In 2021, a record number of people quit their jobs, what economists are calling the Great Resignation. While COVID was certainly a factor, experts say people were already exiting their jobs at an increasing rate starting in 2009.Now New Mexico Highlands University plans to use new funding to address mass exits and burnout in northern New Mexico.
In a recent study,people in education, healthcare, and social services reported high levels of burnout, with K-12 education being the highest.
Highlands has received $20.5 million dollars in state endowment funds from New Mexico’s Higher Education Department that could help address the high rates of professional burnout and shortages in these fields, especially in our rural and Native communities.
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Roxanne Gonzales said the university’s mission is to provide access to higher education to populations that don’t necessarily get addressed on a regular basis. But as a rural school, it can be challenging to recruit faculty.
"With this kind of endowment we can attract faculty who really interested in making an impact on the students they are teaching here on campus knowing that would be a lifetime impact on the society and communities in which these students are going to go out and work" said Gonzales.
She said Highlands will use the funds to hire people specializing in education, nursing, and social work and create pipelines for employment.
Gonzales, said $10 million will be used to fund a new Institute for Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Learning and Teaching. Another $2.5 million will go toward hiring more faculty in the Nursing Department and help place nursing students in rural communities where there’s a lack of regular healthcare. The School of Social Work will also receive $8 million to hire new faculty and support staff.
This coverage is made possible by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and KUNM listeners.
