spring 2005
global ties
magazine
international athletes at UNM
The
University
of
New
Mexico
|
A l u m n i
A s s o c i a t i o n
I N T H I S I S S U E , M I R A G E I N T E R V I E W S A L U M N I T E A C H E R S , W E AT H E R M E N , C O M M U N I C AT O R S , A N D E X E C U T I V E S ‌
take a look
unm
Looking at:
contents
International athletes such as Kenyan
B Y C A R O LY N G O N Z A L E S The opportunity to study and compete lures international athletes to UNM. While here, they share their own cultures with other Lobos. A skier from Norway, a tennis player from Croatia, and a runner from Kenya take center court in this story.
runner Shadrack Kiptoo Biwott give
18 This Lobo Drives a Volvo
as much as they take from their
STORY AND PHOTO BY GREG JOHNSON Swedish runner Tomas Ericson has traded one fast lane for another.
On the Cover:
experience at UNM. Photo by Matt Suhre.
22 Conversation: The Real Thing
Mark Sullivan/WireImage.com
12 Athletics: Global Positioning
Four top marketing alumni share their perspectives on the advertising and public relations industry with moderator VB Price.
28 Music of the Heart
Matt Suhre
BY JANICE MYERS Somewhere between step-dancing and finger-picking, a family of musicians finds its own sound.
BY LAURIE MELLAS RAMIREZ
Teach for America opens the eyes of three young alumni to the problems and potential in the classroom.
36
Spring 2005, Volume 23, Number 3 THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO: Louis Caldera, President; Karen A. Abraham, Director, Alumni Relations; Mary Conrad, Editor; Kelly Ketner, Ketner Design, Art Director. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: Coleman Travelstead, President, Albuquerque; Angie Vachio, President-Elect, Albuquerque; Michelle Hernandez, Treasurer, Albuquerque; Steve Bacchus, Past-President, Albuquerque; Dee Johnson, Albuquerque; Lillian Montoya-Rael, Santa Fe; Laurie Moye, Albuquerque; Roberto Ortega, Albuquerque. MIRAGE is published three times a year, in April, August, and December, by the University of New Mexico Alumni Association for the University’s alumni and friends. Address all correspondence to UNM Alumni Relations Office, MSC 01-1160, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM 87131-0001. Send all Album information to the attention of Margaret Weinrod. Send all changes of address to the attention of Records. Send all other correspondence to the attention of Mary Conrad. To comply with the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, UNM provides this publication in alternative formats. If you have special needs and require an auxiliary aid or service, please contact Mary Conrad. Phone: 800-258-6866 (800-ALUM-UNM) or 505-277-5808. E-mail to Mary Conrad: mconrad@unm.edu or alumni@unm.edu. Web address: www.unmalumni.com
2
M I R A G E
m a g a z i n e
Roger Hawkins
36 One Small Step for a Child, One Giant Leap for Children
album
s
compiled by Margaret Weinrod.
32 Mostly Sunny with a Chance of Emmy BY
ELIZABETH
HANES
Two celebrity weather guys got their start at UNM.
Looking Around: 3 Album
32
4 Letters
Look for a friend on every page! Keep us posted! Send your news to Margaret Weinrod The University of New Mexico Alumni Association MSC 01-1160 1 University of New Mexico Albuquerque NM 87131-0001. www.unmalumni.com/community Better yet, e-mail your news to mweinrod@unm.edu. Fall (August) deadline: May 1 Winter (December) deadline: September 1 Spring (April) deadline: January 1
6 Connections
Mirage was the title of the University of
40 Development The Fresh Faces of Philanthropy
BY MICHELLE G. McRUIZ Young alumni give back to one of their favorite programs.
New Mexico yearbook
44 Alumni Outlook until its last edition in 1978. Since that
46 Merchandise Have a Spring Fling
time, the title was adopted by the alumni magazine which continues to publish
On the Lookout! Mirage would appreciate readers telling us
vignettes of
about African American alumni they know who
UNM graduates.
have made strides in the sciences or technology. Please send your story ideas to the editor, Mary Conrad, mconrad@unm.edu or UNM Alumni Relations, MSC 01 1160, 1 University
Benjamin Sacks, ’26 BA, professor emeritus, writes from San Diego, California, that he has reached the “ripe age of 101 years” and is still pretty healthy. He continues to publish scholarly articles. He has just finished his final research project, “The Duchess of Windsor: The American Story.” Florence Lister, ’41 BA, of Mancos, Colorado, is the author of Troweling Through Time, in which she recounts the lively history of Mesa Verde archaeology from Paleo-Indians (c. 10,000 BC) to the ancestral Pueblo peoples (c. 1500 BC). The original paperback is published by UNM Press. Concha Ortiz y Pino de Kleven, ’43 BA, is the subject of a biography by Kathryn Cordova, ¡Concho! Concha Ortiz y Pino: Matriarch of a 300-Year-Old New Mexico Legacy. Concha has a long list of accomplishments: she was the first graduate of UNM’s School of Inter-American Affairs and she was the first woman ever elected majority whip in the New Mexico Legislature. In 1999 Vista magazine called her the “Latina of the Century.” Jean Lumbert Schmunk, ’49 BS, ’53 MA, lives in retirement in Walnut Creek, California, where she leads walks in hilly San Francisco for her hiking club.
of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM 87131-0001. The University of New Mexico
s p r i n g
2 0 0 5
3
look out!
unm
Popejoy in Retrospect “The Man Who Made UNM,” Winter 2005
P
resident Davis’ rich biography of Tom Popejoy omitted one dimension of that remarkable man which many of us there at the time still treasure: he knew more than a few students and they him. As Lobo managing editor (1954-55) and editor (1955-56), I was privileged to have had a number of dealings with him personally. Once, when a small town newspaper editor chastised the University for allowing the debate team to consider Red China’s admission to the UN, I got a quiet Popejoy “attaboy” for our editorial response that UNM students should feel free to debate anything short of the violent overthrow of the US government. The president also was a firm supporter of another outstanding educator who brought everything to the classroom but the PhD union card, journalism department chairman Keen Rafferty. Robert L. Chatten, ’56 BA Arlington, Virginia
A
s always, this issue of Mirage was very well done. I specially enjoyed the article about Tom Popejoy, who was UNM President during my time “on the hill.” I found one entry in the table of Tom’s accomplishments on
4
M I R A G E
m a g a z i n e
page 27 that must be a typo. Mesa Vista dorm is shown as having been opened in 1952 but I don’t think that is correct. I came to UNM in September 1949 and we were at that time housed in the old BOQs on Kirtland AFB. In January 1950 we were all moved to the brand new Mesa Vista dorm, where we were housed three to a room. Even with the crowding it was a most welcome change from the accommodations at Kirtland. I was housed in Mesa Vista that semester and the next until I was married in January 1951 and moved off campus. Burton P. Noble, ’55 BSME Arlington, Texas Editor’s Note: Good eye! Construction on Mesa Vista Hall began in 1948 and was completed in 1950.
I
received my latest copy of Mirage and I was totally absorbed in the article about UNM’s Tom Popejoy. To me it is undoubtedly the best article I have read in the alumni publication. I also highly enjoyed the article interview about Ferrel Heady who managed to maintain Tom’s posture on First Amendment rights for UNM students. I first enrolled at UNM in 1949, returned in 1955 after a four-year stint in the Navy, and so I had the pleasure of being a student during Mr. Popejoy’s tenure. I hope you will continue to carry quality articles such as these. Frank A Valdes, ’58 BA, ’61 MATS Federal Way, Washington
I
am a 1968 graduate of UNM. Born and raised in Santa Fe, I currently live in Miami, Florida. I recently retired after 35 years with the Dade County School System as a language arts teacher and athletic director. I enjoyed reading the latest edition of Mirage, in particular the article on Tom Popejoy, who was in his final year as president of UNM when I graduated in 1968. Please clarify something for
me that was in the article—the reference was made to a speech that President Popejoy made in 1962 and the era was referred to as McCarthyism. McCarthy was censored by the Senate in 1954 and he died in 1957. The McCarthy era was over by 1959. I don’t understand how this error could be made by “Bud” Davis in his article. Doug Wycoff, ’68 BA Miami, Florida Editor’s Note: President Davis points out that the word “McCarthyism” can be found in any dictionary, referring in general to the use of “unsubstantiated accusations or unfair methods of investigation to discredit people.” (This happens to be from the Encarta International Dictionary, but other similar definitions abound.) While the term has its roots in the McCarthy trials of the ’50s, it remains applicable to circumstances of any decade.
Heady Thoughts “Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom: How Free Are They?” Winter 2005
A
s a Catholic and 1973 graduate from UNM, I have to take issue with former President Heady’s assertion that attempts to ban the 1986 film “Hail Mary” were an assault on the First Amendment. The film itself was never banned by authorities, ordered to be destroyed, nor prohibited from distribution. It was a conscience (sic) decision by the university to air the film and in so doing gave tacit approval to its content. That it might seem novel and “bold” to defame a traditionally revered Christian icon of purity hardly qualifies the piece as an item of intellectual merit. What it does show is that anti-Catholicism is one of the last acceptable prejudices in society. Had the university shown a film mocking Native American spirituality or Buddhism or homosexual behavior, the resulting outcry from the student
body would have certainly deflated President Heady’s pious claim not to “Impose philosophies.” First Amendment or not, a university has an obligation to exercise discernment in choosing what is shown on campus, especially when that involves gratuitous and slanderous attacks on someone’s cherished religious beliefs. James Sorley, ’73 BA Layton, Utah Editor’s Note: The assertion attributed
to Ferrel Heady was actually made by another participant in the Conversation, Marty Esquivel, who served as ASUNM president during the time of the movie’s showing.
Freshmen Follow-up, Followed Up “From Freshmen Hopes to Sophomore Strengths,” Winter 2005
I
want to tell you how much I have enjoyed reading the article “From Freshmen Hopes to Sophomore Strengths.” I am hoping that Mirage will be able to follow these students right up until graduation... and I look forward to observing them grow and change via your articles. One point that I found interesting—and thank you for including in this article—is the fact that the majority of the students being followed have moved out of the dorms and off campus. To my way of thinking, part of the excitement of the UNM experience should be the convenience of living on campus... the proximity to libraries, study groups, the Student Health Center, the gyms, elimination of the parking headache, the events at Popejoy, the SUB Theatre, the art galleries... a true sense of being “away” at college. A few years back I worked directly with students in my position at the UNM Student Health Center and I noted that many students starting the year off in the dorms had moved off campus midyear for various reasons. So, recently when I heard
conversations related to building new dorms, I searched for information that would educate me to the issue at hand. What is up with the dorms? I have learned that the talk of new dorms is not to be confused with “more” dorms—rather the deferred maintenance issue has existing dorms in such a state that it will be fiscally prudent to build new dorms and tear down the old ones…or perhaps recycle them to offices such as my office here in Hokona-Zuni. Dorm life has evolved to an expected life style and privacy issues that were not in the norm when our current dorms were constructed. I think that the current situation with the dorms has changed dramatically— for the good! Melanie Sparks has extended customer services to dorm residents that had never been in place in the past and has found that being proactive as opposed to reactive is paying off for students and UNM! She is working in concert with Bill Harvey of Aramak and together they are making strides in improving dorm life. They are meeting with dorm residents on an open and consistent basis and are working on a case-by-case basis to meet needs and expectations of the students/residents. Perhaps, as your article follows these students in the future, we may find that they have moved back to the dorms! Karin Retskin UNM Staff Council
Mirage welcomes letters to the editor. If you would like to comment on something you’ve read in the magazine, please write us. Letters will be published as space allows and may be edited for clarity and brevity. Letters must be signed. It’s helpful if you include your location and degrees. Our address is Mirage, The University of New Mexico Alumni Association, MSC 01-1160, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM 87131-0001. Email: mconrad@unm.edu.
album Roy M. Johnson, ’55 PhD, is “very retired” after 31 years at Arizona State microbiology department and spends time cruising the world with a camera and trying to “understand computer.” In January, he was visiting a friend in Hong Kong and driving a junk in Viet-Nam. He is based in Sun Lakes, Arizona, and would like to hear from alums at xultz@robsoncom.net. Don Gucker, ’57 BA, ’59 MA, currently manages the Department of Energy test centers in Albuquerque and Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He has spent most of his post-education life in the field of clinical psychology. He lives in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Marc Simmons, ’60 MA, has written Hispanic Albuquerque 1706-1846, a paperback published by UNM Press. Marc lives in Cerrillos, New Mexico. Nasario Garcia, ’62 BA, ’63 MA, has had his first book of poetry, Tiempos Lejanos— Poetic Images from the Past, published by UNM Press. It is a recollection of the nolonger existent Ojo Del Padre village of his childhood near Cabezon Peak. The poems in northern New Mexico Spanish dialect are in English translation. Garcia lives in Santa Fe. Ramona T. Mercer, ’62 BSNU, has received the first-ever UNM College of Nursing Distinguished Alumni Award at the UNM Health Sciences Center Community Partnership Awards ceremony in October. The Burlingame, California, resident is best known for her work in early mothering. VB Price, ’62 BA, is the author of a revised edition in paperback by UNM Press of his 1992 book on the Duke City’s development, Albuquerque: A City at the End of the World. UNM Press also recently published VB’s first novel, The Oddity. He lives in Albuquerque. Donald L. Lucero, ’66 MA, ’71 DED, is the author of a novel, A Nation of Shepherds. The story chronicles the escape from Spain in 1577 of a family who immigrates first to New Spain and then joins the Oñate expedition to New Mexico in 1596. Donald is a psychologist living in Dartmouth, Massachusetts.
s p r i n g
2 0 0 5
5
connections
unm
new connections Recent Regent: New Mexico Governor
Bill Richardson has appointed ’64 BA, ’67 JD, former Speaker of the New Mexico House of Representatives, to serve on the University of New Mexico Board of Regents. An Albuquerque lawyer, Sanchez will serve a six-year term. He replaces outgoing Regent Maria Griego Raby, ’80 BABA, ’86 MBA. Richardson also appointed law and business student Rosalyn Nguyen, ’03 BABA, as student regent, and reappointed Jack Fortner, ’78 BA, as regent.
Raymond G. Sanchez,
http://www.governor.state.nm.us/press/ 2005/jan/010805_3.pdf
Angel Gonzalez:
A Poet among Us By Deanna Cornejo-Patterson, ’85 BA, ’88 MA, ’92 PhD
6
M I R A G E
m a g a z i n e
It’s an Honor: As part of the UNM
New Information—New Chief:
Honors Program, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is teaching an intensive course in state government during the spring 2005 semester. Richardson lectures on key issues facing New Mexico including education, economic development, and healthcare.
William “Bill” Adkins is the new Chief Information Officer at UNM. Adkins most recently served as interim associate vice president of information technology.
http://www.unm.edu/%7Emarket/ cgi-bin/archives/000413.html#more
Peacetime: Law professor Jennifer
Facile Task…Not: UNM President Louis
http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000436.html#more
has called for the development of a strategic Facilities Master Plan that will meet the needs of UNM’s rapidly growing infrastructure.
Caldera
http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000425.html#more
was appointed director of the UNM Peace Studies Program recently.
Moore
http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000428.html#more
When King Juan Carlos of Spain, a modern conquistador whose arms are charm and dignity rather than arquebus and pike, recently visited New Mexico he knew of a hidden treasure in our midst. In a speech given upon his arrival he alluded to Angel González, the UNM professor emeritus and renowned Spanish poet, resident among us since 1973. Professor González may be something of a hidden treasure in the US but he is well known in Europe. In 1996, he was elected a member of the Spanish Royal Academy, which functions as the arbiter of language usage in the Hispanic world. This is the highest honor bestowed upon a living Spanish writer. Angel González was born in 1925 in Oviedo in northern Spain. His first university studies were in law and journalism. He worked as a music critic, editor, journalist, law clerk, government functionary, and professor, all the while writing poetry. His first book of poetry was Aspero mundo (1956), and since then nearly 20 more have followed. A complete bibliography of professor González can be found at www.cervantesvirtual.com/ bib_autor/AGonzalez. González has been recognized with numerous literary prizes, most recently the 2004 García Lorca Prize. In 1985, he was awarded the Príncipe de Asturias Prize for Letters. This prize is popularly known as “Spain’s Nobel Prize” and González finds himself in the company of such winners as playwright Arthur Miller, architect Oscar Niemeyer, and tenor Plácido Domingo. Asked to describe his poetry, he responds, “My poetry is intimate and personal.” He says he prefers colloquial language and that writing simply is a difficult task. In his poetry we find nostalgia, the passing of time, old age, and irony. From 1972 to 1993 González taught Spanish literature at UNM. An avuncular figure to a generation of students, he could often be found as the center of an informal tertulia, whether in Ortega Hall or at a smoke-wreathed table at the Frontier Restaurant. In spite of his fame abroad, he continues to live in Albuquerque, where, he says, “I read and I am able to write.” To those of us who knew him as a teacher and mentor, he was, and continues to be, as much admired and revered as he is in the Spanish literary world at large.
student connections It’s a Wrap! UNM graduate students
and Ken Nystrom will be seen worldwide as they travel to exotic destinations for “Mummy Autopsy,” a new Discovery Channel television series. The show’s creators say their aim is to “put flesh on the bones” and to recreate the lives of the long dead. The 13-part, one-hour series tracks mummy experts as they investigate ancient findings.
James Murrell
http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000421.html#more Reaching Out: Community Experience,
an executive agency of the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico, was created to provide an opportunity to students to get involved in service projects benefiting the city of Albuquerque. The group recently hosted a food drive to benefit Roadrunner Food Bank.
Filling the Need: A three-year,
$880,000 grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Service Administration will build the dental residency program at the UNM Health Sciences Center. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000399.html#more Pound of Prevention: The UNM
Prevention Research Center has been awarded a five-year, $720,000 grant from the Center for Disease Control and US Health and Services Department to promote prevention research across a variety of areas. http://hscapp.unm.edu/calendar/output/ index.cfm?fuseaction=main.release& EntryID=3396 Strong STEM: The College of Arts and
Sciences has received a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to support the Robert Noyce Scholarship Program, recruiting science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors into teacher education programs.
http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000415.html#more
http://www.unm.edu/%7Emarket/ cgi-bin/archives/000414.html#more
Après Lab: Los Alamos National
Right Online! The Nuclear Education
Laboratory and UNM have created a program in UNM’s Center on Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) that will give graduate students the opportunity to assist in transferring technologies from the laboratory to the private sector.
Online program at the College of Pharmacy is working to expand its computer-based training to new fields of study and to serve as a model for developing other medical training programs, with the assistance of a $440,861 grant awarded by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education through the US Department of Education.
http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000463.html#more
research and funding connections Relevant Research: The Research
Involving Outpatient Settings Network and the UNM Health Sciences Center have been selected by the National Institutes of Health to receive a $3.26 million contract. The three-year contract is part of the Roadmap Initiative, a plan for re-engineering clinical research to increase its relevance to the care of the nation’s patients. http://hscapp.unm.edu/calendar/output /index.cfm?fuseaction=main.release &EntryID=3395
http://hscapp.unm.edu/calendar/output/ index.cfm?fuseaction=main.release& EntryID=3409 ¡Ole!: The Organization of American States recently announced that it is donating 1,500 scholarships to UNM to help train teachers in the State of New Mexico. The scholarships will be used for online courses offered through the Educational Portal of the Americas (www.educoas.org) of the Institute of Advanced Studies of the Americas. The value of the scholarships is approximately $300,000. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000464.html#more
album Mark L. Johnson, ’67 BSHP, ’71 MSPE, is in his 21st year as head baseball coach at Texas A&M University. In his 20 seasons, the Aggies posted an 846-406-2 record, ranking Mark in the top 10 “winningest” coaches in the country. He was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2001 and has co-authored two books, Baseball Skills and Drills and Baseball Strategies. He and his wife, Linda Nunn Johnson, ’69 BA, live in College Station where she is a CPA and active in the community. James Alarid, ’68 BSHP, ’71 MS, has been named interim dean of Highlands University’s School of Education. Jack Cunningham, ’68 BABA, has had his first novel, Where All Our Dreams Come True, released by Publish America. It is an historical novel based on a true story of a Swedish immigrant who becomes a Pinkerton spy in the ’20s. He has two other novels in the works. Otherwise, he recently retired after 30 years as vice president of human resources with Trinity Industries in Dallas. His e-mail is www.jackcunningham.net. Harold W. Lavender Jr., ’69 BA, ’75 JD, was featured in a recent issue of Forbes magazine in an article on Chicago’s Board of Trade. He was selected for his passionate defense “of the chaotic open outcry system that defined securities trading around the world for most of the past two centuries.” The Chicago resident has spent 28 years in Chicago’s trading pits as a floor broker. Patricia Madrid, ’69 BA, ’73 JD, has been recognized by three organizations last fall. She was honored by the National Latina Organization MANA in recognition of her accomplishments as New Mexico’s first female attorney general and the nation’s first Hispanic female state attorney general and was recognized as Santa Fe Businesswoman of the Year by the Capital City Business and Professional Women. Her third award was the 2004 Milagro Executive Director’s Award by Animal Protection of New Mexico for her efforts to create laws that protect animals in the state. Enrique Lamadrid, ’70 BA, is now director of Chicano, Hispano, Mexicano Studies at UNM.
s p r i n g
2 0 0 5
7
unm Meteoric Finds 1: Research assistant
professor Barbara Cohen (earth and planetary sciences) participated in an expedition of the Antarctic Search for Meteorites (ANSMET) program, funded by the National Science Foundation and NASA. Samples found included Martian and lunar meteorites, both of which are extremely rare. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000411.html#more Meteoric Finds 2: Researchers at UNM
have identified a 2.9 billion year-old lunar meteorite. The meteorite, found in Africa in 2000, was examined by a group of scientists, headed by senior research scientist Lars Borg, in the earth and planetary sciences department. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000437.html#more Visible Progress: Health Sciences
Center researchers Arup Das and Paul have made significant progress developing an effective pharmacological approach to the most common cause of blindness in diabetic patients. Das
Matt Suhre
McGuire
and McGuire are in their sixth year of a National Institutes of Health study on the use of protease inhibitors to slow the growth of new blood vessels in the eyes. Proteases are enzymes that help break down existing blood vessels enabling new vessels to grow.
Water Ways: Law professor Denise Fort
http://hscapp.unm.edu/calendar/output /index.cfm?fuseaction=main.release& EntryID=3519
has been appointed to the National Research Council committee charged with conducting the study “Potential and Pitfalls for Sustainable Underground Storage of Recoverable Water.” The committee will publish an overview of research needs and priorities concerning sustainable underground storage technology.
Thinking Men and Women: UNM’s
http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000477.html#more
MIND (Mental Illness and Neuroscience Discovery) Imaging Center recently discovered critically important neurological differences in the way men and women “think.” Technological advances in neuro-imaging allow researchers to explore exactly where brain activity resides in males and females, and how it affects thinking and intelligence – which ultimately could lead to vastly different treatment protocols for brain-injured men and women. http://hscapp.unm.edu/calendar/output /index.cfm?fuseaction=main.release& EntryID=3644
honorable connections To Their Health: R. Philip Eaton, executive
vice president for the UNM Health Sciences Center, has been elected to a three-year term on the board of the Association of Academic Health Centers. http://hscapp.unm.edu/calendar/output/ index.cfm?fuseaction=main.release& EntryID=3499
Managing Work…and Life Professor Richard Santos, acting associate dean for the College of Arts and Sciences and former economics department chair, has received the first Work+Life Manager/Supervisor Award. He was selected from 71 staff and faculty nominees. The department of human resources and UNM Staff Council sponsor the award, designed to recognise UNM managers who assist faculty and staff in their personal and work responsibilities. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000365.html#more http://www.unm.edu/~stafcom/ Work-Life%20Report11.pdf
8
M I R A G E
m a g a z i n e
PBS Big Shot: Ted A. Garcia, KNME
general manager and chief executive officer, has been elected to the board of directors of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). The board members are elected by the general managers of the 170 PBS licensees across the country. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000370.html#more
student, faculty, or staff member—is given the given the honor of donating the award to a UNM program of their choice. The deadline for nominations is August 1 of each year. For further information, please contact Judy Zanotti, awards committee chair, at daviszanotti@msn.com. Loyal Lawyer: Law professor J. Michael
Practically President: Kenneth P. Miller,
http://hscapp.unm.edu/calendar/output/ index.cfm?fuseaction=main.release& EntryID=3628
has received the 2005 William Pincus Award from the executive committee of the American Association of Law Schools Section on Clinical Legal Education. Norwood was honored for leadership in the advancement of clinical legal education, tireless promotion of multidisciplinary collaborations, pioneering work on technology in clinics, and dedication to students and social justice.
Staff Stars: Three recipients were
http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000478.html#more
professor and associate dean for research and clinical scholarship at the College of Nursing, has been elected vice president/president elect of the American College of Nurse Practitioners. Miller has been a nurse educator/researcher for 20 years.
honored with the 2004 Gerald W. May Staff Recognition Award: Sandrea Gonzales, director, Women’s Resource Center; Lorraine Gutierrez, University House assistant; and Laurie Mellas Ramirez, senior public affairs representative, Public Affairs. The awards are made for a combination of exceptional service, positive representation, initiative, involvement, and additional contributions on behalf of UNM. Passion for Compassion: School of
Law professor Barbara Bergman was awarded the Father Charlie Driscoll Award by Dismas House, a support center for former convicts and parolees striving to re-enter society. The award is given to someone in the legal community who shows a commitment to Dismas House as well as advocacy, compassion, and faith in action. Stick Your Neck Out and Nominate Someone! The Linda K. Estes Giraffe
Award for people who stick their necks out is a cash award given annually. It is intended to recognize an individual who has taken personal or professional risks in order to stand up for what he or she believes to be right. The recipient of the award—if not a UNM
Norwood
Plan to Read It! PLANetizen has named
“Squares: A Public Places Design Guide for Urbanists,” by UNM assistant professor Mark C. Childs, School of Architecture and Planning, among the top 10 books published in 2004. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000459.html#more
media connections Innovative Campus Ranking 13th,
UNM has been named one of the 25 most entrepreneurial undergraduate campuses in the United States by the Princeton Review. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000356.html#more Short Intrigue: Dennis Herrick,
communication and journalism lecturer, took first place in the Tony Hillerman Mystery Short Story Contest. The prize includes publication of Herrick’s story in the March issue of Cowboys and Indians magazine.
album Paul Murray, ’70 BFA, has his pastel “Rio Grande Evening” included in a book published by International Artist Magazine entitled How Did You Paint That? It is a scene of the Rio Grande, its autumn bosque, and the Sandias. His scene from La Luz Trail was selected for the 2004 New Mexico Arts and Crafts Fair commemorative poster. He also had three paintings in the annual “Arts in the Parks” exhibit in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Paul lives in La Cienega, New Mexico. Gordon Bronitsky, ’71 BA, is founder and president of Bronitsky and Associates which has offices in New Mexico and Germany and specializes in international cultural marketing of traditional and contemporary art, music, dance, fashion, film/video, photography, theater, and speakers and writers (native languages and English). Over the years the firm has toured more than 20 groups from around the world. Gordon lives in Albuquerque. Michael V. Dunn, ’71 BA, ’72 MAPA, has been confirmed by the US Senate as a Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. He lives in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. David Thurlo, ’71 BS, ’72 MA, with his wife and co-author, Aimée, is publishing in April the tenth book in their Ella Clah mystery series, White Thunder. The second novel in their Lee Nez Navajo vampire series and the second novel in the Sister Agatha series have just been published. All three series are set in New Mexico. The couple lives in Corrales, New Mexico. Judith Espinosa, ’72 BSAU, ’80 JD, has been elected chair of the Washington, DC-based Surface Transportation Policy Project, a national transportation reform organization. She is director of UNM’s Alliance for Transportation Research Institute. Bruce Kohl, ’72 BUS, ’75 JD, has been named to the board of trustees for the Investor Protection Trust, a body of the North American Securities Administration Association. He is director of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department’s Securities Division, and lives in Santa Fe.
s p r i n g
2 0 0 5
9
unm
miscellaneous connections High Ideas: New Mexico Governor
told an audience of UNM faculty, staff, and students recently that higher education needs a representative at the table when decisions are made at the state’s highest levels. Richardson proposes creating a Secretary of Higher Education who would ensure accountability at the top but retain local control with boards of regents as governing bodies. Richardson would also form a Department of Higher Education to coordinate resources across the
Bill Richardson
state’s 26 colleges and universities.
It’s Old-ficial! The School of Architecture
http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000355.html#more
and Planning has initiated a graduate certificate program in historic preservation and regionalism under the direction of Chris Wilson, JB Jackson Chair of Cultural Landscape Studies. The program has now received funds from the George Pearl estate and Senate Bill 14 to create and support two endowed fellowships.
To a Degree: The UNM Board of Regents
has approved the curriculum for a bachelor’s degree in Native American studies. UNM joins approximately 35 institutions offering the major, according to the Guide to Native American Studies Programs in the United States and Canada. The major has long been a goal—dating back to 1964 when it was a discussion item at UNM Kiva Club meetings. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000439.html#more
http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000420.html#more Manageneering: The School of
Engineering is included in an academic alliance that will contract to manage the Idaho National Laboratory for 10 years for the US Department of Energy. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000394.html#more
Set in Terrazo:
It’s not often that an artist can revisit a Land Return: UNM Regents President
favorite piece and preserve it in a different medium. Textile artist Joan
recently appeared before the Cochiti Pueblo Tribal Council to commemorate formally UNM’s return of a 220-acre part of Horn Mesa to the pueblo.
Jamie Koch
Weissman, ’74, had that opportunity at Popejoy Center for the Arts, where three boldly colored abstract rugs of her creation had lain since 1996. The wear and tear of Popejoy audiences moved the University to ask Weissman to recreate the rugs in a more durable medium. Weissman chose terrazzo, an amalgam of marble, glass, shell, and stone
http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000448.html#more
chips blended into a liquid matrix, poured between metal separating
Seeking Green: UNM is seeking
strips, cured, and ground to a smooth finish. The magnificent results
“green” building certification for the new School of Architecture and Planning, says Roger Lujan, facility planning director. Certification as a LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) building may be established in several categories, including water efficiency, use of renewable energy sources, use of recyclables in construction, and indoor air quality.
courtesy Joan Weissman
are underfoot at Popejoy Center for the Arts for years of enjoyment.
http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000353.html#more Richardson Pavilion: The UNM Board
of Regents has voted unanimously to name the new UNM Children’s Hospital and Critical Care Pavilion in honor of New Mexico Governor and Mrs. Bill Richardson. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000407.html#more
10
M I R A G E
m a g a z i n e
Higher Ed Board UNM President Louis Caldera has been named a 2004-05 governing board member of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU). HACU is the nation’s leading voice for the higher education needs of the country’s largest ethnic population. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000412.html#more
Both Sides of the Border: UNM and
Mesa Map: The UNM Board of
the Mexico-based Center for Research and Development in Electrochemistry have signed a collaborative agreement. Areas of possible collaboration are water and energy programs, materials and electrochemistry, student and faculty exchanges, courtesy joint appointments, national laboratory communications, commercial activities, advanced degree programs, crossover of technical areas of mutual interest, and others.
Regents approved a road map for developing land in Mesa del Sol in Albuquerque’s southeast quadrant. UNM will participate in a land exchange with the state land office allowing Forest City Covington to move ahead with the development in return for an opportunity to participate in some projects.
http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000429.html#more And in Santa Fe: The UNM School of
Law could offer courses in Santa Fe as early as next summer as part of a pilot program. Courses will be open to current law students as well as non-lawyers interested in legal education who hold at least a bachelor’s degree. Continuing legal education courses offerings will also increase. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000458.html#more
http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000457.html#more Certifiably Athletic: UNM will begin a
yearlong, campus-wide effort to study its athletics program as part of the NCAA Division I athletics certification program. Specific areas of study include academic integrity, governance and commitment to rules compliance, and a commitment to equity and student-athlete welfare. http://www.unm.edu/~market/ cgi-bin/archives/000476.html#more Last but Not Least...The Lobos!
As Mirage goes to press, both the Lobo men’s and women’s basketball teams are going to Tennessee for first-round play in the NCAA tournament. The teams earned their bids sweeping Utah for Mountain West Conference tournament championships. Check out the results at www.golobos.collegesports.com.
album William Pesch, ’72 BSEE, is now president/ COO of Anacomp, Inc., a publicly held $200 million software services company in San Diego. Theodore E. Yaeger, ’72 BS, ’81 MD, has been appointed chairman of the department of radiation oncology for Halifax Medical Center, Daytona Beach, Florida. He still owns a home in Santa Fe and returns every summer for the opera season and to visit friends in Albuquerque. Steve Hale, ’73 BSED, has been elected 2005 president of the Home Builders Association of Central New Mexico. The Albuquerque resident is a licensed contractor specializing in small volume customs, remodeling, and in-fill projects. Patrick S. Henry, ’73 BSPE, has been inducted into the US Track & Field Hall of fame. He is only the second coach in NCAA history to win 20 or more NCAA titles. Pat lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Mary Alice Higbie, ’73 BSED, is proprietress of The St. James Tea Room in Albuquerque that serves afternoon tea in the British style. It includes the Cherriwynd China Shop that sells china, English tea sets, linens, and tea. Ross Wirth, ’73 BS, of Katy, Texas, recently received a PhD in leadership and organizational change from Walden University. He is employed as manager, human resources planning, at CITGO Petroleum. Claresia Montoya, ’74 MA, after 37 years as a teacher and principal, made a career change five years ago to become the general manager of The Community Pantry in Gallup. Maggie Chambers, ’75 BUS, is co-owner of Petals LLP Creative Floral Design in Albuquerque. The shop specializes in custom designs for corporate and individual clients for all occasions. Wendy M. Hockaday, ’75 BA, has joined Deloitte Services LP in Houston, Texas, as a human resources service area manager for the strategy and operations practice in the mid-America southeast region. Mark Morgan, ’76 BA, coauthored Intruder: The Operational History of the Grumman A-6 with his brother, Rick. Mark is a former Naval Flight Officer who currently is on extended active duty with the US Air Force as a historian/ operations analyst. He lives in Issaquah, Washington.
s p r i n g
2 0 0 5
11
athletics
unm
e
global positioning B Y C A R O L Y N G O N Z A L E S
Athletes from around
Everybody is a winner when it comes
the world study and compete
to international athletes at UNM.
in New Mexico’s high desert.
In 2004-2005, UNM has 35
international athletes, from Australia,
Europe, Canada, Africa, and South America. They participate in 11 different sports, with the largest group—13 total and mostly from Scandinavia—in men’s and women’s skiing. “They’re extremely bright,” says
Ruggiero, and their teams usually carry the highest GPAs.” Ruggiero attributes that to their maturity level. “They’ve come from far away by themselves, “she says. “They are very focused, hard-workers.” The international athletes generally don’t have the opportunity simultaneously to study and compete at the university level as they do here, says UNM associate athletic director Janice Ruggiero. And the domestic athletes may never have the opportunity to travel worldwide, but are exposed to different cultures at home. While they’re here, the international athletes improve their English (if it’s a second language for them) and further their careers and education. “It’s good for both sides,” says Ruggiero. “The kids learn how different
12
M I R A G E
m a g a z i n e
Matt Suhre
countries are run.”
Lars Loeseth appreciates New Mexico’s warm climate. “It can be warm here in the city but within a couple of hours you can be on the slopes in Taos,” he says. To become an Alpine skier for the University of New Mexico, he had to make some concessions, like giving up a favorite summer activity, glacier skiing, in his native Norway. Loeseth, a sophomore, is a returning All-American in both the slalom and giant slalom events and should be one of the top skiers in the NCAA. He is looking to return to the NCAA Championships and to improve on his top-5 finish in the slalom and top-10 finish in the giant slalom. Earlier this season, he scored a career-high second place finish among collegiate skiers in the University of Alaska-Anchorage giant slalom race and was tied for third in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association giant slalom individual race. For his efforts, Loeseth was named the RMISA men’s Alpine Skier of the Week following the meet. Recently, during the Denver Invitational, Loeseth won his first Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association race by taking home the men’s giant slalom title. He set a new career-high with his win. “Not only is Lars the top Alpine male athlete on our team, but he’s also a 4.+ student and a fine young man,” says George Brooks, coach of the 2004 NCAA championship ski team. Brooks’ team won the 2004 NCAA Skiing Championship, the first national title in any sport at the University of New Mexico. The Lobos were picked third in Ski Racing Magazine’s 2005 preseason top-10. Many of UNM’s skiers are Scandinavian. Loeseth says that teammate Peter Roering, a senior, recruited him. Both are from Oslo. “Peter told me about New Mexico and UNM. I wanted to continue to ski. I had competed for Ski Academy where I also represented my high school, but I wanted to pursue both skiing and my education,” Loeseth says.
He is working toward a business degree and has set his sights on a master’s degree in business administration. “Coach wants us to do well in school. He says it’s more important than skiing,” he says. The team traditionally posts one of the best cumulative GPAs of all UNM sports teams, quite the accomplishment since they travel extensively. They are frequently gone from Wednesday through Friday and head to NCAA competition right around the same time as midterms. “Our international athletes bring a maturity, both academically and athletically, to the University. They expose the team, the campus and the broader New Mexico community to their culture and viewpoints. They also take what they learn of New Mexico back home with them,” Brooks says. He added that former UNM skiers who return to their home countries miss something uniquely Albuquerque. “They all want us to bring them a burrito from the Frontier Restaurant,” he says. Brooks says that Loeseth’s Alpine abilities could translate into a loss for UNM. “He could compete on the national level. To compete at the world cup or national level, he would represent Norway. I don’t know that he would want to leave UNM, though. A big part of him wants to graduate,” he says. Despite the fact that Lobo skiers earned UNM’s first-ever NCAA championship, Loeseth still encounters looks of surprise when he tells fellow students he’s on the ski team. “People in my classes tell me they didn’t even know UNM has a ski team,” he says.
A L P I N E A C E : Lobo sophomore Lars Loeseth , a returning All-American in the slalom and giant slalom, adds Norwegian finesse to the ski team’s competence on the slopes. Off the mountain, Loeseth has set his sights on earning an MBA. [As Mirage goes to press, we learn that the Lobos finished fourth in the NCAA national tournament held in Stowe, Vermont. Congratulations, Lobos!]
album Robert Perovich, ’76 BSCE, ’80 JD, is now president of the Sandia Kiwanis Club. He is with the Keleher & McLeod law firm in Albuquerque. George Radnovich, ’76 BAA, has been named the UNM School of Architecture and Planning Distinguished Alumnus. He is principal for Sites Southwest, a landscaping and planning firm that created the Rio Grande bosque revitalization project for the Army Corps of Engineers. He is president of the Xeriscape Council of New Mexico and lives in Albuquerque. Tom Chavez, ’77 MA, ’81 PhD, has retired as executive director of the National Hispanic Culture Center in Albuquerque. Gail Reese, ’77 BUS, has been chosen by the New Mexico Society of Certified Public Accountants for its Outstanding Member in Government award. Gail is the City of Albuquerque’s chief financial officer.
Eugene Valentine
On the Slopes: Norway’s Lars Loeseth
Eugene A. Valentine, ’77 BAA, is now treasurer of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI), a national professional association. The Gilbert, Arizona, resident is president and CEO of BPLW Architects and Engineers, Inc. Contrary to our listing of Mr. Valentine in our In Memoriam column, he is very much alive and well. We regret our error. John D. Kiker, ’78 MD, has received an Outstanding Alumni Award from Eastern New Mexico University. He practices urology in Roswell. He teaches UNM residents-in-training and ENMU-Roswell nursing students. Lynn Lawrance, ’78 MBA, recently earned the Certified Financial Planner certification. She has been with Financial Network in Dallas since 1997. s p r i n g
2 0 0 5
13
unm
m
On the Court: Croatia’s Maja Kovacek Maja Kovacek, like so many European children, played
soccer. After coming home
all the time with bloody knees and bruised legs, her father insisted she find some other activity. “I’m not even sure why I said I would play tennis, but I’m glad I did,” she says. From Pula, Croatia, now in
her junior year and third season on the Lobo tennis team, Kovacek is a psychology major who aspires to play professionally. She might even pursue an advanced degree in sports psychology and coach the game
14
M I R A G E
m a g a z i n e
Matt Suhre
she knows and loves so well.
She’s got a lot of game left to play before taking her position courtside. Currently ranked 24th nationally in singles–the highest ranking ever for Lobo women’s tennis–and fourth in the nation in doubles, she is an All-American and only the third UNM tennis player ever to play in the NCAA singles tournament. Coach Kathy Kolankiewicz, in her 20th season leading the racket-wielding women, says she discovered Kovacek on her first international recruiting trip, and offered her a scholarship. “I accepted because of all the places she could’ve gone, she saw me. I felt it was meant to be,” Kovacek says. Her teammates helped Kovacek make the transition to UNM. “When I first got here, I had eight or ten others to talk to and work out with. It’s also great to have people to cheer for you,” she says. She’s given them plenty to cheer about. Kovacek led the Lobos last season as one of the top singles players for UNM. She compiled a 21-12 overall record for the 2003-04 season and was consistently ranked by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). She dominated the Mountain West Conference with a 5-1 record at the No. 1 singles spot and was recognized for her talent with the prestigious MWC Player of the Year award. Kovacek and former teammate Sandy Lukowski made for one of the best doubles teams to hit the UNM squad. The duo compiled a remarkable 30-7 overall record and reached the highest ever national ranking UNM has seen–No. 8. They won the entire main doubles draw of 64 at the ITA Central Region Championship, giving them the opportunity to advance to the prestigious ITA National Indoor Championships for the first time in the UNM women’s tennis history. The doubles team ended the fall season ranked No. 1 in the Central Region. Enjoying both singles and doubles play, Kovacek says that she thinks doubles doesn’t get the attention it deserves. “It
is a totally different game on that level. There is so much more to be aware of on the court. It has the advantage of giving you someone to share the experience with. If you have a bad day, you have someone to help pick you up.” This year, Kovacek had a preseason national ranking of No. 41 in singles and No. 11 in doubles, with teammate Iva Gersic. They were the first in the history of the program to be picked to compete in the doubles main draw at the prestigious ITA Riviera/All-American Championships and made it to the semi-final round. Earning an automatic bid to compete in doubles at the ITA National Individual Indoor Championship, they defeated No. 2, No. 3, and No. 24 nationally ranked doubles teams to win the entire consolation bracket. Additionally, Kovacek made it to the semifinals in singles competition. The game works out Kovacek’s mind and body. “Both are required to be good. I am learning and working to improve all the time,” she says. School, like tennis, requires discipline. “Professors are very understanding. They let you email homework or take tests early,” she says. Kovacek has experienced as much success in the classroom as she has on the court. “Maja had a 4.1 GPA for the fall semester,” Kolankiewicz says. The accomplishment is especially noteworthy when taking into account that the team sometimes travels up to seven weeks in a row, leaving on Thursday and returning on Sunday. Kolankiewicz says that the international athletes bring an added dimension to the team and the classroom. “UNM has made a commitment to celebrating diversity. Student-athletes from different cultures bring a variety of perspectives and insights to their teams and to their classmates.”
T E N N I S T I T A N : Lobo junior Maja Kovacek dominates the Mountain West Conference in both singles and doubles play. The Croatian native says playing at UNM might have been “meant to be.” A psychology major, Kovacek would like eventually to get an advanced degree in sports psychology and to coach tennis.
album Joseph H. Suina, ’78 MA, has received the Jo Ann Krueger Award for Exemplary Educational Leadership for 2004 in recognition of his leadership and service as an author, teacher, and professor, as well as to the Cochiti Pueblo community. Melvin Dalhberg, ’79 BSCE, ’84 MSCE, has been named senior vice president and managing partner at the newly opened regional office of Bohannan Huston, Inc., in the Denver area. Dalhberg lives in Franktown, Colorado. Moira Gerety, ’79 BA, ’85 MBA, is interim director of information technology services at UNM, and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of Computer and Information Resources and Technology (CIRT). Rebecca Garcia Lutz, ’79 PhD, has been elected state president of the New Mexico Association of Educational Retirees. The group is the voice of over 30,000 retired educational employees protecting their retirement needs and interests. Rebecca is a retired teacher and school administrator living in Los Lunas. Wilfred O. Martinez, ’79 PhD, recently published the second edition of Anza and Cuerno Verde: Decisive Battle (El Escritorio Publications). The author pinpoints the battle site where New Mexico Governor Juan Bautista de Anza defeated the feared Comanche Chief Cuerno Verde in 1779. Wilfred is retired and lives in Pueblo, Colorado. Michael Palmer, ’79 BUS, is president of sales for Observation Technologies, an engineering company responsible for developing seaport security systems that are installed around the world. He lives in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania. Cynthia D. Borrego, ’80 BS, ’82 MPA, is now division manager for the City of Albuquerque Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency. She assists the planning department in managing and strategic planning for all redevelopment activities in designated areas of the city. Leslie Ingham, ’80 BSPH, ’04, PHAR, received the Dorothy Dillon Memorial Lecture Award at the meeting of the New Mexico Society of Health Systems Pharmacists. Leslie has worked as a hospital pharmacist for Holy Cross Hospital in Taos for 16 years. s p r i n g
2 0 0 5
15
unm
o
On the Track: Kenya’s Shadrack Kiptoo Biwott On a drizzly January afternoon at Milne Stadium, his breath was visible although Shadrack Kiptoo Biwott ran as though warmed by the sun. Undaunted,
he and his teammates rounded the track, took instruction from Coach Matt Henry, and took their cross country training under whatever weather the skies offered. Biwott is only a freshman in UNM’s program, but hardly new to running. He ran for Albuquerque’s La Cueva High School for two years after coming to the Duke City from Eldoret, Kenya. At La Cueva, he was one of the top prep distance runners in the United States and was named high school All-American by
16
M I R A G E
m a g a z i n e
Matt Suhre
USA Today.
album “It means a lot to me to be here on this team. We do all we can to support each other in practice and in competition,” he says. Biwott is quick to note Henry’s leadership. “For a team to be successful, a great deal depends upon the coach. We have that at UNM. Coach Henry motivates and encourages. He makes us want to run,” he says. Henry says that Biwott brings his teammates to a different level of competition. “Track is like a study session. If you study with someone who is real smart, you’ll get better. Shadrack is a world class runner. The team has the opportunity to run with him day in and day out,” he says. Henry says he has no budget to recruit internationally. He does, however, have eight scholarships to offer to in-state students. Since Biwott graduated from a New Mexico high school, he was able to recruit him. He considers himself fortunate to have Biwott on the team. Biwott is considering pre-med as a major. He would like to attend UNM’s medical school, but there are many miles to run first. “After I graduate, I want to run professionally. I would like to represent Kenya in the Olympics,” he says. “Shadrack cherishes the education he is able to get. The value of the education can be noted in dollar amounts, but the education is priceless,” Henry says. Henry says that Biwott plans to put his education to work in Kenya. “He’s a winner. We’re a winner. His country is a winner,” Henry says.
C R O S S - C O U N T R Y C R O W N : Lobo freshman Shadrack Kiptoo Biwott keeps his teammates on their toes. The young Kenyan finished among the top 15 runners in the country in 2004. Down the road a few miles, Biwott hopes to go to medical school.
Nancy K. Jordan, ’80 BA, has joined First State Bank in Albuquerque as a vice president, loan administration.
James M. Haynes
Biwott posted the ninth best time in US prep history when he ran the fastest top two-mile in the country (8:45.44) and won the event at the Adidas Outdoor Championships. Two weeks later he ran a 4:02.80 mile, defeating the nation’s top high school miler. He clocked a career best 1,500meter time of 3:41, three seconds off the US high school record. At 17, he recorded a time of 13:57 in the 5,000. He was the 2003 New Mexico 5A cross country champion in his first season of competition, finishing the course nearly a minute and a half faster than his nearest competitor. He won the boys junior varsity race at the Lobo Invitational with a three-mile time of 14:42 at the UNM North Golf Course. Since coming to UNM, Biwott finished among the top-15 runners in the 2004 NCAA Cross Country Championships. He helped Henry establish the team as the best in UNM history by placing a program-best ninth at the championships. The desire to run and the desire to learn brought Biwott to the states. “My uncle encouraged me to come because I would be able to go to college, get an education,” Biwott says. His uncle, Simon Sawe, runs for Nike. They are just two in the fleet-footed family. Biwott also has two brothers back home who run professionally. Speaking only Swahili when he first arrived in New Mexico, Biwott has quickly mastered both the English language and American life. He has found a home at UNM and on the cross country team.
James M. Haynes, ’81 BS, has been elected a shareholder in the Pulakos & Alongi, Ltd., firm in Albuquerque. Mirabai Starr, ’83 BA, ’85 MA, has published a new translation and introduction to The Interior Castle, St. Teresa of Avila (Riverhead Books). Mirabai teaches philosophy, religious studies, and Spanish at UNM-Taos. Marilyn Markel, ’84 BUS, collaborated with her sister, Carilyn Alarid, ’93 BSED, ’00 MA, on a book just published by Sunstone Press in Santa Fe, entitled Old Grandfather Teaches a Lesson, Mimbres Children Learn Respect. It is the first in a series of six books based on Character Counts themes. She does volunteer archaeological work near Mimbres, New Mexico, where she lives. Jackson Pino, ’84 BSED, ’89 MA, is in his 26th year of educating students at the Alamo Navajo Community School where he teaches geography, US and world history, as well as some of Alamo’s history and culture to middle school students. He lives in Magdalena, New Mexico. Eric Paul Shaffer, ’84 MA, of Kula, Hawaii, had his first collection, You Are Here, published in August. He expects his fifth collection of poetry, L_haina Noon, to appear in spring 2005. William Wengs, ’84 MPE, ’88 MD, has returned to Santa Fe to establish a private practice in adult neurology. He is on the staff of St. Vincent Hospital.
s p r i n g
2 0 0 5
17
looking at tomas ericson
unm
this lobo Swedish runner Tomas Ericson switches from foot-lanes to truck-lanes.
18
M I R A G E
m a g a z i n e
t
Tomas Ericson has covered a lot of ground—and sea— since he attended UNM. The handsome Scandinavian with a ruddy face and sturdy build broke track records in the late ’60s. Now he is president of Volvo Group North America and working in
drives a Volvo
a luxurious skyscraper
album Donald Wunsch, ’84 BS, was selected as a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) last fall for his contributions to hardware implementations, reinforcement, and unsupervised learning. Donald is the Mary K. Finley Missouri Distinguished Professor of Computer Engineering at the University of Missouri-Rolla. Marietta Patricia Leis, ’85 MA, ’88 MFA, received a grant by the Fundacíon Valparaiso for a residency at the Fundacíon’s retreat in Mojacar, Spain, last November and December. She resides in Sandia Park, New Mexico. Humberto L. Quintanilla II, ’85 BA, has accepted the nomination for the Hudson Fellowship at St. Anthony’s College, Oxford University, to begin in the fall of 2005. Burt is US Navy Commander of the USS Harpers Ferry. Chris Schueler, ’85 MA, has received the Rocky Mountain Emmy Award for the documentary “See Mommy Cry” about violence in New Mexico that was broadcast in 2003 on KNME-TV and KOB-TV. Chris is president of Christopher Productions in Albuquerque. Marty Esquivel, ’86 BA, ’89 JD, is now with the Narvaez law firm in Albuquerque. Domingo Martinez, ’86 MAPA, received the 2004 Friends of the Profession Award from the New Mexico Society of CPAs. He is New Mexico state auditor and lives in Santa Fe.
PHOTO
AND
STORY
BY
GREG
Charles Vigil
in Midtown Manhattan.
JOHNSTON
T R A C K T O T R U C K S : Tomas Ericson came from Sweden to UNM in 1967, recruited by Lobo track coach Hugh Hackett. It was the first step toward a career with Volvo Group North America, housed in the same Manhattan art-deco building where “Ghostbusters” once roved the roof.
Charles Vigil, ’86 BBA, an attorney with the firm of Rodey, Dickason, Sloan, Akin & Robb, PA, in Albuquerque, recently was sworn in by the New Mexico Supreme Court as the 109th president of the State Bar of New Mexico. s p r i n g
2 0 0 5
19
unm
Ericson grew up in Lidkoping, Sweden, the only son of parents who ran a hotel, movie theater, store, and laundry at a Swedish Air Force base. As a member of the Swedish national track team in 1967, Ericson excelled as a runner. An American coach working in Sweden took note and contacted others back home to determine if there was interest in Ericson and his teammates.
Swedish Lobo Lobo track coach Hugh Hackett liked the prospect. The same year, Ericson and three other Swedes were recruited to compete on the UNM team. Ericson was offered a one-year scholarship. “I had four other offers and didn’t know much about the US,” Ericson recalls. “I wanted a climate that was different and New Mexico looked very good on the map.” “I was coming from Sweden where you have three to four months of nice weather in the summer. Then it can be pretty cold in the winter. To turn it around and have eight to ten months of warm weather in Albuquerque, that was a pleasant surprise,” he says. Besides his fellow Swedes, Ericson remembers other international athletes at UNM, including a high jumper from Peru and a distance runner from Australia. Hackett says the Swedes enjoyed playing golf, one of their many new experiences after crossing the Atlantic. “They were all very intelligent and spoke English fluently,” Hackett says. Terrell White, ’69 BABA, met Ericson while living two doors away in Alvarado Hall. Both attended classes at the Anderson Schools of Management. “Tomas always had such good humor and was always ready with a smile.
20
M I R A G E
m a g a z i n e
He was very positive and extremely congenial,” says White, who grew up in southern New Mexico. White remembers that his friend and the other Swedes took the university by storm and often had a circle of beautiful female students in their company. White laughs and says, “They enjoyed being Swedish.” Ericson recalls his first UNM track meet was an eye-opener. The Lobos were ranked in the top 25 nationally. “My biggest shock came when I ran my first event.” He says that in Sweden, athletes were focused not
practical life experiences, not just from reading books.” In 1971, Ericson broke the record in the 880-yard race. That same year, he completed his degree, before returning to work for a shipping company in Gothenburg, Sweden, the country’s second largest city. While there, he learned he could apply for a one-year position with the Swedish Trade Council in New York. Ericson was accepted and returned to the US in the summer of 1973. Just before the job ended, Ericson heard the Swedish-American Chamber
“In Sweden, if you broke a [personal] record but still placed third or fourth, that was very good. The US had much more of a culture of winning and being number one.” just on breaking records, but also on personal bests. “There, if you broke a record but still placed third or fourth, that was very good. The US had much more of a culture of winning and being number one. In one of my first races for UNM, I came in fourth but I broke my personal record and I was very happy. That was until Coach Hackett came up and tapped me on the back and said, ‘Don’t be sorry for this. Next time you’ll do better.’ That was an awakening!” While excelling in track events, Ericson was enrolled in UNM’s marketing management program. “What I remember most is that our studies were much more case-oriented and very different from Sweden. At UNM we learned from
—Tomas Ericson of Commerce was looking for a president. He felt under-qualified, but a friend encouraged him to send his resume and soon Ericson was called to a meeting. “Two weeks later I was hired,” he says. That was in 1974 and he stayed with the organization for ten years.
Life with Volvo Another door opened just as he was ready to leave the chamber. “At the end of my last year, I told my chairman I was considering other offers. He was the president and CEO for Volvo and he offered me a job.” Volvo sent him to Sweden and he came back to New York in 1985, as vice president for corporate communications.
album including those worn in the hair of the chosen girl. According to Ericson, the event is intended to bring light to the communities during the darkest part of the year. Ericson says he probably attended six or seven such celebrations in New York this past December.
Espen Jansen, ’87 BBA, ’90 MA, has left Ericsson after ten years, and now runs his own Padgett Business Services franchise in Colorado Springs. Angela Nicholette Romero, ’87 BA, was recently awarded Six Sigma Black Belt demonstrating leadership and expertise. She is process improvement manager of the Texas New Mexico Power Company in Ft. Worth.
Lingering Tastes Ericson is still fond of Southwest cuisine and culture. “I developed a taste for New Mexico food and I love it! Even my wife, who never lived out there, likes it and makes it at home.” Ericson and Terrell White have remained close friends and visit each other in New Mexico, New York, and Sweden. For more than 30 years, White has owned and managed the historic El Rey Inn in Santa Fe. “I remember introducing Tomas’ parents to local cuisine when they first visited and how thrilled they were to be in New Mexico,” says White. Ericson’s children, Olivia, 21, and Erik, 20, have attended college in Europe. Erik now serves in the Swedish military service, a mandatory requirement for all men born there. A bad knee has kept Ericson from running these days but he gets exercise biking and playing golf. When he travels to New Mexico, he makes a point to look up Coach Hackett, who still competes in the Senior Olympics at the age of 84. “Tomas was one of the best runners on the team, if not the best middle-distance runner,” says Hackett. While conducting business from high up in the fast-paced world of Manhattan, Ericson fondly recalls his years in New Mexico. “I spent four years in Albuquerque and 30 years in New York. It’s still a sweet spot in my heart.”
Luella Chavez D’Angelo
Volvo Group North America, Inc., is a separate entity from the automobile division, which divested to Ford Motor Company in 1999. The group’s products include trucks, buses, marine engines, and construction and aerospace equipment. Before being named president, Ericson oversaw public, investor, and government relations. Now Ericson and his wife, Gunilla, live in Manhattan’s upper east side. He conducts his work from the 20th floor of one of the city’s stunning art-deco buildings at 570 Lexington Avenue. The multi-colored brick, terra cotta, and carved red marble skyscraper is a designated landmark and served as location for the rooftop scenes in the movie “Ghostbusters.” An outside deck overlooks the New York streets and skyline. Ericson says the biggest change to take place in the industry in recent years is its new facets. He says the car business has grown, but commercial business has grown even faster. According to Ericson, Volvo is the second largest manufacturer of trucks in the world and the third largest in the US. The corporation owns Mack Trucks. For its Canadian market, Volvo is building premiere coaches and tourist buses. Ericson continues his long participation with the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce, now as a vice chairman. “Swedes living in the US tend to hang on to traditions more than the Swedes living in Sweden,” he says. “We’re a small but tight community.” One such tradition is Santa Lucia, observed in mid-December. Every little town in Sweden participates in an event where a young girl is chosen to play Santa Lucia. Many candles are lit,
Luella Chavez D’Angelo, ’88 BABA, ’93 EMBA, is president of First Data Western Union Foundation, headquartered in Denver, which was named Outstanding Foundation at the 2004 National Philanthropy Day in Colorado. Previously, Luella was the marketing director for the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, a development officer for the UNM Health Sciences Center, and marketing director for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Thomas Jones, ’89 BABA, is telerecruiting supervisor at United Blood Services North Dakota. He lives in Fargo. Dawn Matson, ’89 MA, is serving as the local president of the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) in Albuquerque. Lauren Hollingsworth Chavez, ’90 BS, ’94 MD, has opened Clear Waves, a light-based acne treatment center in Albuquerque. The center uses laser technology and photodynamic therapy to reduce scarring and kill the bacteria causing acne. Samuel Gutierrez, ’90 BSEE, has been awarded the 2004 Professional Achievement in Government Emerald Honor by Science Spectrum Magazine. He has been employed by the Air Force Research Laboratory in high power directed energy research for more than 16 years. He currently works at the Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing site in Hawaii. s p r i n g
2 0 0 5
21
looking at advertising
unm
the
real
Advertising and PR executives tell their own stories
thing Are we being manipulated or enlightened by the myriad marketing messages in our lives? On a wintry afternoon in Hodgin Hall, four top marketing alumni discuss this question
22
M I R A G E
m a g a z i n e
Matt Suhre
and others with VB Price.
album VB Price: How has your education at UNM contributed to your professional life?
D. Johnson: We had fabulous professors
and I think the bar has continued to be raised since we left.
John Cordova: My father a linotype
operator at UNM press. He used to bring books home that professors here at UNM were writing, so we were encouraged to read. The professors at UNM when I came here—Dr. Jacobs, Dr. Sacks, Dr. Friedman, all these guys— taught me to write simply and factually. That has kept me in good stead. Debbie Johnson: Certainly what we
learned inside the classroom was extremely valuable, but it’s also what we learned outside the classroom. There were people who didn’t think like you did, so you learned how to compromise and negotiate and socialize, and you learned teamwork and flexibility and organization and resilience and all kinds of life skills that have kept me relatively sane in a hard industry.
Cordova: We’re in marketing. There’s a
lot about this higher education that’s smoke and mirrors. The Harvards and the Whartons and the Stanfords have a real marketing edge to them, but pound for pound or dollar for dollar you’re probably a lot better off here. I’m looking at colleges now for my daughter and wondering, “Do I really want to spend that much money on her education or can she get a lot farther doing a combination of things that includes going to UNM?” R. Johnson: We didn’t have these words
when I was in school, but I’d say “access” and “diversity.” There was a real community at UNM. There was this feeling that you could talk to anybody about anything at any time. There was a great diversity of thought and opinion. That shapes people
“We all are selling the same thing— brains and strategy. We’re not selling ads. We’re not selling press releases.”
John M. Walker, ’90 BAA, ’92 MBA, has been elected to the partnership of KPMG where he has worked since 1992. He serves as a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants. He lives in Denver. Mike Chambers, ’91 MA, is the new principal at Zuni High School. He lives in Grants, New Mexico. Stephen Madeyski, ’91 MBA, ’97 MEME, has received the Certified Financial Planner designation. He has opened a fee-only financial planning practice, putting together comprehensive financial plans as well as offering retirement, investment, estate planning, and college funding services. He and his wife, Roberta Madeyski, ’03 MSN, live in Albuquerque. Roberta works in the neonatal intensive care unit at University Hospital. Major Howard CW Geck, ’92 BUS, has returned to Albuquerque after serving 10 months in Iraq for the 4th Infantry Division as a civil affairs officer for a Corps Support Group outside Tikrit. He earned a Bronze Star for his duty there and performed nearly 200 humanitarian missions. He currently serves as the executive officer for the 372nd Quartermaster Battalion.
Rick Johnson: I had terrific professors,
particularly my English professors. I learned how to write and think at UNM. Beyond that, I hung out with a bunch of people in my fraternity who really cared about language and loved literature. I discovered poetry as a freshman at UNM and have had a lifetime love affair with it. Price: What would be the one thing about UNM that you would try to tell the world?
Elizabeth Gitajn
— Rick Johnson in our business. You have to have a very broad perspective on the world. You have to accept different points of view. Cordova: One does need to be trained
in journalism or marketing, but one has to know how to read and write first. A liberal education and life-long learning are keys to success. Steve McKee: In any business.
S T A R K T R U T H : Debbie and Rick Johnson pause on the stairwell of their Albuquerque advertising and public relations agency. Stalwarts of the industry regionally and beyond, the Johnsons pride themselves on maintaining high standards of truthfulness in their product.
Elizabeth D. Gitajn, ’92 BAA, has been elected a shareholder in Pulakos & Alongi, Ltd., certified public accountants and consultants in Albuquerque. Les Sandoval, ’92 BABA, ’02 JD, has joined the Albuquerque Walther Family Law firm. Maureen M. Walter, ’92 MARC, has been promoted to director of business development at BPLW Architects & Engineers, Inc., in Albuquerque. s p r i n g
2 0 0 5
23
unm
Price: What are advertising and public relations? Is there a difference between them? D. Johnson: Whether in public relations
or advertising, we are communications intermediaries. There wouldn’t be a need for us if everybody who wanted somebody else to know something could go tell them, one on one. We’re dealing with businesses or interest groups who have “something”—a product or a story—they want people to know about. The simplest way to describe advertising is using paid media to deliver messages to people. Media relations and public relations are using earned media to create sufficient interest in something that the news media says, “Boy we’d like to do a story on that!” McKee: In advertising you control the
message all the way and in public relations you don’t, which makes it more credible in the marketplace.
are pretty diverse. In their two-way communications we always have to think about the consequences. What’s going to happen after we do or say this? What are they going to say back to us and how are we going to respond? We have to keep thinking two or three steps down the road. Whereas with an ad, it’s a one-way sort communication. You pick your message and your timing and your media. The feedback you get is not as direct. R. Johnson: If we didn’t have our industry somebody would have to invent it. It would cost billions of dollars now paid through advertising and public relations clients to bring information about products and services to our society. That is how our society advances. That’s how you learn about new products, new services, about the telecom industry, about Google. That message is carried by marketing communications. If it weren’t, how would the information get out? The
24
M I R A G E
m a g a z i n e
Matt Suhre
Cordova: The populations we deal with
O L D V A L U E S , N E W M E D I A : President of McKee Wallwork Henderson, located in Albuquerque’s Old Town, Steve McKee sees the internet as a reality check on the accuracy of advertising messages.
advertising industry should get a Presidential Award for the service it provides to America! [laughter]
D. Johnson: It’s gargantuan. McKee: It’s new media. We can’t
D. Johnson: No bias there.
control it. Nobody can control it. That’s why it is so powerful.
McKee: Advertising gets a horribly bad
Cordova: It bypasses advertising.
rap simply because it needs a target.
It bypasses fact! You have to be very careful.
Price: What’s the power of the web in terms of communications and education in your industry? R. Johnson: It’s huge.
McKee: If a company’s product or
service is bad or not as advertised, it’s all over the web. It’s really a check on us that we are being genuine and sincere and honest.
D. Johnson: It has empowered the
consumer beyond anyone’s imagination because there is so much information at their fingertips. Even though we can’t control it, we welcome it because we love additional forms of media. R. Johnson: It’s in its very infancy. We
have no idea where it is headed, how portable it’s going to be, what kind of access we’ll have, or what the access mechanisms will be. But the fact is, it’s
Price: How would you tell our readers to evaluate political advertising? Cordova: Negative advertising is
essentially anti-democratic because its purpose is to turn down the vote. You’re trying to get people not to vote for the other person, not to vote at all. So political advertising in the last election was the most dangerous and damaging thing I’ve seen.
“I like to say that the difference between advertising and journalism is that advertisers are at least honest about their attempt to manipulate you.” —Steve McKee going to play a greater part in everybody’s life. Not everybody is wired in yet, but soon everybody will be. Every institution on the planet has to have a website. These things are going to become real time and they’re going to be updatable to and from any place in the world. Pretty soon, the access devise will be closing your eyes and looking at the inside of your eyelids and you’re not going to have to do anything anymore! You’re just going to think and there will be bio-electronic connections between people and their computers! It sounds like Buck Rogers, but it’s the real deal. Our industry has to embrace it entirely. It’s all coming at light speed. McKee: Which is horrifying but also
exciting to us in the industry because our clients are going to need more help. We have job security in that respect. R. Johnson: We all are selling the same
thing— brains and strategy. We’re not selling ads. We’re not selling press releases.
R. Johnson: I was reading the biography
of John Adams during the campaign this year. What I learned about the current campaign is that it is the heritage of our country. Our country was born in vitriolic journalism. The parties were publishing entire newspapers that would say the most defamatory things about people politically, professionally, and personally. McKee: Actually, I found the book
encouraging because I thought, “We’re not doing so bad.” D. Johnson: I would like it better if it
were still the old way. Politicians take these polls and just feed what they think people want. It’s not necessarily even what they believe. R. Johnson: Even though the integrity
of the industry is assailed, the fact is, our businesses and our industries really do take the high road. We are always trying to bring helpful information about products, services, people, and we don’t find ourselves locked into the cycle where the research or the polling results
album Anne Wilson, ’92 MA, teaches at the University of San Diego and at conferences nationwide. She has an upcoming feature, “Return to Jemez Canyon,” in Weber Studies (Ogden, Utah), as well as work in The Bitter Oleander, South Dakota Review, among many others. Carilyn Alarid, ’93 BSED, ’00 MA, is a behavior consultant for Albuquerque Public Schools and lives in Sedillo near Albuquerque. She and her sister, Marilyn Markel, ’84 BUS, collaborated on a children’s book just published by Sunstone Press in Santa Fe entitled Old Grandfather Teaches a Lesson, Mimbres Children Learn Respect. It is the first of a series of six books based on Character Counts themes. Robert Campbell, ’93 BA, and his wife, Tracie Walker Campbell, ’92 BA, have moved to Austin where Robert was named district sales manager for Household International, a division of HSBC. Polly McCord, ’93 BAFA, is the owner of a new arts-oriented personal travel service, The Artful Traveler, in Angel Fire. The firm provides customized itineraries for individuals or groups interested in the fine arts and letters of northern New Mexico. W. Mick McMahan, ’93 BA, is a senior financial consultant with the Albuquerque office of First Wall Street Corporation. He has passed the NASD general securities principal examination. He specializes in “conflict-free advice” for the private client group. Conrad Candelaria, ’94 ASCJ, ’01 BUS, has assumed command of the new Albuquerque Police Department’s Westside Area. Conrad lives in Torreon, New Mexico. Salvador Cicero, ’94 BA, of Chicago, is advisor to the Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights in the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs and works with international law, migration, and trafficking in people issues, among others. He recently received an award for early career achievement from Ohio State University. He credits his solid education at UNM for many of his recent accomplishments.
s p r i n g
2 0 0 5
25
unm
Cordova: You have to get back to liberal
education. I don’t think that educated people who are critical thinkers can be duped. They look at both sides and evaluate what makes sense or what is a lie. McKee: Isn’t it a marvelous system?
Matt Suhre
The day that I start agreeing with 75 percent of what I read and hear is a frightening day. The fact that we have multiple sides and the freedom to attack one another through ads, journalism, and whatever, and the responsibility to sift and sort out the truth for ourselves is fabulous. Education is absolutely crucial. My kids and I look at ads together, and I say, “Tell me why they did what they did. Why did they use that model or those words or that music and what are they trying to accomplish?” I try to get them to think critically.
H O N E S T Y T H E B E S T P O L I C Y : John Córdova, president of Hirst-Córdova Public Relations, says educated people recognize what makes sense and what doesn’t. Córdova stands in front of his business in Albuquerque.
say you’ve got to go at this particular thing to destroy the credibility of this particular candidate. There’s an enormous amount of integrity in our industry. It’s not the popular image that’s put forth in sitcoms and movies of ad guys with no scruples.
D. Johnson: The political ad agencies
are a hybrid of a traditional ad agency. McKee: Rarely has a luminary of our
business been involved in a campaign and actually had their work produced. When they have, it’s always been uplifting or comical.
McKee: And believe it or not, most of
the talented people in our industry who sign on for political campaigns typically get marginalized and are squeezed out. The ads for political campaigns are not coming from the advertising industry. They’re coming from a small cadre of political hacks.
26
M I R A G E
m a g a z i n e
Price: So, how do you understand what’s real and what’s not real? What’s true and what’s not true in this kind of political advertising? D. Johnson: Listen, listen, listen, and
read both sides and ignore the extremes. The truth, cliché though it is, is somewhere in the middle.
Price: Let’s just say that some extremes of political advertising are true and some are not. How do we help Mirage readers evaluate that? McKee: Our industry is governed by
the market and that’s why our clients behave themselves. They are governed by the market. I like to say that the difference between advertising and journalism is that advertisers are at least honest about their attempt to manipulate you. In other words, when an ad comes on you can say, “This is an ad,” and prepare yourself accordingly. D. Johnson: The reason that communication
professionals do a service to society is that we see gray, while a lot of journalists see black and white. I bristle at the word “slant” because we don’t consider what we do as slanted or spinning or any of the clichés about the PR industry. R. Johnson: Our industry as a whole
brings an additional screen of accuracy and honesty and integrity to the communications process. If someone brings us a story to be told about a product or a service, it has to get past
our personal standards as well. In my experience people in our industry do not sell out. They do not say, “Give me the money and we’ll say that.” Instead, many times marketing communications professionals say, “I’m not going to do that. You’ll have to go somewhere else,” or “Why don’t we say it this way?” Cordova: We’ve never had a client say “I
want you to lie about this.” What we do
McKee: I went to the New Mexico Bar
Association a couple of years ago because their research showed that people have a very poor opinion of attorneys. The funny thing is that the research showed only one profession lower—ad people. I asked the lawyers, “Why do you care? Do you personally have integrity?” “Yes!” “Well, then, what do you care what people generalize about your industry?” We fulfill a need
“One does need to be trained in journalism or marketing, but one has to know how to read and write first. A liberal education and life-long learning are keys to success.” —John Cordova say is that you always tell the truth. Now there are many ways to tell the truth. If you are a reader, and you are smart, then you know that there are many ways to present facts without lying. The practitioners who do lie are usually not in our professions; I’m afraid you’re finding a lot in politics. We fight for that distinction between political operatives and public relations professionals.
in society and people will always come to us and we operate with utmost integrity. If the price we pay is listening to the sermon about the Madison Avenue types, that’s okay. I can live with it. Cordova: We tell people, “Don’t ever lie
to your lawyer or to your PR person.” It’s good advice because you can’t help people if they are lying to you. Truth is very important in our professions.
D. Johnson: And advertising professionals.
P A R T I C I P A N T S John Cordova, ’61 BS, president of Hirst-Cordova Public Relations, www.hirstco.com Debbie Ullrich Johnson, ’74 BAED, president of Rick Johnson & Company, past chair of Affiliated Advertising International, www.rjc.com Rick Johnson, ’65 BA, chairman of Rick Johnson & Company, www.rjc.com Steve McKee, ’85 BABA, president and co-founder of McKee Wallwork Henderson, www.sherat.fatcow.com Moderator: VB Price, ’62 BA, has taught classes in UNM’s Honors Program since 1986. Visit his web site at www.vbprice.com.
album NanDei McAnally, ’94 BAFA, is proprietor of World Village Jewelry in Beaverton, Oregon. The firm makes discount-priced bracelets and dog tags to support Operation Freedom Calls’ purchase of phone cards for our soldiers overseas. “Supporting Those Who Serve” is permanently engraved on the cast aluminum items. David Ray Rosales, ’94 JD, has been elected managing partner of Jeffries, Rugge & Rosales, PC, in Albuquerque. He practices primarily in the area of first party insurance defense. Patrick Gabaldon, ’95 BA, has been promoted to branch manager of Charter Bank’s Westside Branch in Albuquerque. Susan M. Hapka, ’95 JD, has been elected shareholder at the Albuquerque/Santa Fe law firm of Sutin Thayer & Browne. Susan lives in Albuquerque. Jon Mathew Krueger, ’95 BAA, ’02 MBA, has joined the Albuquerque office of KPMG LLP as an audit senior associate. Art Maes, ’95 BABA, has been promoted to national account manager with Phillip Morris USA. He and his wife, Adriana, ’01 BABA, have relocated from Des Moines, Iowa, to Temple, Texas. Adriana will be pursuing a master’s degree in education at Texas State University in San Marcos. Sara Mitchell, ’95 DED, has received an Outstanding Alumni Award from Eastern New Mexico University in recognition of her extensive career in education in the Clovis area. She now resides in Albuquerque and is CEO of Hardly Dogs Greeting Card Company and works as an educational consultant. Tim O’Brien, ’95 BA, is co-owner and manager of Marrakesh Mercantile Company in Albuquerque, which sells Moroccan imports. Alison L. Rosner, ’95 BA, ’01 JD, has joined Sutin, Thayer & Browne, a law firm with offices in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. She practices primarily in the areas of commercial litigation, creditors’ rights, and secured collections. Dahlon Chu, ’96 MBA, has been promoted to manager, digital microelectronics department, at Sandia Lab in Albuquerque.
s p r i n g
2 0 0 5
27
looking at The Next Chapter
music of the heart
A family bands together to make “Americana� music
B Y
28
M I R A G E
J A N I C E
m a g a z i n e
M Y E R S
John Bowersmith
a
unm
All music is soul music—it’s just a matter of whose soul is being expressed. On the other hand, the very best music skips the middleman and connects directly to an elusive something that stirs in us all. The tapping toe, the lifted mood, the energy boost—even the most resistant are
altered, if only for a moment.
The Next Chapter, an “Americana” band made up of past and present UNM students who just happen to be a family, makes that kind of music. With an assemblage of instruments ranging from familiar (banjo and guitar) to exotic (mandolin and folk harp), The Next Chapter makes a glad noise that reaches in and grabs your heart and soul. At breakneck speed, mind you. Imagine the driving clack of Irish step-dancing combined with whirligig finger-picking, and you get an idea of this band’s approach to music. It’s tonal sparkle that flirts with frenzy. But not to worry: Just when your aural circuits seem ready to blow, they toss you a breather in the form of a mountain ballad or two. Then, once again, it’s off to the races. The members of the band – Jeanne and Shane Page and their children, Adam and Laurel – are warm and witty. Lobos all, they are also, it seems, endlessly talented.
Shane, ’78 BA, graduated from UNM with a degree in political science and works as a safety engineer on contract to Sandia National Labs. His low-key passion, though, is clearly music. The animated Jeanne, ’90 BS, ’92 MA, earned a bachelor’s in sign-language interpreting and a master’s in intercultural communication, and has taught sign language interpreting at UNM. Laurel, 21, is either naturally quiet or can’t get a word in edgewise. She’s following in Jeanne’s footsteps, majoring in sign-language interpreting. The supercharged Adam, 20, is majoring in marketing at UNM’s Anderson Schools of Management. Both Adam and Laurel are Presidential Scholars.
Jam and Preserves Traditional Americana is a homely cobbler of jam and preserves: the joyful jamming of mountain musicians and the preservation of old-time values.
DULCET—AND NOT SO DULCET—MUSIC-MAKERS: The Next Chapter, made up of musicians (left to right) Laurel, Adam, Shane, and Jeanne Page, brings the sounds of Ireland and Appalachia to 21st century audiences, awakening their hearts to the poignancy of the (left to right) fiddle, mandolin, bodhran, and hammered dulcimer.
Stephanie Jaquez, ’96 BSED, teaches English at Tibbetts Middle School in Farmington, New Mexico. Manuel D. Pino II, ’96 BSAU, ’04 MBA, works at Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque as department director of the GI Lab. Shane Evangelist, ’97 BABA, is now to senior vice president and general manager of BLOCKBUSTER Online. He is responsible for leading all activities related to Blockbuster’s recently launched online subscription service, including future business integration and expansion. He lives in Irving, Texas.
Jabeen Vagh
a
album
Jabeen Vagh, ’97 BABA, has been promoted to audit manager at Pulakos & Alongi, Ltd., in Albuquerque. Michael Carroll, ’99 BABA, has been promoted by Bank of America to banking center manager of the Carlisle Banking Center in Albuquerque. Julie Clover, ’99 BABA, has joined Neff + Ricci LLP in Albuquerque as an associate in the tax department. Pete Goldberg, ’99 BA, has returned to a longtime interest–auto mechanics–and opened Pete’s Auto Care in Albuquerque. Jessica M. Hernandez, ’99 BA, ’02 JD, has rejoined Rodey, Dickason, Sloan, Akin & Robb, PA, as an associate attorney in the litigation department. John L. Ross, ’99 BA, after several positions as reporter or editor in the North Carolina area, is managing editor of the Citizen Tribune. a mid-sized daily paper in Morristown, Tennessee. John is also managing editor of the Civil War Courier, a monthly, nationwide Civil War publication. During his tenure,
s p r i n g
2 0 0 5
29
unm
“About half of our music is purely instrumental; the other half is both vocal and instrumental,” says Adam. Americana lyrics tend to deal broadly with timeless themes such as the individual’s path through life. The cycles of nature can symbolize change and aging, or conversely, the promise of renewal. Recent films such as “O Brother Where Art Thou” and “Cold Mountain” have exposed the public to this folksy tradition that’s bouncing back with a fervor. “There’s been a huge revival of Americana music in the past few years,” says Jeanne, who serves as manager and booking agent for the group. “It started in the Southeast— North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia. It’s just taking hold in New Mexico.” Shane explains the genealogy of Americana: “The Irish brought Celtic music with them when they settled in Appalachia. Those tunes evolved into what is known as Old Time music, which ultimately led to Bluegrass.” Each of these musical forms has distinctive characteristics, but The Next Chapter weaves them together with finesse. The band’s unique spin on traditional songs, as well as Adam and Jeanne’s original compositions, takes Americana places it’s never been before. “We want to leave our own stamp on the music,” says Adam. It’s the same noble code of musicians that brought forth Mozart from Bach and the Beatles from Elvis.
Old as the Hills Although “dobro” and “dulcimer” are hardly household words, these instruments are literally as old as the hills. “Appalachian settlers didn’t have the quality instruments they’d had in
30
M I R A G E
m a g a z i n e
the Old Country,” says Shane. “They made their own, based on traditional Irish instruments.” Happily, today’s folk instruments please both ear and eye. The Pages proudly introduce the beautiful oddities with which they make their music. First is the bodhran (pronounced “boron”), an Irish open-frame drum that is played with a “tipper,” a thick, short stick. Shane demonstrates the bodhran’s utility both as a percussion instrument and, when inverted, a handy vessel for carrying peat. Mainly, though, Americana music is played on strings. The Irish bouzouki, mountain dulcimer, and dobro, like the guitar and the banjo, derive their
It Started With a “Noodle” Although Jeanne and Shane have always played guitar, a future in folk show biz was hardly preordained. An unusual gift started the process. “Shane’s mom gave us a mountain dulcimer one year for Christmas,” says Jeanne. “We just started noodling around with it.” Because it’s fairly easy to transition from one stringed instrument to the next, they began to acquire more folk instruments. Not that it was simple. “There weren’t many sources of quality folk instruments,” says Shane. “So we opened a music store, Apple Mountain Music, in 1996.” The Pages sold the business last year, but continue to be instrumental (pun intended) in
Traditional Americana is a homely cobbler of jam and preserves: the joyful jamming of mountain musicians and the preservation of old-time values. unique voices from variations in body shape and depth, the acoustic properties of different woods, and the number and alignment of strings. The folk harp is shaped like a classical harp, but shorter and crafted of wood. The hammered dulcimer is a 73-string trip to heaven. It’s a portable, free-standing instrument played percussion-style, with delicate metal hammers. “It comes from the psaltry family, which developed into the harpsichord and then the piano. The strings are struck rather than plucked, and it’s got a chime-like quality,” explains Jeanne. With a flick of the wrist, she elicits a solid thunk that is absolutely... satisfying.
fostering appreciation of the genre. Jeanne has authored several books of music for the hammered dulcimer that have been published by Mel Bay, the largest distributor of music books in the country. “There was a real lack of music for the instrument,” says Jeanne, who has three more books in the pipeline.
The $2.20 Gig The Next Chapter has played for audiences as large as 12,000, but it wasn’t always that way. “Our smallest audience was three,” says Shane. “That was my parents and one other woman.” That particular performance took place outside a craft show in 1993. Jeanne and Shane originally played
together, sans children, as a duo. “We wanted to try out our eight-song repertoire in public,” Shane says. “So we got permission to play outside the show. A woman came up to us and asked why we didn’t open the guitar case for people to throw money in. So we did, and the woman tossed in $2.” It was a defining moment. “We knew we had become professionals,” laughs Shane. His mother, however, deadpanned, “Don’t get too full of yourselves. That woman was drunk.” Although that particular performance grossed only an additional 20 cents, show organizers eventually asked them to move inside, because potential customers were staying outside to listen to the music.
November and December 2004. The family’s latest CD, “The Way or the Road,” features both Laurel’s vocals and the graphic materials she produces for the band, including the CD’s cover art. The band’s Christmas concerts were cleverly planned to engage the audience. “We start with a version of ‘Hangman’s Reel,’ a traditional Irish dance tune,” says Shane. “That allows us to introduce several instruments right away. We play it slow, then transition to really fast. It’s sort of like taking a 33 rpm recording (remember vinyl records?) and playing it at 78 rpm.” Repetition and speed add up to an almost-hypnotic experience. “This is feel-good music,” says Jeanne. “It’s heart music.”
“A Hummingbird on Speed” As a band, The Next Chapter is a fairly recent phenomenon. “We never set out to play as a family,” says Jeanne. “But it’s really satisfying to know that our children enjoy being and playing with us.” Adam, previously a guitarist in a garage band, became enamored of Americana when he worked off the cost of repairing a bent fender in the family’s store. Following the family tradition of noodling on folk instruments, he soon was hooked. Adam writes original songs for The Next Chapter, who characterize his energetic string work as “a hummingbird on speed.” Having performed in various capacities since the age of six, Laurel decided to play along with the family obsession. After attending a concert by the “dynamite” fiddling group Leahy in mid-2004, she decided to take up the fiddle. She made her instrumental and vocal debut with The Next Chapter in a series of Celtic music concerts in
Music Appreciation Most listeners don’t know their Celtic from their Old Time from their Bluegrass. But even ignorance is bliss when it comes to The Next Chapter’s music. For those with inquiring minds, however, Shane and Jeanne helped establish the annual Albuquerque Folk Festival (www.abqfolkfest.org), now in its seventh year. The festival is geared toward individuals with no previous exposure to Americana music. “We have 75 different workshops that range from singing to songwriting to teaching people to play the various instruments,” says Shane. His bodhran course has would-be drummers thumping on pizza boxes. “I’m always disappointed that they don’t come loaded with pizza,” laughs Adam. ••• When the last note fades, the listener can’t help but feel a tiny sense of loss. But take heart. Chances are very good that this family will just keep fiddling around.
album the newspaper has won numerous state and national awards for design, writing, photography, and column writing. Anne Boynton Aspen, ’00 MARC, is a city planner for Fort Collins, Colorado. She and her partner, Jane, adopted their grandkids’ last name this past year to celebrate their anniversary. Sarita Nair, ’00 MCRP, ’03 JD, has joined the Sutin Thayer & Browne law firm with offices in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. She practices primarily in the areas of nonprofit, corporate, probate, and trusts. David Pacheco, ’00 BA, is an attorney with the Office of the University Counsel for the University of Colorado at Boulder. Christopher Chavez, ’01 BSHE, of Albuquerque, has joined Think New Mexico as field director. Jolene Altwies, ’02 BUS, received the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office award for Outstanding Investigator of 2004. She has been with the office’s investigations division since 1999. She lives in Albuquerque. Rosanne Cooper, ’02 BABA, works in the audit department of Atkinson & Company, Ltd., in Albuquerque. La’Tasia Dyer, ’02 BABA, is the new membership services manager at the Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau. Chris Lee, ’02 JD, is now an associate attorney in the litigation department at the Albuquerque firm of Rodey, Dickason, Sloan, Akin & Robb. Chris Lopez, ’02 MCRP, has received a promotion to partnerships manager of the Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program by the Regional Development Corporation. Chris lives in Santa Fe. Nancy Bryant McDonald, ’02 PhD, of Placitas, has been promoted from campus college chair for education to director of academic affairs for the University of Phoenix New Mexico campuses. Noah Trujillo, ’02 BA, has become sports marketing coordinator at the Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau.
s p r i n g
2 0 0 5
31
looking at weather guys
unm It’s fitting that New Mexico, a place where the weather ranges from comically hot to seriously dry, should have produced a pair of weathermen— George Fischbeck & James Quiñones— who combine a serious love of the
w
weather with entertaining personalities.
mostly sunny BY
ELIZABETH
HANES
32
M I R A G E
m a g a z i n e
Mark Sullivan/WireImage.com
with a chance for an Emmy
w
album
When it comes to the weather, we don’t expect too Jaime Dawes
much from our television forecasters. We demand accuracy. (Perfection might be a better term.) We want to be educated. (Don’t tell us graupel is falling from the sky. Explain what the heck graupel is.) Oh, and we want to be entertained. (Your delivery too dry? Buh-bye.)
As it turns out, UNM excels at turning out forecasters who entertain and educate. (As for accuracy, well, that’s up to you to decide!) Over the decades, two of our alumni have gone on to prestigious careers in weather. One even won an Emmy.
Dr. George, as George Fischbeck, ’55 MA, is fondly known, might be the best-loved meteorologist of all time, even though he didn’t start out to pursue weather-forecasting. He planned to be a teacher. Idolized by a generation of boys and girls who grew up watching his science program on KNME-TV during the early 1960s, Fischbeck took his love of teaching with him when he became KOB-TV’s weatherman in the mid ’60s. “I’m an old schoolteacher, and teachers don’t use notes. I never used cue cards or a TelePrompTer or any of that stuff,” Fischbeck said, “and there have been many times when I’d forget [to deliver] the forecast
because the weather is so interesting and so exciting, and I’d get to talking about that.” It’s this infectious enthusiasm that turns people into Dr. George fans. Yet while he used more than a dollop of humor in his delivery, he never trivialized the forecast itself. Weather is important to people, and Fischbeck always was sensitive to this: “Women [would] call me up, and they’d say, ‘Dr. George, is it going to rain on June the 30th? My daughter’s getting married.’ Now, you have to be very careful there because you don’t want to disappoint the lady, you don’t want to make her feel bad [for asking]. So, I’d say, ‘Well, if it does [rain], I want to warn you, the bride will be exceedingly fertile.’ And the mother loves that, and she’s happy, and the bride is happy.” While understanding how serious the issue of weather is to people, Dr. George also is quick to demystify the forecasting process.
A F A M I L I A R F A C E W I T H T H E F O R E C A S T : First New Mexicans then Californians were entertained and informed by George Fischbeck as he expounded about the weather on their TV sets. Dr. George was recently honored with the Governors Award for Lifetime Achievement Emmy from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Jaime L. Dawes, ’03 JD, has recently been hired by the Albuquerque law firm of Sheehan, Sheehan & Stelzner, PA, as an associate. She is involved in litigation and appellate practice. Jaime recently completed a clerkship for the Honorable Harris L. Hartz of the US Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit. Jesse Herron, ’03 BABA, formerly an intern, has become membership assistant at the Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau. Roberta Madeyski, ’03 MSN, works in the neonatal intensive care unit at University Hospital. Navy Seaman Apolonio P. Montejano, ’03 BUS, recently completed US Navy basic training at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Illinois. Bonita Ortiz, ’03 MAPA, has been elected chair-elect of the paralegal division of the New Mexico State Bar. Bonita is a certified paralegal specialist at the University Counsel’s Office at UNM. Quentin Smith, ’03 JD, has joined Gilkey & Stephenson in Albuquerque as an associate. Colin Hallahan, ’04 BBA, is an associate in the audit department at Neff + Ricci LLP in Albuquerque. Helen Hecht, ’04 JD, has joined the law firm of Sutin Thayer & Browne with offices in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. She practices mainly in the area of state and federal taxes. She is a member of the board of the Association of Commerce and Industry, serves on the ACI taxation committee, and is a founding board member of the New Mexico Tax Research Institute.
s p r i n g
2 0 0 5
33
“It may come as a shock to other people, but no man knows the future,” he says. “The future is basically unknowable. All we [forecasters] do is see what happened in the past, and what is happening now, and the speed of conditions that are moving in. That’s all.” The same could be said of life, of course. It’s as unpredictable as the weather. Such unpredictability hit Fischbeck in 1971. Although he was happy in his gig at KOB, someone sent a tape of him to industry headhunters–professional recruiters. They, in turn, sent the tape to KABC-TV in Los Angeles. Hollywood wanted Dr. George and was very persistent in luring him to California. “They called me every two or three weeks from February to October,” Fischbeck says, “and always I gave them the same answer: ‘No, thank you. I’m happy here. I would feel I was leaving my family.’” Eventually, he realized he’d been ignoring opportunity’s knock. To Dr. George, success in life means seizing chances as they’re presented. “Take every opportunity you can get and value every friend you can get, too, because between the two, you’re headed to success,” he says. True to his philosophy, Dr. George
courtesy James Quiñones
unm
T H E G O O D N E W S I S T H E W E A T H E R ! James Quiñones forecasts “the best weather in the country” on KGTV in San Diego, although he weathered some storms on his way there.
Sciences. It’s a prestigious award, but no more valuable than a different award he won in 1977: the UNM Alumni Association Award of Distinction. “Let me tell you,” Fischbeck says, “that award is in the place of honor, on a shelf near my bed. It’s very special. It’s right next to my Emmys.” These days, Dr. George volunteers as a docent at the Los Angeles Zoo. He occasionally returns to Albuquerque
“It may come as a shock to other people, but no man knows the future. The future is basically unknowable. All we [forecasters] do is see what happened in the past, and what is happening now, and the speed of conditions that are moving in. That’s all.” — George Fischbeck finally took the opportunity to move to California. He became KABC’s meteorologist in 1972 and stayed until he retired in 1996. In 2003, he was awarded the Governors Award for Lifetime Achievement Emmy, presented by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Television Arts and 34
M I R A G E
m a g a z i n e
to visit friends or attend the Balloon Fiesta. “There used to be a saying, ‘you can take the boy out of the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the boy,’” Fischbeck says. “Well, the same thing is true of me and New Mexico. It is my home.”
James Quiñones
, ’91 BUS, weatherman at KGTV in San Diego, describes his career thusly: “Lots of sunshine with scattered thunderstorms.” A self-described “weather geek,” he didn’t start out to be a weatherman and doesn’t have a background in science. As an undergraduate, he changed majors several times. Finally, he landed at the Daily Lobo, working as a photojournalist. “They not only paid me $15 a picture, but I got free film,” Quiñones chuckles. “I thought, ‘This is awesome!’” A career began to germinate. As he approached his final year of college, however, he realized he didn’t have a passion for photojournalism. His search for direction led to a meeting with communications instructor Diane Ferdinand, whom he begged for admission into her video journalism course, “Campus Report,” in which students produced a weekly television news program. “We shot a half-hour show at the old Spanish station, and it aired on cable access,’” Quiñones says. “The
cool thing of it was, [our channel was] right around the MTV channel on the cable box, so as kids were flipping over to MTV, they would hit ‘Campus Report’ and see me, so I was starting to become a little bit of a celebrity on campus.” This on-air experience whetted his appetite for broadcasting. With his newly minted BUS degree in hand, he worked as a reporter and freelancevideographer for a couple of local TV stations but discovered reporting wasn’t for him. “I had always wanted to do the weather,” he says. “But no one would help me [learn how].” It didn’t help that he lacked scientific credentials. To improve his chances of becoming a weatherman, Quiñones took meteorology courses at Mississippi State University. The strategy worked. He landed his first weather position in Providence, Rhode Island. Or, rather, he landed several positions. He worked for WPRO-AM, the New England Weather Bureau, WLNE-TV, and MCTV, performing functions ranging from voice-over jobs to radio production. Yet even with so much work, he found himself waiting tables at an Italian restaurant in order to survive. “I paid some serious dues,” he says. The broadcast industry is as capricious as the weather, and the summer of 1998 found Quiñones unemployed, having lost a full-time forecaster position in Corpus Christi, Texas. “I applied to all of the Albuquerque stations, but none of them would hire me. They told me I wasn’t good enough for this market,” Quiñones says in disbelief. “I was New Mexico born and bred. I even knew how to pronounce all the quirky [city names] like Pojoaque. It was really disappointing.” To make ends meet, he took a job painting fences at a friend’s ranch in Texas, which gave him plenty of time to
contemplate his future in broadcasting. “One day, when it was about 120 degrees in the shade, the neighbor drove over the hill and told me, ‘Hey, there’s someone who’s been trying to get ahold of you something fierce.’ He said it was [my agent]. I said, ‘Oh, no,’ because by this time I’d already sworn off TV.” When his agent told him KGTV in San Diego was interested in hiring him, Quiñones brushed it off with sarcasm. “I said, ‘Yeah, right, San Diego’s interested in me.’” Nevertheless, he decided to take a “free vacation” to southern California to audition. When the station flew him back a second time, he figured they were serious. By the time they hired him, he’d regained his sense of humor. As Quiñones tells the story, “After the second audition, the GM says to the news director [in front of me], ‘We’ve got a real problem. This kid is so terrible, he’ll never work again. He stinks. We have to hire him because nobody else will, if we don’t.’ And I looked up, and he put his hand out and said, ‘Welcome to San Diego.’” Quiñones has been KGTV’s full-time weatherman ever since. “San Diego is America’s finest city,” Quiñones says. “I miss Albuquerque and will always consider it home. But I love being part of a big city like this. We have the best weather in the country, and I get to predict it. ‘Sunny and 72, back to you,’” he laughs.
album Helen Van Riper, ’04 BABA, has recently joined Barraclough & Associates as an accountant. She lives in Espanola. Kathryn E. Terry, ’04 JD, is an attorney with Wolf & Fox, PC, in Albuquerque. She lives in Sandia Park.
in memoriam Alvin Whitmore Gerhardt, ’28 Eunice Herkenhoff Adams, ’29 Maurice Carl Lipp, ’32 Virginia Alice Bandy Seery, ’32 Ann Komadina, ’33, ’34 Ruth LeCompte, ’33 Ruth Elizabeth Smith, ’35 Jeanne Scott Roehl, ’36 Edwin L. Felter, ’37 William Edward Hale, ’38 Helen L. Iden, ’38 E. Virginia Merz Bell, ’40 William S. Sharp, ’40 Charles Benjamin Thompson, ’40 Ernst Herman Blumenthal, ’41 Lynch Steiner, ’41 Lemoyne B. Stiles, ’41 Shirley A. Earickson, ’42 Louise Spector, ’43 Charlotte Johnson Toulouse, '44 Verne Eugene Blake Jr., ’46 Diana Wolf Kinney, ’46 Arlene Shillingburg, ’46 Louis Joseph Previati Jr., ’48 William C. Bennett, ’49 Malcolm H. Groll, ’49 Lauren C. “Larry” Harper, ’49, ’52 Thomas F. Laney, ’49 Lois M. Morris, ’49 Clara M. Stumpff, ’49 Mary Franklin, ’50 Russell Knudson, ’50 John R. Prevost, ’50 Dale B. Walker, ’50 John B. Wise, ’50 Frank B. Cortese Sr., ’51 Alice Blue Figge, ’51 Howell Spear, ’51 Vernice E. Ghent, ’52 Jerry D. Harris, ’52 Heister Hower Drum, ’53 Charles Koulias, ’53 Patricia Sue Le Fevre Neely, ’53 James W. Rakes, ’53 Leroy H. Stradford, Sr., ’53 Anne P. Walraven, ’53
s p r i n g
2 0 0 5
35
Young alumni in Teach for America see their grassroots efforts as a launching ground for changes in education.
one small step for a child,
one giant leap for children B Y
36
M I R A G E
L A U R I E
m a g a z i n e
M E L L A S
R A M I R E Z
Roger Hawkins
looking at Teach for America
unm
c
album
Close the education gap, level the playing field, eliminate inequality–can we reach the moon by hiring our stars? Teach for America, a national teaching corps, is 12,000 members strong in 22 cities, and growing. The program taps talented young university alumni to transform troubled public schools and, in the process, strengthens the new teachers’ futures. A two-year commitment earns recruits $9,400 to pay student loans or attend graduate school. Nearly two-thirds of Teach For America revenue comes from supporters in regions where members teach. Americorps provides some funding and the individual school districts supply salaries, consisting of typical first-year-teacher pay. Only 20 UNM graduates have participated during the corps’ 15-year history, but the TFA recently elevated UNM to a Tier A school. The university was assigned a recruitment director who leads a cadre of volunteers to pinpoint the best and brightest. Other Tier A schools include Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford. Exceeding any financial benefit for member teachers is the emotional growth and real-world preparation for their next career phase. With firsthand classroom experience, corps graduates found new schools, advance to administrative and board positions,
and engage businesses and organizations in education.
Hit the Ground Running—Phoenix “Talk about real-life skills in a hurry,” shares Sarah Bullard, ’02 BA, a political science major from Santa Fe County. A few months after earning her degree in political science, Bullard— a student leader and Trailblazer while at UNM—was teaching math and science to sixth-graders in inner city Phoenix. Most of her students come from low-income or immigrant families and are one to two levels behind in reading and math. “I went from living at home, to the dorms, to a sorority house, to Phoenix,” says Bullard, who signed on for a third year teaching at Underdown Junior High School. “It’s challenging and brings something new everyday. If I had to do it all over again, I surely would. This experience has given me more direction than anything I could have done.” After earning a BA in political science and professional writing from UNM, longtime boyfriend Josh Aragon, ’03, joined Bullard in the Corps. He teaches an eighth grade special education class
A N S W E R I N G T H E C H A L L E N G E : Josh Aragon teaches an eighth grade special ed class in South Phoenix while Sarah Bullard teaches math and science to sixth-graders in the inner city. Both say their Teach for America experience is rewarding, and has given them direction for the future.
more in memoriam Charlotte Owen Williams, ’53 Bill G. Taylor, ’54 Douglas M. Chapel, ’55 Robert Farley, ’55, ’56 Barbara Fee Bogan, ’56 A. Douglass Hughes, Jr., ’56 Robert W. Maxwell, ’56 James Ronald Rogers, ’56 Austin “Art” Arthur, ’57 Samuel Billison, ’57 George Edwin Shepperson, ’57 Robert C. Euler, ’58 David Niels Cargo, ’59 James O. Coupland, ’59 William Booker Kelly, ’59 Ray Smith, ’60 Don O. Snyder, ’60. ’62, ’72 Monte Dean Doyle, ’61 Vito M. Miera, Jr., ’61 Helyn K. Moyer, ’61, ’66 J. Richard Baumgartner, ’62, ’67 Ruth Miriam Bryson, ’62 Oscar L. Oren, ’62 Mary E. Schoenfeld, ’62 Clint Helton, ’63 Jo Martin Noble, ’63 John G. O’Conner, ’63 Johnnie M. Pieper, ’63 Nellita Elizabeth Walker, ’63 Ralph C. Youngberg, ’63 Balconides Tafoya, ’66 Terry De La Porte, ’68, ’73 Clyde Eric Fulton, ’68 R. M. Higgenbotham, ’68 Kay L. Loftin, ’68 Malcolm James Snyder, ’68 Santiago Jim Stockton, ’68, ’80 Patricia Keely Kerr-Sanders, ’69, ’82 John Robert Lyle, Jr., ’69, ’76 James R. Cole, ’70 Allen Paul Gerlach, ’70, ’73, ’88 Donald T. Sewell, ’70 Edmund “Joe” Lang, ’71, ’74 William Leo Burns, ’72 Barbara D’Ambrosio, ’73 Robert Lawrence, ’73 Dennis Maxwell Pascal, ’73 Robert E. Phelps, ’74 James P. Swedeen, ’74 Lawrence John Tate, ’74 Valerie Gerard Dillon, ’75, ’80 Earl Randolph Greaver, ’75, ’77 Alberta Kusnetz, ’75 Robert Joseph Shanley, ’75 Ricardo Aguilar-Melantzon, ’76
s p r i n g
2 0 0 5
37
unm at Ed and Verma Pastor Elementary School in South Phoenix. Neither of the recent UNM graduates had had teaching as a goal. That’s because Teach for America targets top-ranked students in a variety of disciplines who possess leadership skills, Bullard says. Students are subject to a fairly rigorous rubric and must complete an intensive five-week summer teaching institute at one of three national sites. Not without criticism, the corps has been accused of placing inexperienced teachers in challenging classrooms. But in their 2004 independent study, Kane, Parsons & Associates, Inc., cite that three out of four principals in the Phoenix area rate Teach For America teachers as more effective than other beginning teachers with respect to improving student achievement. The study noted corps members’ hard work, dedication to teaching, and ability to learn and adapt quickly as primary reasons for the high rankings. “I thought about law school, but I wanted to do something to give back to the community right away,” Aragon says. “Initially, I did not apply to teach special education. I received the assignment about a week before I arrived. But now, I can’t imagine what it’s like to do anything else.” During the 2003-04 school year, Bullard taught a self-contained class of sixth graders all six subjects. Although she aspires to attend law school, she extended her contract when the school agreed she could keep most of the students for a second year. “I love my kids and that’s what it came down to. You make real connections. I thought, ‘One more year and there is no stopping us.’” Bullard took coursework at the local community college to beef up
38
M I R A G E
m a g a z i n e
math and science skills, but the real challenge is an education system steeped in social injustice, she says. Often, children arrive for class sleepy and unfed. “Students who are not fluent in English have a hard time because there are just not enough qualified teachers and resources to give them all the support they deserve,” Bullard says. “I see so much discrimination. People are uneducated about their rights and their child’s rights and the services available to them. I want to be on the side of people who have nowhere to turn. Ultimately, I’d like to propose new special education legislation.” Aragon, now 25, will complete his two-year teaching stint in 2006. He leans toward a future in administration and is taking coursework required for a master’s degree and a principalship. He sees both a shortage of teachers and good administrators. “You can make a real difference in kids’ lives if you push and challenge them. It’s hard to walk away from that,” he says. Asked to provide an example of a child who excelled under his tutelage, he responds without hesitation, “Iliana.” The 12-year-old girl from Mexico lacked English language skills and tested consistent for a learning disability. Reading at third grade level, she could not grasp mathematical concepts, but could follow directions. “I pushed her. I kept her after school and taught her how the English language worked and she progressed five grade levels in one year,” Aragon says. “People were stunned that she had that much growth.” All children have similar potential, he believes. Much of Aragon’s was realized at UNM. Raised in Los Lunas, he attended college on the lottery scholarship, served as Phi Delta Theta
president for a year, and completed two terms serving in Associated Students for UNM. “I tried to make a difference at UNM,” he says. About to graduate, he thought, “What could I do to make a difference in the larger world?” Teach for America was the answer.
See the Possibilities— Washington, DC For Sarah McKinney, ’03 BA, who studied political science and Spanish at UNM, teaching had indeed been a goal. “A friend mentioned TFA my sophomore year and I applied when I was a senior,” she says. “I wanted the teaching experience to help focus and inform my direction in graduate school.” McKinney, a Regents’ scholar who graduated from Albuquerque’s Eldorado High School, researched other teaching programs, but chose Teach for America because it “brings together people with a common vision. One of the best things about it is the corps of people you get to meet. I know I will turn to these people as a resource professionally,” she says. McKinney secured a position in Washington, DC, on Capitol Hill. Slated originally to teach high school Spanish, instead she was asked to fill a pre-K special education post. “I was open to the experience and I have an interest in early childhood education, so I decided to give it a shot,” she says. Children with a range of disabilities– from autism to speech and language impairments to physical challenges– and those who can’t access a traditional curriculum make up classroom 126 at JO Wilson Elementary. Some 98 percent of the students qualify for free and reduced-price lunches and 99 percent are African American. “Because I work with a smaller number of students, I’ve
courtesy Sarah McKinney
Sarah McKinney
gotten to know the children and their families and that’s what I like about special education. It also keeps you on your toes.” Like Aragon, she easily recalled an instance where she had made a difference. “Last year, Jason was placed in my classroom due to speech and language difficulties and some developmental delays. By the end of the school year, with the help of a teacher in the general education pre-kindergarten class and
from his father, Jason developed the skills needed to be included in a full-time general education program,” she recalls. She and Jason took baby steps to reach their goal. He and McKinney’s class would spend short periods of time with the general education class. Eventually, Jason would visit the class for two hours a day without her supervision. He slowly gained the speech, language, and social skills to advance fully. “This year, some of my proudest moments are seeing Jason walking in line as part of the kindergarten class. I frequently get reports from his teacher. He is learning to read and he loves school,” McKinney notes. A student leader at UNM, McKinney served with ASUNM and worked for Student Special Events holding cultural and executive director posts. She built skills and learned how to operate in a team environment. “Student activities open doors and
broaden the view of what you can do when college is over. You think broader than getting a job. I couldn’t have expected to run my own classroom without those experiences,” she says. She and other corps members also receive ongoing support from regional offices that facilitate professional development. They are informed about No Child Left Behind requirements, organize cohorts and learning teams, and foster partnerships with higher
“I chose Teach for America because it brings together people with a common vision.” —Sarah McKinney Pre-K teacher in Washington, DC
education institutions for teacher certification and/or master’s programs. “Our goal is to close the achievement gap and to do what we need to assure that our corps members are as highly effective as possible,” says Miwa Powell, executive director of the Washington, DC, Teach for America office. In 2004, nearly 63 percent of the corps continued to teach or were enrolled in education-related programs after their TFA service. McKinney is taking courses at George Washington University and has applied for graduate school at the University of Wisconsin where she plans to study school administration. She’s thinking broader again. “I’ve learned an important lesson,” she says. “If I can overcome so much in the classroom, imagine being able to do that as an administrator of a school or a school system.”
album more in memoriam James Alexander Formhals, ’76 Kenneth Lloyd Kemp, ’76, ’81 William McKay Ryan, ’76 Paul Albert Santistevan, ’76 Ervin W. Lewis, ’77 Laura Anne King, ’78 Robert Earl Alderman, ’80 Olive J. Hammett, ’80 Gary Golden, ’81 Theo B. Greer, ’81, ’87, ’88 Sharon K. Meketa, ’81 Joseph Michael Vigil, ’81 Laurence William Anderson, ’86 Margaret “Margo” L. Goff, ’89 Michael Ledlow, ’91, ’94 Annette A. Sautter, ’91 Joe Louck, ’93 Albert Joseph Carr, ’94 Joseph V. Otero, ’95 Mary Elizabeth Annen, ’97 Jasper J. Toledo, ’97 Dolores Butt, professor emerita Richard Clough, professor emeritus Sanford Cohen, professor emeritus Shirley Earickson, associate dean emerita, Graduate School Bob King, former men’s basketball coach Bob Lawrence, professor emeritus Alfred L. Parker, professor emeritus Everett M. Rogers, professor emeritus Wilhelm Friedrich Rosenblatt, former adjunct professor Hugh W. Treadwell, former director, UNM Press Robert Utter, former faculty Robert Charles Vanderwagen, house staff
apologia Eugene A. Valentine, ’77, is owed our apologies. He is very much alive. (See classnote.) Don Riggle, Jr., ’71, is alive and well, kicking back in Colorado. It was his father, Don Riggle, Sr., who passed away.
s p r i n g
2 0 0 5
39
see what you can do
unm
Young alumni are eager to build the University Honors Program
f
endowment.
40
M I R A G E
m a g a z i n e
Matt Surhe
the fresh of
f
album
For most recent college graduates, philanthropy is something to get around to eventually, after they become established and experienced. But five young UNM alumni, all of whom graduated
Kathleen Wiggins, ’80 BUS, and Gregory Smelser Pam Lambert, ’82 MAPA, ’84 JD, and Dave Mills
within the past 10 years, have chosen to give back to their school
Rosa Matonti, ’86 BSNU, and Eric Montoya
sooner rather than later. Larry Montaño, Chamiza Atencio-Pacheco,
Michael Schreiber, ’86 BSCE, ’93 MBA, and Cynthia Spear Farley Vener, ’89 BABA, and Berrin Basak
Ann Speed, Andrea Roth, and Cyrus Martínez—all former honors
Stephen Madeyski, ’91 MBA, ’97 MEME, and Roberta Holt, ’03 MSNU
students—have become charter members of the newly created
William Browning, ’92 BA, and Hilary Gustave
Honors Program Endowment.
Dale Dina Candelaria, ’92 BS, and Mark R. Dietz, ’97 BA
According to Rosalie Otero, director of the University Honors Program (UHP), a group of charter donors of all ages created the endowment last year to support a variety of purposes within the UHP. For example, the funds could be used to help students attend conferences, provide or replace badly needed equipment, renovate the UHP facility so that the building would have a designated library, and more. In short, Otero says, “This endowment lets us get done what we need to have done.”
The charter members made gifts to the endowment as a way of saying “thank you” to the institution that provided them with an unforgettable educational experience. UHP is part of University College, into which all undergraduate students are automatically enrolled when they begin attending UNM. The college gives students the option of designing their own degree, a bachelor of university studies (BUS), from two or more disciplines.
faces philanthropy B Y
marriages Tom Tunney, ’67 BA, and Charlene Chavez, ’75 BAFA
M I C H E L L E
G .
M c R U I Z
Ignacio Perez, ’92 BA, and Marissa Nordstrom, ’01 MA Kelly Smyer, ’93 BA, and Bruce Thompson, ’03 JD Christian C. Navarro, ’95 BA, and Jill R. Garrison Erin Crowther, ’96 BA, and Michael Clarke Kieu Nga T. Do, ’96 BS, and Ronald J. Tosta Jed Donaldson, ’96 BSME, and Jennifer Marrone Stephanie Lynn McGraw, ’96 BA, and Bryan Mitchell Bennett Priscilla Benavides, ’97 BSCE, and Jake Ridley Jeffrey Casey, ’98 BABA, ’00 MBA, and Charlotte Price, ’99 BA Kristen James, ’98 BAA, and Michael Dunn Christopher Maestas, ’98 BSCS, and Helen Dorado-Gray, ’00 BA Gerhard Daday II, ’99 MA, ’04 PhD, and Rebekah Dunbar Jeanette Aragon, ’94 BSED, ’01 MA, and Thomas Macaulay Jessica Lovato, ’99 BA, and Francis Morning Eva Nagyvary, ’99 MA, and Richard Staley
F O C U S E D P H I L A N T H R O P I S T : Now an attorney at Albuquerque’s Modrall Sperling, Chamiza Atencio-Pacheco, ’00 BA, contributed to the University Honors Program endowment because she wanted to help not just the university but the community. She thinks the program gives students a strong connection to the state.
Carlos Olivas, ’00 BS, and Toni-Marie Vigil, ’02 BSED Leah Mae Albin, ’01 BA, and Mason Markley, ’01 BA
s p r i n g
2 0 0 5
41
unm
Humanities Exposure “It was the most wonderful program,” says Larry Montaño, who graduated with a BUS in mathematics in 1996 and earned his JD from UNM School of Law in 1999. “I’m still very close to Dr. Otero and still very good friends with Dr. Diane [Rawls] and Larry Montaño, ’96 BUS, ’99 JD Dr. Ron Reichel (lecturers in the Honors Program). I want to do everything I can to support them.” Montaño, who primarily practices natural resources litigation at Holland & Hart in Santa Fe, credits UHP for influencing him to choose law over nuclear engineering. “Because of my exposure to the humanities [in UHP] and being able to read and write, versus programming and whatever else I was doing, I felt encouraged to go to law school,” he says. “I hope that the program does for other young students what it did for me: open their eyes to different disciplines.”
Community Focus Chamiza Atencio-Pacheco, who graduated in 2000 with a BA in political science and economics-philosophy, went on to earn her JD from Yale Law School. For her, the motivation to give came from a desire to help not only the university, but also the community at large.
“Albuquerque has so many needs,” she says. “I think the Honors Program instills a commitment to community and gives people a strong connection to the state.” Atencio-Pacheco’s law practice at Modrall Sperling focuses on trusts and estates, real estate transactions, and education law. She says that UHP prepared her well for law school. She would like to see future honors students leave the state only temporarily—“to further their experiences and use the experience they have gained to come back to Albuquerque and help the community grow.”
Real World Applications For some alumni, the most valuable aspect of UHP was its strong preparation for graduate study and careers. For others, like Ann Speed, the interdisciplinary focus of the program opened the door to a broader perspective and deeper understanding of current world issues. “Interdisciplinary students discuss things together rather than just sit around and listen to lectures,” says Speed, who earned her BA in 1993, then received master’s and doctoral degrees from Louisiana State University. She now conducts cognitive systems research at Sandia National Laboratories. “[In UHP] we talked about real-world problems and applied whatever we were reading at the time to those problems.”
Cyrus Martínez, ’98 BA
Welcoming Environment UHP was an oasis for Cyrus Martínez, who earned his BA in economics and religious studies in 1998. Originally from Mora, New Mexico, Martínez had 45 people in his graduating class at high school. Making the adjustment from a small town to a large urban university was challenging at times, but he found UHP’s small classes a “welcoming environment.” “I evolved as a student there,” he says. “I took a great variety of classes—one was ‘learning Italian through opera’—and went to Mexico and to Spain.” Like the other alumni, Cyrus developed close friendships with the faculty members of UHP and still maintains contact with them. After graduation, he earned a JD from Northwestern University School of Law and now practices labor and employment law at Steptoe & Johnson, LLP, in Phoenix.
Broader Perspective Many UHP students receive their first exposure to the humanities through the program’s seminar classes. Andrea Roth, a
Andrea Roth, ’95 BUS
42
M I R A G E
m a g a z i n e
album 1995 graduate who received a law degree from Yale Law School in 1998, says that her favorite class was “Wildness and Domestication” with Dr. Michael Thomas. “It was about nature and how we see nature as The Other,” she says. “The class culminated in a five-day adventure in the San Pedro Wilderness.” Roth currently works for the Public Defender Service in Washington, DC, and remembers her UHP experiences fondly. “The interdisciplinary approach really contributed to making my education much broader than it otherwise would have been. I want to pay back that debt,” she says of her gift. “It’s sort of a symbolic gesture.” •••
r
As the world grows increasingly complex, the value of programs like UHP increases. The outstanding faculty and curriculum of UHP challenge students to expand their education to broader and deeper levels. The result of this intensive focus is that honors students, in Andrea Roth’s words, “are forced to think about the connections among history, philosophy, math, and literature and to see that there’s more than one way to consider a problem. This in turn makes us more thoughtful people as we go out and try to solve the problems of the world.” Michelle G. McRuiz will graduate from UNM this December with an MA in professional writing.
University Honors Program Endowment:
Are You Eager to Give?
more marriages Roberto David Armijo, ’01 BSME, and Elizabeth Rose Strathdee, ’02 BABA Angela Chavez, ’01 BA, and Travis Brock, ’01 BABA Shannon Haynes, ’01 BA, and Clinton Walker Kim Nolan, ’01 MA, and Francisco Garcia Julie Marie Shafer, ’01 BA, and Jeffrey Hunter Dare Meisha Johnson, ’02 BSED, and Andrew Sedrel Amber Gentry, ’02 BSED, and Ryan Scott Gear, ’03 BS Joseph Madrid, ’02 BA, and Kelly Baillio Marvin P. Martinez, ’02 BABA, and Vanessa J. Sandoval Amanda Jewett, ’03 BSED, and Jeremiah Glenn Adrianne Martinez, ’03 BSNU, and Jared Tanner Patricia Waldo, ’03 PHAR, and Luis Garcia Jason Cortez, ’04 BABA, and Christine Howard Rene Gonzales, ’04 BABA, and Adrian Alarid Audi Lako, ’04 BABA, and Heather L. Crook Priscilla Olmos, ’04 BA, and Aaron Anaya
Rosalie Otero, director of the University Honors Program (UHP), is pleased
with how the fundraising for the program’s new endowment is progressing.
“It’s just incredible,” she says. “Some of these students are just finishing
law school or graduate school, yet they’re still willing to contribute. I might
expect it from people who have been in business for a while or whose
children are grown, but from such young people, it’s very impressive.” The endowment is unrestricted, which means that all gifts
made to it will go toward funding UHP’s greatest needs. No matter
your age or when you graduated, if you are interested in giving
to the Honors Program Endowment, please contact Belinda Vogel,
constituent development officer for University College, at 505-277-9651 or belindav@unm.edu. Or you may give online at
www.unm.edu/foundation.
s p r i n g
2 0 0 5
43
alumni outlook
unm
Partners at the Table By Coleman Travelstead, ’69 BAED, President, UNM Alumni Association
W
hile serving at the head of the Alumni Association table, I’ve tried hard to bring the Alumni Association to the University table regarding a variety of University efforts and decisions. It boils down to a partnership. Some of the University’s most loyal partners are those who are not on campus on a daily basis. Yet their daily lives—where they work, who they associate with, and what skills they employ—were defined years ago by the time they spent on campus. Ties like these engender a unique sense of loyalty to UNM. Alumni want to support their alma mater. They want it to succeed and excel. They want others to benefit from its offerings, as they did. To receive the benefits of this extraordinary goodwill, the University recognizes the Alumni Association as a critical player. No, for the most part, alumni don’t write grants and do research, nor do we
interface directly with students. But we do speak to our colleagues, families, friends, and legislators. We do recognize the unparalleled role the University plays in our community. And we do manifest our UNM education and values in our lives. President Caldera and his team have recognized our potential, especially in the area of legislative relations. We would like the administration to understand that the Alumni Association welcomes being part of the team that plans how our potential will be tapped, and for what purposes. For years we have worked to connect alumni to their alma mater and to one another. Forming and strengthening these connections has been at the heart of the Association’s work. We begin before students enroll at UNM, honoring the top high-school graduates around the state, recruiting them through college fairs around the country. Once they have enrolled at UNM, we host orientation and welcome back activities; we hold student transition workshops,
involve students in our programs such as homecoming, set up career networking, sponsor student groups such as Trailblazers and Student Lettermen, and honor them with awards and scholarships. When they become seniors, we offer them a horde of benefits honed to their needs, involve them in Young Alumni activities, congratulate them at Commencement, and more. After they graduate, we keep them posted about UNM and the Alumni Association through the Howler and Mirage, help them network with other alumni locally and nationwide, and encourage their volunteer participation in a wide range of programming. And this is just the beginning of our Alumni Lifeline. So, we alumni are primed for participation—not just in relation to one another, but to the University as well. I look forward to further substantive discussion and work in the years to come. It has been a pleasure to participate in the Alumni Association as its president this past year.
T
cabin party An annual retreat brings Lobo friends together.
B Y PAT T Y S N E A D & J E N N I F E R S N E A D C H AV E Z 44
M I R A G E
m a g a z i n e
he Gallinas Canyon in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, near Las Vegas, New Mexico, is breathtaking. For many seeking a retreat to the mountains, it provides a magical day of hiking. For others, it offers a beautiful, winding drive on a tree-lined highway. For 13 UNM alumni —and one honorary alumnus—this canyon and the mountains surrounding it are the site of a festive annual reunion. For the past decade, these seven Lobo alumni couples have gathered at two cabins in the Gallinas Canyon owned by Marla Kay (Mullins) and Byrl Blount, ’60 BS. They share four days of laughter, companionship, maybe a few tears, and great cinnamon rolls. The 14 friends all grew up in New Mexico and attended UNM during the late ’50s and ’60s. As pictured,
?
What’s happening
in your neck of the woods April 2
Austin Chapter “Bill and Karen’s Drive Through the Hill Country”
April 3
Washington, DC, Chapter Lobo Day Brunch
April 9
Denver Chapter “Second Saturday Lobo Breakfast”
April 16
Los Angeles Chapter Lobo Day Event
April 17
Chicago Chapter Art Institute of Chicago Gathering
April 17
San Diego Chapter Lobo Day Event
April 30
Las Vegas, Nevada, Chapter Lobo Day Luncheon
May 14
Denver Chapter “Second Saturday Lobo Breakfast”
May 21
Los Angeles Chapter Red Line Subway Art Walk
August tba
Los Angeles Chapter Hollywood Bowl & Tailgate
August tba
Denver Chapter Annual Picnic & Silent Auction
August tba
San Diego Chapter Enchilada Dinner & Chile Roast
August tba
Austin Chapter Annual Ice Cream Social
September 10
Los Angeles Chapter Annual Green Chile Fest
September 11
Washington, DC, Chapter Annual Green Chile Roast & Taco Picnic
September tba
Northern California Annual Green Chile Roast & Picnic
September tba
Chicago Chapter Annual Green Chile Fiesta
September tba
Atlanta Chapter Annual Green Chile Roast
October tba
Las Vegas, Nevada, Chapter Annual Green Chile Roast & Picnic
October tba
Lobo Football & Tailgate at SDSU
they are (back row, left to right) Bill Snead, ’59 BA,’61 JD; Patty Pick Snead, ’60 BA; Pat Cole Ray, ’92 BUS; Jack Ray, ’60 BS; Gale Williams Doyel, ’63 BA; Monte Doyel, ’61 BS; (middle row) Lyn Hendren (“honorary” Lobo); Ralph Bonner, ’61 BBA; Patsy Bragg Bonner, ’61; Byrl Blount, ’60 BS; Jay Christensen, ’60 BBA; (front row) Suann Rosier Hendren, ’61 BA, ’89 JD; Marla Kay Blount, ’60; and Carole Elkins Christensen, ’60 BA. Once a family vacation retreat, one of the two cabins has become the full-time home of Byrl and Marla Kay. The other is a shared vacation spot for their daughters’ families. Each summer for four days, however, every bed in both cabins is booked by college friends who drive up from Albuquerque to laugh together and reminisce about
old times. Of course, with 14 people sharing two cabins, the bed assignments get a bit tricky. “All of the beds are fine, but some are a little fancier then the others. So, we developed a system,” says Marla Kay. “We rotate alphabetically each summer to determine who gets to stay in the comfiest room. This seems to have kept the peace for the past 10 years,” she jokes. The friends spend the long weekend horseback riding, cooking great food for each other, fishing in the ponds on the Blount land, and golfing at the Pendaries course near Mora. They also have learned a bit about poultry management. Marla Kay raises chickens that are a constant source of amusement and eggs.
U N M A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N
educational
travel adventures 2 0 0 5
Check out this lineup of our new educational travel opportunities for the rest of 2005. We hope you’ll join us in the near future! Coming soon: the exciting 2006 Educational Travel Adventure schedule. June 15 - 23 Alumni Campus Abroad: Switzerland June 30 - July 11 Cruise the British Isles October 25-November 11 China’s Cultural Triangle December 4-11 Alumni Campus Abroad: Yucatan
Trips and dates are subject to change. For additional information, contact Charlene Chavez at the Alumni Relations Office, 505-277-5808 or 800-258-6866.
These friends have supported each other during sad times and celebrated during happier ones. They have been through cancer and the passing of family members, but they have also danced at numerous weddings of their kids and celebrated the births of many grandchildren. Among the seven couples, there are 17 children and 33 grandchildren. Of their children, nine have attended UNM. These friends agree that their summer wouldn’t be complete without this Lobo alumni reunion. At their next reunion, the friends will miss the quiet humor of Monte Doyel, who died in December, 2004, after a long illness.
s p r i n g
2 0 0 5
45
unm
Exceptional Is the Rule At a festive dinner in February, the UNM Alumni Association bestowed its top awards upon four renowned alumni. Jerry Jackson, ’64 BAED, retired executive vice president of Merck & Company, an international pharmaceutical
lobo gear
unm
firm, received the James F. Zimmerman Award for bringing fame and honor to UNM and New Mexico. Art Melendres, ’65 BA, ’71 JD, partner in Albuquerque’s Modrall Sperling law firm who serves as general counsel to the Albuquerque Public Schools, former UNM Regent, and current member of the New Mexico Commission on
Petite Photo Frame 5X7 Black with gold Trim $41.95
Higher Education, received the Bernard S. Rodey Award for making significant contributions to education. Jerry Atkinson, ’67 BABA, founder and retired senior director of Atkinson & Company, CPAs, who has served on the UNM Alumni and Foundation boards and as a leader in the community, received the Erna S. Fergusson Award for exceptional accomplishment or distinguished service to the University. Tey Diana Rebolledo, ’62 MA, professor and chair of the UNM department of Spanish and Portuguese, and former director of UNM Women’s Studies, received the Alumni Association Faculty Teaching Award for outstanding teaching and service to students. We extend our congratulations combined with appreciation to these exceptional recipients!
It’s Official! (sorta, kinda…) UNM Homecoming 2005 has been scheduled for Saturday, October 8, when the Lobos will play the BYU Cougars. There is a possibility that game day will be changed, depending upon TV coverage, which won’t be known until July. While the order of events may change, the weekend in general won’t. So, mark your calendars and look for more information in the August 2005 Mirage or at www.unmalumni.com.
46
M I R A G E
m a g a z i n e
Tommy Hilfiger Alumni UNM Seal Polo Shirt (Yellow) $68-$70
Merge Left UNM Seal above Alumni (Black, Red, Gray) $22
UNM Clubhouse Golf Ball Pack $12.95
have a
spring fling College Equipment Red Lobo Head and Paw Cap $18
Find more gear and gifts at www.unmalumni.com Order online or call 800-981-BOOK or 505-277-5451
Cotton Exchange University of New Mexico Est. 1889 T-Shirt (Charcoal) $12.95
Tommy Hilfiger Alumni UNM Seal Polo Shirt (Red) $68-$70 s p r i n g
2 0 0 5
47
Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid The University of New Mexico Alumni Association
Permit No. 222
MSC 01-1160
Burl., Vt. 05401
1 University of New Mexico Albuquerque NM 87131-0001
CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED
You’re about to lose your friends. Every time you switch your ISP, your friends have to
change your email address—if you remember to tell them!
The UNM Alumni Association offers permanent email
forwarding—free! When you change your ISP, you keep the
same address: yourname@unmalumni.com.
Keep your friends for life! Start at www.unmalumni.com and click on Online Community, then “Permanent Email Forwarding.”