“Princess Marisol & The Moon Thieves” is a bilingual, multimedia children’s adventure about a little princess and her otter sidekick, Alessa, who attempt to recover the stolen moon from a couple of mischievous musicians. The reader is led through a whimsical journey created through charming illustrations, narration and hip music.

Paramo said a photograph sparked the story. “A couple of my musician friends were in town from L.A. to perform with Keith Sanchez and the Moon Thieves and stayed with Marisol and me,” he said. “On the day we drove them to the airport my daughter decided to dress up like a princess. I took a picture of the three of them and hence the title: Princess Marisol & The Moon Thieves. The playful interactions between the three of them gave me the idea for the story.”

Audrey McNamara Garcia created the illustrations for the book. She held her first art exhibition in 2003, with subsequent showings all over the country.

“When I was working on the illustrations for Princess Marisol, I concentrated on the sincerity of the characters and the beauty and charm of the landscapes,” Garcia said.  “I always kept in mind sweet little Marisol, and tried to think about how she would like to see herself represented in her first book.”

Princess Marisol & The Moon Thieves features a variety of educational components beginning with the choice of reading and listening in either English or Spanish. Mousing over words display its meaning, and there is a “where in the world are we?” guessing game that highlights world geography and cultural terms that are linked to external web sources for more information.

Paramo said that the book emphasizes an appreciation for multiculturalism. “I know I sound like a cliché, but the world is getting smaller,” he said. “Migration has become the norm, and the earlier children learn to accept and appreciate people from other countries and those with differing customs from our own, the more harmonious our world will become.”

The Moon Thieve characters are based on real-life musicians, Matias Pizarro and Juan Carlos Ramirez, who created the music and sound effects for Paramo’s book. Founders of the L.A. based band, Diplomacy of Mad Science, their sound is a blend of electronica, Latin, Reggae rock and “dub,” music that consists mostly of instrumental re-mixes of existing recordings.

Paramo’s career at UNM includes working for the office of Engineering Student Programs, the Office of Executive Vice President, David Harris, the Provost’s Office and most recently at Physical Plant Utilities.

“I always dreamed of being a writer and working in the publishing industry,” Paramo said, “and now just seemed like the right time to make that dream a reality.”

Paramo and his partner Yvette Sandoval founded Community Publishing LLC, which works with all kinds of artists on collaborative projects for ePublishing.

“The publishing industry, much like the recording industry, has changed with the advent of new mobile technology,” Paramo said. “Writers no longer have to rely on big publishing companies to get their work published. We offer fair profit shares, a true collaborative process and the writer reserves his/her artistic/intellectual property rights.”

Princess Marisol & The Moon Thieves multimedia children’s eBook is bilingual and is available for Windows, Mac, Kindle, Nook, Android, iOS and tablet platforms.

For a preview and to purchase the eBook, visit Princess Marisol.

More information about Community Publishing is available at http://communitypublishingabq.wordpress.com/

Matt Carter. Photo by John Sumrow.

A quick perusal of Carter on Facebook during the Coachella festival shows hundreds of pictures of well-known artists on stage, next to pictures of the next generation of bands, still up-and-coming, as well as those looking for an opportunity to shine. The festival is chaotic and energetic, and during this intense musical extravaganza there is nowhere else he would rather be.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think Albuquerque pulls in a lot of acts, they tend to skip over us. They go from Arizona to Texas or Colorado to Arizona, but they tend not to stop in New Mexico,” he said. “That means that a lot of the bands that I really want to see I have to travel to see.”

One way around too much travel is to wait until many of these bands get together to perform at a festival, which is how Carter started his yearly trips to California.

“If I’m seeing 30 bands at Coachella that’s like 30 nights out to see bands,” he said. “If I’m seeing a show every couple of weeks it takes me almost a year to do that. I can’t travel to see that many shows it’s going to be cost prohibitive. I tend to be in the higher age range of an event like (Coachella), but I still have a good time.”

But every show must have an end, and at the end of Coachella, Carter is back to his duties with University Communication and Marketing. As UCAM’s web administrator, Carter is also in charge of the university’s online presence. From the main university web page to the president’s and regents’ websites, Carter and his team are responsible for maintaining and updating these sites, and monitoring the university’s overall online reputation.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs perform at Coachella.

Before joining UCAM, Carter worked with UCAM designer and photographer John Sumrow to create a site showcasing UNM’s Flickr Photo Gallery.

“It got a lot of attention from other schools and people speaking at conferences as a good example of how to use Flickr in a university environment,” Carter said.

After moving to UCAM, Carter was determined to improve the university’s social media presence. He developed a plan to get UNM more involved on Facebook, Twitter and even (at the time still an important social network) MySpace. He taught representatives of the university to respond to people online in a more strategic fashion, even bringing in students to work on the department’s social media accounts to provide an important and often overlooked voice to many social media endeavors.

But working on social media is only part of what Carter does for the university. He created a web services team for UNM, where departments can go if they don’t have the staff to develop or maintain their own sites. He’s also pushed for UNM’s new content management system, designed to make it easier for departments to update and create their own websites, and teaches a monthly class on how to use the system.

Speaking of teaching, Carter is also an adjunct faculty member in Communication and Journalism, teaching web design and web standards. Carter was asked to teach the class at the last minute when another instructor left the C&J department.

“It’s been a good experience, and I’ve been asked to teach the class again this fall,” he said.

Story by Benson Hendrix

Laura Montoya received the Lobo Louie Fellow of the Year Award.

Eliseo “Cheo” Torres, vice president of Student Affairs, said, “The Louies are part of the Student Affairs comprehensive recognition program and are an excellent opportunity to recognize the outstanding contributors from within our division.”

The 2013 theme, “All Roads Lead to UNM,” was designed with a “Wizard of Oz” motif. The Student Affairs fellows took charge of organizing the event and creating decorations. Winners, the diploma reads, “Display the qualities of Courage, Heart and Intellect.”

Award Winners

Community Service Award: Jason Fuller and Denise Long

Employee of the Year: Caitlin Henke

Fellow of the Year: Laura Montoya

Service Provider Award: Marjori Krebs, Sue MacEachen and Kim Halsten-Mora

Student Employee Award: Miquela Ortiz

All winners received a Lobo Louie statuette, and each received either $500 or gift certificates to the UNM Bookstore.

Slideshow: Photos by Karen Wentworth

Are you interested in professional development to further your career or improve your work performance? Employee Organizational Development and the Division of Continuing Education have several options for you to choose from, including many on-line classes.

Representatives from admissions, bursar, registrar, EOD, Continuing Education and many academic advisors from the various colleges, schools and departments will be on hand to talk to staff one on one.

For complete information, visit: Staff as Students.

(l. to r.): Joaquin Barela‎, Mariah Madrid, Brenda Reyes, Veronica Yzeta, Lee St. Pierre‎ and Marilyn Dykman, director, VRC.

A first-year pilot program, UNM and CNM are the first entities in New Mexico to receive AmeriCorps members, which according to the National College Advising Corps, is the first program of its kind: a near-peer advisement program for college graduates to mentor and advise current veteran college students.

AmeriCorp members commit to 1,700 hours of service. They provide one-on-one advisement, including referrals to campus and community resources; help navigate GI Bill benefits; support work with UNM enrollment, financial aid and advisement centers, and any additional resources to support student academic success.

Director of UNM Veterans Resource Center Marilyn Dykman said, “We hope this is just the first step in increasing the support our student veterans receive. Our numbers have grown rapidly over the years.”

In the 2012 fall semester, UNM main campus had 1,262 identified veterans and military family members utilizing some form of the GI Bill or other military benefits, bringing over $8 million in revenue to UNM.   

More veterans are expected to enroll at UNM in the next three years as troops return home and make use of their GI Bill and military education benefits. Dykman said, “Grants received through CAN to support UNM and other educational institutions, help the Veterans Resource Center better serve veterans, military service members, spouses and other family members, and that’s the goal.”   

For more information on the Veteran’s CAN program, contact Katherine Oldberg at (505) 345‑3344 ext. 13 or email to: katherine@collegenm.org

In 2008, UNM IT staff created the David J. Northrop Endowed Internship. In line with Northrop’s philosophy of work and life, the program will, in a practical way, mentor students and bridge the gap between formal education and industry expectations. Northrop’s friends and coworkers endeavor to grow the fund to $100,000.

More than 50 endowments are created on average at UNM each year, with a wide variety of purposes. Many are created to insure that the people who work, teach and inspire others at the University of New Mexico are remembered.

Timothy Moy was an associate professor of history at UNM who specialized in 20th-century science and culture. A superb instructor, he was noted for his skill combined with avid curiosity, an extraordinarily even temperament and a superb sense of humor.  The endowment established in his honor in 2009 supports history department graduate teaching assistants within the College of Arts and Sciences.

Another endowment honors a “magnetic person who inspired all who knew her”: The Deborah K. LaPointe Organizational Learning and Instructional Technology (OLIT) Endowed Scholarship Fund. LaPointe earned a Ph.D. at UNM and was an assistant professor and assistant director of Education Development at UNM’s Health Science Library, and held a secondary appointment as an assistant professor in the OLIT Program. The 2009 endowment established in her name provides scholarships for OLIT students.

Hundreds of similar endowments allow the personalities, philosophies and legacy of valued colleagues, teachers, mentors and friends to live on at UNM.

To learn more about the David J. Northrop Memorial Internship Program or give online, visit djnintern.unm.edu. To donate to any fund at UNM through United Way, name the fund in your online or printable pledge form.

Story by Wendy Antonio

To be eligible, staff must be participating in the Tuition Remission Program and meet the following requirements:

• Be enrolled in a degree, certificate completion, professional development or personal enrichment course
• Have passed their UNM employment probationary period
• Be at least a .50 FTE UNM employee
• Have a “meets expectation” or better on most recent performance review (do not send performance review)

Visit Provost’s Committee for Staff to apply. Note that only completed forms will be considered. The deadline to apply is Monday, Dec. 17, at 5 p.m.  Scholarship recipients will be notified the week of Jan. 7.

For more information, contact Dorene DiNaro at (505) 277‑5299.

Before it was brought to the floor, the resolution was amended to remove language requesting that “an alternate vendor to Chick-fil-A be found to occupy the chain’s location” at the UNM Student Union Building. The final version states:

“The Staff Council rejects discrimination and reaffirms UNM’s commitment to diversity and equality for all of its faculty, staff and students regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, sex, sexual preference, gender identity, ancestry, medical condition or spousal affiliation.”

Two main arguments dominated debate on the Staff Council resolution. Supporters of the resolution argued that the presence of Chick-fil-A may create a hostile environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members of the UNM community. Opponents and supporters of an amendment to remove language specifying Chick-fil-A argued that the resolution amounts to an infringement on freedom of speech.

Ultimately, the resolution passed with amendments removing explicit references to Chick-fil-A and adding, “Whereas the university has engaged with businesses that have been in the national media for their support of policies that impose a form of structural discrimination and are inconsistent with UNM’s commitment to a diverse workforce and diverse student body.”

Chartwells, the supplier of UNM’s campus dining services, released a statement responding to concerns about Chick-fil-A. “Chartwells has a zero tolerance discrimination and harassment policy, which enforces compliance with federal, state and local laws that prohibit discrimination or harassment based on sex, sexual orientation, race, religion, color, disability, age, pregnancy, national origin, veteran status or any other unlawful factor.”

A statement from Chick-fil-A reads: “The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect – regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender… Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.”

The cost is $6.95, which includes choice of cheeseburger, veggie burger or grilled chicken, and potato salad. Beverages will be available at an additional cost. Attendees are welcome to bring family and friends.

To reserve a spot at the cookout, visit New Semester Celebration.   

For more information, contact the UNM Faculty/Staff Club at (505) 277‑0045 or fsca@unm.edu.

Staff Council Rewards & Recognition Committee co-chairs, Celeste Cole (left), McCoy-Hayes (center), Kathy McKinstry (right)

Shannon McCoy-Hayes received the 2012 Jim Davis Award for Meritorious Service, which recognizes significant contributions of an individual to the UNM Staff Council. McCoy-Hayes is a representative and co-chair of the council’s Student Success Committee.

A UNM alumna, McCoy-Hayes is coordinator of Program Advisement for the Department of Biology. She graduated with a bachelor’s in American Studies and Anthropology and received an M.A. in American Studies in 2008. Shortly after, she began working as an advisor in the Department of Biology.

The Staff Council established the award in June 1999 in memory of Staff Councilor Jim Davis, supervisor in the UNM Recycling Department. The late Jim Davis was the first recipient of this award.

Davis was a member of the Staff Council for more than five years and served on numerous Council standing committees. He presided over Council meetings as Speaker for four years. He devoted both time and energy to the Council and served as a Council representative on several university-wide committees. Davis demonstrated meritorious service to the Staff Council as well as to the UNM community.