Growing UNM West is far from ghost campus

As members of the University of New Mexico West Community Advisory Council, we would like to respond to the March 10 article “Ghost Town Campus.”

The advisory council was established when the new UNM West campus opened in Spring 2010. Fifteen representatives from area public and higher education, city government, the business community, area pueblo government and interested citizens meet quarterly to provide input regarding the growth of the campus and its partnerships with area agencies. A strong UNM influence will improve the livelihood of our communities.

Indeed, UNM West is a large and expansive-feeling building. But a more accurate description of building usage is that most courses are offered during the evenings and on Fridays and Saturdays to accommodate students’ needs.

As the article indicated, enrollments are steadily increasing with students completing more than one course at the campus.

While degree completion is currently available for the bachelor’s of university studies, campus administration continues to work with main campus departments to offer courses that enable students to progress toward degree completion in other disciplines.

Anderson Schools of Management and the College of Education offer courses each semester leading to degrees, and the College of Arts and Sciences offers over 70 percent of the courses required for various degrees in that college.

UNM West is also used by organizations such as UNM’s Continuing Education Division and the Sandoval Regional Medical Center for training and various meetings. Many community groups have used the facility for meetings, lectures and other social events and appreciate the accommodations.

In 2008, over 63 percent of Rio Rancho voters approved the higher education quarter-cent gross receipts tax which greatly contributed to the cost of building the first campus facility.

Research and Polling conducted a survey of Rio Rancho voters in October 2012, with 79 percent of the respondents supporting UNM West and 75 percent supporting future campus expansion. According to the poll, 56 percent of respondents also supported continuance of the gross receipts tax, which is crucial to continued campus development.

City residents are forward-looking, realizing that without a strong presence of higher education in the community, our ability to remain vital and attract new business will greatly diminish.

Partnerships have been crucial to the development of UNM West, the most important ones being those that provide educational pathways for students. Students need the opportunity to achieve their educational goals and realize the potential for building their professional careers in this area, resulting in stronger communities with a qualified work force attracting more business development.

Our partnership with Central New Mexico Community College will grow in areas such as program development and workforce training, offering UNM West the flexibility needed to accommodate both lower and upper division courses.

Continued collaboration with UNM colleges, the city of Rio Rancho and Sandoval County, CNM, public schools and economic development organizations will result in a new innovative, vision for this area.

This is the time to come together to ensure that the growth and expansion of the education provided by Rio Rancho’s UNM campus is not endangered. Indeed, UNM West is a “Growth Town Campus,” not a “Ghost Town Campus.”

Pauline Eisenstadt is a former state representative and senator for Rio Rancho, Corrales and Bernalillo. M. Kim Johnson is a retired physicist and past president of the New Mexico Academy of Science.