Date:
11/10/2004
Contact: Wendel Sloan at 505.562.2253
PORTALES — Eastern New Mexico University has hired Dr. Kim Carpenter to serve as a consultant in establishing and setting the vision for ENMU's new venture in Farmington. Dr. Carpenter is currently a special projects coordinator at San Juan College.
He is the former director of New Mexico Highlands University's off-campus programs at San Juan College. Carpenter will serve as the lead consultant as Eastern prepares to offer on-site courses in Farmington beginning in January. "With Dr. Carpenter assisting us, we are confident that we will have in place the faculty and academic support structure needed to ensure a quality program for our graduate and undergraduate students," says Dr. K. Paul Jones, vice president for Academic Affairs at ENMU.
Also coming on board to provide assistance is Pat Torgeson. Torgeson is the former coordinator of business programs for NMHU. According to Carpenter, Torgeson has good contacts within the local school districts and will assist ENMU with public relations outreach and the overall implementation of the new programs. Eastern has also hired a full-time administrative assistant to assist San Juan County students with various support service needs, as well as providing administrative support for Carpenter and Torgeson.
Eastern will offer several degree programs in the spring semester, with more to come later. According to Jones, "We want to deliver a quality education in addressing the needs of the Four Corners area. Although Kim and Pat will only be with us as consultants, we feel that we will still have the best people to assist us in getting our programs in San Juan County off the ground."
According to Jones, ENMU's on-site courses will be in support of graduate programs in: Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Reading; English as a Second Language Alternative Licensure; Educational Administration; and Special Education. By next fall, Eastern anticipates receiving state approval for alternative licensure in Special Education. At the undergraduate level, Jones also wants to begin in January the coursework in support of a bachelor's degree in early childhood education.
In addition to on-site courses, Eastern will also offer via the Web its MBA degree and three new bachelor's degrees of special interest to San Juan College graduates. For those in applied degree programs, ENMU has an Applied Arts and Sciences degree online that will accept for transfer credit all coursework from SJC's applied science degrees. Also, SJC graduates can enroll online in Eastern's bachelor's degree programs in Occupational Education or University Studies.
For more information, call ENMU at 505.562.2312.