|
Dear Student Affairs Colleagues,
On a beautiful Friday afternoon last week, UNM’s campus was alive and buzzing with energy, excitement, and excellence as the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Conference, or UROC, was held in our own Student Union Building. This gathering of brilliant minds pursuing an expansion of human knowledge, often with a focus on health, environment, justice, and culture, was deeply inspirational. I applaud our colleagues and partners from across campus that help support this critical effort. I was invited to serve as a judge for the UROC 180 finals. UROC 180 are 3-minute research synopses that highlight the diversity and intentionality of research projects from across UNM.
As a finalist judge, I was consistently impressed as we learned in concise detail about research ranging from invasive mosquitoes to responsible water use in resource extraction to legislative attitudes on women’s reproductive rights--all topics highly relevant to our lives here in New Mexico and beyond. I want to congratulate all participants from each division of the UROC conference and share my joy in seeing two students from the DSA El Puente Research Fellowship leave with awards at the closing ceremony. El Puente is an exemplar of infusing culturally responsive values and practices into an environment of student success which both supports and advances excellence.
Thank you to the students and staff of El Puente for bringing your best to UROC and demonstrating the importance and efficacy of programs like these, which meaningfully advance our DSA mission to:
Enhance the educational experience by implementing evidence-based and culturally responsive student success practices to support academic achievement, health and well-being, social responsibility, meaningful engagement, and transformative leadership development.
With appreciation,
Eric
| 
