Archive for the ‘Announcements’ Category

Davin Lopez, President/CEO of the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance (MVEDA) will provide a mid-year update of MVEDA’s activities at the February “MVEDA Business in the Borderplex” luncheon. The luncheon will be held on Tuesday, February 7, 2012 from 11:30am to 1:00pm.

This month’s meeting will be held in the Tuscany Room at Lorenzo’s de Mesilla, 1750 Calle de Mercado in Mesilla. The meeting will begin with a hot entree buffet.

Luncheon cost is $20.00 per person, payable by cash, check or major credit card. Due to space limitations, reservations are required. Please confirm your attendance no later than Thursday, February 2^nd by sending an email to rsvp@mveda.com or by calling the office at (575) 525-2852. The meeting is open to the public.

Release courtesy of the NMSU News Center

Top national and state economists will unveil their economic forecasts for 2012 at the inaugural Economic Outlook Conference sponsored by the College of Business at New Mexico State University and Wells Fargo Bank. The free conference takes place from 3:30-5:30 p.m. Jan. 12 at the Corbett Center Student Union on the NMSU campus.

“Wells Fargo’s decision to co-host its economic forecast conference in Las Cruces reflects the growing importance this region has on the overall state economy,” said Garrey Carruthers, dean of the NMSU College of Business and vice president for economic development.

“Wells Fargo is proud to partner with NMSU to present this inaugural economic outlook event,” said Lisa Riley, regional president for Wells Fargo New Mexico. “The purpose of this event is to deliver the very latest information concerning the United States and New Mexico economies. Recent history, current state and future paths of each of these economies will provide the business owner or executive with the best information available to plan for the coming year.”

Delivering the national economic forecast for Wells Fargo will be Eugenio Alemán, a senior economist and vice president for the company. Alemán will discuss the country’s strengthening economy as job creation rises and the housing market stabilizes. He also will discuss the challenges still facing the nation’s economy, particularly the risk posed by a potential collapse of the euro.

At Wells Fargo, Alemán forecasts national, regional and international economic trends. His primary focus is the United States, including interest rates and the economies of Texas and Arizona. He also is an expert on the economies of Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. Within that area, his specialties include the economies of border towns that trade with Mexico and the maquiladora-manufacturing sector along the U.S.-Mexico border. He is based in Charlotte, N.C.

After Alemán’s presentation, NMSU economist Jim Peach will provide the state’s economic forecast. Peach will explain how the national economy affects New Mexico and also will focus on economic growth prospects for the state.  “Three sectors of the state economy – government, energy and construction – will be key factors in both the short- and long-run recovery in New Mexico,” Peach said.

To register for the event, contact Judy Wetzel at 575-521-6849 or at judith.a.wetzel@wellsfargo.com.

Release courtesy of the NMSU News Center

WRITER: Janet Perez, 575-646-4120, perezjm@nmsu.edu
CONTACT: Sara Patricolo, 575-646-2066, spatrico@nmsu.edu

Small business owners can learn more about how health care reform affects them at the Spring 2012 Domenici Institute Forum. The forum takes place from 4-5 p.m. on Jan. 17 at the KRWG-TV studios on the campus of New Mexico State University. The event is free and open to the public.

Dr. Bob Graboyes, senior fellow for health and economics for the National Federation of Independent Business Research Foundation, will discuss the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and what it means for small businesses.

“Small businesses are dealing with numerous challenges in this difficult economy, including health care reform,” said Garrey Carruthers, dean of New Mexico State University’s College of Business and director of NMSU’s Domenici Institute. “Through this Domenici Institute Forum, small business owners in the region will have the opportunity to learn from a nationally prominent expert how health care reform is expected to impact them.”

At the forum, Graboyes will discuss 12 needed reforms to the health care legislation that are of importance to small businesses.  In addition to his work with the National Federation of Independent Business, Graboyes teaches health care professionals in master’s and doctoral programs at Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of Virginia and George Mason University. Graboyes was an economist at the University of Richmond, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Va., the Virginia Department of Taxation and Chase Manhattan Bank.

The Domenici Institute Forum is an extension of the university’s yearly Domenici Public Policy Conference. The goal of the forums is to engage the public and encourage them to discuss and take part in issues of public interest, specifically, important policy matters.

The forum will be taped for broadcast, so those attending must arrive on campus by 3:30 p.m. and be at the KRWG studios in Milton Hall by 3:45 p.m. Taping will begin promptly at 4 p.m. For those who cannot attend the forum, KRWG will broadcast the proceedings at 7 p.m. Jan. 19, 5 p.m. Jan. 21 and 11 a.m. Jan. 22. For more information and a parking guide, log onto http://domenici.nmsu.edu.

Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Bulletin

By Todd G. Dickson

State Higher Education Secretary Jose Garcia and Public Education Secretary-designate Hanna Skandera say they intend to make the public schools and higher education work together to provide a better trained work force.

Speaking before the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance (MVEDA) Tuesday, Jan. 3, Garcia and Skandera said they also will make the educational system more accountable. Their appearance in Las Cruces was followed up by Gov. Susana Martinez meeting with a large group of regents, governing board members and post-secondary institution presidents in Socorro to discuss the state’s new higher education funding formula.

The new formula will reward New Mexico’s higher learning institutions based on outcome measures that reflect student achievement and preparedness for New Mexico’s work force, as opposed to basing the allocation of funding on measurements like the size (square footage) of each institution. Also, the current formula funds colleges and universities based on courses and degree programs started. The new formula would be based on courses and degree programs completed.

Garcia said this is about more than making better use of the state’s support of higher education. The idea is to put the money into where there are gaps, especially in skill sets needed in high-tech professions.

At the MVEDA luncheon, Garcia noted that Intel decided to expand its Arizona operations, but not its plant in Rio Rancho. Yet, New Mexico spends more per graduate than Arizona, he said. Garcia said he took it as signal that New Mexico is not producing the kind of work force that is needed for the United States to be competitive globally.

“The central goal of New Mexico’s higher education institutions should be to graduate the students New Mexico’s economy will depend on for decades,” Martinez said. “In an increasingly competitive global economy, this formula will help us deliver the graduates we need for the jobs of tomorrow, and it serves to intently focus our attention on the achievement of our students.”

Under the formula, institutions would receive funding for graduating students in “STEHM” (Science, Technology, Engineering, Health Care and Mathematics) fields. A recent study disclosed that New Mexico’s economy will require nearly 50,000 employees with STEHM degrees by 2018 and nearly 95 percent of those jobs will require post-secondary education. “For the first time in the history of New Mexico, the younger generation is less educated than the generations before,” Garcia said. “This new formula is our opportunity to make sure today’s students are tomorrow’s successful employees.”

Meanwhile, Skandera said the schools will be changing, too, with a focus on making graduates better prepared for the work force or higher education once they complete school. Skandera said the schools will be more realistically assessed than the guaranteed failure rates offered by No Child Left Behind standards, which she said has only resulted in schools putting resources into helping borderline students rather than helping struggling students.

“Education is about setting up our kids for success,” Skandera said. “Let’s honor the successes we see and work on the areas we need to.”

At the MVEDA luncheon, a local success story was also highlighted. The Arrowhead Park Early College High School (APECHS) on the New Mexico State University campus will get a boost from a $345,090 W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant for the public-private workforce development advocate. The school, created by a school-business partnership called the Bridge of Southern New Mexico gives students the chance to learn in a higher education environment and earn college credits.

APECHS can tout that none of its students have dropped out, said Tracey Bryan, president and CEO of The Bridge. She said the cooperative efforts between the public schools, higher education and the business community is what spurred Kellogg to give the significant grant.

Distribution of the grant money includes $45,000 to NMSU’s Enlace Program that helps minority students succeed in higher education, $45,000 to NMSU and the University of New Mexico education research centers, $37,090 to the Arrowhead Center where the school is housed and $10,000 to the Service Learning Program at the NMSU College of Education. But the bulk of the Kellogg grant will be used to increase the student capacity at APECHS and to begin work on setting up four more early college high schools in Doña Ana County, according to the grant announcement.

Bryan said the Kellogg grant is a significant award, but The Bridge also has been getting grants from other private foundations and local businesses to help the APECHS effort. Through APECHS and other efforts, Las Cruces Public Schools is seeing good progress on reducing its dropout rate overall, Bryan said, “and the sky’s the limit” for future progress.

Skandera touted APECHS as an example of how to improve schools. “We didn’t point fingers in Las Cruces,” she said. “We sat down and said how do we get there, and we partnered.”

Spaceport Community Forum – Save the Date!

Activity at Spaceport America in 2012 will be up over 2011, and new opportunities for local businesses will be available.  On Tuesday, January 10, 2012, Spaceport America, Virgin Galactic, and key site operations contractors will provide a briefing on upcoming activities as the Commercial Space Committee of the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce sponsors the first Spaceport Community Forum of the year.  The meeting will be held from 5:30 – 7:00pm at the Dona Ana County Government Center at 845 N. Motel Blvd in Las Cruces, in the main Commission Chambers.

Representatives from Fiore Industries, Enterprise Advisory Services Inc. (EASi), and Follow The Sun Tours will be on hand to share their roles at Spaceport America, talk about upcoming contract opportunities, and how to engage their procurement processes.  Program updates for 2012 will be provided by the New Mexico Spaceport Authority and Virgin Galactic representatives.  Information will also be presented on other local and statewide procurement registration databases to assist local businesses in identifying opportunities for growing in 2012.

A “business card” drawing will be held to give away four tours passes to Spaceport America with Follow The Sun Tours, operators of the “Spaceport Preview Tours”.  For more information, contact the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce at 575-524-1968.