Kevin Forte - The Daily Lobo

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Vandals target new buildings and maps

Kevin Forte | August 30

The first week of classes at UNM saw an unprecedented spike in the amount of vandalism on campus, University maintenance officials said. They said windows were broken and more than four UNM buildings and 10 new campus maps were tagged.The College of Education building was tagged with graffiti every day last week, said Gary Smith, associate director for environmental services, maintenance and operations at UNM.

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Elderly driver steers car through Smith Plaza

Kevin Forte | August 26

An elderly driver took a “wrong turn” in his car Thursday. The wrong turn caused the car to go down a staircase east of Zimmerman Library and onto the plaza, police said.Lieutenant Robert Haarhues said the man, 83, got lost while trying to find the Heart Hospital. Students who witnessed the incident said he drove through Smith Plaza and ran into a dead-end.

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Interim provost pushes for reforms

Kevin Forte | July 25

In UNM Interim Provost Chaouki Abdallah’s first month on the job, he reorganized the Provost’s Office and proposed a promotion and tenure plan for faculty.

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Fires burn cash for tourist attractions

Kevin Forte and Luke Holmen | July 25

Wildfires struck hard this summer, ravaging New Mexico’s dry forests from Silver City to the Arizona border, and leaving nature enthusiasts with few outdoor options in the state. Popular tourist and camping locations such as Jemez Springs have been shut down for more than three weeks, according to a Santa Fe National Forest news release.

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Faculty’s per diem in regents’ crosshairs

Kevin Forte | July 10

The UNM Board of Regents is looking to amend the University’s per diem policies, which could mean traveling faculty would have to pay out-of-pocket for food.Regents Gene Gallegos and James Koch, members of the Regent Audit Committee, are concerned about following state law and making sure faculty have a clear per diem policy, UNM spokeswoman Susan McKinsey said. “Regent Gallegos and Regent Koch believe that our current policy is inaccurate or doesn’t exactly reflect what state law intends, and they want to look into that,” she said. The Board of Regents discussed changes to the policy at a June 27 meeting, but the issue was tabled until August.

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Wood questions regents’ hire

Kevin Forte | July 4

Faculty President Richard Wood called for an internal review of the Board of Regent’s 2010 hire of Director of Internal Audit’s Manu Patel.

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Traffic concerns nix recycling plant

Kevin Forte | May 30

The Bernalillo County Commission denied an appeal on May 24 for a waste and recycling plant near UNM’s golf course. UNM’s Real Estate office is opposed to the recycling plant because it could have a negative effect on the groundwater near the golf course, Real Estate consultant Amy Coburn said. She said the proposed recycling plant would affect traffic in the area. “The frequency of the vehicles and the traffic loading on that road could negatively impact UNM’s ability to develop that site for the larger community,” she said. Traffic was the main concern for some council members, including Wayne Johnson. Johnson said he was concerned there weren’t enough long-term projections for traffic in the area. “They didn’t prove the traffic issues and under this system, the burden of proof is upon them,” he said. “That’s really what it boils down to.”

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Sauer wins fellow teaching award

Kevin Forte | May 8

UNM Professor Christine Sauer was presented with the Presidential Teaching Fellow Award on Wednesday at the SUB. Sauer, who teaches economics at UNM and serves as the director of the International Studies Institute, said that she hopes to make international programs a larger focus for the University.

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Regents decide against fee increase

Kevin Forte | May 2

The budget is finalized. The regents unanimously passed the budget and finalized tuition-and-fees during Friday’s meeting at the SUB.

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IT focuses on improving email

Kevin Forte | April 29

Sick of Webmail? IT might have the solution. The IT department sent out requests for proposals this week and hopes to have an executive-level decision on a new email system in August, said Deputy Chief Information Officer Moira Gerety. She said the University’s email system is outdated and not user-friendly. Gerety said the University uses about 25 different email systems, and that she and her team hope to bring this number down to one. She said students should have a new email system within a year. “UNM staff and employees, in particular, were really sort of working around multiple email systems,” she said. “It’s just a pain. They want to be able to bring everybody up, schedule messages and schedule meetings on one email system.” Gerety is co-chairing a committee with Mike Campbell, the director of PC Systems and Support for UNMH. Gerety said this is a collaborative effort, in which departments from across UNM are giving feedback.