Staff Report
Two of UNM's schools are being lauded as top spots for Hispanic students in the United States.
The Anderson Schools of Management and UNM School of Law were named to Hispanic Business magazine's annual top 10 lists for Hispanic Students.
Anderson ranked fourth, two spots lower than last year. It's the fourth time in five years the business school has made the list. The law school improved two positions this year, landing the number-three spot.
The magazine's criteria include total graduate and Hispanic enrollment, percentage of Hispanic faculty members, student services, reputation and retention. Each school evaluated is assigned a total score and then ranked.
"We're extremely proud that the UNM School of Law is included in the top 10 ranking by Hispanic Business magazine," Dean Suellyn Scarnecchia said in a University news release. "As a new dean, one of the most gratifying discoveries I've made is the loyalty and dedication of our Hispanic alumni who help us support our students through their three years in law school and the tremendous amount of support they provide our students after graduation."
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Hispanics account for about a quarter of the 324 students at the law school, according to the release. Last year, 29 of 115 law degrees at UNM were awarded to Hispanics.
Howard Smith, who plans to retire as dean of the Anderson schools in May, said in the release that Anderson's graduation and placement rates for Hispanic students are more than 90 percent.
"This (ranking) is wonderful news for our students, employers, faculty and staff," Smith said. "It confirms the excellent professional management education students receive at the Anderson schools."
Hispanic Business noted that 92 of Anderson's 503 master's degree students are Hispanic - a factor that contributed to the ranking. Hispanics earned about 19 percent of all degrees last year at the business school.
Ahead of Anderson on the list are the University of Texas-Austin, Yale University and Stanford University.
UT-Austin and the University of Miami edged out UNM's law school.
