DAILY LOBO new mexico
Bull Fighters see page 12
March 26, 2012
monday The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
Regents’ preliminary budget raises tuition, fees
Fee increase will go to Athletics, Libraries will receive one-time allocation by Luke Holmen
3.75 percent tuition increase would fund new teachers, financial aid by Miriam Belin and Luke Holmen
news@dailylobo.com
news@dailylobo.com
The Board of Regents last week retracted a proposal to fund Libraries with a student fee hike next year, but held on to a proposal to increase student fees to fund Athletics. The University plans to loan Athletics $1.2 million from general funds in order to pay off a mounting deficit brought on by decreased ticket sales, the buy-out of former head football coach Mike Locksley’s contract and the subsequent hiring of new head coach Bob Davie. “Our men’s basketball team won the Mountain West Conference and the ski team recently competed for the national championship and I want to be clear that these are things to be proud of, and things we are proud of, but … ASUNM does not support student fees being used to assist in paying a debt incurred by any department,” ASUNM President Jaymie Roybal said Friday at the Budget Summit. President David Schmidly’s original plan called for an overall increase of 8 percent in student fees,
Students could see additional need-based financial aid and faculty could see the first wage increase in four years following a preliminary vote on the FY 13 budget proposal. The board preliminarily approved a $252 million budget and a tuition increase of 3.75 percent, a portion of which will go toward hiring 20 new faculty members as part of the Provost’s academic plan. The five-year plan would cost $4,273,330 and includes language to hire 20 new faculty members, additional advisers, create a degree-granting honors college at UNM and increase pay for faculty. The plan aims for growth in research, online enrollment, as well as improvement in six-year graduation rates and freshmen retention, Provost Chaouki Abdallah said. The Board of Regents said funds from the proposed tuition increase would help cover the cost. The Provost’s plan also calls for an additional $250,000 to create
see Fees PAGE 3
see Tuition PAGE 3
Junfu Han / Daily Lobo UNM Regent Jamie Koch (far left) discusses the UNM budget during the Board of Regents’ meeting Friday afternoon in the SUB. The Board preliminarily approved a 3.75 percent tuition increase and a $50 increase in student fees to fund Athletics.
Lobos visit Lobos to show true, calm nature by Jacob Hall
jhall03@unm.edu
Real, live lobos came to campus last week to raise awareness about efforts to reintroduce the endangered wolf species into the New Mexican wilderness. UNM Wilderness Alliance (UNMWA) and the Biology Undergraduate Society (BUGS) hosted Wolf Fest at Smith Plaza Friday, in an effort inform faculty about the predicament faced by Mexican gray wolf. The event featured live wolves for preservation efforts, president of UNMWA Kevin McCormick said. McCormick said while the Mexican gray wolf has made a return from extinction in the state, only 58 wolves currently survive in New Mexico. UNM Wilderness Alliance has been unable to meet its goal of increasing Mexican gray wolf populations as much as they had hoped. The Alliance said it originally planned to have the population at 200 by 2010. McCormick said part of the problem lies with funding. UNMWA only receives federal funding, not funding from the state. Before the Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Program was introduced in 1982, wolves were extinct in New Mexico. McCormick said the entire species was brought back from seven wolves found in Mexico, as well as three captive breeding populations. McCormick said some politicians argued against the wolves’ reintroduction into the wild, claiming the animals were
UNM student Devon Rosenkoetter poses with a wolf from the Wanagi Wolf Fund and Rescue at Smith Plaza last Friday. Only 58 Mexican gray wolves survive in the wild in the state, but the UNM Wilderness Alliance and Biology Undergraduate Society are trying to get the community involved in protecting the endangered species.
see Wolves PAGE 5
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Women’s tennis shutdown
Win against TCU
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