The University of New Mexico
PRE-2: Points of Distinction

To keep pace with the increasing demand for sustainable solutions, the University of New Mexico actively supports integrated research to understand sustainability challenges and develop new approaches to manage and adapt to these challenges, particularly in arid environments and for historically disadvantaged populations. 

In pursuit of improved sustainability performance, UNM is proud to host several impactful research units within its institution that are focused on multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and/or transdisciplinary approaches to sustainability challenges.

The ARID (Accelerating Resilience in Dryland Ecosystems) Institute is a new campus-wide hub that builds on decades-long expertise at UNM in aridland and water research and facilitates connections, partnerships, and opportunities that will improve climate resilience in New Mexico. With core support from the UNM Office of the Vice President for Research, ARID enhances the resilience of communities, ecosystems, and the economy to climate change through inclusive and equitable research, education and collaborative partnerships in New Mexico and drylands worldwide.

ARID’s two primary goals are to 1) Build capacity for novel transdisciplinary research to increase climate resilience, and 2) Inclusively and equitably train and educate a diverse next generation. ARID fosters the latter goal through its Student Research Grants, which are $5,000 research grants available to undergraduate and graduate students from all departments at UNM. These are specified to support interdisciplinary research related to resilience in New Mexico, including the resilience of communities, ecosystems, and the economy to climate change. Students are encouraged to develop the research project in partnership with an external UNM entity, such as a community group, Pueblo or Tribe, business, management agency, or non-profit, to address a real-world problem facing that group.

Another hub established at UNM that focuses on approaches to sustainability challenges is the Intermountain West Transformation Network (TN), an interdisciplinary science cooperative whose mission aims to build resilient communities and ecosystems throughout the Intermountain Western United States. The TN began its work in September 2021 and is helmed by Lead PI Melinda Morgan, Regents’ Professor in UNM’s Geography and Environmental Studies Department. Though the Transformation Network’s home offices are housed at UNM, the TN extends its research influence beyond New Mexico; it represents a partnership between eight Western U.S. universities with over 50 partner organizations, including Tribes, governmental and non-governmental organizations, public utilities, conservation districts, irrigation districts, and municipalities. The TN is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation’s Sustainable Regional Systems Program, which aims to support convergent research and education that will advance sustainable regional systems science, engineering, and education (NSF Grant# 2115169).

The Center for Water and the Environment's mission is to increase the participation of underrepresented minorities (URM) in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professions while conducting cutting-edge research into technological and engineering-based solutions to problems with water and the environment, in a framework that considers the social, economic, policy, regulatory, and legal implications.

ARID and other sustainable research efforts at UNM have roots in UNM’s Grand Challenges effort. Grand Challenges are problems of global, national, and regional significance that require researchers to work together across disciplinary boundaries to develop and implement solutions. Grand Challenges address problems that, when solved, have a significant positive impact on people and society and are relevant across varied disciplines and communities. Numerous teams since the effort’s launch in 2019 have addressed integrated sustainability research, including the Sustainable Water Resources, Basic Needs, Just Transition, Housing Justice, Indigenous Child Development, Child Health, and Sustainable Space Grand Challenge teams.

The UNM Sustainability Studies Program provides opportunities for undergraduate students to conduct sustainability research; it requires all undergraduate students seeking a minor degree to complete a Capstone project. This two-semester project involves research into an area of the student's choice, and students are each provided with a stipend to fund their project if needed.

The University of New Mexico (UNM) aligns with the STARS principle that an institution’s people define its character and capacity to perform; therefore an institution’s achievements can only be as strong as its community. UNM has many programs in place to support its student, staff, and faculty communities in health, safety, and wellbeing. Nearly half of the student body at UNM is a first-generation student, so many academic and student support services are geared toward serving this community.

One of UNM’s featured social sustainability programs is its Lobo Well-Being Initiative (outlined in the image above.) Lobo Well-Being is UNM's unified effort to consolidate and brand wellness-oriented programs, services, and initiatives under one umbrella. The umbrella of what constitutes "wellness" at UNM is massive, but the university’s efforts are to try and identify wellness efforts and advance them by amplifying their reach and awareness of their existence. UNM plans to use https://lobowellbeing.unm.edu/index.html to do this.

In 2023, the UNM Dean of Students hired an Associate Dean of Student Wellbeing whose role is to acknowledge, promote, and support health and wellness and how each play a role in students' learning, connections, and overall functioning and student success. Recognizing a national global mental health crisis, UNM has undertaken a significant expansion of student mental health services on campus, adding 9.5 FTE in staff to support mental health services, making service access easy and visible through a new mental health web portal and messaging, and engaging faculty and staff in making referrals.

Another important wellbeing initiative the university is engaging in is address food insecurity for students, staff, and faculty. A recent survey of UNM students found that 40% had experienced food insecurity in the previous 30 days. The Lobo Food Pantry has a goal to eliminate hunger as a barrier to UNM student success. At the Food Pantry UNM students are able to pick up essentials, including some prepared meals and supplies to help stock the shelves at home. Since 2014 the Lobo Food Pantry has aimed to serve students in a respectful and convenient way by having a location that serves students out of the central Student Union Building (SUB). Leftover food from some of the food vendors on campus is delivered to the pantry, in addition to fresh produce from Lobo Gardens, during the summer when it is producing.

An additional food initiative addressing food insecurity is LoboEats, a brand new app that enables UNM organizations and departments to post when they have free food available to share with other Lobos. LoboEats connects UNM students, faculty, and staff with organizations and departments that have leftover food from catered events. This app will help reduce food waste and aid food-insecure individuals within the campus community. 

To improve the basic needs security (food and housing) of college and university students in New Mexico, the UNM Basic Needs Project was formed—an interdisciplinary collaboration of UNM faculty, students, and staff. In 2023, the Basic Needs Project conducted the first-ever statewide survey of basic needs at higher education institutions that included faculty and staff as well as students. In 2023-24, they built a statewide consortium with other schools, government, and civil society to reduce basic needs insecurity in higher education called the New Mexico Basic Needs Consortium. In March 2024, the NM Basic Needs Consortium joined the White House Challenge to End Hunger.