New Mexico Governor Proposes Education, Research and Energy Initiatives for 2007

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson recently announced a series of budget requests for the 2007 legislature intended to increase access to public universities and to support research and investment in emerging technologies. Together, the requests call for more than $120 million in state investment in higher education quality and affordability, supercomputing and stem cell research, and new energy initiatives.



Higher Education

Much of this funding would provide scholarships for students through the state's College Affordability Fund. The fund was created last year to support traditional and nontraditional college students, with up to $1,000 per semester in need-based funding. Gov. Richardson recommends the state invest $50 million, on top of the initial $49 million invested last year, to expand the program. The governor also is proposing a state tax credit equal to 25 percent of the federal Hope and Lifetime Learning Tax Credits to assist with tuition and fees.



Earlier this year, New Mexico received an 'F' in college affordability and a 'D' in student completion from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. Gov. Richardson stated in a press release that New Mexico universities have fallen short in ensuring that minority and low-income students move successfully between their first and second years of college. The governor proposes to address this problem by linking state university funding to the rate of successful promotion for these students.



The budget requests also include $10 million in endowments for professorships at the state's two- and four-year institutions. Recipient institutions would be required to provide one-to-one matching for state funds. The investments would target college and university departments that foster growth in priority fields, including film, aerospace, education and energy.



Research

Gov. Richardson hopes to support two other fields, stem cell research and supercomputing, through state investment in new research facilities. His plan dedicates $10 million to stem cell research at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences center, including:

• $4 million to recruit nationally recognized scientists,
• $4 million to construct an entirely state-funded research facility, and,
• $2 million for a training program in stem cell technology for faculty and students.

New Mexico also may seek to reclaim its role as a leader in supercomputing. The most recent survey of world supercomputers revealed that Los Alamos' Q machine, which was dubbed the world's second-fastest supercomputer two years ago, had dropped to 18th place. In September, IBM announced that it would help complete a new machine at Los Alamos that would be four times faster than the current record-holder at California's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Gov. Richardson has requested $25 million to support the development of separate supercomputer through a statewide consortium, involving Intel, the state's universities, and its national laboratories. The funds would also be used to create a New Mexico Computational Applications Center in Albuquerque, which would apply the newly available processing power to biomedical, energy and water research.



Renewable Energy

The governor has also proposed a package of state investments in energy efficiency, alternative fuels and clean technology commercialization totaling more than $25 million. The package includes a 4 percent increase in funding for public buildings to ensure greater energy efficiency and a tax credit to promote environmentally sound homes and offices. A proposed $10 million investment would be used to create a state Energy Innovation Fund. The fund would provide financial support for applied research and commercialization of clean energy technologies.



For more information on these announcements, visit Gov. Richardson's site at http://www.governor.state.nm.us.



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