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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Altamirano

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/31/2006

HB

SHORT TITLE UNM Chicano Studies Tenure Track Positions

SB 501

ANALYST McOlash

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

$250.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

University of New Mexico Web Site (UNM)

Responses Received From

New Mexico Higher Education Department (NMHED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 501 appropriates $250,000 from the General Fund to the Board of Regents of the

University of New Mexico for expenditure in FY 2007for Instruction and General Funding

purposes to expand the Chicano/Hispanic/Mexicano Studies Program to provide for tenure

track assistant professorships, lectures, graduate assistants, community outreach and curricu-

lum development.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the General Fund. .

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY 2007 shall revert to the

General Fund.

Senate Bill 501 – page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

Senate Bill 501 relates to UNM’s priority five: Program Funding for Native American Stud-

ies and Chicano et. al. studies. The NMHED analysis indicates this request was not included

in UNM's recommendation to the New Mexico Higher Education Department.

OVERVIEW

The Chicano Studies Program at UNM emerged in the 1970s during a heightened period of

student political and cultural activism. Controversies concerning the Viet Nam War and the

Land Grant movement polarized and energized the community. The traditional curriculum at

UNM was challenged and new interest in women’s and ethnic studies was met with new

courses and programs.

Although strong departments of Anthropology and Spanish have always been part of the

foundational vision of a University for New Mexico, the commitment to Regional Studies

built by leaders like President Zimmerman and Spanish Professor Joaquín Ortega before

World War II waned quickly in the post war period. An important link to the future was

forged by Professor Sabine Ulibarrí with the foundation of the nation’s first “Heritage Span-

ish” program as we now call it.

REGIONAL STUDIES

Chicano Studies built on the past, articulated with the national Chicano movement, and

helped restore and build UNM´s commitment to the region. The emergence of the Center for

Regional Studies in the 1980s has insured the vitality of this process, funding special re-

search and archival projects, film, joint appointments, graduate fellowships, and program ini-

tiatives including the establishment of the Heritage Spanish program and instructorships in

Chicano Studies. Faculty with academic backgrounds in Chicano Studies now occupy posi-

tions of leadership across campus, including five chairs in Arts & Sciences, one in Education,

and prominent colleagues in Law and Medicine.

THE UNDERGRADUATE MINOR

The Chicano Studies undergraduate program has always been small, perhaps because stu-

dents may pursue regional studies in a number of departments. In 1996, these offerings coa-

lesced into a Minor, with the addition of introduction, topics, and seminar courses. After a

period of initial growth, the program reached a stasis, with minors numbering up to 40 stu-

dents, and overall enrollments up to 185. These numbers are small when compared to the

growth in the Heritage Spanish program (450-500) and minuscule in the sea of Hispanic un-

dergraduates at UNM (5000-6000). When Chicano Studies became a part of University Col-

lege, a renewed commitment to undergraduate education and retention emerged. Director

Eduardo Hernández Chávez directed much of his energy to the establishment of a Spanish

language charter school, La Academia de Lengua y Cultura. The introduction of Chicano

Studies curriculum in high schools was also a high priority.

Enrique Lamadrid began as interim chair in the fall of 2003, after a year of controversy con-

cerning the directorship and the rejection of a candidate. The national search that followed

confirmed his leadership by the fall of 2004.

Senate Bill 501 - Page

3

NEW DIRECTIONS: A NAME CHANGE

Action on the inclusion initiative led to a name change of the program in November 2004,

since the term “Chicano” does not fully address the diversity within the Hispanic communi-

ties of New Mexico. It is interesting to note that sister programs across the Southwest

reached the same conclusions and made necessary title changes as early as the early 1980s at

the University of Texas Austin, the University of Arizona, and others. Don Américo Pare-

des, the Dean of Chicano Studies himself, instituted the change in Texas to “Mexican Ameri-

can Studies” in a move towards inclusion and diversity.

After lengthy discussion over almost two years, the Steering Committee recommended a

name change of “Southwest Hispanic Studies.” The following language was then submitted

to the Curriculum Committee:

“The terminology of “Chicano Studies” has ever-decreasing relevance to Hispanic stu-

dents in New Mexico, who overwhelmingly identify themselves and their families with

the ethnonyms “Hispanic” and “Mexicano,” at the top of a list which also includes

“Mexican-American,” “Latino,” and near the bottom, “Chicano.” To target a broader

range of a diverse population, only the name of the minor will change to “SW Hispanic

Studies.” Course contents and degree requirements will remain the same.”

After a dynamic community forum and debate with national repercussions, the name became

Chicano / Hispano / Mexicano Studies (CHMS).

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

It is not clear how the appropriated funds will be spent. The list of possible expenditure line

items is extensive including faculty and staff salaries, community outreach, and curriculum de-

velopment

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

Should the NMHED require a program budget and an annual evaluation.

BMC/mt