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

SPONSOR Pinto

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/31/2007

HB

SHORT TITLE UNM Native American Studies program

SB 643

ANALYST McOlash

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$285.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to SB 280.

Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Higher Education Department (HED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate bill 643 appropriates $285,000 from the General Fund to the Board of Regents of UNM

for expenditure in FY 2008 for a Native American Studies Program.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $285,000 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the General Fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY 2008 shall revert to the

General Fund.

Senate Bill 643 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

Native American Studies was founded in 1970 as an ethnic studies center. Initially, it was

established as a support program for Native American students. In September 1998, NAS

became an interdisciplinary academic program housed in University College. In 1999, a minor

Degree in Native American Studies was approved. The NAS minor is applicable to all

undergraduate majors offered by the University of New Mexico. In December 2004 the UNM

Board of Regents approved NAS as a major within University Studies.

UNM-NAS provides a range of academic resources for the student, the university community,

and Native American communities at-large. In keeping with a Memorandum of Understanding

with New Mexico Indian Tribes, UNM-NAS is organized into three major components:

Academic, Research and Community Outreach (http://www.unm.edu/~nasinfo/index.htm).

The Academic Component includes extensive array of innovative courses, internships,

independent study and summer institutes.

The Research Component is integral to every NAS course and provides training and

experience in doing research in a Native American context. The Research component

also provides research opportunities and teaching assistantships to Native students

currently in graduate degree programs. The Research Component encompasses the

Native American Studies library.

The Community Outreach component is the Institute for Native American Development

(INAD), which through its research focus on issues pertaining to tribal leadership, self

determination and economic development offers specialized courses, workshops and

research opportunities via NAS programming and activities based on Main campus and

the UNM Extended University system.

This request was submitted by UNM to the Higher Education Department for review, but is not

included in the Department’s funding recommendation for FY08.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The Funding of $285,000 is being requested to support the following expansion (HED Analysis):

•

hiring four additional full-time faculty positions, one for each of the four curricular areas

described above

•

a program manager to oversee and implement grants and programs

•

general operating costs for the Native American Studies Program

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

Relates to funding in General Appropriation Act:

1. UNM Native American Intervention $196,200

2. HED Native American Recruitment & Retention $44,200

SB 280 – appropriates $75,000 to fund faculty positions in Native American studies.

BM/nt