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

SPONSOR Picraux

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/23/08

1/23/08 HB 151

SHORT TITLE UNM Latin American Studies

SB

ANALYST Cox

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$1,028.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

University of New Mexico – UNM

Higher Education Department - HED

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 151 appropriates $1,028,000 from the General Fund to the Board of Regents of the

University of New Mexico (UNM) for expenditure in FY09 for Latin American studies and the

Latin American and Iberian Institute.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of one million twenty eight thousand dollars ($1,028,000) contained in this

bill is a recurring expense to the general fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance

remaining at the end of fiscal year 2009 shall revert to the General Fund.

The HED’s evaluation table of FY09 Research and Public Service Projects provided to the LFC

classifies this project as a “supports state priorities" project. Reasons for this classification

decision are not provided. (LFC Report 07-20, Higher Education Department Review of

Selected Research and Public Service Projects, January 12, 2008, Table 4, p73.)

This request was submitted by UNM to the New Mexico Higher Education Department for

review, but is not included in the Department’s funding recommendation for FY09.

House Bill 151 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

HED notes that the missions of the Latin American and Iberian Institute (LAII) and the Latin

American Studies (LAS) Program target academic excellence and public service at UNM. While

Latin American-related research and academic studies at UNM are nationally recognized, the

requested funds will further strengthen the University’s ability to attract the best graduate

students to form a national pool, recruit and retain excellent faculty, and enhance curriculum and

outreach initiatives.

The goals and objectives of the each program are:

LAII:

The LAII mission focuses on community outreach through cultural events and information

services to groups such as K-12 education, civic organizations, and the general public; research,

in support of UNM faculty and in collaboration with other research units. The LAII serves as the

hub for all academic and outreach activities related to Latin America. The LAII supports

academic units across campus in developing curriculum and recruiting students and promotes

faculty research and development for all Latin American and Iberian-related subjects.

LAS:

The LAS program at UNM seeks to advance the interdisciplinary study of Latin American

countries and their people, to promote and strengthen opportunities for dialogue on the historical

and current relationships between the U.S. and Latin America. This academic program draws on

UNM’s cross-campus excellence in research, scholarship, and teaching on Latin America and

also provides resources and expertise in service to UNM.

UNM states that the appropriation would be budgeted as follows:

The appropriation of $1,028,000 is for

•

five graduate fellowships awarded competitively to Latin Americanist students enrolled

in departments across campus $100,000

•

instruction in health, business and legal Spanish, and expansion of existing courses in the

indigenous languages of Latin America $50,000

•

development of three study abroad centers in Spain, Mexico, and Argentina or Brazil, in

coordination with the objectives currently under development by OIPS $350,000

•

new acquisitions for the Latin American collection in University Libraries $85,000

•

operating costs of the Latin America Data Base (LADB) $150,000

•

10 graduate assistantships awarded competitively to Latin American Studies students

$200,000

•

LAS Director’s SAC to replace non-recurring soft funds, insuring this position’s stability

and strengthening the recruitment of future program Directors $13,000

•

development of interdisciplinary courses that bridge contemporary issues in LAS with the

current research interests of UNM faculty $55,000

•

event programming and recruitment efforts (development of promotional materials and

travel to other in-state K-12 institutions) $25,000

PRC/mt