State of Eastern Address
WOW! Look at all these Greyhounds! When we planned this event, we weren’t sure what kind of turn-out to expect—What a showing for Roswell!
The Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art is such a beautiful venue and resource for our region and it is a privilege to partner with them for our first ‘official’ State of the ENMU System Address.
While it is great to be in a renowned art gallery, it isn’t the only reason we chose this spot. We are here in Roswell to kick off what is the first of many One Eastern events that we hope continue to bring us together as One Eastern, One Family, One System.
Roswell is our third most alumni-populated regions, and of course our Roswell campus plays an important role to this city.
This inaugural event is part of our ongoing efforts to raise the visibility of our great university system.
More people across the state and the nation need to know about our shared history, our strengthening regional partnerships, our academic and students’ successes, and our strategic vision for the future
Which, by the way: Is brighter than ever!
As the state of New Mexico’s largest regional comprehensive university, and the only regional system, our mission was born by our region, for our region—and our future is dependent on our shared commitment and partnerships. Our mission is focused on Student Success—not just on campus and in the classroom—but when our students leave college to answer their callings.
We have always been and continue to be a rare breed at Eastern New Mexico University.
Greyhounds are known for their tenacity, persistence, creativity, work-ethic and grit.
Through the close relationships they form with our faculty and staff, our students develop the rare ability to meet and exceed obstacles with optimism and a commitment to serve each other, their communities and their families.
They craft challenges into strengths and lead.
Whether pursuing a high-demand career, committing to an academic path,
gaining a certificate to better their current career, or working to serve others in the health sciences or social work fields----
Greyhounds learn the importance of remaining firmly grounded while developing unique ambitions and hopes that only come from encouragement and support.
The sky is the limit at Eastern, but Greyhounds don’t lose sight of the ground from which they remain rooted.
I couldn’t be more proud of our students, faculty and staff—
Let’s all give them a round of applause.
It is because of them that this year, the Wall Street Journal ranked ENMU:
#69 of 500 colleges in the US for overall experience while attending the university.
We were ranked as the best-value college in the entire State of New Mexico.
Additionally, The Wall Street Journal ranked ENMU in the top three in the State of New Mexico for social mobility, best overall college and best salaries when related to the impact on graduate’s wages related to the cost of attending college
At Eastern we serve a large population of rural and first-generation students, and social and economic mobility reflects both the power of education and our focus on student success.
So, when US News and World Report ranked ENMU 46th of 115 regional colleges for social mobility—this year, it was gratifying. This was an increase of 24 spots since 2024 and reflects our progress and growth in achieving our mission.
Our success is possible because of our investment in strong, innovative and accessible academic programs to ensure there is a place for every student, no matter where they are in their lives.
ENMU was also recognized with 20 other awards in 2024 from onlineU.com highlighting progress made by our consistent strategic investments in our online academic programs for decades:
ENMU was recognized as:
- #1 in for Online Speech Pathology degrees
- #1 in for best online aviation degrees
- #2 in for best online physical education programs
- #6 in for best online degrees in Spanish
In their Best Colleges rankings, Niche.com ranked ENMU as:
- The best online college in America for 2025!
- #1 college with the best academics in New Mexico
- #1 best online colleges in New Mexico
Again, all of this is possible because of our passionate and driven students, our talented and committed faculty and our caring staff----
Let’s give them all another round of applause.
As many of you know, I travel to Santa Fe quite often during the legislative session.
People often ask me: What are you guys doing at Eastern that has made you so successful? How do you continue to move forward as others face challenges?
Of course, there is no single answer to this question.
However, I think it starts with who we are. Who we have always been—
As many of you know, who we are is in embedded in our history. And, our history informs our future.
We are living in a time when history matters. So, allow me a brief historical detour.
The theme of this address tonight is: One Eastern, One Family, One Future.
I believe it embodies what we have been doing at Eastern for close to 91 Years
When we speak of ONE, it is in the original spirit of that very familiar Latin phrase here in America - e pluribus unum
translated it means:
Out of many—ONE.
Eastern was an idea born from a region that recognized the need for access to higher education for its citizens. In 1912 when New Mexico became the 47th state to enter the union, it was written into the state’s constitution that a normal school would be built in the eastern part of the state—in one of the six counties of Union, Quay, Curry, Roosevelt, Chavez or Eddy.
From six we became ONE.
When in 1927 the Roosevelt Chamber of Commerce began work to place a normal school in Roosevelt County—in the center of each of the six counties comprising Eastern New Mexico—it represented access to higher education based on a practical necessity—to provide access AND affordability to higher education for the families in our region who would not otherwise be able to access college.
Before the decision was made to build the first campus of Eastern in Portales, students from the eastern part of the state had to drive nearly 400 miles to attend college—if, of course, they had a car. Not to mention the financial constraints that it would cause.
So, in 1927-
Out of SIX counties came ONE normal school which is now Eastern New Mexico University!
We are One Eastern through our shared bond with our communities.
We are One Eastern through our growing strength as a system and our unifying vision for the future.
From the beginning we have been a rare breed---deeply invested in the success and growth of our region and the students and families we are here to support.
One Eastern is not just a slogan, but as our history illustrates, One Eastern is a deep part of our identity.
Since the beginning of my tenure at ENMU I have been working on a system-wide One Eastern Initiative to create seamless access and growth across our entire system.
We are working to make Eastern the single point of contact for higher education in our region, across the entire duration of our students’ lives and in many cases, across the multiple generations of Greyhound families who have been a part of our history.
We are committed to meeting students where they are. And this means ensuring that they have a seamless way to move throughout the system; to remain Eastern students should they need to make a transition, to ensure they always know they belong in the One Eastern Family.
In Phase I, we worked on the administrative and behind-the-scenes process on all three campuses to make this possible. In Phase II, we began by focusing on the good work already in place and selected the high-demand programs of Business, Nursing, Aviation Sciences, Social Work, Criminal Justice, and Education. These are two plus two programs where students begin in Roswell or Ruidoso and complete in Portales. We are working to improve and create a seamless and coordinated educational experience for our students, and of course, targeting some of our marketing and recruiting efforts to raise awareness of these possibilities.
We have been working on a series of One Eastern Days designed as part recruiting, part informational and part fun! These will be hosted on each campus annually and feature representatives from all three campuses to help students discover the One Eastern system and remain part of the One Eastern Family.
While we work to ensure our system is united, our enrollment continues to grow.
When I say the ENMU System is growing, it is against a backdrop of national anxiety around ideas of an enrollment cliff and declining domestic high school students. Many universities across the nation are faced with extraordinary decisions that involve dramatic cuts, restructuring and in some cases closures.
At Eastern we have seen enrollment growth—which says something about who we are, and who we have always been.
At the Portales campus, the current Academic Year enrollment represents a banner year. To begin the year:
The first-time freshman class is up 18.9 percent, new graduate students are up 19.7%, and continuing students are up 6.1%.
Our total graduate enrollment increased by 13.1%,
This is aa 339 student increase!
And a 6.3% increase overall from last year.
This is the largest increase in students attending our Portales campus since the 2011-12 school year.
This growth meant that we reached 89% capacity for campus housing.
The student life experiences and support is now under the leadership of Dr. Christy Johanson. Thank you Christy and your division for the great work!
Before sharing some of the growth and success of ENMU Ruidoso and ENMU Roswell, I would like to acknowledge President’s Ryan Trosper and Shaun Powell.
As you all know, this year was marked by historic natural disasters for this region as Ruidoso endured tragic fires and both Ruidoso and Roswell communities endured floods.
Both President Trosper and President Powell worked together tirelessly to ensure those in-need found shelter and were provided food. They rose out of the crisis as a consummate leadership team that represents what it means to be One Eastern.
Ryan and Shaun, please stand: Can everyone please offer them a round of applause.
As Greyhounds do, despite these harrowing challenges, they persevered. Thank you, Ryan and Shaun!
Despite these challenges, ENMU Ruidoso recorded:
The highest student credit hour growth in enrollment in the past 10 years across the entire State of New Mexico at 26.5%
This is an amazing testament to the students we serve and an outstanding Ruidoso campus
This recent growth has been the result of a focus on early childhood education and workforce training programs.
ENMU Ruidoso recorded a 250 student increase this year in non-credit offerings, including CDL training and leadership development training.
These workforce preparation training programs are a direct result of partnerships with local recovery efforts with the Village of Ruidoso and the Mescalero Apache Tribe and will lead to immediate employment opportunities.
While right here in Roswell: our ENMU Roswell campus for the current academic year has 3,278 students, 65% of which are part time and 35% full time.
One of our system goals is to be the single point of higher education, no matter where students are in their lives or careers—so the following statistic truly exhibits who we are as a One Eastern System:
At ENMU Roswell the student age range spans from 14 years of age to 77 years!
556 of ENMU Roswell students earned associates degrees and or certificates. And, in spring of 2025 ENMU Roswell employed 280 full and part time employees with a total annual salary amount of $13,517,049. Contributing substantially to this local economy.
Our enrollment growth as a system is impressive, but it also requires that we grow our campuses to accommodate our shared future.
This fall in Portales we broke ground for the new Student Academic Services Building, (SAS), the first newly constructed building on our Portales campus in a decade. This 25,304 square foot building will be the new front door to campus.
Renovations to the Roosevelt Science Center were completed this year. This $22.5M renovation project, funded through a G.O. Bond, offers brand new science labs, modern technology, and equipment which includes a new Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectrometer (NMR), dramatically increasing our STEM capacity and improving the overall quality of research opportunities for students and faculty.
Nursing Program Expansions began this month here at ENMU-Roswell began a with a $3M renovation project, funded by state dollars. A local contractor won the bid, so this will be another addition to the local economy while positioning nursing students for success.
Funded by 2022 G.O. Bond support, three more projects on the ENMU Roswell campus are scheduled to start next quarter involving new sidewalks and sprinkler system upgrades.
ENMU Ruidoso is also set to break ground in fall 2025 for a $7M Workforce Training Center to help train the local workforce for impacted areas related to the fires and floods.
As I noted earlier, ENMU was born of a shared commitment to the students, families and businesses of our region. Our history is built from partnerships— and we know we will only be as strong in the future as the strength of the partnerships we develop today.
Recently, ENMU Ruidoso and ENMU Roswell developed a Nursing Partnership which enabled 12 nurses to remain working in their local region. This partnership allows ENMU Roswell to offer our Nursing Program at ENMU Ruidoso campus, making nursing education more accessible to local students and providing hands-on clinical experience, closer to home.
In collaboration with the ENMU Ruidoso Foundation, ENMU Ruidoso created a recovery fund for ENMU-Ruidoso staff, faculty, and students. All proceeds from this fund was used exclusively to assist ENMU-Ruidoso staff, faculty and students directly with expenses connected to recovery and relocation expenses after the June 2024 South Fork and Salt fires and their resulting floods.
With legislative support, the campus installed a generator and now has backup electrical power in case of power loss in the region. Additionally, the Ruidoso campus is now designated as disaster recovery staging location to support the region with future needs.
As I have said over and over again, Greyhounds share a common identity. We are One Eastern through our shared bond with our communities, our service, our fellowship and our call to each other. This is why our community partnerships matter so much.
ENMU Roswell has been working hard on a partnership that will bring tens of thousands of people to our region annually. ENMU Roswell has partnered with the city of Roswell for an extraordinary annual event. Roswell will now be home to the National Championship Air Races. The event brought over $100M in annual revenue to the Reno-Tahoe region where it was formally based and will have a tremendous economic impact in our region. The ENMU Roswell campus will host training classes for the pilot qualification courses in May and anticipate 400-600 visitors to attend.
Additionally, there will be STEM exhibits associated with the races and we are predicting anywhere from 6,000 to 9,000 middle and high school students to attend the races.
This partnership is truly a win for the Roswell community and for ENMU Roswell students in the Aviation Maintenance Technology program who are now eligible for scholarships that have been created by the National Championship Air Races.
Not only will this have a substantial impact on our region but it will raise the visibility of ENMU to the aviation industry broadly.
Much of the growth and many of our essential partnerships are possible because of the strong relationship we work to maintain with the State of New Mexico.
We continue to receive strong support for our efforts in Santa Fe.
For FY 2025 our total state appropriation was - $67,456,500.
And for FY 2026 we estimate an approximate 3.35% increase to $69,720,400.
This year our total system-wide legislative ask was $6,428,935.
We have worked hard over the last 60 days and now await the final decisions and funding support for the coming academic year.
I would like to take a moment to recognize the hard work and dedication of our System Chief Financial Officer and Vice President for Administration and Finance, Mr. Tony Major.
By default, as CFO, he becomes our government relations officer, but we are currently searching to fill this role to, hopefully, give us all a bit of help.
Thanks for your work Tony.
I would also like to thank our regional legislators for their work and support of our system.
In addition to the strong relationship we continue to develop with the state of New Mexico and our legislators, we have reimagined our focus on our alumni and philanthropic partnerships.
At the beginning of last year, I created the first advancement and public relations division at ENMU. This division brings together university communications and marketing, alumni affairs and the activities of the ENMU Foundation under one strategic vision.
This year, we conducted our first-ever alumni survey, the results from which were resoundingly positive. This will act as a data-informed roadmap for the way we communicate and engage with our alumni.
The ENMU Foundation has recorded record breaking fundraising numbers since the inception of the division of advancement.
The Foundation posted $7,2M in new cash and commitments for FY 2024. This was a 67% increase from FY 2023 which recorded $4.3M. To sustain this kind of growth will require critical infrastructure in the Foundation and on campus.
We have been partnering with the ENMU Foundation Board to strategically develop the infrastructure necessary to not just sustain but grow. I would like to acknowledge and thank the ENMU Foundation Board and Noelle Bartl, the Executive Director of the ENMU Foundation. Also a big thank you and recognition of the leadership of Mr. Warren Lloyd VP for University Advancement and Public Relations.
Of course, these numbers are exciting and mark a new phase of growth and a new level of partnership between the university and the foundation, however, at the root of these numbers are relationships.
This year, with the ENMU Foundation, we have developed philanthropic partnerships that will have a lasting impact on our students, our faculty, staff and our campus.
Thanks to a substantial gift from the Steve Loy Family Foundation, the largest single gift in ENMU’s history, we named the Steve Loy Family Foundation Athletic Complex which included the naming of the Steve Loy Family Foundation Stadium and Arena, respectively. The funds from this gift will endow two scholarships and two assistant coach funds in basketball and football.
The funds also enabled us to launch a new President’s Athlete Leadership Academy, which will help our student-athletes translate the leadership skills they develop on the courts and fields, into career-oriented leadership.
As One Eastern, we know that our growth is dependent on the simultaneous growth of our region and the communities we serve. Just as the partnership ENMU Roswell worked to develop with the City of Roswell to bring in the National Air Races, and the partnership ENMU Ruidoso has developed with its community partners to create a new Workforce Development Center, I am asking all of our constituents to think about economic development as they consider the growth of Eastern.
With this in mind, this year I have developed a President’s Executive Council (PEC) which will be focused on many of our region’s biggest challenges and opportunities: economic development, access to affordable health care, childcare, literacy and reading. This group, fully funded by philanthropic dollars, will bring together a diverse and far-ranging set of experiences across all fields associated with economic development, health care and literacy. We will hold our inaugural meeting at the end of May. With the PEC, we will continue to take advantage of opportunities and continue to grow and thrive together.
When we think about One Eastern, One Family, One Future—we take the family part seriously. When we agree to embark on a philanthropic partnership with anyone that will involve the permanent naming of one of our facilities or programs, the revenue is important, but more important is the impact such partnerships have on our students, faculty, staff and on our programs and facilities.
That is why this year with approval by the Board of Regents, we honorifically renamed our KENW Broadcast Center, the Duane W. Ryan Broadcast Center. This naming came with an outpouring of support and excitement for the indelible mark Mr. Ryan had on KENW and our Broadcast Journalism Department with over 55 years of service as the Director of Broadcasting at ENMU. I would like to thank everyone, especially the members of the Ryan Family for all they have done for ENMU.
Our alumni’s enthusiasm and selfless support is a reflection on the strength of their relationships with ENMU and the strength of our academic programs.
This year, the Department of Agriculture was awarded a $490,000 AGRI competitive grant by the US department of Agriculture.
Our Department of Social Work was awarded a $576, 540 grant from the NM Children, Youth and Family Department, further strengthening our Bachelor’s of Social Work program.
Building on our undergraduate strengths in Social Work and to help us meet the growing demand in our region for mental health care and social work services,
we launched a Masters in Social Work degree program this academic year. We projected we would start the program with 25 students. We started this program with a cohort of 35 for the fall of 2024 and we have seen tremendous growth already---as of spring 2025, there are 45 students enrolled!
With our focus on our region, also comes a deep commitment to our land, environment and our water. We live in a unique region that offers unique research and teaching opportunities in our STEM fields.
This year, Chair of Physical Sciences and Professor of Chemistry, Dr. Juchao Yan, continued his work on a $749,976 grant from the Department of Energy to develop materials for state-of-the-art organic solar cells. Dr. Yan’s work is focused on increasing the efficiency of power conversion for large-scale power generation.
Perhaps nothing holds the rich history of our region more firmly than the renowned Black Water Draw Site which is a part of ENMU.
We are working hard to preserve and further develop this significant resource which attracts researchers from around the globe. This year the Black Water Draw Site was awarded a $78,299 grant to support the digitization of the site’s negatives and subcollections, making these important research archives more accessible.
This year our Department of Fine Arts hosted its first ever Masterclass Festival which brought back some of the Department’s most notable alumni for a three-day event to work with students and the community to inspire the next generation of artists, musicians and journalists.
With all the academic success, I would be remiss if I did not thank Dr. Jamie Laurenz, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs for his outstanding leadership. Thank you Jamie.
Another reason our alumni and our regional partners are so enthusiastic has been because of the success of our athletics programs. Athletics in many ways is the front-door to campus.
This year I hired a new Director of Athletics Mr. Kevin Fite whose has rolled up his sleeves and is doing a great job integrating athletics with student and academic life. At Eastern we are committed to the whole ‘student’-athlete.
As many of you know, last year our Men’s Basketball Team won the 2024 Lonestar Conference Championship for the first time in 31 years.
ENMU Women’s basketball is another success story for athletics. After winning 11 games in his first season here, coach Huber turned the program around and won 21 games this season, our most wins since 2020, and led the team to their first ever NCAA Regional tournament victory, with a first-round win over Colorado Mesa last weekend. Let’s give a big round of applause to our Women’s Basketball team and Coach Huber
And a thank you for the leadership of Mr. Kevin Fite.
This past weekend Sophomore Jamoi Jackson of the Men’s Track and Field team took fifth place in the 400 meters at the NCAA DII indoor championships!
We look forward to hosting the 2025 Lonestar Conference Championship for Track and Field here at the Steve Loy Family Foundation stadium May 1-3!
When May arrives, we will be preparing for an exciting commencement ceremony.
This year we welcome ENMU alumnus and Olympic medalist, Mike Boit (’74) back to campus to deliver our commencement address. His remarkable accomplishments as an athlete, philanthropist and educator exemplify what it means to be a Greyhound.
We are committed to raising the visibility of this great university. We want to hold up those Greyhounds who exemplify our values of persistence, tenacity, work-ethic, creativity and who follow their calling to service, community, fellowship and family—no matter what path they take.
With this in mind we are awarding three honorary doctorates this year as part of a wider effort to model for our students and our community the values we hope to instill. This year’s honors will be awarded to Greyhounds who have had an extraordinary impact as entrepreneurs and in their communities. We will be awarding honorary doctorates to: Steve Loy ’74, coach, sports agent, entrepreneur; Max Merrick, (Greyhound Parent) Eastern New Mexico entrepreneur and developer and June Merrick, (Greyhound Parent) business leader and Eastern New Mexico entrepreneur.
These Greyhounds have been answering the call for decades and we are proud to honor them.
I would like to close with a personal story that connects Stephanie’s and my story back to this great university’s mission and fundamental purpose.
As I reflect on our time at ENMU, I am struck that it has been two and half years since Stephanie and I answered the call to become part of the Greyhound Family.
When we were considering the opportunity to come to Portales, we were clear that we were not interested in just any leadership opportunity. We sought an opportunity to which we were ‘called.’ ENMU was, and remains, that call.
As a reminder, I have a plow in the back yard of my home. It is a family heirloom and treasure to me. Many of our guests, faculty, staff, students, and supporters, have now heard the story of the plow.
It was my grandfather’s plow. The same mule drawn plow he used in the cotton fields of west Texas where I grew up with eight siblings. The same fields my father and I later plowed with our old tractor. I tell them that during those long hours on the farm, I didn’t think much of the future, let alone going to college. It wasn’t until high school when my basketball coach and teacher asked me where I was planning to attend college that I heard the call. He seemed convinced I needed to go to college, but didn’t stop there. He helped me with the application process, applying for scholarships and financial aid and before I knew it, I was accepted into college and I was thriving.
Fast forward to today, I’ve spent a career caring for people, researching, teaching, and leading. I now have the privilege to lead this great University System.
I don’t tell this story to pat myself on the back. I tell this story—now—because it reflects who we are and what we do. I keep my grandfather’s plow out back to remind me of my calling and to help students, faculty and staff stay focused on theirs.
Afterall, only three generations ago that plow was in a cotton field and today sits in the back yard of my home as a reminder of the power of education. It reminds me that the blood, sweat, tears, and prayers of our ancestors make our future possible.
From cultivating the dry fields of west Texas, to working with the most talented faculty and staff with which I have ever worked, together we are cultivating an environment for all students, no matter their background or stage of life, to feel safe, to belong, and to thrive. We are nurturing an educational environment tailored to meet students where they are—Stephanie’s and my calling has not been stronger since we joined ENMU and couldn’t be more resolute today as we propel into a dynamically changing future.
We see ourselves in the students here and we are committed to helping others see themselves in us, in our work together.
It is with great pride that I say:
The state of Eastern is Strong
The state of Eastern is Steady
The state of Eastern is Growing
We are One Eastern One Family One Future. And in the languages that reflect the cultures of this land I emphasize:
Ke Nii Gli
Somos Familia
We are Family
