College of Education and Human Sciences • Strategic Planning

Introduction

The College of Education was formally established at the University of New Mexico in 1928, although teacher preparation was a key purpose for the University’s founding in 1889. Since those early years, the College has gone through a series of structural and instructional changes, including, most recently, its renaming as the College of Education and Human Sciences (COEHS) in 2020. This thoughtful process culminated in the creation of a name that represented the reality of the College’s contemporary scope and future opportunities related to changes in education and society, the academic strengths of the College, and its interdisciplinary mission focusing on the whole child, the whole person, families, and communities.

In 2022, Kristopher M. Goodrich, who joined COEHS as Counselor Education faculty in 2010 and also served as associate dean for Research, was named Interim Dean. Building on strategic planning activities that began earlier in 2022, the Interim Dean launched a strategic planning project to define the next phase of possibilities for the College and more closely align the COEHS’s aspirations with the University’s new strategic plan, UNM 2040: Opportunity Defined. As the College’s nine-month project wrapped up, Goodrich was appointed Dean.

"The COEHS has long held deep connections across New Mexico’s diverse communities and is fully invested in serving the needs of the children, families, and communities throughout the state,” Goodrich said. “With education, mental health, and well-being as our central foci, the COEHS is well positioned to empower transformational, impactful, and responsive change in New Mexico and beyond through our faculty’s high-quality scholarship, service, and education of the next generation of leaders."

Realizing Possibility

The strategic planning project spotlights the College’s power to facilitate transformational change across the state. Public school enrollment is falling across the United States and at an even faster rate in New Mexico, and pipelines for teachers and human sciences professionals show steep declines in areas of greatest need—including bilingual education, science, math, and special education. At the same time, the state’s elected leadership and education administration have aggressively stepped up comprehensive efforts and funding to reshape the state’s education system to promote access, equity, and substantially improved outcomes for all New Mexicans.

UNM 2040: Opportunity Defined engaged the University community in thinking differently about how UNM can be more relevant, more visible, and more competitive as it moves toward the middle of the 21st century. Since the University’s founding, the College of Education and Human Sciences has been deeply embedded in the cultures and communities of New Mexico and focused on using education and the human sciences to improve these communities’ quality of life, growth, prosperity, and advancement. This role is forcefully affirmed by UNM 2040’s first strategic goal, “Advance New Mexico.” At the same time, UNM 2040’s second goal, “Student Experience and Educational Innovation,” creates the runway for the COEHS to enhance not only its own student outcomes, but to strengthen the University’s ability to ensure the lifelong success, upward social mobility, and engagement of all learners through education and the promotion of overall well-being.

As a result, the COEHS strategic plan, “Engaging New Mexico,” positions the College prominently within the University’s ambitions and the state’s priorities, while committing to becoming a more engaged leader, strengthening its programs, streamlining processes, and building strong partnerships with state agencies, school systems, communities, and families. The College intends to grow the workforce of future educators and human science professionals who personify the multicultural diversity of the state and have the tools to address critical needs in high-poverty and rural areas, as well as in our urban centers. As the strategic roadmap for priorities, investment, and common purpose, this Strategic Plan positions the COEHS for its next level of meaningful excellence and advocacy for the students, families, and communities of New Mexico.

UNM Land Acknowledgement Statement

Founded in 1889, the University of New Mexico sits on the traditional homelands of the Pueblo of Sandia. The original peoples of New Mexico–Pueblo, Navajo, and Apache–since time immemorial, have deep connections to the land and have made significant contributions to the broader community statewide. We honor the land itself and those who remain stewards of this land throughout the generations and also acknowledge our committed relationship to Indigenous peoples. We gratefully recognize our history.

COEHS Strategic Plan 2024–2029: Engaging New Mexico

Vision

Inspire valued and in-demand professionals and scholars to empower transformational, impactful, and responsive service and leadership in local communities, New Mexico, Native nations, and the world.

Mission

As an intentional community of learning informed by the experiences of students, families, and communities, the COEHS prepares professionals to bring effective service and leadership through high-quality inquiry, scholarship, and engagement with our community and beyond.

Through partnerships aligned with our mission and aspirations, the COEHS ensures quality, responsive, and impactful results for New Mexico with equitable and beneficial outcomes for all stakeholders.

While recognizing the national and international aspirations of the COEHS, we are committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, social justice, and the health and wellness of New Mexicans.

Goal I: Be a Highly Engaged Partner in Strengthening New Mexico’s Communities

Objectives

1. Build and enhance socio-culturally informed approaches through reciprocal and responsive community partnerships.
2. Engage students and families to enhance the lives of all New Mexicans on campus and in local communities.
3. Foster connections with the state that build and enhance support for New Mexico’s workforce, economic development, and research.

Goal II: Be Known for High-Impact Education and Research that Increases Educational Attainment and Well-Being in Multicultural Communities

Objectives

1. Ensure the allocation of necessary resources for faculty and staff to appropriately pursue and sustain R1 status, with a strong focus on research initiatives.
2. Recruit and retain high-quality faculty and staff consistent with the expertise and expectations of an R1 institution.
3. Expedite time to graduation through innovative pathways/pipelines linking high school-to-university and undergraduate-to-graduate programs to cultivate the next generation of researchers, innovators, and discoverers in education and human sciences.
4. Deliver valued signature programs that distinguish the COEHS for its responsiveness to the cultural diversity of New Mexico while promoting academic and research excellence.

Goal III: Transform Students’ Lives to Become the Next-Generation to Drives Responsive Change in Our Communities

Objectives

1. Improve advisement, communication, and student support across touchpoints in the COEHS student journey.
2. Place a strong focus on career-ready graduates throughout the curriculum sequence.
3. Prioritize the state’s rural areas, partner with alumni and other professionals in those areas to assess and respond to needs, and develop custom educational programs to attract education and human sciences professionals to rural New Mexico.

Goal IV: Enhance COEHS Leadership, Culture, and Work Environment

Objectives

1. Formalize, socialize, and communicate the COEHS leadership paradigm.
2. Establish a data-informed ecosystem that tracks and measures impact, informs decision-making, and enables continuous reflection and improvement (e.g. surveys, calendars, and timelines) across programs and departments.
3. Mentor and support professional growth across the professional lifespan, including the development of an orientation program for new employees about the COEHS, UNM, and New Mexico.
4. Create a respectful climate that supports faculty and staff in meeting professional responsibilities.

Goal V: Raise COEHS’s Visibility as an Influential Contributor to Our Communities

Objectives

1. Develop a strong College identity for the COEHS that incorporates a holistic educational approach, unites the College, and creates greater visibility.
2. Develop, fund, and implement a comprehensive enrollment management plan for the COEHS to build enrollment and ensure positive student experiences and successful degree completion.
3. Develop a multi-year financial and operational model that supports the COEHS strategic aspirations and enrollment growth.

Planning Process and Timeline

The Strategic Plan established a vision for the next 20 years of our future, including broad priorities and areas of impact for the next five years. Built on previous strategic planning activities in 2022, the plan aims for greater integration of all aspects of the College and a clear vision and path forward with timely, relevant, actionable outcomes, as well as a set of more immediate tasks that move toward that vision and take place annually during the implementation phase.

The project incorporated four phases:

Phase 1—Project Planning [April 2023] established a project plan, communications plan, and stakeholder engagement plan.

Phase 2—Compelling Vision and Strategic Pathways [May–August 2023] included a Situational Analysis report to inform the project about critical needs and opportunities in New Mexico, the University, and the College.

Phase 3—Broad Stakeholder Engagement [August–October 2023] gathered perspectives from state and University leaders, New Mexico educators and human sciences professionals in urban and rural areas, and faculty, staff, and students through individual interviews, focus groups, and surveys.

Following the development of a strategic framework by the Steering Committee, Task Forces composed of the College’s faculty, staff, and students shaped recommended tactics, timelines, resources needed, and metrics for a comprehensive five-year plan.

Phase 4—Final Plan and Implementation Framework [November–December 2023]. Focusing on priorities and impact, the Steering Committee finalized the proposed plan for the approval of the Dean and COEHS leadership and presentation to UNM leadership.

The project was facilitated by The Napa Group, a national firm specializing in higher education multi-year planning and with particular experience at UNM for their consulting to the UNM 2040: Opportunity Defined project.

Project Leadership

The strategic planning process was guided by a Steering Committee selected from across the College to represent different perspectives and to make decisions with a view of the College as a whole.

Steering Committee: Co-Chairs—Laura Haniford (TEELP), Associate Professor of Secondary Education, and Amy Korzekwa, Director of Assessment and Accreditation.

Other members were:

Faculty

• Ed Horne (HESS), Assistant Professor of Sports Administration
• Diana Gonzales-Pacheco (IFCE), Associate Professor, Assistant Dietetic Internship Director
• Glenabah Martinez (LLSS), Associate Professor of Educational Thought and Sociocultural Studies, Director of the Institute for American Indian Education
• Veronica Moore (SPCD), Lecturer III, Program Coordinator of Autism Spectrum Disorder Program
  Dean Kristopher Goodrich

Staff

• Katherine Vazquez, Graduate Coordinator, TEELP
• Martin Lopez, Senior Academic Advisor
• Brianna Fragua, Program Coordinator in the Research Support Team
• Sam Rodriguez, Training and Development Consultant in the Family Development Program

Student

• David van Horn, Doctoral Student in Counselor Education 

Implementation and Next Steps

The COEHS Strategic Plan implementation will begin on July 1, 2024. During the next five years, the College is committed to achieving five overall measurable performance outcomes that will drive the dozens of metrics used to track success:

• Be a visible and engaged leader across New Mexico by increasing meaningful partnerships and collaborations that advance education and improve our communities
• Expand grant funding, research publications, and research discoveries to improve educational outcomes, mental health, well-being, and equity for multicultural populations
• Raise enrollment and graduation rates of career-ready graduates who are sought after in their chosen professions
• Realize a thriving College culture formed by “one view” of the COEHS, cross-disciplinary innovation, and streamlined, data-informed decision-making and support systems
• Be recognized as the college of choice, uniquely distinctive, for students who will contribute to the holistic well-being of New Mexico

During the spring of 2024, College leadership, the Steering Committee, and working groups will affirm priorities, resources, metrics, and champions and shape the implementation activities for the first 24 months. In addition, a small working group in Spring 2024 will complete the process that began in 2020 with the College’s renaming—to create a positioning statement to accompany the vision and the comprehensive COEHS identity for our students and graduates, the University, and the communities and state of New Mexico.

Implementation champions will coordinate activities to ensure effective and meaningful execution of the plan and demonstrate progress. Each year, COEHS leaders and strategic plan champions will assess progress toward meeting the five-year goals and, where needed, reforecast annual activities to continue successfully on the path toward achieving the College’s aspirations.

The champions for each goal are as follows:

Goal One: Veronica Sanders (Director, Family Development Program), Carlos Lopez-Leiva (Chair, LLSS), Mia Sosa-Provencio (Associate Professor, TEELP)

Goal Two: Carolyn Hushman (Associate Dean for Research and Distance Education), Laura Haniford (Associate Professor, TEELP)

Goal Three: Marjori Krebs (Director of Licensure), Natalie Arellanez (Operations Manager and Certification Officer, Center for Student Success)

Goal Four: Rebecca Sánchez (Associate Dean for DEI and Faculty), Amy Korzekwa (Director of Assessment and Accreditation)

Goal Five: Jay Parkes (Associate Dean for Student Success), Sarah Valles (Academic Operations Officer)