President's Weekly Perspective - 12.3.2012

Good Morning

It was great to see so many of you join us for the Hanging of the Greens on Friday. The campus looked beautiful, so thank you to the entire student groups who worked so hard to set everything up.

Celebrating Academic Excellence
This week I am delighted to acknowledge three professors from the University of New Mexico who have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Election as an AAAS Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers.

Vince C.
Calhoun is executive science officer and director, Image Analysis and MR Research Professor of Translational Neuroscience for The Mind Research Network, Donald Natvig is a professor in the Department of Biology and editor of Mycologia, a journal that publishes papers on all aspects of fungi, including lichens, and Bridget 
Wilson, is the Victor and Ruby Hansen Surface Professor in the UNM Department of Pathology, and one of four program leaders at UNM's NCI-designated Cancer Center. Congratulations on to these faculty members for this outstanding achievement. To read more, go to: AAAS Fellows/

Celebrating Nursing Excellence
I am also pleased to recognize four UNM recipients of the 2012 New Mexico Nursing Excellence Awards. This annual award honors nurses whose commitment to quality and service stands out. UNM's honorees are:
• UNM Hospital Staff Nurse Terri Gibson, for Excellence in Community Service
• UNM Hospital Medical Intensive Care Unit Clinical Nurse Specialist Stephanie Sanderson for Excellence in Critical Care Nursing
• UNM Pediatric Hospital Nurse Supervisor Lizabeth Gober, for Excellence in Home Health/Hospice Nursing
• UNM Psychiatric Hospital Director of Inpatient Psychiatry Eric Peterson, for Excellence in Nurse Executive Leadership

Our UNM Health Sciences Center is one of the best in the nation because of the contributions and leadership of the people who work there. Congratulations on this well-deserved award.

Lottery Scholarship Summit
Thank you to all who participated in the student-led Lottery Scholarship Summit last week, especially Student Regent Jake Wellman and ASUNM President Caroline Muraida, who organized the meeting. Addressing the challenges facing the lottery scholarship is a major undertaking and as the biggest recipient of lottery scholarship funds, UNM should be a leader in the discussion. Students are the best advocates with the legislature on issues that affect them.

The opportunity to graduate without debt is a tremendous service we offer New Mexico students. The issue is complex, and includes the correlation between increased academic eligibility and increased graduation rates. A report out from the Summit will be finalized, and student leaders will be presenting their findings to Regents next week. I applaud all the students who participated in the summit. Your passion and commitment is essential in finding a good solution to the problem.

Staff as Students
The opportunity to further your education is one of the great benefits of UNM. Staff who are students can apply for the $350 Provost's Committee for Staff Scholarship, which is designed to help with expenses such as textbooks, course fees and supplies. The deadline to apply is December 17, 2012. For more information go to: Provost's Committee for Staff Scholarship

Have a great week, and Go Lobos.

Bob