Voters will have to choose whether or not to approve more than $50 million in funding to improve and renovate UNM Main and branch campuses.
On the ballot in November are General Obligation Bonds B and C, which if approved, would grant UNM the funding to expand University libraries at all campuses as well as renovate and develop campus facilities like the Farris Engineering Building and Health Sciences Center, respectively.
According to the UNM GO Bond website, Bond B asks voters to approve around $11 million to help the state’s libraries update their collections, equipment and databases, $800,000 of which would benefit university libraries at UNM’s main campus.
Bond C would allocate $20.5 million to renovate the Farris Engineering Building, $12 million for a design build project at the Health Sciences Center and $6.5 million for similar upgrade and renovation projects at the Gallup, Los Alamos, Taos and Valencia campuses, according to the website.
UNM President Bob Frank said the University is particularly interested in Bond C because it has huge implications for UNM.
“The first thing that is most important for everybody to understand on Bond C — no new taxes,” Frank said. “It replaces expiring bonds to help replace our buildings, so if you vote for Bond C, you get no new taxes, but you support university systems across the state of New Mexico.”
Frank said Bond C is really about creating jobs. Engineering and health sciences are among UNM’s top producers of skilled professionals, and expanding the capability of those schools means more job opportunities.
According to a report by the New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee, there is currently a workforce shortage of 3,000 registered nurses, 236 nurse practitioners and 365 physicians.
However, with HSC already operating at capacity and a similar story at the Farris Engineering Building, funding from Bond C is in dire need to satiate ever-growing demand for qualified professionals in those fields, Frank said.
Ed Blandford, assistant professor of nuclear engineering, said in a video posted on the UNM GO Bond website that the Farris Engineering Building is in desperate need of renovation and repair.
Originally built to handle a relatively small number of students, the building was not designed with the mindset that the school would eventually expand the research capabilities housed within, he said.
“Right now, it limits the amount of research grants that we’re able to bring in due to the fact that we have space limitation challenges,” Blandford said.
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GO Bond C, he said, is critical to the overall success of the University because improvements in infrastructure will allow it to bring in high quality research grants.
“These research grants are absolutely critical to the success of the University because it enables us to support students, build better capabilities and overall builds up the stature of the various departments that make up the school,” Blandford said.
Abhaya K. Datye, chair of the chemical and biological engineering department, said he has seen enormous contributions by the school in conditions that are less than ideal.
“If we are able to renovate this building using the GO Bond and reach the level of infrastructure, we could do a whole lot more than we are doing today,” Datye said. “We have the tools, we have the people, now we need the building.”
With many old buildings in bad shape, Frank said approving the GO Bonds is the right thing to do for New Mexico’s universities and colleges.
“No new taxes, and jobs — it’s a very simple proposition,” Frank said. “Every college in the state benefits.”
Frank said New Mexico does not have a system for allocating funding for university facilities. Voting for the 2014 GO Bonds is the best way to get funding to upgrade UNM, he said.
Tomas Lujan is a staff reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @TomasVLujan.
