New Mexico State University Activity Report

New Mexico State University
Activity Report
September 9-13, 2013
President – Garrey Carruthers, Ph.D.






Dan Howard, Kari Mitchell, Jordan Benegas, and I attended the second of a series of
meetings sponsored by the Governor and Secretary of Public Education regarding
improving our Colleges of Education. There seems to be a drive for an easier
process for obtaining an alternative teaching certificate, increasing the number of
credit hours obtained in disciplines other than education, improving leadership of
Principals and Superintendents, and increasing the admission standards for students
entering Colleges of Education. More meetings to come! These meetings are
attended by all University Presidents and Provosts along with at least one Regent
from each University.
I attended a meeting and press conference with an Assistant Secretary of the
Department of Education here to honor Dr.s Cronin, Rhein, and Rodriquez (UNM) for
receiving a $1.25 million grant to work on special education and communication
issues, to include autism. The College of Education does very well in grant writing
and in addressing the needs of New Mexico children.
Regent Kari Mitchell, David McCollum, and I met with a number of small business
owners who are willing to support collegiate athletics but who feel they have “been
left out or not properly stewarded”. I have agreed to have a monthly breakfast
meeting with them so that we can be more inclusive in our donor relations.
David Boje, Chairman of the Sustainability Council, asked me to drop by for a chat
with his group. A very nice meeting of interested sustainability advocates. They are
to advise the President on sustainability hence I challenged them to prepare a 1 year
and 3 year plan of initiatives we should be considering to make our enterprise more
sustainable.
I visited NMSU Alamogordo and held meetings with both the faculty/staff and later a
group of citizen supporters. They are concerned about the status of their nursing
program, which may be converted to an Allied Sciences degree in which the students
would then enroll at NMSU/HSS to complete a BSN degree in nursing as they do at
NMSU Grants. There is growing concern among the public who support LPN and RN
degrees that we are moving away from degrees needed in their communities toward
degrees such as BSN which they cannot afford or need in their towns.
I traveled on to Santa Fe and met with the following:
o Regents Pino and Gonzales to discuss the upcoming BoR meeting agenda, the
prospects of applying for a liquor license for HRTM and one for the Pan
American Center, increasing their already approved budget request for
WRRI, and the three tier funding formula proposal crafted by NMSU.
Page 1 of 15



o Keith Gardner, Chief of Staff for the Governor, regarding the three tier
funding formula and the Governors interest in improving Colleges of
Education,
o Representative Carl Trujillo, who is an engineer working in Los Alamos, who
expressed an interest in carrying legislation on water resources and/or
commercialization of intellectual property,
o David Abbey and Traci Toon re the three tier funding formula. They
expressed interest in the concept but recommended the name be changed to
Mission Based Performance Funding model to overcome a negative
perception of three tier funding formulas.
o Secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration and gang re the
funding formula issue. He seemed supportive but instructed us to work
directly with Secretary of Higher Education Jose Garcia.
o Joann Hart, a principal in the Coca Cola distributorship in Santa Fe and a
graduate of NMSU College of Business who has expressed an interest in
being more supportive of NMSU.
o Jennifer Andersen, the Director of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission
regarding possible applications for liquor licenses for HRTM and Pan
American Center.
I visited with Karen Moses, the Managing Editor of the Albuquerque Journal, and her
new Higher Education desk person. They have recently hired a new person to cover
southern New Mexico, including NMSU. Good conversation. They are sponsors of
the Domenici Conference and will have some folks in attendance to cover the goings
on!
I stewarded the many donations by the Public Service Company of New Mexico in a
visit with Pat Vincent Collawn, President of PNM. She has not visited NMSU so I
extended an invitation and am expecting the College of Engineering to organize her
visit.
The Domenici Conference is this Wednesday and Thursday. Please sign up and
attend. It is a great line up.
Executive Vice President and Provost – Dr. Dan Howard


On Monday, President Carruthers, Regent Kari Mitchell, and I attended the NM
Education Work Force Meeting in Socorro, NM. At the meeting I was charged with
leading a discussion of how to measure effective performance of Colleges of
Education amongst the provosts of the state. Dean Morehead will join me in this
discussion and I have encouraged the other provosts to include their education
deans, as well.
In my monthly meeting with the Presidents of the Community Colleges we discussed
the course alignment and course numbering project that will be led by Deputy
Provost Greg Fant. A question that arose is the role that the Higher Education
Page 2 of 15


Department should play in this process. It is a question that I will pursue with
Secretary Garcia.
In the Deans mini-meeting, concerns were expressed about Digital Measures and
the need to tweak the system so that it is more user friendly and measures aspects
of performance that are important to deans and the faculty of their colleges.
I had a productive meeting with the University Research Council at which we
discussed faculty frustrations with the offices that support research at the university
and the difficulties experienced hiring personnel for funded programs. The URC
conveyed the importance of having faculty representation on the groups that will
address the concerns raised in the Research Process Review Team Report.
SVP Administration and Finance – Angela Throneberry
Auxiliary Services
 NMSU Special Events announced this week that Trans Siberian Orchestra will
present its final performance of “The Lost Christmas Eve” on December 2 at the Pan
American Center. This will be their third appearance in Las Cruces at the Pan
American Center.
 NMSU University Communications published an article this week on the “Tea of a
Kind” product. This tea is being marketed by an NMSU alumnus – Daniel Montoya.
Daniel came to NMSU last fall and began working with Barnes and Noble to sell the
product through the campus convenience stores and the Starbuck’s Café.
 NMSU Transportation and Parking Services has taken delivery of five 2014 Chevrolet
Impala sedans that will be put into service as rental vehicles in the campus motor
pool. Five older sedans with high mileage will be retired and sold as surplus.
 The Aggie U-Pass program that is funded by student fees allocated by ASNMSU has
started strong this semester with over 200 bus free passes given to full-time Las
Cruces campus students.
Facilities & Services

FS Fire hosted a Helicopter Landing Zone class on Thursday, Sept. 12th. The
helicopter was from Tri-State Care Flight out of Truth or Consequences, NM. FS Fire
was joined by our local ambulance service (AMR) and representatives from the 16
Page 3 of 15


volunteer fire districts in Dona Ana County. This training helps prepare our
emergency response personnel on landing zone operations as well as identifies
emergency access points, fuel shut-offs, oxygen shut offs and limitations of each
helicopter.
FS Environmental Health & Safety Hazardous Waste
Team received a sizeable amount of photo paper and
film items from the Branson Library. Fourteen boxes of
photographic paper were redirected to the Art
Department for re-use with an estimated value of
$1,000. The Hazardous Waste Team evaluates items
picked up on campus for potential re-use before
designating them as waste for special disposal. This
takes extra time and effort, but is more
environmentally friendly and saves resources. Sue Terebenetz led this effort; her 30
years of experience working at NMSU and developing campus contacts is helpful in
EH&S’s redistribution efforts.
Fire Safety month activities include training approximately 175 facilities
maintenance employees this week as part of the 4 hour safety training blitz hosted
by Environmental Health & Safety. In addition to Captain Chris Aerts and Captain
Kellen Tarkington from NMSU Fire Department teaching general fire safety, EH&S
Safety Specialists Jose Gamon and John Larson and Assistant Directors David Shearer
and Jack Kirby instructed classes in Safe Campus Driving, Job Hazard Analysis,
Asbestos and Stormwater Awareness, respectively. It was a great week to teach
about Storm water management with the daily rains finally upon us.
Page 4 of 15

Institute for Public Policy (IPP) - Jon Padilla with FS PD & E is the Project Manager
overseeing the IPP project. Currently Branson Library is 88% complete, Jayne’s in
work on the interior finishes, all FF & E furniture is on order and the Black Board card
reader equipment is also on order. The contractor is proceeding with closeout
procedures, and the contract is schedule to be complete on the first week of
October, 2013. Currently, the IPP building is 20% complete, Jayne’s has completed
the addition concrete Auger pile, pear cap, tied beam. On the renovation interior
the contractor is installed concrete tied beams, concrete columns and concrete wall
footings. The building Structural Steel will arrive next week for the new building
addition.

Joe Payyapilly with FS PD & E is the project manager overseeing the NMSU – Grants
Student Testing Center and the FY 13 NMDOT Drainage Project. The new Student
Testing Center is 99% complete and according to the on-site Facilities Manager,
Danny Christmann, the project has turned out very well. Design services were
provided by Figueroa-McInteer Architects from Albuquerque and the construction
was completed by ESA construction, Inc. of Albuquerque also The NMDOT project
has been designed by the Design Group from Albuquerque and the construction is
being completed by Wooten Construction of Las Cruces.
Page 5 of 15
Information Communication Technologies
 Susanne Berger was awarded the 2nd quarter Asprey Award. Bob Asprey, who
passed Jan. 17, 2006, had been a longtime friend and former employee of ICT. He
along with his wife, Jo, endowed the Asprey Award as a way to recognize
outstanding ICT employees. Those who receive the award demonstrate a dedication
to their job that far exceeds the job’s requirement. Susanne works hard to provide
service and support to all that come to her office or cross her path. Her positive
attitude, energy, and tenaciousness to get the job done paired with her ethic of
“going above and beyond” in everything she does makes her an invaluable
employee. And to top it off she is a lot of fun to work with. In addition, she is taking
classes each semester towards her MBA here at NMSU.
 ICT in partnership with Associated Student of NMSU, Auxiliary Services, College of
Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, Instructional Innovation and
Quality, Creative Media Institute, DACC and various other departments are working
on updating the digital signage screens (TVs) that are available as a communication
tool for NMSU students and departments to advertise events, special
announcements, and important messages to the NMSU campus. The support for
the old system known as Black Box expired in FY 2013 and a new system, Navori,
was purchased as the new content manager software that push content like
PowerPoint slides, video, and images to the various TV screens around campus.
Currently a total of 40 screens are located around the NMSU campus in various
building lobbies. Some of the areas that have these screens include Corbett Center,
Garcia Hall, Milton Hall, O’Donnell Hall, Frenger Food Court, and the Business
Complex. The process will include upgrading equipment, training staff, and building
new and fresh content that will be displayed on the screens. The key benefits that
the new digital signage software that will significantly improve the digital signage
service for NMSU by allowing NMSU to: purchase quality equipment at a lower cost
making it more affordable; ability to connect all screens NMSU TV screens to one
system reducing management time; administration roles and content management
privileges for users can now be defined and assigned, which allows for more
technical and non-technical users to more easily contribute content without
compromising security. The content displayed can be more dynamic and changing
and allows sharing content between content managers that reside in the different
partner departments.
SVP External Relations / Chief of Staff – Ben Woods


Completed counter draft (on behalf of all higher education institutions) to State
Board of Finance for proposed rule change on Approval of Capital projects.
Met with ACES and Faculty Senate on Hotel Solicitation to insure they were briefed
and had opportunity for input.
Page 6 of 15



Wrapped up the final edits and format to the proposed Memorandum of
Understanding between NMSU and Las Cruces Public Schools for the Early College
High School.
Visited NMSU DACC to review venue and handle logistics planning for the upcoming
BoR meeting.
Changed date of BoR meeting to Monday, October 21, 2013.
VP Student Affairs/Enrollment Services – Dr. Bernadette Montoya
Office of the Vice President, Dr. Bernadette Montoya
 On Wednesday, the Advisory Team drafted a mission
and vision statement for SAEM that will now go to all
staff for feedback. The final statements will be
completed by early November.
 The SAEM Professional Development Committee held
their first event, a one-hour presentation by Del Suggs
on how to avoid burnout and manage your time.
Highlights of his talk are at
http://studentaffairs.nmsu.edu/2013/09/20248/.
 Enrollment was in the news this week: Dr. Montoya
was interviewed for a print story by the Sun News and
had another interview featured on Santa Fe’s public
radio station, KSFR at http://bit.ly/18XhnnH (minutes
18 through 26).
University Admissions, Ms. Valerie Pickett
 Recruiters attended college fairs for prospective
freshmen in Nevada, Colorado, Arizona and New
Mexico. Transfer recruiters visited with students at El
Paso Community College, Clovis Community College,
and Eastern New Mexico University.
Student Engagement, Dr. Terry Cook
 With Justin McHorse of the American Indian Program,
Dr. Cook co-hosted NMSU Gates Millennium Scholars
Reception. The reception was also attended by the
Gates Campus Engagement Leader for the Southwest
Region, Mary Hubbell-Ansera. Dr. Cecilia Hernandez
from Curriculum & Instruction and Gates Scholar
Alumni was the guest speaker.
Student Life, Dr. Michael Jasek
 Union Programming Council hosted Del Suggs, who
presented workshops to about a dozen student leaders.
UPC also hosted Nathan Fox Tuesday at S-n-F
The SAEM Advisory Team at work drafting mission
and vision statements.
Dr. Montoya and NMSU’s 12 current Gates
Millennium Scholars.
Del Suggs (standing), presented the workshops
Leading Well, Officer Training, and The Power of
Interpersonal Skills to student leaders.
Page 7 of 15
Music/Variety Night at Crossroads in CCSU to over 60 students. These events are
part of a larger strategy to engage students in campus life.
 Greek Affairs and Panhellenic Council hosted Sorority Recruitment September 6–9.
Over 100 students bid to one of the six Panhellenic
sororities on campus.
 United Blood Services Battle of I-10 had two locations
for donations for the traditional NMSU vs UTEP
rivalry. The Battle kicked off with an event Monday
outside CCSU.
 Student Judicial Services’ Angela Bates presented
Fall 2013 Sorority Recruitment.
the Student Code of Conduct to the CAMP section
of University 150 as part of the office’s outreach.
Office of Student Diversity and Outreach, Ms. Christina
Chavez Kelley
 Black Programs and Chicano Programs hosted
Welcome Back events. More than 12 NMSU offices
participated in the Chicano Programs event, which
was held on the International Mall.
 Michael Ray recently represented NMSU and
American Indian Program at the Southwestern Indian
Polytechnic Institute’s Fall Orientation Fair & Expo. He
encouraged SIPI students to pursue further degrees
State Representative Sandra Jeff (center) toured
the American Indian Student Center with Justin
at NMSU.
McHorse (left) and Michael Ray (right) of the
 The Office of Student Diversity and its reporting areas American Indian Program. Justin and Michael also
met with State Representative Roger Madalena.
hosted Student Leadership Training on September 5
for 45 students. Speakers included ASNMSU President
David Maestas plus other ASNMSU and NMSU staff.
 NM MESA held its first Professional Development Conference for the year on
September 10 on campus.
Nineteen teachers from Gadsden, Las Cruces,
Deming and Cobre School districts attended NM
MESA training at NMSU.
Page 8 of 15
Interim VP Economic Development – Dr. Kevin Boberg
Regional Events
 A number of Arrowhead staff members participated in the Albuquerque Tech Fiesta,
a “celebration of tech talent and the groups that continue to cultivate a thriving tech
community in the Albuquerque area.” Arrowhead Technology Incubator Program
Manager Zetdi Runyan Sloan was a panelist in a discussion entitled “Incubation
Works! How NM’s Incubation and Acceleration Centers Are Improving Our
Ecosystem.” Studio G member and Crimson Curriculum co-founder Brian Mangusing
was a panelist in a discussion entitled “Startup Weekend NM: Lessons Learned.”
Mangusing and his team (including Jared Naranjo, a senior majoring in mechanical
engineering technology) were awarded first place at the Startup Weekend
Albuquerque event, where they presented their venture, which uses Lego-based kits
to introduce high school students to engineering concepts (originally developed by
engineer Yu-Ping Tang of the Controls and Automation Lab at NMSU’s
Manufacturing Technology and Engineering Center).
Entrepreneurship on Campus
 Arrowhead is pleased to be participating in the selection of the first recipient of a
newly-established faculty position in NMSU’s College of Business. The Bill and
Sharon Sherriff Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship, created with a generous gift
donated through the NMSU Foundation, will “attract and/or reward high-quality
productivity in entrepreneurship [and] provide leadership and expertise toward the
goal of cultivating a spirit of entrepreneurship among New Mexicans.” Arrowhead’s
CEO will provide consultation in the selection process. The Endowed Chair is
another promising development in recent efforts to build a spirit of entrepreneurism
on campus.
University-Industry Partnerships
 Arrowhead Senior Economic Development Officer Pam Wood joined NMSU’s
Director of the Office of Grants Contracts Neta Fernandez at the University Industry
Demonstration Partnership (UIDP) General Meeting. NMSU is a new institutional
member to the UIDP, which allows a platform for university and industry research
counterparts to work together to identify, create, and test demonstrations to
improve collaboration. Wood and Fernandez return from the meeting with new
business models for approaches to university-industry engagement based largely on
more friendly intellectual property policies for corporate sponsored research. For
more information and opportunities to learn about the UIDP, visit www.uidp.org. A
webinar series is available to faculty and staff who are interested in specific areas of
engagement.
Page 9 of 15
VP Research – Dr. Vimal Chaitanya














Held first research rally of the academic year to recognize the algal biofuels team
effort led by Peter Lammers that won multi-institutional DOE-REAP funding for $ 5
million.
Vimal Chaitanya hosted the Executive VP and Provost Dan Howard at URC meeting
and gave a tour of service units for the VPR office as well as PSL
Held a retreat at Holy Cross of VPR leadership team to discuss ways to be more
efficient in providing service to researchers as individual units and collectively.
Vimal Chaitanya was the speaker on Thursday morning at the Rotary Club meeting at
the Hilton Garden Inn. He spoke about the NMSU research enterprise, its strength
and impact.
This week, we received new sponsored awards worth about $1.3 million and
submitted proposals amounting to $ 72,000.
We continue to strategize and prepare for the upcoming NASA/CSBF proposal. The
Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility draft RFP continues to be worked. Several
competitors have approached PSL to be on the NMSU/PSL team.
Neta Fernandez attended the University-Industry Demonstration Partnership (UIDP)
meeting, along with Pamela Wood from Arrowhead. This was the first time NMSU
has attended and found it quite useful, especially in the Intellectual Property area.
Also, DuPont showed an interest in funding some internship for Navajo students in
the STEM area.
An award of ~$1.5M was received to support the intelligence community. This is a
short suspense delivery due in November. Joanne Esparza will be the PI.
Two more Lance shots will be contracted in the next few weeks for delivery in
October and November. The missile work in Crete and offshore California has also
been confirmed with the Army.
A TSERS Delivery Order was increased by ~ $2M to be a gap filler for the yet to be
awarded new ~$15M Delivery Order.
The NASA NRA for UAS support has been modified and increased by $672K. This
effort in part includes collaboration with the Psychology Department.
A modification of $165K was made to a Navy effort in support of a UAS CTEIP effort.
We expect to have additional funds from SNL to be performing small UAS flights
related to their Arctic location in October.
WRRI in collaboration with UTEP, UNM, and TX A&M submitted grant proposal to
NSF Water Sustainability and Climate program titled, “Sustainability on the border:
water, climate, and social change in a fragile landscape.” – NMSU budget
$1,020,000.
Sam Fernald gave a talk to League of Women Voters Lunch with a Leader series on
the topic “Confronting water scarcity in New Mexico’s future”; he was interviewed
at the event by KRWG, and the interview was aired on public radio the next day.
Page 10 of 15

WSM Coordinator Desa Daniel and WSM students presented water table at NMSU
football game for Ag Day and garnered a lot of interest.
Interim VP University Advancement – Dr. Tina Byford






The NMSU Foundation Board Development, Communications and Marketing
Committee met on Tuesday, September 10. The committee reviewed NMSU
Foundation Comparative Fundraising Reports. Total New Gifts for Fiscal Year 12-13
was $14,176,150 compared to $12,978,750 for Fiscal Year 11-12, registering a 9%
increase. The committee has made a recommendation to set a minimum for the
creation and startup of endowments and current use funds that will be reviewed by
the Executive Committee and full board during their October meetings. The
committee also discussed fundraising strategies and the history of campaigns at
NMSU.
Robert Peterson, Director of Planned Giving, worked with a donor and the ROTC
Cadre to finalize a major gift of $10,000 along with an 1888 Society bequest, in
which the NMSUF/ROTC is listed as the sole beneficiary of the estate. This gift will
benefit both NMSU ROTC programs. Robert Peterson and Ann Palormo collaborated
to finalize and approve for print the fall Look to the Future newsletter. The
newsletter which supports the solicitation for new 1888 Society members benefits
ACES, Business, Engineering, Arts and Sciences.
Nigel Holman, Director of Annual Fund, reports that the students at the Aggie Pride
Call Center were very excited to get back on the phones after the summer break.
One of our veteran callers was able to secure a $500 donation via credit card on her
first night calling our past donors. This was an exciting way to kick off calling!
Staff from the Office of Alumni Relations attended the Balfour Official Ring
Ceremony workshop in Dallas, September 9 and 10. Additionally, homecoming 1963
and 1953 reunion and Golden A’s invitations were sent out to more than 4,000
alumni.
Corporate and Foundation Relations continue to meet and work collaboratively with
the College of Ed, CHSS, College of ACES and the Library on a “think big” proposal for
the Kellogg Foundation. Fred Heinrich, Director, took delivery of a generous gift of
wine from Southwest Wines which had been coordinated with all units on campus.
Corporate and Foundation Relations also submitted a letter of inquiry to the Sloan
Foundation for $300,000 support for the Freshman Experience, a new program of
the College of Engineering in addition to submitting a request to the Ethel Jane
Bunting Foundation for a 100% increase in the funding being provided to their
endowed scholarship.
Elaine A. Stachera, Regional Advancement Officer, traveled to Los Alamos and
Albuquerque, NM and met with donors to write scholarships for planned gifts; one
benefiting financial aid ( a $60,000 insurance policy) and the other benefiting
Page 11 of 15


philosophy, arts and sciences (1/4 of an estate) in addition to other cultivation
meetings.
Kristina Martinez, Director of Regional Advancement for Central/Northern NM,
presented “The Art of the Thank You”, to a diverse group of non-profits from
Northern New Mexico during the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) NM
Chapter breakfast program.
On annual leave Thursday and Friday.
Athletics Director – Dr. McKinley Boston, Jr.





The Department of Athletics partnered with the El Paso Coalition Blood Drive to host
a kickoff event on campus on Monday, September 9. The Aggie Spirit Squad,
student-athletes, coaches and staff were in attendance. Food and drinks were
provided.
The Intercollegiate Athletic Council held their first meeting of the year. Past
president Dr. Keith Mandabach chaired the meeting. New officers were elected and
Kevin Melendrez was elected new president. There was a long and thoughtful
discussion on amateurism and current legislation regarding paying student-athletes.
The Aggie Athletic Club sponsored a football reunion of Alumni Football players. This
is the 35th Anniversary of the 1978 Missouri Valley Conference Team. The team was
honored throughout the weekend. Events included a Rivalry Weekend Kickoff
Reception, Football Alumni and Team Dinner, Football Alumni Social, Crimson
Legends Pre-Game Reception and other events.
The GoalLine Club hosted the second coaches’ luncheon at The Game restaurant.
The event was nicely attended. Coach Martin spoke about the upcoming game and
his vision for the Football program.
The Department of Athletics hosted Dean Morehead and guests from the College of
Education in recognition of their achievements and leadership. Dean Morehead and
guests watched the Aggie vs. UTEP game from the Athletic Directors Patio. The
College of Business received a plaque during the game as well as an autographed
football.
Associate VP University Communications – Maureen Howard



For the week of September 2- 8, news stories in both local and national media
totaled 127 placements. The two top stories covered by the media this week were
the efforts of Beth O’Leary, anthropology professor, to encourage Congress to
protect the lunar landing sites, and the bed bug research conducted by Alvaro
Romero, professor of urban entomology.
The weekend feature story for the Las Cruces Sun-News highlighted two NMSU
basketball players, honing their skills through international play over the summer.
Monday’s Eye on Research story highlighted research by College of Business
Professor William Gould of the Economics, Applied Statistics and International
Page 12 of 15




Business Department. Gould is working with researchers in Costa Rica in the study of
that country's rich biodiversity.
Julie Hughes, director of public affairs, coordinated a press conference this week for
visiting Assistant Secretary of Education Michael Yudin. He was on campus as part of
the U.S. Department of Education's back to school bus tour and visited with faculty
and staff in the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders who
have received several grants from the department.
The fall student recruitment ad campaign featuring the theme “NMSU – All About
Discovery!” launched this week in the Albuquerque market.
To help build awareness and attendance for athletic events this week (football
against UTEP as well as the volleyball and tennis tournaments hosted at NMSU),
Athletics Media Relations coordinated a guest appearance for Associate AD Steve
Macy on the KTSM Channel 9 Morning Show.
The RFP for the Special Production Unit HD vehicle was sent for bids on Friday.
Assistant VP Government Relations – Ricardo Rel
State-Related Activities
 Mr. Rel and Mr. Woods participated in the first meeting of the Faculty Senate
Government Affairs Committee and briefed them on the FY14 funding formula and
other legislative related items.
 Anthony Parra and David Lucero with the New Mexico Department of Agriculture
testified before the Economic and Rural Development Committee on September 12
regarding “Value-Added Agriculture and Economic Development in New Mexico.
Federal-Related Activities
 Michael Yudin, Acting Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services for the US Department of Education participated in a press conference and
met with faculty and students with the Department of Special Education and
Communication Disorders. This was part of the U.S. Department of Education’s
“Back-to-School-Tour.” Senator Papen also attended the event.
Director/Secretary, NMDA - Jeff M. Witte


I attended the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA)
annual meeting in Ashville, North Carolina. NASDA is the state departments’ voice
that supports and establishes sound agricultural policy and programs for the
American agricultural industry.
The 2013 Organic Integrated Pest Management Farm Walk took place Sunday,
September 8, 2013, at Skarsgard Farms in Albuquerque’s south valley. The farm
walk is a joint collaboration between New Mexico State University Cooperative
Extension Service and NMDA’s Organic Program. Over one hundred people
attended the event.
Page 13 of 15




Staff will attend the Arizona Pecan Growers’ Annual Conference and present
information on pecan aphid pests and pecan weevil eradication efforts in New
Mexico.
The Alumni Green Chile event in Annapolis, Maryland, was a great success. The
Fresh Market store provided an on-site chef, incorporated green chile into
cornbread, sourdough bread, cheese spread, and queso. The excitement for the
second annual event was evident as plans for expanding next year were continually
discussed.
Staff will conduct the Green Chile promotion in Atlanta, Georgia, September 14-15.
This is our first entry into this market. The target demographics fit our foodie profile
for green chile.
Staff is in Albuquerque working at the NMDA Country Store and Ag Pavilion at the
New Mexico State Fair (September 11-22, 2013). Upcoming promotion events:
o NEW MEXICO-Taste the Tradition® Day – September 15
o Dairy Day – September 20
o Farmers’ Market Style Pizza Party – September 21
Page 14 of 15
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
Upcoming Legislative Events
September 16 – 17: Courts, Corrections & Justice Committee – Las Cruces/J. Paul Taylor
Center.
 Welcome by President Carruthers
 Shelly Bucher – Southwest Region National Protection Training Center
September 18 – 19: Land Grant Committee – Juan Bautista Baldes Land Grant.
September 18 – 20: Legislative Education Study Committee.
September 23 – 24: Revenue Stabilization & Tax Policy Committee – Santa Fe
 Revenue Forecast
September 24 – 28: Indian Affairs Committee - Church of Rock, Pueblo of Zuni.
September 25 – 27: Legislative Finance Committee – Clovis.
September 30 – October 2: NM Finance Authority Oversight Committee – NMSU and
Spaceport America
Page 15 of 15