DAILY LOBO
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wednesday
April6, 2011
The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
Provost to leave for new position
Committee will form to select Ortega’s replacement by Chelsea Erven cerven@unm.edu
UNM Provost Suzanne Ortega will not return to her post in the fall. Ortega’s contract is up for renewal this summer, but she accepted a job offer back east instead of renewing her contract, University President David Schmidly said in his Monday morning e-mail. “We’ll be able to share more about it as the details are finalized, but know that it is a wonderful opportunity, and no one is more deserving of it,” Schmidly wrote. Ortega did not return calls or emails and couldn’t meet Tuesday. Faculty Senate President Richard Wood will lead an internal search committee to help identify an interim Provost, Schmidly’s email said. Wood said the committee will meet today and ASUNM, GPSA and Staff Council representatives were invited to serve as committee members. He said he could not release committee members’ names until they agree to serve on the committee. Ortega was appointed UNM’s executive vice president and provost in August 2008. In November 2010, Ortega was one of four finalists named a senior vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, but she was not selected. In her last months at UNM, Ortega plans to focus on issues raised in academic self-studies, Schmidly’s e-mail said.
Dylan Smith / Daily Lobo The Rail Runner pulls away from the Albuquerque Depot station over the weekend. Construction workers broke ground in Los Ranchos on Monday to widen streets in an effort to make the area more friendly to bicyclists who ride to the commuter train.
City makes strides to help pedals by Kallie Red-Horse kallie69@unm.edu
Albuquerque is taking steps to make the city more bike-friendly. Construction workers broke ground Monday on a four-week project to widen El Pueblo Road between Second Street and Edith Boulevard, near the Los Ranchos/Journal Center Rail Runner station. The construction is part of a combined city-and-county effort to make Albuquerque more accessible for bicyclists, Project Engineer Jeanne Wolfenbarger said. “The width of El Pueblo Road is currently insufficient,” she said. “We are widening the shoulders so they are four feet wide to accommodate bicycle travel so both vehicles and bicycles can access it.” During construction, two-way
traffic will be allowed on El Pueblo Road, but Rail Runner commuters should factor in time delays and parking changes. Traffic will be detoured onto roadway shoulders, so no parking will be allowed there, but temporary parking will be provided immediately east of Edith Boulevard on the north side of the road. The construction is consistent with the city’s Bikeways and Trails Master Plan, Wolfenbarger said. The plan’s vision statement calls for a safe and convenient access for bicyclists to all Albuquerque areas, so that bicycling is a viable transportation option that results in improved quality of life. Improving the safety of bicycle lanes is a key component of achieving that vision, said Cathy Lopez, from the Bernalillo County Public Works Division.
“There is great likelihood of an accident, so we want to improve the safety in this area” ~Cathy Lopez BCPWD “Safety is always our No. 1 concern,” she said. “Any design that we do always bears in mind the safety of the pedestrians, cyclists and motorists who will be using the road.” Albuquerque is updating the existing bikeways master plan by
integrating suggestions from the community and recommending changes to existing conditions. Many commuters bike to the Rail Runner station, which creates heavy bicycle traffic, Lopez said. “Right now there is no safe way for cyclists to get to the station,” she said. “There is great likelihood of an accident, so we want to improve the safety in this area.” In addition to widening the street, parts of El Pueblo Road will be repaved, Wolfenbarger said. Construction is scheduled to be done by May 9, Wolfenbarger said. She said the project is widely supported. “We are trying to encourage bicycle traffic going to the Rail Runner station,” she said. “Citizens want to have that bike route, and people are happy about having pavement replaced.”
ASUNM hopes to increase election turnout by Chelsea Erven cerven@unm.edu
Students have a chance to elect UNM’s future undergraduate and graduate student leaders during the ASUNM and GPSA elections, but few actually vote. Since 2008, no more than 11 percent of main campus undergraduate students voted in ASUNM spring elections, according to data from ASUNM Elections Adviser Debbie Morris. Last year, 10 percent of main campus graduate and professional students voted in the GPSA presidential election, GPSA President Lissa Knudsen said. She said voter turnout was unusually low last year, but the number of students who vote depend on the issues
Inside the
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candidates address. “When there is a lot of controversy or hot-topic issues that people are interested in being addressed, voter turnout increases,” she said. ASUNM President Laz Cardenas said ASUNM election turnouts have increased, and he hopes to heighten student awareness of election dates, locations and procedures. “On the day of the election, I’m going to be sending out a message to all the undergraduate students saying, ‘Today is election day. Vote at these locations,’” he said. “And the Student Senate will be doing outreach at various locations on campus to talk about the upcoming election.” Student Josh Madrid said he doesn’t plan to vote in the
upcoming elections. “The changes (ASUNM) makes don’t really affect me,” he said. “I don’t think they really do anything.” Voting for ASUNM leadership is important because it allows students to have a say in University governance, Cardenas said. University spokeswomen Susan McKinsey said ASUNM presents reports to the regents. She said ASUNM represents the student body on important administrative decisions. “They are a regent adviser, and they report in every month to the executive cabinet,” she said. “... I would say no major decision is made at the University without seeking the input of the students, and the best way to do that would be through ASUNM.”
Mile-long memorial
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Vote in the ASUNM elections April 20 From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
-Centennial Science and Engineering Library -Mitchell Hall -University Advisement and Enrichment Center
From 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. -The SUB -Dane Smith Hall -Johnson Center -Zimmerman Library -SRC Commons
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