A state of crisis
Higher education in New Mexico is in state of crisis. Despite experiencing a boom in student enrollment, our growing student populations have fewer faculty to teach them because significant numbers of faculty are leaving higher education.
House Memorial 32 seeks to find a solution to this crisis, and would conduct a study on higher education compensation for faculty in New Mexico, including recommendations for improved compensation structures as well as methods for achieving compensation increases.
Nationwide, institutions of higher education have become reliant on adjunct instructors. Forty years ago, seventy percent of academic employees were tenured or on the tenure track, but today those numbers have flipped with sixty-eight percent of faculty holding positions that are not eligible for tenure.
In New Mexico, our institutions of higher education rely on non-tenure track and temporary faculty to deliver most entry level courses. This is especially true at our 2-year institutions, where 67% of faculty are temporary, compared to 27% at our 4-year institutions.
Many New Mexico higher education faculty are paid what equates to less than minimum wage. Our lowest paid temporary faculty are paid as little as $595 per credit hour, which translates to a full-time 9-month salary of $17,850.
As a result, many experienced and talented faculty are leaving higher education for better paying jobs, including in our K-12 education system.
We also need to insist our higher education institutions are given the tools and funding to act. New Mexico higher education faculty and their students deserve no less.
Satya Witt
Albuquerque
‘Tribal democracy’
The legislative process should include citizens. At this 2024 legislature, citizens’ “testimony” time has been limited to one minute, which does not allow sufficient time to deliver an intelligent point or argument.
The governor has instructed her legislators that she wants her anti-gun bills passed and sent to her desk for signature. These bills are being rushed through the legislature. Committee chairs will roll two or more bills together, allowing only one minute of total testimony. Voting is quick, without deliberation, made strictly on party lines.
“Tribal democracy” reigns, simply count up the R’s, then count up the D’s, and you know what the vote of the committee is going to be. The deliberative process is missing.
Our New Mexico democratic process is becoming a sham. Citizens are becoming irrelevant and ineffective. Legislators should hear out all citizens, especially those who travel to the state legislature to testify.
The gun has become the “person” causing crime. The gun bills do not address individual personal responsibility for wrongful acts using guns. The bills place blame and legal liability upon the gun dealers and manufacturers for harm done by criminal mis-use of firearms.
Firearm education and training will do much more to promote firearms safety and prevent crime. If these bills become law it will impact lawful concerned citizens, not criminals, who rarely obey the laws.
James Gilman
Albuquerque