The New Mexico Higher Education Department has finished its annual summer capital outlay hearings, a process that involved traveling more than 700 miles to visit college and university campuses throughout the state. Agency leaders, along with state financial experts, met with school officials to gather information and feedback on important infrastructure projects.
Higher Education Secretary Stephanie M. Rodriguez and the department’s Capital Projects Division led these meetings in partnership with the Department of Finance and Administration, Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, and Legislative Finance Committee.
“Visiting all 33 campuses and schools in person has provided me with valuable insights we can’t get from reports alone,” said Higher Education Secretary Stephanie M. Rodriguez. “As the first higher education cabinet secretary to personally step foot on every public college, university and special school in the state, these visits have directly shaped the agency’s funding recommendations to support the unique needs of each school, strengthen student success and ensure that education in New Mexico continues to grow and thrive in state-of-the-art facilities.”
Based on data collected during these visits, the department will now recommend specific capital projects for funding consideration by both executive and legislative branches.
During this process, state officials toured several institutions including University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University, New Mexico Military Institute, Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell, New Mexico School for the Deaf, and Institute of American Indian Arts.
Over two weeks, hearings were held at five different campuses where representatives from nearly three dozen universities, colleges, tribal institutions, branch campuses and community colleges presented their needs to the Capital Outlay Committee of the Higher Education Department.
Last year’s recommendations from the department totaled about $221 million for campus infrastructure projects submitted to relevant finance agencies. This year’s requests from higher education institutions across New Mexico have reached almost $1.12 billion.
“As we’ve seen during these hearings, our New Mexico colleges and universities have faced a prolonged facilities crisis,” said Luis Campos, Capital Outlay Committee chairman. “After many years of growth and expansion, campus leaders must continue to maintain and modernize their spaces. These hearings are crucial to prioritizing stewardship and capital planning so that we can provide informed recommendations to decision-makers in New Mexico on the value of these projects.”
