News Archives

School of Engineering recruiting efforts in high gear for the new year

January 11, 2019 - by Kim Delker

As 2019 kicks off, recruiting more students to the School of Engineering remains the top priority for Christos Christodoulou, Jim and Ellen King Dean of Engineering and Computing.

The University of New Mexico enrollment as a whole declined this past year, and even though the School of Engineering saw a smaller decline — 2.85 percent — Christodoulou would like to reverse this trend next year for the School.

recruiting 2The School’s recruiting efforts are led by Steven Peralta, director of the Engineering Student Success Center, and Alexander Gordon, who is a shared employee with UNM’s Office of Admissions.

In Fall 2018 alone, the team made 152 visits to 129 schools. The visits were concentrated to Albuquerque and New Mexico high schools, but they were certainly not limited to those boundaries. Peralta and Gordon also visited Northern California, Houston, and Arizona. They also attended national conferences of the Society of Women Engineers, American Indian Science and Engineering Society, and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers.

In addition, the team participated in a variety of opportunities for middle- and high-school students, including the School of Engineering Open House, Fall Preview Days, Counselor Day, the SER Community Day, Engineering and Science Career Week, and Saturday engineering tours that began this fall and are held the second Saturday of each month.

The team has a plethora of events coming up during the next several months that span both inside and outside New Mexico:

  • Saturday engineering tours at UNM. Second Saturday of January, March and April
  • Meet Engineering Day at UNM on Feb. 23
  • National Society of Black Engineers conference in Detroit on March 27
  • Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix on May 12
  • Southeastern New Mexico tour of Roswell, Alamogordo, Artesia, Carlsbad, Hobbs, Portales and Clovis
  • K-12 outreach efforts at UNM, including Expanding Your Horizons on Jan. 26; VEX Robotics on Jan. 26; Math Moves U on March 2, Energy Day on April 27; Noche de Ciencia and Saturday Science Day, dates to be determined this spring.

recruiting 1Although Peralta and Gordon lead the recruitment efforts, they emphasize that they can’t possibly cover all the territory they would like, so they are encouraging others to get involved, particularly alumni, but also faculty and even students.

Those interested in helping out with the recruitment efforts can contact Peralta at speralta@unm.edu or Gordon at agordon3@unm.edu.

They can provide more information on opportunities, both local and around the country, as well as information on training and preparation for a role in recruitment. UNM Admissions is in the process of developing distance recruiting opportunities via YouTube or Skype that would include information on applying, tours, scholarships and distance training for those interested in helping with recruiting.

Prospective Students

Alumni and Supporters

Current Students

Faculty and Staff

Academic Advising & Support

SOE on social media