SANTA FE – The New Mexico Higher Education Department has concluded its annual summer capital outlay hearings, traveling over 700 miles across New Mexico to visit college and university campuses across the state, where agency leaders and state financial experts solicit information and feedback from school leaders about high-priority infrastructure projects.
Higher Education Secretary M. Rodriguez and the agency’s Capital Projects Division hosted meetings across the state alongside 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.”
The department will now recommend specific capital projects to both the executive and legislative branches for funding consideration, based on the data and materials provided by campus leaders.
As part of these capital outlay discussions, state officials toured several university facilities, including the 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 the course of two weeks, the agency and its partners hosted hearings at five campuses in New Mexico where nearly three dozen universities, colleges, tribal institutions, branch campuses and community colleges presented to the Capital Outlay Committee of the Higher Education Department and department leadership.
Last year, the New Mexico Higher Education Department recommended about $221 million in campus infrastructure projects to the Department of Finance and Administration and the Legislative Finance Committee. This year, the department has received requests totaling nearly $1.12 billion for capital projects from New Mexico higher education institutions and special schools.
“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.”