DAILY LOBO new mexico
May 4, 2011
Tuition increases, retention drops
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wednesday The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
SPINNING INTO THE UNKNOWN
by Luke Holmen holmen@unm.edu
More students are enrolling at UNM, but tuition hikes mean fewer students are staying. UNM’s undergraduate enrollment grew 4.5 percent the last year, according to the Office of Institutional Research. But its retention rates dropped from about 92 percent in 2010 to 88 percent in 2011. Wynn Goering, vice provost for Academic Affairs, said that the average retention rate in pre-recession years was about 89 percent, but he couldn’t account for the most recent drop. “It’s harder to know for sure whether this return to a more typical level means the economy is returning to normal,” he said. “One thing I can say is that we didn’t see any other patterns to account for the drop.” Because of the economic downturn, more people are choosing to go to school, said Terry Babbitt, associate vice president of Enrollment Management. “When the economy, and more specifically the job market, is contracting, higher education has always been a good option for those Undergraduate attendance increased 13 percent — 4.5 percent in the last year. In-state tuition and fees increased from $1,584 in fall 2002 to $2,752 in spring 2011. Nearly 30,000 undergraduates attend CNM each semester compared to 20,000 at UNM.
see Retention page 3
Junfu Han / Daily Lobo Student Dalton Valerio (left) and Esteban E. Garze prepare for the choreography showcase “Open the Unknown” in Carlisle Gym on Tuesday. The show opens on Friday at 6 p.m. in Carlisle.
Professors leave UNM for better salaries by Luke Holmen holmen@unm.edu
Budget cuts and administrative obstacles have led several professors to leave UNM for higher-paying, more prestigious, and better-funded research programs at other universities. Kim Hill, a researcher who left UNM for Arizona State University in 2007, said she left because she got a better offer that UNM could not match. She said Athletics is more important to the University than retaining valuable research faculty. “I guess we could say I was not their
priority because they easily provide a much nicer package for the football coach than for any star academics,” she said. State appropriations support about 20 percent of UNM’s research, and they were slashed $8.3 million this year, $5.6 million was cut in 2010 and $11.7 million in 2009, according to the New Mexico Legislature. Money set aside to fund research grants and scholarships dropped from $123 million in 2004-2005 to $110 million in 2008-2009, even though it
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Julia Roberts may never play him in a movie, but considering the work one UNM employee did to try to uncover the truth about a cancer cluster in Ohio, it’s hard not to compare him to Erin Brockovich. Adan Garcia, operations manager for the communication and journalism department, is the director of the documentary “Fighting for Answers,” a film that explores the role waste dumping played in the development of a cancer cluster near his hometown in Ohio. He said that in the last few years in the small town of Clyde,
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more than 36 children have been diagnosed with cancer, and a four kids already died. He said the town, which has a population of about 5,000 people, is surrounded by waste sites and dumps. “So I went there about 2 1/2 - 3 years ago to start working on the documentary because I thought, ‘Well, what can I do on my part?’ So I did all this research, and anything I could to make it happen,” he said. In his film, Garcia featured three families from Clyde with children who had died from cancer. One of the families, the Browns, he knew personally. He said that when the Browns’ daughter, Alexa, died, he knew he had to do something.
$11.7 million in appropriations which help support research was cut in 2009, $5.6 million was cut in 2010, and $8.3
million this year. Research grants and scholarships dropped from $123 million in 2004-2005 to $110 million in 2008-2009. UNM faculty currently make 7 percent less than their peers.
see Salaries page 3
Film explores waste, cancer by Elizabeth Cleary
Research grants and scholarships brought in $110 million in revenues.
“When she passed away, that’s when I really moved forward and went ahead with the documentary,” he said. “Because I always thought she would beat it. I didn’t think that she would pass away from this. … After seeing in the local paper that she passed away, I said, ‘OK I’ve got to do this.’” Garcia said Whirlpool Appliances and Vickery Environmental, Inc. are the two companies dumping the most waste into the water in Clyde. “(Vickery) has put over a billion gallons of chemical waste under the ground,” he said. “Whirlpool, which is the bigger manufacturer in Clyde, Ohio, they employ half of Clyde. I tried
see Film page 3
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Scouts saved
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ATHLETE FACES CHARGES OF DWI, RECKLESS DRIVING
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UNM men’s basketball team’s player Chad Adams, 20, was arrested Sunday morning and charged with DWI, according to Metropolitan Court records. Adams was arrested near I-25 and Comanche Road at 3:04 a.m. He also faces charges of careless driving and driving on a suspended license. Court records show that Adams has three other traffic citations since 2008. The sophomore played in 34 games for the Lobos last season, averaging three points per game. Adams’bond arraignment is scheduled for May 16.
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