Notes from the Nov. 19, 2002 Regents Meeting

ALBUQUERQUE, Nov. 19, 2002 -- The New Mexico Tech Board of Regents has approved two new academic programs at the state-supported research university in Socorro.

During the governing board's November 19 meeting in Albuquerque, a new bachelor of science in civil engineering program was officially approved for New Mexico Tech, as was a new graduate degree program leading up to a doctorate in applied and industrial mathematics.

Since the baccalaureate program only requires the approval of the New Mexico Tech Board of Regents before being implemented, civil engineering classes will be offered as part of Tech's curricula starting with the 2003 Fall Semester.

The Ph.D. program in applied and industrial mathematics, however, will also have to garner approvals from the New Mexico Council of Graduate Deans, Academic Council, Legislative Finance Committee, and Commission on Higher Education before it can get started at New Mexico Tech.

In other official actions considered at the board's monthly meeting, the New Mexico Tech Board of Regents approved a $195,000 three-year contract to Unisource Worldwide, Inc. to provide custodial supplies to the university.

The regents also were informed that a multi-year contract estimated to total more than $300,000 was recently awarded to low-bidder RAKS Building Supply Center of Socorro for construction materials to support the First Responders training program at the university's Energetic Material Research and Testing Center.

During the meeting, New Mexico Tech President Daniel H. López told the regents that preliminary figures on new student enrollment for the 2003 Fall Semester at Tech continue to indicate yet another boost in the school's student population over this year's figure of 1,765 undergraduate and grad students.

While classroom and lab space at New Mexico Tech can currently accommodate a larger than average influx of students, López said that he and other Tech administrators are busy planning for a possible record number of students at the university by looking at acquiring nearby rental properties to house some of the entering students who might be unable to obtain on-campus housing if residence halls fill to capacity.

In other announcements, Van Romero, Tech Vice President for Research and Economic Development, told regents that New Mexico Tech will be featured prominently in a soon-to-be-published article in USA Today, which focuses on training programs at various universities that are related to the nation's homeland security efforts.

The New Mexico Tech Board of Regents also were informed that sabbatical leaves of various durations for 2003 and 2004 were recently approved for the following six Tech faculty members: