As we move closer to the mid-21st century, there is little doubt that higher education is under pressure from a number of directions: the speed at which technology is changing our economic, social and educational landscape; increasing diversification of the student populations we serve; the threat of the so-called ‘demographic cliff’; changing perspectives on the value of the postsecondary experience; and recent protests on college campuses are just a few.
I believe higher education is well positioned to meet these challenges. And I think this is for two reasons – both fundamental to what we do in higher education.
Higher education is concerned with human development. I was reminded of this recently. On May 1, I attended Aggie Remembrance Day, a ceremony commemorating the NMSU faculty, staff, students and alumni who graduated this year. One name – OJ Allen – immediately caught my attention. I had taken several classes with Dr. during my undergraduate studies at NMSU. All. As I left class one day during my senior year, she asked, “Monica, have you thought about graduate school?” That question changed my life. That relatively simple question from a professor with whom I had an academic relationship set me on the educational and professional path that I would follow throughout my life.
As the needs of our communities and student populations change and evolve, our educational mission is fundamental: to support the personal and professional development of the people who come to us looking to transform their lives. And this past week, during the beginning, I heard these stories over and over again.
Higher education is not antithetical to change; it is inherently about change. I see this when I look at NMSU’s multifaceted mission. Like other land-grant institutions, NMSU was founded to expand access to higher education, teach practical arts, and contribute to economic development through education, research, public service, and outreach. These very functions require that NMSU faculty and staff pay attention to the communities they serve and adapt their research, teaching, public service, and outreach as necessary to meet those needs.
This responsiveness is evident in NMSU’s historic structure: the main campus in Las Cruces, three community college campuses, 12 agricultural science centers, extension sites in each of New Mexico’s 33 counties. This is again reflected in the rapidly growing NMSU Global Campus, which serves students who need more flexibility to pursue their educational and career goals.
This responsiveness is reflected not only in our institutional structures, but also in numerous activities within the NMSU system. We work to recruit students from underrepresented communities who have historically been marginalized from participation in biomedical research disciplines. We are investing in and expanding our Cooperative Extension Service facilities to provide more resources to communities throughout New Mexico. We train the next generation of innovative filmmakers and animators to support New Mexico’s growing film industry workforce. There are countless examples of groundbreaking research, education, outreach and economic development activities taking place in the communities we serve.
There is no doubt that challenges will continue to arise for higher education in New Mexico. Our nature – our commitment to human development and our responsiveness to our constituents – suggests that we must have the capacity to meet these challenges and thrive.
Mónica F. Torres is interim president of the New Mexico State University system. She can be reached at president@nmsu.edu.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Higher education should support positive change in students and communities
