The University of New Mexico (UNM) has been named one of the top 20 producers of Hispanic bachelor’s degrees in education, according to a recent report by Excelencia in Education. The report, published in March, ranked UNM 18th nationally for producing Hispanic education graduates at the bachelor’s level during the 2019-2020 academic year.
"Incredibly proud": That's how the College of Education & Human Sciences (COEHS) Dean Kristopher Goodrich describes this achievement. "Our state has a huge need for teachers from backgrounds that represent their students, and that has been a strong mission for both our college and the university, so this is a testament to the hard work we have done to ensure that we can have the folks from New Mexico be represented within the teaching profession," Goodrich said.
The report titled "Finding your Workforce: Latino Talent in Education" highlights institutions that intentionally serve Latino students and produce Latino talent to meet national economic needs.
"Much of this has to do with the state's great work providing additional funding around teacher residencies and making the teaching field more attractive and much more sustainable," Goodrich noted. He also credited donors whose support enabled recruitment from diverse communities.
Among the top 25 schools where Latinos earned bachelor’s degrees in education during 2019-2020, most were public institutions and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI). California had the highest number of such schools, followed by Arizona. Florida International University topped the list, with California State University-Los Angeles following closely.
Two universities from New Mexico made it into this ranking: UNM at 18th place and New Mexico State University at 22nd.
Jay Parkes, COEHS associate dean of student success, emphasized UNM's role as a major Research 1 Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and Minority Serving Institution (MSI). "When you look at the innovative programming in the college, it’s nationally recognized; people turn to our faculty and our programs to see how to do it well and do it right," Parkes stated.
Parkes attributes UNM's position on this list to its longstanding commitment to Hispanic communities and successful teacher residency partnerships. The college has focused on expanding teacher preparation beyond Albuquerque over recent years. "How can we reach communities that aren’t an easy driving distance to UNM's main campus, and how do we connect with high school students in those communities?" Parkes asked.
Goodrich highlighted investments within COEHS that increased recruitment efforts both within New Mexico and its border states. “We’re not only reaching out to our branch campuses but also committed to sending our recruitment team to New Mexico's border states, with specific attention around some of the communities that we may wish to recruit towards, so bilingual communities, predominantly Hispanic communities, Indigenous communities,” he said.
The Excelencia report indicates that more than one-third of all Latinos who earned a bachelor’s or master’s degree graduated from one of these top 25 institutions awarding degrees in education for Latinos.
"This recognition is not the end of the journey but it’s a signpost along a long broad road we have been traveling and working hard on," Parkes concluded. "We have more we want to do; the Yazzie/Martinez case and its follow-up have shown we have a lot of work ahead."
UNM is designated as a Hispanic-serving institution by the U.S. Department of Education.