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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Stapleton

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

02/16/07

HB 1171

SHORT TITLE

UNM Visiting Scholars Program

African American Program

SB

ANALYST Moser

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$100.0

Non-Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Companion to HB1105, HB1172, HB1173

Relates to SB385, SB709, HB1170

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

NM Higher Education Department (HED)

NM Office of African Affairs

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 1171 appropriates $100,000 from the General Fund to the Board of Regents of the

University of New Mexico for expenditure in FY08 and subsequent years for visiting scholars at

the Charlie Morrisey Research Hall in the African American Studies Program.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $100,000 contained in this bill is a non-recurring expense to the general

fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY08 shall revert to

the general fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The Charlie Morrisey Research Hall was established in 1990 to respond to the research interests

House Bill 1171 – Page

2

and needs related to African Americans. The mission of the Research Hall is to become the

southwest's best repository of documents about Black people of the southwest. The Research

Hall's collections include rare books, rare manuscripts, rare magazines and other publications,

old photographs, audio and video tapes, deeds and titles to lands, oral histories, and other

archival artifacts that document the presence of Africans and African Americans in New Mexico

specifically, and southwest in general.

The Charlie Morrisey Research Hall organizes public lectures and panel discussions to address

the presence in and the contributions of Africans and African Americans to the southwest.

Periodic exhibitions of rare photographs and artifacts are included in the activities of the Hall.

The Visiting Scholars in Residence Program in the African American Program would allow

scholars to remain in residence at the UNM for two years with the option of extending their

residency one additional year. The scholars would participate in the distinguished lecture series,

conduct research, and teach classes in the African American Studies Program. The appropriation

would be used to fund the Visiting Scholars in Residence Program initiative and related

activities.

This request was not submitted by UNM to the New Mexico Higher Education Department for

review and is not included in the Department’s funding recommendation for FY08.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

Companion bills are:

HB 1105 appropriates $190,000 from the General Fund to the Board of Regents of the University

of New Mexico (UNM) for expenditure in FY08 for the Charlie Morrisey Research Hall to repair

and maintain existing archival facilities and display space, and provide base resources for faculty

led student research focusing on the Black Diasporas at the national and international levels.

HB 1172 appropriates $125,000 from the General Fund to the Board of Regents of the University

of New Mexico (UNM) for expenditure in FY08 for a Senior Scholar at the Charlie Morrisey

Research Hall in the African-American Studies Program.

HB 1173 appropriates $300,000 from the General Fund to the Board of Regents of the University

of New Mexico (UNM) for expenditure in FY08 to build a core faculty in the African American

Studies Program to expand the department, create distance learning coursework, conduct

research, and support undergraduate and graduate students.

Relationship bills are:

SB 385 appropriates $25,000 from the General Fund to the Board of Regents of the University of

New Mexico (UNM) for expenditure in FY08 to support the African American Studies Program.

SB 709 is a related bill that appropriates $75,000 from the General Fund to the Board of Regents

of the University of New Mexico (UNM) for expenditure in FY08 for the African American

Student Services Program and operations.

HB 1170 appropriates $100,000 from the General Fund to the Board of Regents of the University

House Bill 1171 – Page

3

of New Mexico (UNM) for expenditure in FY08 to bridge the achievement gap for African

American high school and first year students to prepare them for university course work and

provide fellowships and assistantships and a distinguished lecture series in the African American

Studies Program.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

The African American Studies Program at UNM offers a variety of courses specific to the

literature, history, and culture of the African or Black Diaspora. The program offers an

interdisciplinary baccalaureate degree, a specialized minor, and a general minor in African

American Studies.

GM/csd