A group of student film makers wrote, filmed and produced a movie that evokes audiences to think about the value of life if only one day was left. The twist: the spotlight is on a homeless man.
The film, “The Harp” will double as a feature and charitable event for the homeless, stemming from the desire to be selfless. The film is the story of Frank Roots, a homeless man, as he goes through his last day on earth.

The story-line begins is about how Roots has become untrusting to society and closed off too many of his friends. A harmonica falls from the sky onto Frank’s head through a random act of God, and that harmonica leads him down a journey where he reconnects with some old friends and makes a vital new one. Along the homeless man’s journey, he struggles with pride and is faced with a revelation of his own death. The harp, the harmonica, will eventually lead to Frank’s death, as it is the only thing he will not let go.

This redemption through death story was written and directed by senior Sam Pool Creative Media Institute, who was inspired to make the film when he observed the homeless around town. Co-writer and assistant director Jacob Bonner, Jake Bayless the director of photography, Joe Meier the executive producer and George Robert Snead, the lead actor, helped Pool with the production of the film. Snead is an actor who worked on many projects including one feature film for Colin Powell.

Snead was asked by the production team to be its lead actor after seeing a film he had made for PBS with Colin Powell. Snead said the making of this film was a “real eye-opener.” He was able to live as a homeless man for one week and understood more than he had before: their living conditions, the scrutiny and careless way some are treated.

“Right now I’d suggest to anyone who has a chance to see the film to go,” Snead said. “Especially in today’s society.”

Bonner, co-writer and assistant director said, he and Pool were fascinated by the way people view homelessness and how most people “let it go.”

“The biggest element was the sense of alienation and sense of one man set apart from the rest of the society,” Bonner said. “Hopefully some people can relate to that and see elements of themselves within the character, which is what we thought would be interesting. To see how a normal audience relates to a homeless person.”

The co-writer said this film is really about the sense of humanity, which is what the production crew is trying to bring to this situation. He said there are so many people living on the fringe of society and most people who consider themselves good-natured just pass them by.

“We met a lot of people in the course of the making of the film,” Bonner said. “By the end of the film, I had a whole new view on society.”

The Harp was made possible by the Mark Medoff scholarship fund, which was rewarded to the students when they presented their senior thesis to the CMI professors. Bryant Marcontel, a junior in the CMI department at New Mexico State University, produced the film and is close friends with the writer and director.

“We filmed seven locations in El Paso, Texas and in Las Cruces, New Mexico,” Marcontel said. “It was the first film made downtown since the La Pacila Plaza was constructed.”

The film will be premiered at the Rio Grande Theater May 19 and in honor of the message, the entry fee will be in the form of donations; canned food and money will be accepted for the soup kitchen.

“Our film is targeted to film makers who want to see a good film, and to the people in positions of power who we will inspire to do good for the less fortunate,” Bryant said. “It is a good opportunity to see a local film and to support the film community.”

The Harp took approximately one year of preproduction and development, with 40 people involved in the project. Bonner said the 35-minute-film was an arduous process but well worth it. There is consideration to expand it to a feature film, but nothing has been set in stone.

“Everybody has a story and a certain kinds of circumstances that leads them to where they are,” Bonner said. “Hopefully this (film) can lead people in the direction of thinking more about selfless.”

Vicky Diaz | Executive News Producer, Cherish Marquez | Staff Writer

http://roundupdaily.com/arts_and_entertainment/article_a95f1418-9a48-11e1-a4ab-0019bb30f31a.html

SCARY OR DIE marks the directorial debut of the highly respected 2nd unit cinematographer Igor Meglic (The Borne Ultimatum, Salt, Resident Evil)

Prior to coming back to New Mexico, Basil worked on this project in the Los Angeles area.  He has been working in the film industry as an actor for the past 6 years.

SCARY OR DIE will also be featured in the Troma Dance Film Festival at the Albuquerque Comic-Con, June 8-12.

A midnight showing of this film is in the works on June 7th, at the Cineport 10 at the Mesilla Valley Mall.

———————————–

Dawna Lee Heising of MoreHorror in Hollywood had the opportunity to sit down and talk behind the scenes with SCARY OR DIE writer, producer and director Michael Emanuel as well as stars Bill Oberst Jr. and Shannon Bobo of the feature film.

Watch the exclusive video interview below the details about this much buzzed about horror anthology.

“SCARY OR DIE” also stars Domiziano Arcangeli and will premiere at Raleigh Studios in May 2012. The video was filmed and edited by Renah Wolzinger and prodced in association with Dismal Productions.

Additionally starring in the SCARY OR DIE anthology is Bill Oberst Jr., Christopher Darga, Alexandra Choi, Elizabeth DiPrinzio, Shannon Bobo, Charles Rahi Chun, Andrew Caldwell, Shawn Caulin Young, Nicole Moore and many other faces familiar to fans of the genre.

The creation of filmmaker Michael Emanuel, SCARY OR DIE tells five interwoven horror stories that take place in and around the “City of Angles”. A flesh-eating clown desperately trying to protect the person he craves the most; A dirty cop and a hit gone wrong with a vengeful Necromancer; a beautiful but mysterious woman and a lonely man looking for love in all the wrong places; a gruesome blood splattered uprising of Illegal Mexican Zombies; and a Cajun conjure grandfather whose gift of never ending love goes terribly awry…SCARY OR DIE is unique experience in horror filmmaking certain to fulfill all your twisted horror film experience needs.

Written and directed by Emanuel and starring teen heartthrob Corbin Bleu, the segment titled CLOWNED tells a story of young street hustler Emmett, who gets bitten by a clown at a birthday party and begins to undergo a Kafkaesque metamorphosis with horrifying consequences. Arcangeli steals the show as an evil dancing clown, and Shannon Bobo’s haunting spectre in a tight purple dress is unforgettable.

Bill Oberst Jr. is a great actor and describes how Michael Emanuel contributed to his acting style by telling him that “less is more”.

SCARY OR DIE marks the directorial debut of highly respected 2nd unit cinematographer Igor Meglic (The Bourne Ultimatum, Salt, Resident Evil) as he directed the Emanuel-penned segment titled “Taejung’s Lament”.

By Dawna Lee Heising, MoreHorror.com

http://morehorror.com/MoreHorror-in-Hollywood-Exclusive-Behind-the-Scenes-of-SCARY%20OR%20DIE

The goal was not to create a film about autism, but rather a film where the main character, Duncan, just happened to be autistic.

The independent film “The Odd Way Home” is in the final stages of pre-production, ready to cast, and on track to start filming this summer in southern New Mexico, including Las Cruces. Unlike most films, this one takes aim at a specific issue without really addressing it head on.

“The main character, Duncan, has autism but instead of feeling sorry for him, we’re empoweringhim,”said Rajeev Nirmalakhandan who co-wrote the script, is a producer and will direct the film. “I don’t want to put that label on him. All we see is that he navigates and thinks differently.”

Duncan, who possesses savant-like quali­ties, is introduced, in a rather amusing way, to Maya, described as a “firecracker of a woman, scarred by abuse and fleeing her shattered life in Los Angeles.”

The two quickly strike up a friendship as they travel through New Mexico on a journey neither of them intended to take. Opposites attract, a common theme in films, but with a backstory that might hit home for some peo­ple.

Nirmalakhandan realized after taking part in a documentary about families with autistic children, that, although autism had become a common issue, there were still many precon­ceptions. He chose to approach the issue in a slightly unconventional way, in a fun, road-trip movie that’s meant to tug at the heartstrings, tickle the funny bone, educate and inspire all at once.

“It’s a very poignant and compelling story,” said Producer Peter Touche. “It depicts a very authentic and true-to-life portrait of a man with autism.”

Touche, a London native, brings 15 years of producing and financing experience to the project. He recently finished the movie “Goats” that was partly filmed in Albuquerque and “Blaze You Out,” filmed in Española, N.M.

Touche admits to having an emotional reac­tion to the script, “And that’s always dangerous,” he said.

“It’s been a long rewarding process bringing the film to where it is today,” said Patrick Nel­son, also a producer of the film. “We brought Peter in from Albuquerque, who has produced big films and big names, to help us make it a true-Hollywood film.”

Nelson said his reasons for agreeing to pro­duce the film came from the authenticity of the script and a subject that was familiar to him. “My older brother has Asperger’s,” Nelson said. “He was an adult when he was diagnosed. At the time it was difficult to get a diagnosis, until we came to Albuquerque.” Based on his experience, Nelson is confident in calling the character of Duncan “authentic” and empowers the character.

Not only does the film already have two seasoned and committed producers, it has gotten approval from the two of the autistic community’s most recognizable faces.

Temple Grandin and Stephen Shore, bestselling authors, professors, prominent speakers and advocates for autism, have voiced their support.

“(Grandin) and (Shore) told us that typically in films you are meant to feel sorry for autistic characters, it’s not centered around the wonderful qualities they possess,” Nelson said.

Grandin even agreed to a small role in the film.

“We’re making this film on a tight budget and will be using students from New Mexico State University,” Touche said. “Our team is eager to create something that will be impossible to ignore.”

Nirmalakhandan’s connection to the Creative Media Institute at NMSU means students will play an active role in the film’s production.

“We want to get two recognizable names for the lead roles, so we’re sending scripts to Los Angeles,” Nirmalakhandan said.

Once completed, Nelson said they plan on sending the film in to Sundance for consideration.

Not only is the film meant to shed a little light on an issue that is becoming more prevalent in the country, but as a project that involves local organizations that provide services, resources and therapy for those affected by autism, and help with fundraising efforts.

By Lorena Sanchez
For the Las Cruces Bulletin – 04/06/12
For more information, visit The Odd Way Home

A screen-writing instructor in the Creative Media Institute at New Mexico State University has won the New Mexico Centennial Award for her film that aims to humanize the complexities of the U.S.-Mexico border. “Red Mesa,” won best New Mexican film during the Taos Shortz Film Festival held March 1-4.

“The big challenge for me was to tell a human story, that wasn’t a political story, that wasn’t ideological or trying to hit the audience over the head with anything, but just the realities of the border” said Ilana Lapid, the film’s creator.

The 17-minute film is a coming-of-age story about a young woman living with her grandfather along the U.S.-Mexico border when she begins a forbidden relationship with an undocumented worker from a nearby ranch. Seventeen-year-old Lynn, is torn between the love she feels for her grandfather and the Mexican laborer. Ultimately, she must make a difficult choice that results in a tragic set of circumstances.

“She has to decide what borders she’s willing to cross,” Lapid said. “It really explores the complexities of the border, as I understand it.”

Shot at Corralitos Ranch, just west of Las Cruces, the film was based on previous experiences for Lapid.

“I grew up in a lot of border regions,” she said. “I lived in Israel and Canada, in Ottawa, along the border with the U.S., so I’ve always been interested in border issues and the ways in which things are often not black or white along borders. Borders can often be places of intersections and unlikely meetings between people from different worlds.”

The film was a master’s of fine arts thesis project for Lapid as a graduate student in the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. She made it in collaboration with NMSU’s Creative Media Institute, the Film Technician Training Program and with support for the New Mexico Film Office and the New Mexico State Office of the Governor.

Lapid currently teaches history of cinema, screenwriting and cinema review at NMSU. On March 13, she began teaching the CMI/SOC mini semester course, “Border Cinema Around the World.”

Lapid has made 11 other short films, and she’s screened her two most recent films at various national and international film festivals. She hopes “Red Mesa” will be made available for download on iTunes in the near future.

To view a trailer of the film, visit http://www.redmesamovie.com/.
Date: 2012-03-15
Writer: Tonya Suther, 575-646-6233, suther@nmsu.edu

The CMI Animation concentration emphasizes imagination, creativity, and critical thinking. Students start creating projects and animatics in the Project Development class taught by Jess Gorell then move on to 3D study, or to the beginning 2D class with Eddie Bakshi where they further explore Toon Boom Studio. Working from a storyboard or animatic students construct animations – creating scenes with multiple shots, importing backgrounds from Photoshop, adding multi-plane camera moves, dollies and effects. Using Toon Boom Studio  they go through the creation process step-by-step. Those who proceed to the intermediate Class with Prof. Bakshi master animation principles, focusing on drawing and animation fundamentals while also moving ahead with the software, building motion skills that can apply to all animation styles. “Students can pick up Toon Boom Studio quickly, so they can make their drawings move without too much stress. They gain control over the tool, letting them concentrate on learning the art of animation right from the beginning” commented Jess Gorell. Once students reach the advanced classes, they are exposed to a more “real-life” 2D production pipeline that includes compositing and more advanced sound integration. They often work in teams to reproduce a studio environment and tackle larger projects.

Toon Boom News
The Animation Community Platform
Winter 2011 – 2012 : Toonboom.com

In December 2011, CMI graduated 23 new filmmakers into the industry! With hope in your eyes and years of experiences from our hands-on program, the entire faculty of the Creative Media Institute wish you a safe and happy journey into life!

We are all — Faculty and Students alike — proud of our graduating class and the work you accomplished over the past few years. The Senior Showcase this year was spectacular with a wide variety of talents shining through the productions. As Seniors you worked with other students in a inspiring collegial way and it shows that you have been astute students with an eye for high quality. CMI has over 400 majors who spend their time at NMSU working long hours on writing, drawing, shooting, editing and rendering. It is a long and often difficult road, but YOU are proof that it pays off in the end.

Congratulations to ALL our graduating seniors! You are now alumni of NMSU and working professionals showing the world the benefits of a Creative Media Institute education. Go make us proud!

Cheers!

Dr. Philip Lewis
CMI Director/Department Head

Creative Media Institute students at New Mexico State University collaborating with the Smithsonian Institute and the Bureau of Land Management are receiving international attention with the completion of 10 podcasts exploring 280-million-year-old fossils in the Prehistoric Trackways National Monument in the Robledo Mountains.

“Certainly it’s a big deal for New Mexico State University,” said Philip Lewis, CMI department head. “We’re on people’s radar as a new entity.”

The podcasts, titled, “Traces of a Lost World,” seek to educate young viewers in paleontology. They include talks with experts like Jerry MacDonald, who discovered the marine fossils in 1987. MacDonald details how he discovered the fossils and how the area then became a national monument.

Also presented are Bill DiMichele, a curator of prehistoric plants at the Smithsonian, and Spencer Lucas, a curator of paleontology at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, who describes how Las Cruces, N.M. was more than 100 feet underwater during the Permian era. Dan Chaney and Skip Lyles, who work in research and collection at the Smithsonian, discuss how fossils are gathered and delivered there.

“Paleontology is interesting because fossils for young people are really the first things they can approach. It really opens up their hearts and minds to the idea of what it would be like to be a scientist,” Lewis said. “We could make movies about anything, but we made this.”

Lewis and his crew spent just four days filming in the Robledo Mountains in early March. When the filming stopped, the four-month toil of editing began. Working closely with BLM project coordinators Lori Allen and McKinney Briske, the crew finished in late August.

The CMI student film crew consisted of Samuel Sandoval as cinematographer, Oscar Zamora as producer and Jasmine Perez as production assistant. Nick Cueto created the music for the podcasts and NMSU alumna Lilia-Rosa Salmon acted as hostess.

“I’m proud of the students, that they rose to the occasion and never failed,” Lewis said.

Now making a worldwide impact, the 10-13 minute podcasts are featured on the Smithsonian website and linked to its iTunes area. They also appear on the Bureau of Land Management’s YouTube.com channel, and the British Broadcasting Corporation, which receives more than 20 million hits a year, plans to post the podcasts on its website. The New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science is currently producing kiosks for visitors.

“It has been a great pleasure to make these 10 movies, which are both a creative endeavor and collaboration of technical and scientific advances, not to mention the first major promotion of New Mexico’s Prehistoric Trackways National Monument,” Lewis said.

With future collaborations in the works, CMI has teamed up with the BLM again to build education kits for New Mexico middle school students. The digital masters are currently developing media components that illustrate what the world was like 280 million years ago.

In a scavenger hunt-type setup, students will be required to conduct research in order to proceed with the quest. The kits also will include digital instruction for teachers, created by the CMI students.

“I love it when the community comes and sits down in my office and says, ‘Let’s work together,’” Lewis said.

To download and view the Prehistoric Trackways National Monument podcasts from the Smithsonian Institute, visit http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=467100227.
You can also view the podcasts via the BLM’s YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/blmnewmexico.

For more information, contact Philip Lewis at 575-646-6139 or plewis@nmsu.edu.
Date: 2011-10-20
Writer: Tonya Suther, 575-646-6233, suther@nmsu.edu

When New Mexico State University’s Center for the Arts opens in fall 2012, its theatre will have a familiar name to many in the Mesilla Valley. The NMSU Board of Regents voted Monday to name the theatre in honor of Mark and Stephanie Medoff.

“The Medoffs have made a lasting imprint on the arts in our region and it is fitting that we honor their dedication and talents,” said NMSU President Barbara Couture. “NMSU’s Department of Theatre Arts and the Creative Media Institute would not be what they are without Mark’s perseverance and talent. He has made a difference to so many students whose lives he has touched.”

The multi-phased Center for the Arts project is designed to consolidate NMSU’s arts programs into one centralized location. Phase I, which is under construction now, is a three-story academic facility, about 59,000 square feet in size, at the southeast corner of University Avenue and Espina Street.

The building will house the 450-seat theatre performance space to be named for the Medoffs, a 74-foot-high fly tower and full theater and dance support areas. The structure also will contain public space, shared classrooms and a home for the theater department. Phase I is scheduled for completion in November 2012.

Mark Medoff has played an important role in the growth of the theatre arts program at NMSU since he arrived in 1966 to be an instructor in the Department of English. He co-founded the American Southwest Theatre Company with the late Bruce Streett in 1981 to facilitate bringing guest artists to campus to provide students and faculty with professional enrichment experiences.

“I was 26 when I arrived here,” Medoff said. “I knew no one. I was going to stay a year. Forty-four years, three daughters and sons-in law, and six grandchildren later, it’s fair to say the vast majority of my friends and students passed through this city and university and helped to define me as a teacher and an artist. To be recognized as part of the NMSU legacy honors not only the Medoff family, but everyone who has touched our lives.”

Mark and his wife, Stephanie, also have generously donated nearly half a million dollars to NMSU to establish endowments for student scholarships and support other programs across campus, most recently a generous gift of land to support the construction of the Center for the Arts.

Beyond his monetary generosity, it has been Medoff’s active mentorship of students while they were enrolled at NMSU and continuing as they went forward to pursue professional careers that has made a lasting impact on the many students who studied here during his more than 20-year tenure, as well as his passion for the theatre arts department as a whole and the newly formed Creative Media Institute, for which he serves as artistic director, that would be recognized with this naming honor, said Dennis Prescott, president of the NMSU Foundation, who presented the recommendation to the Regents.

“Mark is above all a man of honor and commitment. He has been pressured many times over the past 40 years to leave here for the more visible show business venues of New York and Los Angeles or for the greener pastures of larger, richer universities. But he made a commitment in his heart to me, to our children, and to Las Cruces and New Mexico State University, and what is in his heart always wins out in the end,” said Stephanie Medoff.

College of Arts and Sciences Dean Christa Slaton nominated the Medoffs for the honor, saying, “As the Department of Theatre Arts prepares to relocate in the new Center for the Arts, it would be very appropriate for their performance space to carry the name of one of the visionaries who put the department on the path to excellence.”

Medoff was instrumental in the current NMSU theatre being re-named for one of his mentors, Hershel Zohn.

“Hershel encouraged me to write for the theater and then produced my first full-length play in 1968. I got to introduce Hershel to a full house on the night his name went officially on that building. Were he here, Hershel would know the part he played in the current moment in NMSU history,” Medoff said. “We look forward to entering the Mark and Stephanie Medoff Theatre in the not too distant future. And, of course, I look forward to the opportunity to try the place out.”

Medoff has written more than 28 plays and 12 screenplays. An early success was “When You Comin’ Back, Red Rider?” and in 1980 he received a Tony Award for his Broadway hit “Children of a Lesser God.” Medoff was named a Guggenheim Fellow (1974) and a Fellow of the College of Fellows of the American Theatre (1999). He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Drama Desk Award (1974 and 1980), the John Gassner Playwriting Award (1974), the Obie Award for Distinguished Playwriting (1974), and the Kennedy Center Medallion for Excellence in Artistic Education and Artistic Achievement (2006). He also has directed six movies and more than 24 plays and musicals, many of which were works by some of his protégés.

Medoff said two of his proudest accomplishments are his 1974 Westhafer Award for Excellence in Creative Activity, NMSU’s highest faculty honor, and his 1980 Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, the State of New Mexico Lifetime Achievement. During his acceptance speech he said, “Though not born in New Mexico, I am a New Mexican.”

Date: 2011-10-10
Writer: Julie M. Hughes, 575-646-1953, juhughes@nmsu.edu
Mark and Stephanie Medoff photo by Darren Phillips

When the virus hit, John lost everything: his friends, his family, and his future. Only the presence of Michael, another survivor, kept him alive. Months later, things look bleak as they are running out of supplies, and are constantly assailed by threats that comes in the cover of night. When they come upon Karina, another survivor, they are caught in a conflict worse than anything they could’ve imagined. Filmed and set in El Paso, ‘Last Days’ is an examination through which we view modern horror, and casts a somewhat critical eye on the nature of post-apocalyptic film while embracing it.

Andrew Jara was born January 17, 1986 in El Paso, TX.  Raised by his father and mother, he grew a love for film as a child. Andrew went to CMI and worked on many short films including ‘Desert Sniper’ and ’13th heart’.  Andrew’s first short film, ‘The Sun Jar’, was chosen as an Official Selection at the Los Angeles International Children’s Film Festival in November of 2010. With ‘Last Days’, he hopes to show a horror film that goes beyond cheap thrills; a film that is both intelligent and entertaining, able to be enjoyed on multiple levels.

As a small budget, it is slowing getting more and more known selling out it’s premiere screening at the Plaza Classic Film Festival on August 5, 2011.

It will also be playing at the White Sands International Film Festival!  August 27, 2011 at 6:00 p.m.

Allen Theaters Cineport 10
500 South Telshor Boulevard
Las Cruces, NM 88011-4613

Last Days Website:
http://www.lastdaysfilm.com

White Sands International Film Festival:
http://www.wsiff.com/

Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lastdays/141586459211277

New Mexico State University faculty and staff members were welcomed back on campus today at the 2011 Fall Convocation ceremony. The event, held every January and August, also notes university accomplishments and singles out faculty and staff members for special awards.

“At every convocation we honor the achievements of our outstanding faculty and staff,” said Executive Vice President and Provost Wendy K. Wilkins. “This fall, the 14 individuals recognized represent some of the university’s best efforts in research, community outreach and student support. We are grateful for their hard work and dedication to NMSU.”

Three faculty members were named to the prestigious rank of Regents Professor: Jeffrey Arterburn, professor of chemistry and biochemistry; Sonya Cooper, professor of engineering technology; and James Shearer, professor of music.

Constance Falk, a professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Business, was named the first M. Eugene Sundt Honors Professor. For this newly established award, a selection committee appointed by the dean of the Honors College will recommend a faculty member to hold the professorship every two years. Sundt Honors Professors receive funding to develop, plan and teach a Sundt Honors Seminar. Falk began her career at NMSU in 1988. Her work focuses on agricultural sustainability.

Michèle Shuster, an assistant professor of biology, was awarded the 2011 Westhafer Award for Excellence in Teaching and Research. Westhafer Awards are given in alternating years for excellence in teaching and excellence in research and creative activity. Shuster began teaching at NMSU as an adjunct professor in 2002.

Receiving the Patricia Christmore Faculty Teaching Award were Aishah Ortega, an assistant professor with the Special Education and Communication Disorders Department, and Amy Lanasa, an assistant professor of creative media. The annual award recognizes superb junior tenure-track faculty members for excellence in teaching.

The award for Excellence in Academic Advising went to Sue Forster-Cox, an associate professor of health science, and Karla Thompson, director of the Counseling & Student Development Center at NMSU-Carlsbad. Students lauded both women for going above-and-beyond to provide them with guidance and support.

Kathryn Hanley, associate professor of biology, and Shuguang Deng, a chemical engineering professor, received the University Research Council Distinguished Career Award. Hanley has helped to design a vaccine for the dengue virus that is now in Phase II clinical trials. Deng’s current research focuses on advanced materials for sustainable energy and clean water applications.

The University Research Council Junior Career Award went to Satyajayant Misra, an assistant professor of computer science. His research interests include algorithm and protocol design for security, privacy, reliability and efficient energy harvesting in wireless networks.

Two staff members with the College of Engineering’s Manufacturing, Technology and Engineering Center (M-TEC) received the University Research Council Junior Career for Team Award. Ryan Herbon is a senior engineer at M-TEC and an instructor for the Engineering and Technology Department. Wesley Eaton is a project manager and engineer at M-TEC. Eaton and Herbon are NMSU alumni.

The Outcomes Assessment Committee II Best Practices Award was given to the NMSU Library. The award is presented to a department or unit that exemplifies the spirit of assessment outside the classroom. The library won for its work in re-evaluating modifications it had made in use of space in order to determine if the changes were beneficial.

2011 NMSU Fall Convocation award recipients pose for a group portrait following the ceremony. Left to right: Awardees pictured are Karla Thompson, Wesley Eaton, Norice Lee, Ryan Herbon, Cindy Pierard, Sonya Cooper, Satyajayant “Jay” Misra, Jeffrey Arterburn, Aishah Ortega, James Shearer, Amy Lanasa, Sue Forster-Cox, Michele Shuster, Constance Falk, Shuguang Deng, and Michelle Nishiguchi (standing in for Kathryn Hanley) (photo by Darren Phillips)

Date: 2011-08-16
Writer: Janet Perez, 575-646-4120, perezjm@nmsu.edu

http://newscenter.nmsu.edu/news/article/7942/