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

SPONSOR Lujan, B.

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/25/08

HB 286

SHORT TITLE New Relevance For Anthropology At UNM

SB

ANALYST Haug

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$75.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Higher Education Department (HED)

University of New Mexico (UNM)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 286 appropriates $75.0 from the general fund to the Board of Regents of the

University of New Mexico to provide funding for the Alfonso Ortiz center for intercultural

studies to meet the challenge of developing a new relevance for anthropology in the world at

large and to match funds for this purpose.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $75.0 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund. Any

unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2009 shall revert to the

general fund.

A request was submitted by UNM in the amount of $75,000 to the New Mexico Higher

Education Department (NMHED) for review. The request is an increase of $35,000 to the current

recurring funding. The Department’s funding recommendation for FY09 is a continuance of

FY08 recurring funding in the amount of $40,000 with no additional funding at this time.

The HED’s evaluation table of FY09 Research and Public Service Projects provided to the LFC

House Bill 286 – Page

2

classifies this project as a “would not oppose if funding available" project. Reasons for this

classification decision are not provided. (LFC Report 07-20, Higher Education Department

Review of Selected Research and Public Service Projects, January 12, 2008, Table 4, p76.)

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

According to UNM, This request seeks partial funding for the Ortiz Center Director and

additional staff. These positions will assist in the:

•

Administration and expansion of the Center's $1,000,000 endowment at the UNM

Foundation;

•

Administration of the recently awarded $700,000 four-year grant from the Andrew P.

Mellon Foundation to increase the number and rate at which Native American and Latino

graduate students at UNM complete their doctorates the Arts and Sciences;

•

Development of additional funding proposals to expand scholarship programs for Native

American, Latino, and other underrepresented groups at UNM;

•

Creation of innovative training and outreach programs in conjunction with the

Department of Anthropology and Maxwell Museum in public anthropology for residents

of New Mexico who are pursuing professional careers in this rapidly growing area; and

•

Development of collaborative, community-based research and service programs with

communities and tribal groups throughout the State focused on language and cultural

preservation, and the dynamics of human and environmental interactions

UNM notes further that the impact of this funding will address a number of UNM Strategic goals

such as:

•

Increasing external funding for new research and outreach in public anthropology that

will reflect the interests and concerns of communities throughout the State;

•

Developing research in critical cultural areas such as language, historic and traditional

properties, sustainability, and environmental change;

•

Improving access at both the undergraduate and graduate levels to under-represented

groups through private organizations and foundations; and

•

Enhancing the numbers of Native American and Latino students who earn graduate

degrees in several programs at UNM (who may join the faculties at higher education

institutions throughout the State) and Assisting in and finding funding for the

development of new programming and public education initiatives.

GH/nt