We propose building a General Student Support Fund for students to attract new students to UC, sustain and retain students who are already enrolled, and increase student success by providing much-needed, timely financial support. This fund could be used to provide traditional tuition scholarships, food scholarships, or emergency scholarships/grants for students facing financial hardship.  

Many UC students are among the most vulnerable at UNM. They often must choose between going to work or doing homework, between buying a meal or a textbook, between attending a conference or a medical appointment. This fund would ensure these students have basic support to cover their non-academic student expenses – thus directly contributing to their success. 

$500,000 of philanthropic funding will establish the General Student Support Fund.  

This fund will provide funding to support the Pre-Health Professions (PHP) office and its highly successful annual Health Professions Symposium, which are worthy causes as well as contributors to UNM’s healthcare workforce expansion initiative. 

The PHP Office helps students interested in the health professions to easily access information about career options and better understand the intricacies of a successful application to a health professions program. Funding would support staff needs, program needs, and the Health Professions Symposium. This day-long event for high school and college students interested in health care careers consists of an opening general session with a keynote speaker, 6 simultaneous workshop sessions each offering a choice of 15 different workshops (90 workshops are offered over the course of the day), and an information table session during lunch. The event is free and supported entirely by donations. 

$20,000 of annual philanthropic funding will provide student and program support. 

By creating an Undergraduate Scholarly Research Development Fund, we can support and expand our interdisciplinary undergraduate research initiatives, fostering innovative collaboration and hands-on learning opportunities across multiple fields of study.   

Leveraging UNM’s strengths in interdisciplinary collaboration and community engagement, the initiative is critical to preparing students for success in an increasingly complex, interdisciplinary global landscape, equipping them with the skills they need to lead and innovate. It will expand access to high-quality research experiences for students pursuing disciplines ranging from the humanities to complex medical research, while also providing faculty across departments with more opportunities to engage in and mentor research projects. With additional funding, we aim to build on existing collaborations, allowing more faculty to participate and contribute to interdisciplinary research. 

$100,000 of philanthropic funding will provide student research support. 

$100,000 of funding from the Office of the Vice President for Research and/or Academic Affairs will support research expansion. 

One of the greatest impediments to our growth and impact is an almost complete lack of public and even internal awareness or understanding of what UC is, the programs we offer, the extent of our reach, the benefits we provide, or the contributions we make to undergraduate student success. UC has virtually no public profile among potential stakeholders, including current or prospective applicants to UNM who would likely be interested in our programs if only they knew about them, as well as the people who advise these prospects prior to or during the application process. Similarly, current UNM undergraduates who would benefit from UC’s programs are generally unaware that they even exist.  

UC has no budget to hire even a part-time marketing/communications staff member. We often have sought funding from Academic Affairs for such a hire, but our requests have not yet been approved. Our initiative would provide the funding necessary for UC to make such a hire and develop, maintain, and regularly update strategic communication campaigns targeting each of the potential stakeholder groups mentioned above. 

$50,000 of philanthropic funding will support annual outreach efforts. 

$50,000 of annual funding from Academic Affairs will allow us to hire a marketing/communications staff person.