Coronado. He has published several scholarly articles on the subject, and recently finished what he calls his final academic project, titled, “The Duchess of Windsor: The American Story.”

Contributing to History’s Future Since earning her PhD in history from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Falk has had

several careers, ranging from history teacher to manager in a publishing company. Now, Falk is making history at UNM. With a strong devotion to education, Falk and her husband, Heinrich, funded the Benjamin Sacks Endowed Scholarship Fund for undergraduates pursuing study in British, European, or African history. “UNM is already strong in Latin American history, so I thought it important to encourage students in European history and chose to focus on the area that Professor Sacks had taught or written about,” says Falk. Sacks says that he was thrilled to learn about Falk’s endowment of the scholarship fund. With a teaching career spanning 70 years, he has guided many students in their academic careers. Of Falk, he is quick to say, “It’s nice to think that I contributed to the opportunity for somebody to indulge in history in their academic life.” Currently working in Santa Barbara for the University of California’s Education Abroad Program, Falk hopes the scholarship will show her appreciation for the professor who made such a lasting impact on her academic and personal life, while it motivates young students to repeat history by following in Professor Sacks’ footsteps. Dana Herrera graduated from UNM in May 2005 with a BA degree in English-creative writing.

Help Support the Benjamin Sacks Endowed Scholarship Fund If you would like to add your support to the scholarship fund honoring Dr. Sacks and supporting undergraduate students who study British, European, or African history, please: Visit the secure UNM Foundation Web site at www.unm.edu/foundation to make an online donation; or make a check payable to the UNM College of Arts & Sciences. Please write Benjamin Sacks Fund in the memo line, and sent it to: UNM Foundation Inc.,

album marriages Alvin Barney, ’90 BA, and Ronda Kay Sargent Scott Foster, ’90 BSME, and Janet Rios Stephen Madeyski, ’91 MBA, and Roberta Holt, ’03 MSNU Joan Carey Weeks, ’91 BABA, ’94 MA, and Stephen James Perry Dorothy “Dori” Phillips, ‘92 BA, and Ronald Carmichael Ryan Galey, ’94 BSED, and Karin Reindrop, ’96 BUS, ’01 JD Donna Saavedra, ’94 BA, and Anthony Lopez Michael Anthony Garcia, ’95 BA, and Katy-Marie Mirowsky Lori Baione, ’96 BA, and David Jost Melanie Patten, ’96 JD, and Matt Fritzsche Manuel Pino, ’96 BSNU, ’04 MBA, and Eunice Baca Helen Epstein, ’97 BS, and David Darby Kristin Kalberg, ’97 BS, and Andrew Browning Jason Lenderman, ’97 BA, and Jessica S. DeLeers Benn Tannenbaum, ’97 PhD, and Kristin Lee Mandy Donaldson, ’98 BA, and Bob Pitre Charlotte Price, ’98 BA, and Jeffrey Casey, ’98 BA, ’00 MBA Helen Dorado, ’00 BA, and Christopher Maestas, ’98 BSCS Carlos Olivas, ’00 BS, and Toni-Marie Vigil, ’02 BS Catherine Dewey, ’01 BSNU, and Stephen Nicholson Juliana Serna, ’01 BS, and Lance Longhi Samantha Jane Rogers, ’02 BSNU, and Ryan Thomas Sanders Brooke Connell, ’03 BS, and Gary Parker Tanya D. Montoya, ’03 MS, and Hector G. Mezquida Joseph Phillips, ’03 MBA, and Mandi Slusarski Lindsay Stills, ’03 BSED, and David Szwed Maribel Valenzuela, ’03 BUS, and Thomas Moralez Leslie Elizabeth Lovato, ’04 BSED, and Robert Derek Jackson, ’04 BA Roger Pacheco, ’04 BA, and Eve Wohlert Danyiel Radosevich, ’04 BBA, and Marc Jobe

MSC07-4260, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, N.M. 87131-0001 All contributions are tax-deductible as allowable by law and will further Dr. Sacks’ legacy of encouraging undergraduates to pursue history with a passion. Joyce Duncan Falk

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d Reflect on UNM

The 2005 UNM homecoming poster “UNM Reflections” by Jeff Otis, is now available. See homecoming insert for details, or go to unmalumni.com/homecoming.


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