Endowed faculty, director, and chair positions allow the College of Fine Arts to attract and retain exceptional educators, artists, leaders, and scholars whose creativity and mentorship shape the lives of students every day. By providing enduring support for teaching, artistic innovation, and academic excellence, endowed faculty positions strengthen the College’s reputation, expand opportunities for students, and create a legacy that will benefit UNM and New Mexico for generations to come. This is a priority of each department in Fine Arts (Art, Film and Digital Arts, Music, and Theatre and Dance) and unit (UNM Art Museum, Tamarind Institute, ARTSLab, Arts Leadership, and Interdisciplinary Art).

Endowed positions are among the most transformative investments a donor can make because annual distributions from endowments give faculty flexibility to pursue ambitious creative and scholarly projects that may not be covered by the College’s budget. This support can fund exhibitions and performances, research and publications, collaborative projects, community engagement initiatives, travel to conferences, festivals, and residencies.

• $1 million of philanthropic funding will establish an endowed director position at ARTSLab.

• $2 million of philanthropic funding will establish an endowed director and master printer at Tamarind Institute.

• $1 million of philanthropic funding will establish an endowed director position for Arts Leadership and Business.

• $5 million of philanthropic funding will establish an endowed professor in each of our departments (Art, Film and Digital Arts, Music, and Theatre and Dance).

• $1 million of philanthropic funding will establish an endowed UNMAM director position.

Scholarships are often the deciding factor for talented students choosing where to pursue their artistic education. Today, the College of Fine Arts faces increasing competition from peer institutions that can offer more substantial financial aid packages, particularly at the graduate level. As a result, we are often unable to recruit some of the most promising emerging artists, performers, designers, and scholars who would thrive at UNM and contribute to the vibrancy of our creative community.

Endowed scholarships provide a permanent source of funding that helps attract and retain exceptional students year after year. Increased scholarship resources enable departments to recruit a larger and more competitive pool of graduate students, elevate the quality of academic and artistic programs, and foster a dynamic environment where creativity and innovation flourish. By investing in student scholarships, donors help remove financial barriers, expand access to a Fine Arts education, and ensure that the College continues to attract the talent that will shape the future of the arts in New Mexico and beyond.

For graduate and undergraduate students alike, travel is an essential component of a comprehensive arts education. Opportunities to attend conferences, performances, exhibitions, festivals, competitions, residencies, and professional networking events expose students to new ideas, diverse artistic practices, and industry leaders while helping them build the connections necessary for successful careers. Travel allows students to present their work, gain valuable professional experience, explore graduate school and employment opportunities, and engage with artistic communities beyond New Mexico. These experiences broaden perspectives, inspire creativity, and provide real-world learning that cannot be replicated in the classroom, helping students develop the skills, confidence, and professional networks needed to thrive as artists, performers, scholars, and creative leaders.

• $10 million of philanthropic funding will fund 100 graduate/undergraduate scholarships.

• $2 million of philanthropic funding will create 5 endowed graduate student fellowships at $400,000 each.

• $5 million of philanthropic funding will create funds for each unit to support student enrichment opportunities.

CCAT will be the locus of leading-edge work, teaching, and collaboration that will fuel the future of our students and our state. In addition to completing the capital campaign, College of Fine Arts will need additional staffing and equipment to fully utilize the new space and realize all the potential of CCAT.

CCAT presents an opportunity to enhance the education and future careers of our students while deepening community partnerships and increasing economic growth and development. The new CCAT will be the heart of College of Fine Arts’ interdisciplinary education, innovation, performance, and exhibition.

• ARTSLab (Art, Research, Technology, and Science) is an award-winning interdisciplinary center and exhibition space for emerging media with an emphasis on immersive and interactive technology. ARTSLab will continue to increase UNM’s role in driving New Mexico’s creative economy by meeting the growing demand for our state’s historic leadership in arts and culture, the burgeoning film industry, and the urgent need for innovative problem-solvers in all sectors. It will be a national model that makes the College of Fine Arts a destination college, thus increasing our ability to recruit the most talented, driven students, faculty, and staff.

$1 million of philanthropic funding will fund updated projection, extended reality (XR), and motion-tracking technology for ARTSLab; and staffing for public programming.

• At ground level, CCAT houses a new signature gallery experience that will elevate student and faculty work while connecting the arts to the heart of Albuquerque. The Fay Pfaelzer Abrams Art Gallery in CCAT will be a vibrant space for students, faculty, and the Albuquerque community to experience and share art. We need support for essential elements that will transform the space into a professional, welcoming venue.

$2 million of philanthropic funding will fund fabrication and preparation tools, projection and audio systems for artist and exhibition use, high-powered computers dedicated to image processing and secure storage, in-house printing and cutting technology, and staffing and program support.

• At the heart of CCAT is a state-of-the-art 600-seat performance center designed to serve as a premier venue for student performances, visiting artists, interdisciplinary collaborations, and community engagement. To fully realize the potential of this transformative space, critical investments in performance equipment are needed, including two Steinway grand pianos and a full complement of percussion instruments. These essential assets cannot be easily relocated from existing College of Fine Arts facilities without disrupting instruction and performances elsewhere on campus. Providing dedicated instruments for the CCAT performance center will ensure that students, faculty, and guest artists have access to the professional-caliber resources necessary to deliver exceptional artistic experiences and support the highest standards of education and performance.

$1.5 million of philanthropic funding will allow us to acquire new musical instruments, including Steinway pianos and percussion.

• The College of Fine Arts recognizes the need for support for visionary leadership and programming at CCAT, ensuring that collaboration remains at the heart of the building's mission. Annual distributions from the endowment will support a dedicated position responsible for managing the facility, fostering partnerships across disciplines, and developing innovative programming that brings together students, faculty, artists, technologists, and community members. This role will serve as a catalyst for creative exchange, helping to generate performances, exhibitions, residencies, workshops, and public events that transcend traditional academic boundaries. By investing in this endowment, donors will help ensure that CCAT remains a vibrant hub of interdisciplinary learning and artistic discovery for generations to come, fulfilling its promise as a center where collaboration drives innovation and impact.

$1 million of philanthropic funding will fund an endowed position to manage CCAT and create cross-discipline, engaging programming for the building – keeping “collaborative” in CCAT.

Founded in 1962 as a teaching museum, UNMAM houses the largest fine arts collection in New Mexico. It is known for its photography and print collections as well as for bringing contemporary artists to campus to exhibit and interact with students and faculty. Throughout its history, UNMAM has provided access to historically significant artwork and continues to expand its collections to remain relevant to evolutions in the art field, growing a trust for future generations of New Mexicans.

The UNMAM’s existing facility was not designed to be a museum and impairs the necessary functions of a museum and the visitor’s experience.

A dedicated facility will allow for an improved arrangement of galleries, study rooms, offices, storage, and spaces for public events. New spaces would provide expanded opportunities for student learning, visitor accessibility, collection visibility and storage space.

Our internationally recognized collection merits a space that will help keep UNM at the forefront of art in our culturally rich state.

$1.5 million of philanthropic funding will support stewardship of the art collection.

$1 million of philanthropic funding will create 2 curator positions at $500,000 each.

$2 million of philanthropic funding will create 5 endowed curatorial fellowships at $400,000 each.

The College of Fine Arts is home to extraordinary creativity, innovation, and artistic achievement, but maintaining an environment where students and faculty can do their best work requires ongoing investment in our facilities and learning spaces. General capital improvements support the modernization of classrooms, studios, rehearsal halls, performance venues, galleries, and collaborative spaces that reflect the evolving needs of contemporary arts education. Innovative, well-equipped facilities not only enhance the student experience but also help attract and retain outstanding students, faculty, and visiting artists. While the University provides the essential infrastructure and operational support that keep our programs running, it is philanthropic investment that transforms good programs into exceptional ones. Donor support for capital improvements allows the College of Fine Arts to create inspiring spaces that foster creativity, encourage collaboration, and ensure that UNM remains a leader in arts education for generations to come.

Our vibrant activity is hidden from the campus and challenging for our students, faculty, community, and partners to navigate. Our faculty teach our students and show work in facilities that are not built to accommodate their disciplines. Safety and accessibility problems exist in most buildings and retrofitting them would be difficult and expensive. We often must rent facilities off campus for our performances. In the Department of Music, classrooms and rehearsal spaces were designed in a time when the College had 125 music majors – and we now have twice that number. Our faculty offices and classrooms are scattered across campus. Finally, the lack of an appropriate concert hall has been cited as jeopardizing program reaccreditation.

• $3.1 million of philanthropic funding will support capital improvements.