Good morning.

Much of our time and attention is concentrated in Santa Fe these days as the New Mexico Legislature continues its 30-day session. Tomorrow is UNM Day at the Capitol, so we’ll be dousing the Roundhouse in Lobo Red. Our legislative priorities will be featured in a number of exhibits around the rotunda, while our faculty, staff, students, alumni and retirees educate legislators about the university and its needs. Tonight, the UNM Alumni Association honors legislators at its annual Legislative Appreciation reception, which promises to be a great kickoff for UNM Day.

It’s obvious email has become a preferred method to communicate and to conduct business at the university. Its use also comes with responsibilities of special interest for our students. UNM has developed student email policies that we’d like for you to comment upon in the next few weeks. Please go to http://www.unm.edu/~ubppm to review the policy and make your comments. They will be greatly appreciated.

Over the past few years, a great number of students, faculty and staff have worked hard to reinvigorate a culture of service and engagement at the university. There are a couple of announcements that speak to the success of their efforts. At the end of this week, the Provost’s Committee for Public Service and Community Engagement will launch its Community-University Partnerships website. It will document the UNM programs and projects that involve community partnerships and list the opportunities available for students to get involved in community-based research and service. Check for more details later in the week.

At the same time, we want to celebrate the individuals who have excelled in their service. Nominations are now being accepted for the Sarah Belle Brown Community Service Award for work completed in 2007. The award recognizes faculty and staff who demonstrate their commitment to volunteerism and their community. For more information on the award and for nomination forms, please go to http://hr.unm.edu The deadline is February 4.

Finally, a reason for our students to get up early Wednesday: FREE tickets for the remaining men’s basketball home games will be ready for pick up this Wednesday, Jan. 30, from 7:30 – 10 a.m. at the Center for the Arts ticket window located outside Popejoy Hall. The only requirement is that you be enrolled for at least six hours. You might want to get there early. Free tickets are worth losing some sleep.

Have a good week.
David J. Schmidly

Good morning.

Hello students and welcome back for the spring semester! It’s great to have everyone on campus once again. I want all of us - students, faculty and staff - to take a moment to think about the coming semester and commit to working together to ensure student success. There is no more important goal for any of us. Let’s work hard and have fun as we look forward to the next several months.

I’m delighted to start out the semester with some terrific news that should be a point of pride for all of you. UNM set an ambitious United Way goal of $515,000 for 2007 and we’ve exceeded it. At last count, university contributors are responsible for $568,199 that will go toward making our community a better place to live and work for all of its citizens. Special thanks to honorary campus co-chairs Paul Krebs and Vi Florez, campaign coordinator Connie Beimer and the campus
executive cabinet for their tireless work on behalf of United Way. Most of all, thanks to all of you for stepping up to the plate for your community. You should be proud.

More good news for students: ABQ Ride reps will be on campus at the SUB today and tomorrow to distribute bus pass stickers to new students and those who’ve yet to participate in this wonderful program. You can find ABQ Ride downstairs next to the Lobo Card office. Bring your student ID and take advantage of free bus rides this semester.

The New Mexico Legislature has been is session for almost a week and is occupying a lot of our time and thought. My message to our legislative team and to everyone from UNM who will be going up to Santa Fe is to stay focused, trust each other and please work as a team. We’ll work through difficulties and get a lot more accomplished that way.

Again, welcome back for the spring semester. Go to class, participate in campus activities, root on the Lobos and remember to have fun.

Have a great week.
David J. Schmidly

Good morning.

The New Mexico Legislature convenes tomorrow at noon in Santa Fe for a 30-day session. There is no more important time on our calendar, because this is when legislators approve the funding that will guide Regents’ decisions about compensation for faculty and staff, tuition increases and the entire university budget. We’ve been working toward this session for many months now, and our efforts will simply intensify during the next 30 days. On January 29, we intend to make our legislative priorities highly visible during the annual UNM Day at the Capital.

Understandably, everyone is interested in what happens during the session, and we encourage that interest. You can follow UNM bills of interest on our legislative website, http://www.unm.edu/~legis08 However, we also ask that you adhere to university policy on engaging in political activity. The link to the policy is http://www.unm.edu/~ubppm/ubppmanual/2050.htm UNM must convey effective and consistent messages to legislators about our priorities, and though we want our employees to maintain good professional relationships with legislators, we want to ensure that multiple UNM constituencies do not approach them at the same time. We want to deliver accurate and complete responses to all legislative inquiries. So whether you are faculty, staff member or student, we want you to contact Government Relations director Marc Saavedra at 681-4882, Government Relations specialist Tanya Giddings at 681-4461 or OGCR administrative coordinator Renee Santillanes at 277-1670. They need to know if you’ve been asked to meet with legislators or to testify before a legislative committee.

I’m pleased to announce that Dr. Finnie Coleman has been named acting dean of University College. As we’ve mentioned previously, Dr. Peter White is on sabbatical this semester and has announced his return to the teaching ranks. We look forward to working with Dr. Coleman who has served as director of Africana Studies the past couple of years. We also look forward to working with Dr. Robert Valdez, who started work last week as director of the Robert Wood
Johnson Center for Health Policy at UNM. Dr. Valdez is a former RWJ Fellow and comes to us from the Rand Corporation and his own consulting firm in Virginia. He is a former professor of economics at UCLA.

I know I speak for many on the leadership team when I say the School/College Strategy and Performance Reviews that were presented last week were simply outstanding. It was an incredible download of information over a couple of days, and for me, a boot camp in learning about and appreciating the great work done by our schools and colleges. I commend the Deans and their respective faculty and staff members for the thoughtful work that went into these presentations.

Lobo basketball took on San Diego State this past weekend and came away with a split. Thanks to all who helped Pack the Pit. This week we’ll battle TCU and Air Force. Go Lobos.

Have a good week.
David J. Schmidly

Good morning and Happy New Year!

It’s great to be back. I hope you and yours had a restful holiday and that you’re now ready to join me in taking advantage of the many opportunities that await us in 2008. Once again, thanks to everyone who had to work during the break. We greatly appreciate your dedication.

A large group of folks who worked over the break were implementing the Banner HR/Payroll conversion. I understand that has been accomplished and now we are set to begin using the new payroll processes. In fact, the first big test is upon us because bi- weekly and student payroll forms must be entered and approved by 5 p.m. today. I cannot emphasize strongly enough how important it is that this be done correctly and efficiently. We do not want any of our employees to have their paycheck delayed. Should you experience any difficulties, the HR/Payroll support center is available from 8 am to 5 p m, Monday through Friday, at 277-HRPR (4777). Or get specifics from the HR website at http://hr.unm.edu.

A deadline is rapidly approaching for another major project impacting many of our faculty, staff and researchers. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has mandated that all colleges and universities conduct a survey of what they’re calling “chemicals of interest.” Anyone working with specific chemicals throughout the university and satellite campuses must identify the amounts and location of said chemicals. There are more than 300 on the list. This is a new survey and it has to be completed by January 25. Failure to do so will be costly as fines for non-compliance can be as much as $25,000 a day for each location at UNM. This is serious stuff, folks. UNM’s Safety and Risk Services Department has sent out the chemical list, instructions and the forms to departments, faculty and researchers. If you have questions, please contact Dr. Lowell D. White, manager of chemical hygiene, at 277-0895 or ldwhite@unm.edu. For more information: http://www.unm.edu/~market/cgi-bin/archives/002513.html#more

It was great to be in the stands to watch the Lobo victory in the New Mexico Bowl. I also had the opportunity to watch our men’s basketball team beat UTEP in El Paso. In a nail-biter, the Lobos scored another great victory over Wyoming this past weekend. It’s been a really good run. Come out and support the Lobo women as they take on Wyoming at the Pit Wednesday evening. Go Lobos!

Have a good week.
David J. Schmidly