HOWL Your Creative Voice!

Enter the world of writer, editor, and publisher this fall in HOWL: the Voice of UNM-Taos!

Learn how to meld creative writing to graphic design in pursuit of a publication. Check out last year's Howl magazine to see just how cool it can be. If you are interested in photography, writing, computer arts - sign up for this course:

English 298 (CRN# 35375), Contemporary Literary Production: Howl. Mondays from Noon to 2:30 pm.

If you have any questions please contact Robin Powlesland, bubinski24@yahoo.com.

Discover Chicano/a Lit this fall!

"... one Chicano song... gives me the song of blue corn and Rio Grande water and pinto beans and green chile…

-- New Mexico poet Jimmy Santiago Baca

Announcing the first section of “Chicano/Chicana Literature” ever offered at UNM-Taos! Together we’ll read and discuss stories, poetry, essay, and drama by modern masters from both sides of the Mexican-U.S. border like Rudolfo Anaya, Sandra Cisneros, and Octavio Paz. (Textbook contains English translations of all Spanish readings.) Join us at Klauer campus on Wednesdays at noon beginning August 26. (Sign-up for ENGL 265, CRN#35372 by August 18.) Questions? Contact the instructor direct at UNM-Taos: Bob Arellano, 737-6257.

The Big Squeeze

THE BAD NEWS

The State of New Mexico is low on revenue, and that affects higher education because in trying to balance the budget, the state must look for ways to cut costs. At present it appears that revenues for the 2009-2010 fiscal year are going to be between 150 million and 250 million lower than projected, primarily because the price of oil and gas has dropped. That shortfall is relatively small compared to other states such as Arizona and California, where they have already begun laying off tenured faculty, instituting mandatory unpaid furloughs and setting enrollment caps. But it is still a lot of money to come up with.

According to UNM-Taos Executive Director Dr. Kate O’Neill, the local fallout from this predicament is already taking its toll: “The tuition that students pay does not fully cover our costs, so the state matches those dollars according to a formula based on credit hours and head count each semester. But this past year the state was forced to cut the UNM-Taos budget by eight percent. That translates as $322,000 from the I. and G. (Instructional and General) fund, also called formula dollars.”

THE REALLY BAD NEWS

The irony is that even as resources are dwindling, the need for academic and technical training has never been greater. A recent Time Magazine report named community colleges as “…one of the best tools the U.S. has to dig itself out of the current economic hole,” because they “educate nearly half of U.S. undergraduates….These institutions are our nation’s trade schools…”

“We really are the lifeline for the community, O’Neill maintained. “When people get laid off or their particular business sector is not performing well, they look for opportunities to retool, get new skills. That’s where we step in with workforce training, certificates, degrees and lifelong learning.”

To put pressure on higher education at a time of great need in order to reduce deep deficits is somewhat like the dilemma of a subsistence agricultural community being forced to eat their stores of seed corn to survive. The immediate problem might be solved, but where will the next harvest come from?

Just this past week it was announced that there will be another five percent recession—money deducted from the present operating budget—on top of the eight percent already withdrawn.

FINALLY, SOME GOOD NEWS

“We’re pulling rabbits out of a hat here,” O’Neill explained, “trying to produce extraordinary results with very minimal resources. But we are holding steady at $57 per credit hour, and word is getting out that people are getting more value for their dollar here at home. We might have to be more attentive to minimum numbers of students per class, but we have no cap on enrollment. Students will not be turned away. Construction plans will continue unchanged, but we do have a hold on new hires and salary increases.”

These tough times call for more collaboration on the local level, and stimulus money is already beginning to help, O’Neill maintains. Furthermore, according to a recent article in USA Today, President Obama is rolling out a 12 billion dollar program that will put community colleges at the top of his economic recovery priorities. “Among his goals: to modernize community college facilities, to increase the quality of online courses and to ensure that more students complete their programs.”

“Just so people understand,” O’Neill said, “we place a great deal of emphasis on keeping the faculty and staff we have, despite the fact that we might have to conserve or cut back in other areas. We have a balance of priorities in keeping people first: students, faculty and staff.

“At a time when people are struggling, community colleges are the single premiere institution available in northern New Mexico to reach out a hand and help people get back on their feet. And when we do that, we help the whole economy get back on its feet.”

The UNM Taos Report

“More sustainability equals more self reliance. Taos understands that.”

It’s a really big deal.

To date, it’s the biggest built in New Mexico. See for yourself—click on our webcam at taos.unm.edu.

When completed, the 3 ½ acre solar generation station currently under construction on the UNM-Taos Klauer campus south of town will produce 500 kilowatts of power—more than enough to run the entire campus. What’s left over goes into the grid.

That doesn’t mean we get free electricity. Just like every other member of Kit Carson Electric Cooperative, we’ll get a bill each month. UNM-Taos provided the land and the Coop funded the construction, owns the hardware and is responsible for maintenance and repairs. The difference is, the energy is clean, it’s renewable and it comes directly from the sun by way of advanced technology and the forward thinking of community and national leaders.

Join us at Klauer on Wednesday, July 1 for the first annual Energy Independence Day celebration. Sponsored by UNM-Taos Student Government and Kit Carson Electric, it’s a way of recognizing the significance of the new solar generation station not only to the Taos community but to the entire state.

Among a long list of state and local dignitaries, Senator Jeff Bingaman and Congressman Ben Ray Lujan are planning to be there in person, along with a representative from Senator Udall’s office. You’ll learn the history of the project from Kit Carson CEO Luis Reyes and get a first hand look at the site, slated to go online in about a month. We’ll be out there from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with booths, demonstrations, a first look at our plans for the new Library Learning Center, free commemorative tee shirts and more. But try to get there at high noon, because that’s when the official ceremony gets started with a Declaration of Energy Independence. Our own home grown solar radio station KTAO will be broadcasting events live from the campus that day, and we are hoping to get coverage on the Albuquerque broadcast television stations.

Why all the fanfare?

It has taken more than two years to get to this point since Reyes first applied for a five million dollar, zero percent federal grant, and with the help of Senator Bingaman started to realize his vision to make “renewable energy…the strongest engine for economic development in Taos County”.

The impact on the community college will be substantial. The demonstration site will be the focus of an expanded curriculum of courses in sustainability and renewable resources, and our green jobs program will start producing opportunities for students to enter the burgeoning job market.

Tom Anderson, Southwest Business Operations Manager for American Capital Energy, the national firm responsible for overseeing the construction of the array, emphasized that “UNM-Taos is the first campus of its kind in the nation to be completely powered by renewable solar energy”.

He went on to express his appreciation for the positive reception the project has had in Taos.

“It’s all about how to get renewable energy out to the grid dependably and efficiently, and that’s important because more sustainability equals more self reliance. Taos understands that. I’m seeing widespread excitement around this progressive vision, and our company has been able to put local resources to bear on the project. The roughly 24 local jobs we have provided represent a base of trained people with experience in renewables that will be around long after we have gone.”

If we measure success for Taos in terms of building a healthy community that supports a healthy environment, this truly is a defining moments in our history. Come join us July 1 to celebrate Energy Independence Day.

One more important event on July 1: our friends at the Harwood are hosting a groundbreaking ceremony starting at 10 a.m. at their fine facility over on Ledoux street to commemorate the start of their 5 million dollar expansion. State and local officials are invited, and it is a great time to get a look at their ambitious plans for the museum.