New Mexico State University’s Aggie Leadership Training Academy honored its sixth and largest cohort of graduates at a graduation ceremony Dec. 1.
The Aggie Leadership Training Academy is a program offered by NMSU’s Center for Learning and Professional Development that is designed for NMSU employees to advance their leadership skills. From February to November, recommended high-performing and high-potential employees are trained to develop critical leadership competencies so they may acquire higher-level leadership positions at NMSU. This is one of the activities connected to NMSU’s succession plan.
“In addition to learning how to collaborate, network and work cross culturally with others across the NMSU system, participants learned valuable information from Aggie Leadership Training Academy graduates who are current NMSU leaders,” said Vanetta Busch, CLPD director. “Special sessions included training sessions from NMSU leaders Monica Torres, the NMSU system’s community college chancellor, and Linda Scholz, vice president of Equity, Inclusion and Diversity. This cohort not only presented a ‘Who moved my queso – leading change’ workshop together for the campus community, but they embodied change as they experienced several leadership changes directly related to the program. This cohort is ready for the next level. A special thanks to Eric Sanchez, director of the Physical Science Laboratory, and his team for hosting the graduation ceremony.”
This year’s graduating cohort of 21 participants consists of Lorraine Arvizu, assistant director of student activities for the Associated Students of NMSU; Michele Banner, Public Health Sciences senior research scientist and associate director of Crimson Research; Gena Barela, executive assistant to the vice chancellor; Susanne Berger, Facilities and Services executive director; Amanda Bradford, Marketing and Communications director of communications and media relations; Greg Cooper, Information Systems security officer; Reyna Diaz, Marketing and Communications creative services senior web designer; Ruben Diaz, CLPD training specialist; Robert Estrada, Facilities and Services senior project manager; Gaylene Fasenko, Animal and Range Sciences professor and faculty senate chair; David Fletcher, mathematics associate professor; Karen Hamilton, Physical Science Laboratory operations director; Spencer Herrera, Language and Linguistics professor; Amy Lanasa, professor and department head of Journalism and Media Studies and the Creative Media Institute; Anthony McGlone, Outdoor Recreation senior program coordinator; Cruzita Montoya, immunization room charge nurse for the Student Health Center; Monica Montoya, School of Social Work associate professor; Sofia Ugarte, Title V Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions program manager and student success coach; Eli Valdez, University Student Records Office degree audit specialist; Cynthia Wise, Borderlands and Ethnic Studies postdoctoral fellow; and Derrik Wootton, Environmental Health Safety and Risk safety specialist.
Graduates came from various parts of NMSU, including Ugarte and Fletcher who work at NMSU Alamogordo. This was the first year a couple graduated from the academy at the same time, Reyna Diaz and Ruben Diaz were recognized as the “couple in leadership.”
For more information about the Aggie Leadership Training Academy, visit https://training.nmsu.edu/alta/index.html.
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CUTLINE: New Mexico State University’s Aggie Leadership Training Academy honored its sixth and largest cohort of 21 graduates at a graduation ceremony Dec. 1. (NMSU photo by Josh Bachman)