Voters across New Mexico continued to show their support for higher education, libraries and the UNM Hospital with the approval of several bonds and a levy on Election Day.
General Obligation Bond C passed with 63 percent of voters in favor of providing more than $131 million to universities, colleges and special schools across the state for a variety of improvement projects. For The University of New Mexico, Bond C approval means $27 million for a new Physics & Astronomy and Interdisciplinary Science (PAIS) center on main campus as well as $7.5 million for projects across four UNM branch campuses.
"Students, faculty and staff of the Department of Physics and Astronomy are proud that the citizens of New Mexico decided to make an investment into the future,” said Wolfgang Rudolph, chair of the Department of Physics & Astronomy. “We will work hard to provide excellent training and research opportunities for our students in the new building, which will ultimately help make our state more competitive."
College of Arts & Sciences Dean Mark Peceny added, “We are deeply grateful for the support shown by the voters for Bond C. We will be able to provide extraordinary service to our students and to the state in the new PAIS building, which has been made possible, in part, by the support of people throughout New Mexico for the general obligation bond.”
Bond B also passed and will provide significant support for libraries across the state, including more than $797,000 for University Libraries at UNM and more than $33,000 for the Health Sciences and Informatics Library Center on North Campus.
New Mexicans voted to extend the UNM Hospital Mill Levy as well, which provides roughly $95 million a year for the hospital. UNMH officials say that money is used to help finance programs like state’s only level-one trauma center, the children’s hospital and the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center.
University President Robert Frank said, “We thank the voters of New Mexico for recognizing the value of supporting our State’s institutions of higher education, including UNM, its branches and the UNM Hospital.”