-= NMSU PANORAMA - Winter 2006 =- Doing What Counts

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Doing What Counts

By Ann Palormo

NMSU launches a major fundraising campaign.

New Mexico State University launched the public phase of its comprehensive campaign "Doing What Counts" in true Aggie Style during Homecoming in October 2005 with a Western dinner and concert celebration featuring country musician Michael Martin Murphey. The $150 million campaign is designed to move the institution to the next level of academic excellence.

"Excellence is a journey, not a destination," President Michael Martin told a group of more than 200 alumni and friends gathered for the campaign announcement under a Big Top Tent on the Horseshoe. "Donor support is absolutely essential in making New Mexico State University all it can be in serving New Mexico's citizens. A successful comprehensive campaign is critical in shaping our exciting future at NMSU."

The kickoff dinner included the announcement that $40 million of the $150 million to be raised by 2010 had already been committed to the effort.

Danny and Myrna Villanueva celebrated the launch of the Campaign in October 2005. Photo by David G. Pierre

The board of directors of the NMSU Foundation has strongly supported this endeavor from the beginning and several board members serve on the campaign steering committee. Heading up the campaign steering committee is Danny Villanueva '61, a former NFL football star and Spanish language television pioneer. Villanueva views NMSU as his jumping off point and is anxious to do his part to help the university rise to the next level of excellence.

In fact, Villanueva has committed $2.5 million to the "Doing What Counts" campaign, with $1 million of the gift designated for the NMSU Children's Village.

Children's Village students present Myrna Villanueva with flowers.

That announcement was made Oct. 27 during the Fifth Annual Danny Villanueva Scholarship Breakfast, sponsored by Chicano Programs. Villanueva referred to the Children's Village donation as a "belated happy birthday" gift to his wife Myrna, who had taken an interest in the university's preschool program during a previous visit to campus. The program will henceforth be known as Myrna's Children's Village.

"My wife and I will always be grateful to NMSU, where we began our marriage," Villanueva says. "It was here that we set the foundation for our family that has become the cornerstone of whatever success we have enjoyed. This is our chance to pay back."

Joining Villanueva on the steering committee are Tom Mobley '61, Clara Apodaca, Jack Cooper '60, Carl Everett '73, Ed Lujan, '54 '57, President Martin and Rebecca Dukes, vice president for university advancement.

An architectural rendering of the new O'Donnell Hall.

"The beauty of a comprehensive campaign," Dukes says, "is that we have numerous opportunities to tell the many success stories of New Mexico State during its 117-year history. We share these stories when talking to our many alumni and friends who believe in this institution and want to see it achieve the national recognition it deserves."

The university community identified its top priorities as endowed faculty chairs and professorships, scholarship endowments, funds to complete the renovation of the College of Education's O'Donnell Hall and construct a Native American Center and a Center for the Arts, and naming opportunities across campus.

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Endowments Critical

Garrey Carruthers, dean of the College of Business, says endowed chairs - which require a gift of $1 million - enhance the prestige of an institution. Their highly focused areas of study bring experts to campus, which in turn draws attention to the university and the quality of work here.

"A chair is the most prestigious of all appointments in a university, with graduate students often clamoring to work with faculty members who hold these chairs," he says. "There are many good colleges and universities that do not have endowed chairs, but all premier institutions do."

Electrical engineering professor Stephen Horan.

Steve Horan, head of the Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, holds the Frank Carden Chair in Telemetering and Telecommunications, which was established in the early 1990s with funds from the International Foundation for Telemetering and matching funds from the state of New Mexico. He was named the third holder of the chair in 1996.

In addition to supplementing Horan's university salary, money generated from the chair's endowment supplements the salaries of three other faculty members in Horan's research group in the Klipsch School. It also supports a technician for the group as well as administrative and operational support.

Together, Horan's group now brings in more than $500,000 a year in sponsored research grants to NMSU. Among the grants the group has landed is one to build nanosatellites for the U.S. Air Force. More than 50 students have participated in the project since 1999.

"The chair has established an environment that says we're a premier institution," Horan says. "Good things can happen here when there are resources to back you up."

Endowed professorships - which require a gift of $250,000 - also are a priority for the university.

"Receiving an endowed professorship has provided me with more access to advocate for children and families," says Betsy Cahill, co-department head of curriculum and instruction in the College of Education. "With the title J. Paul Taylor Endowed Professor attached to my name, more doors open politically and professionally. Everyone knows the committed work of J. Paul and expects the same from me. I like that expectation because it reminds me of the work that must continue."

Scholarships make a difference for NMSU students. Photo by Tom Cherrey

Additional scholarship endowments for several specific areas of need are at the top of Gladys De Necochea's wish list. As associate provost for student affairs and community colleges, she sees the impact that scholarships (or the lack of adequate resources) can have on students' ability to complete their degrees.

"Like all of us, students appreciate that someone else believes in their ability to succeed. Scholarships provide that confidence builder for our students," she says. "However, most of our scholarships are limited to eight semesters and because so many of our students hold jobs while they are in school, it may take them at least five years to complete their degree requirements. When the scholarships run out, eligibility for other types of financial aid is usually gone as well.

"Additionally, there are students who transfer to NMSU and if they don't come with the NMSU Lottery Scholarship, we have very few scholarships that are intended just for transfer students. The same holds for students who come here from other states. We need more resources to support tuition waivers for these students, particularly the children of our alumni."

De Necochea says it is always exciting when a new scholarship endowment is established. It is particularly satisfying when the donor is an NMSU graduate and cites the support received from others as a motivator for creating a scholarship to help future students. Such a story unfolded with a phone call from Juan Rodriguez, now of Lexington, Ky., who earned his bachelor's degree in agriculture from NMSU in 1943.

Rodriguez and his wife have been strong advocates for education for many years. He decided it was time to pay back the institution that got him started. He is establishing an endowment for the

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Capital Projects

College of Agriculture and Home Economics.There are three capital construction projects included in the campaign. The first is funding to complete the renovation of O'Donnell Hall, which is home to the College of Education. The current structure, built in the 1960s, no longer meets the college's space needs, nor can it support modern computer technology. Additionally, there is a section of the building that is structurally unsound.

Funding for one phase of the renovation has been secured from the state Legislature. The additional funds, to be raised from private and possibly federal funding sources, would enable the college to bring all departments under one roof and provide space to grow.

Dean Robert Moulton is quick to point out that his is the fastest-growing college on the campus, currently serving 1,700 undergraduates and 1,000 graduate students.

"With the teacher shortage and the state's new three-tiered licensure system, teachers are motivated to continue their education," Moulton says.

Native American students need a center to share their cultures with the campus.

Funding for a Native American Cultural Center also is a capital priority. In keeping with the outreach services of New Mexico State University's land-grant mission, this facility will provide opportunities for all university students and citizens of New Mexico and the Southwest to learn about Native American histories, cultures and societies through education and outreach programs.

Since students are at the heart of the Native American Culture Center, the building will provide more than administrative offices and classrooms. Students will have a resource room, computer labs, lounge, meeting rooms and offices in the center.

Joe Shirley, president of the Navajo nation, reaffirmed Navajo support for this new educational center and pledged that they would work closely to see that this "outstanding endeavor" moves forward.

A new center for the arts will make larger theater productions possible.

The final capital project is the most ambitious — creating a center for the arts to serve the entire university.

"This is a very exciting project," says Greg Fant, assistant dean for development in the College of Arts and Sciences and academic department head for music. "We view the arts complex as a potentially transforming project not only for the arts programs at NMSU but the entire university, the state and the region. This has the potential to bring together art, music, dance and theater in a way that has been impossible at New Mexico State up to now. It also will allow for the expansion of the arts programs through the new digital media program, a space to permanently display the retablo collection, state-of-the-art production facilities, and performance venues to showcase outstanding student work, local professionals and world-class artists."

A new center for the arts will expand the cultural scene in this region.
Photo by Michael Kiernan

"This is definitely a team project, involving the campus community, donors we already know and ones we hope will become more actively involved over the next few years," Dukes says. "It's exciting to imagine the difference we can make in New Mexico State University's ability to provide academic opportunities for our most important people — the students who come here for their education."

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