UNM secured $3 million from Gov. Bill Richardson on Tuesday that will be used to develop courses related to digital media.
The money for UNM's Art, Research, Technology and Science Laboratory comes out of the $10 million the governor received from the Legislature for his Film Training Initiative.
"It's neat to watch this come together, because we've been working on this for a year with a lot of people from across the state," President Louis Caldera said. "We don't just want New Mexico to be a location for filming."
Ed Angel, who chaired the committee that created the proposal for the state, said the money will be used in part to create programs that will help New Mexicans secure good jobs when filmmakers come to town.
"Everybody wants to be a part of the film industry, and New Mexico is very attractive to that industry," he said. "But we're trying to create a program that helps people get into high-level positions, not just low-level jobs."
Angel said the traditional film industry is being dominated by digital technology, and that technology applies to many fields, including game technology, scientific visualization, virtual reality and astronomical research.
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"We have faculty from every college that want to participate in this, so it should be an exciting time," he said.
Students should be seeing new digital media-related technology in various departments this semester. New classes and options in existing degree programs may start as early as the spring, though a new degree program takes a long time to implement, Angel said.
"The key places are computer science and engineering as well as the College of Fine Arts," he said. "Media arts also has a huge role to play."
Caldera said the $3 million is seed money for a program that may require additional funding.
"Obviously, we'll have to raise other money and get a state funding commitment to the program," he said. "But it's great because it marries the creativity that New Mexico is renowned for with our strength in technology."
He said the program could create an attractive niche for UNM students interested in digital media-related careers.
"I ask people to think big and go out there and ask what it would take to create a digital media program," he said.
