University Communication and Marketing (UCAM) annually compiles a Year-in-Review highlighting both its general and research news stories during the calendar year. Below is a select list from UCAM's Newsroom of the top general news stories of 2024 highlighting UNM students, faculty, staff and alumni accomplishments.
The highlights include UNM's first Rhodes Scholar in more than 20 years, the creation of the Quantum New Mexico Institute, 55 years of Black student activism, groundbreaking discoveries for 35 years, an unprecedented presidential campaign, the opening of UNM's Lobo Welcome Center and a trip down memory lane with UNM's Hodgin Hall, the University's first-ever building.
Previously, UCAM highlighted the 2024 UNM Health Sciences Year-in-Review and next week, the 2024 Research News Year-in-Review on Dec. 31, 2024.
UNM launches Quantum New Mexico Institute
New Mexico scientists played a pioneering role in the development of Quantum Informational Science. Now, The University of New Mexico is partnering with Sandia National Laboratories to launch the University’s newest research center, the Quantum New Mexico Institute (QNM-I).
History that will make history: UNM professors create groundbreaking tribal government textbook
This story is one for the history books, which is fitting, as the news itself is about a history book. A devoted team of UNM Native American professors are planning, developing and writing the first-ever tribal government textbook for young adults.
55 years of Black student activism: the legacy of BSU
1969 was a historic time, and while 55 years later you can easily remember to commemorate man walking on the moon, the Stonewall riots and the first ever Woodstock festival, another 2024 milestone took place right here at UNM. The Black Student Union (BSU) is celebrating its 55th anniversary this year. The official anniversary will be marked in December, but Black History Month is setting off months of commemorations.
New Mexico Basic Needs Consortium part of $1.7 billion effort to end hunger and build healthy communities
The New Mexico Basic Needs Consortium was one of 141 new commitments from stakeholders nationwide who stepped up as part of the White House Challenge to End Hunger and Build Healthy Communities announced recently by the Biden-Harris administration. The commitments include health systems, insurers, companies, non-profits, philanthropic groups, academia, and local officials.
UNM Duck Pond a favorite place to meet, study, relax
Legend has it that the duck pond at The University of New Mexico, a popular spot for members of the campus community and local residents to hang out and relax, started as a series of puddles. A great story, but according to an article in a series about the history of the UNM campus, the duck pond was the centerpiece of a mid-1970s landscaping project to provide “an open area for the relaxation and enjoyment of students and faculty.”
The past and future of research: CASAA celebrates 35 years
Would it be a shock to know that one of the most reputed research centers in the country is located right here at UNM? Would you be even more surprised if you discovered that the same center has been making groundbreaking discoveries for 35 years, but you’ve probably never walked by it? Situated just five minutes from the Albuquerque Sunport, this year, the Center on Alcohol, Substance use and Addictions (CASAA) is celebrating 35 years since it was established in 1989. While its history is one to marvel at, it’s just one part of this dedicated research conglomerate.
UNM assistant professor of Biology receives 2024 McKnight Scholar Award
Mubarak Hussain Syed, an assistant professor of Biology at The University of New Mexico, is one of 10 neuroscientists selected by The McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience board of directors to receive the 2024 McKnight Scholar Award. The McKnight Scholar Awards are granted to young scientists who are in the early stages of establishing their own independent laboratories and research careers and who have demonstrated a commitment to neuroscience.
EPA awards UNM $6.2 million for water systems work
The University of New Mexico’s Southwest Environmental Finance Center will receive $6.2 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for training and technical assistance to small drinking water and wastewater systems serving mostly small communities throughout the United States and its territories. The EPA recently announced its selection of training and technical assistance providers with $30.7 million to support water systems and private well owners in small and rural communities.
Law professor addresses Kamala Harris’s unprecedented presidential campaign
Professor Sonia Gipson Rankin is a professor of Law at The University of New Mexico School of Law. Her work focuses on the legal and justice implications of new technologies like artificial intelligence, implicit bias, and criminal justice reform, as well as racial justice and Black community empowerment. She has spoken with numerous media outlets about U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’s role in President Joe Biden’s White House administration, as well as Harris’s own 2020 and 2024 presidential campaigns. In this article, she addresses Kamala Harris’s unprecedented presidential campaign.
New Mexico’s water supply at risk: How the loss of El Vado Dam changes everything
Declining flows that have left the Rio Grande a tenuous brown ribbon through Albuquerque this summer are a reminder both of the impact of climate change and of our reliance on increasingly fragile water management infrastructure, according to a University of New Mexico writer and researcher studying the history and future of the state’s water management. While climate change is driving the Rio Grande’s overall flow down, the failure of El Vado Dam on the Rio Chama has taken away one of central New Mexico’s most important tools for managing the resulting risk, explained John Fleck.
A new era for Fine Arts education: UNM set to break ground on landmark Center for Collaborative Arts & Technology
The University of New Mexico is set to embark on an innovative journey with the groundbreaking of the Center for Collaborative Arts & Technology (CCAT) on Tuesday, Oct. 15. Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R), this new 60,000 square-foot facility for the UNM College of Fine Arts (CFA), CCAT will serve as a central hub for innovation, creativity, and collaboration—where every student is exposed to fine arts and technology’s most creative and imaginative applications.
The University of New Mexico’s Lobo Welcome Center officially open
Alumni, faculty, staff and government officials celebrated the opening of The University of New Mexico Lobo Welcome Center. The newly-renovated building will serve as the first impression of UNM to future Lobos. Sporting UNM’s classic adobe walls and etched wooden pillars- the building seamlessly blends into historic architecture on campus and will give potential students a glimpse of UNM’s flourishing campus life.
UNM alumna Abrianna Morales named a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship recipient
Abrianna Morales, a 2023 graduate, has been named one of the 32 U.S. recipients of the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. The award provides full funding for two years of graduate study at the University of Oxford, one of the world’s leading academic institutions. Morales, who graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Criminology, has demonstrated a commitment to victim advocacy and policy reform. During her time at UNM, she was a Presidential Scholarship recipient, a 2022 Truman Scholar, and a researcher in both the McNair Scholars Program and the Psychology Honors Program.
UNM professor emeritus, former U.S. Senator Fred Harris dies
Former United States Sen. Fred Harris, a long-time political figure, activist, and professor emeritus at The University of New Mexico, created and leaves behind an impressive legacy from a political career that impacted many United States citizens and countless students who benefited from a legislative internship program he established decades ago. Harris died on Nov. 23, shortly after his 94th birthday.
Hodgin Hall a treasure trove of UNM history
Members of the Lobo community pass Hodgin Hall on the campus of The University of New Mexico every day. But what many of those people might not know is that at one time, the stately building standing on the southwest corner of the main campus was THE University of New Mexico. All of it — administration, faculty and staff offices, library, labs and classrooms, the whole university — in one building.
For more news and information, visit the UNM Newsroom.