Report from Santa Fe; Manny Aragon

Report from Santa Fe is made possible in part by a grant from the members of the National Education Association of New Mexico, an organization of professionals who believe that investing in public education is an investment in our state's economic future. I'm Lorraine Mills, I'd like to welcome you to report from Santa Fe. Our guest today is State Senator Mani Aragon, Democrat from Valencia and Bernalillo Counties. Thank you for joining us today. Thank you for having me Lorraine, it's really a pleasure and I'll be back here in this program again. Well, I must congratulate you. You were named the 16th President of Highlands University in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Congratulations. Thank you, and I am so excited and honored by that opportunity, and I'm really looking forward to it. Well, I remember for years you and Ernie used to talk about it, and this has been a goal for you for a very long time, and if you don't mind my saying, so I really think they're very lucky to

have you. You bring amazing gifts to this post. Thank you. I hope so. I mean, there's a challenge there, and I'm very fortunate to be working with some really good people in Las Vegas, especially the border region. So, Governor and I, Michael Macina, Halopter Adams, Maridusio Haramillo, Ambassador Haramillo, and Michael Subagio, who's a student member there. They're all such fine people, I think we have a heck of a team going out. Now, you just told me earlier that Walter Adams is Mama Lucy's son. Right. Yeah, oh, that just seems such a wonderful manifestation of the universe working out in a very good way. Mama Lucy from the 1970s, early late 1960s, early 1970s, her hand still guides. Yes, absolutely. Yes, well, we give thanks indeed. Now, let's look a little at the history of Highlands because it was very well-known as an educational institute, training teachers. Then it became very well-known for social work training, things like that. And as I understand, the Board of Regents has formulated the goal that they

want it to become the preeminent, hispano-serving institution in the United States. And the goal time is five years? Well, you know, as quickly as possible, you know, and we're not sitting any time limit on it, but we want to make sure they're able to maintain. First of all, achieve it and then maintain that designation. The Hispanic-Serving Institution is a federal term. It applies to all higher education where the student population is at least 25% or more Hispanic. And there's only about four-year universities nationwide that have a Hispanic population of over 40%. In the Highlands, it's 60%. So it should as a premier Hispanic-serving institution, only by the number of Hispanics attending it. And accomplishing that, it'll be a premier Native American institution, Anglo-Institution, Black Institution. It's going to walk them everywhere. If we're premier, we're going to be premiered to all our

students. So that's a real challenging plan and very visionary on the region's part. And I think that it's going to be a lot of fun to put it into place. Well, without vision, you know, there's no ambition, there's no image of what you want to go to. But I'm so glad you expanded it from just his manual serving because when I read that, I thought, well, but how do you implement this? How do you go from the state? I know that the President Caballero did very good work in terms of the finances of the institution. What are some changes? What is your vision for Highlands? Well, you know, one of the things is that we want to strengthen the Spanish program there in Highlands in the teaching of the Spanish language. You have a strong department that has, it has not been a strong, it has been in the past. We want to strengthen and provide the type of degrees and discipline study in Spanish that will assist our students to be able to deal with the growing and emerging Spanish community in the United States. You know, I was impressed when I went to Quebec Canada because there, they might understand this. I mean,

in Quebec, every student at every level is encouraged and almost required anymore to learn at least two languages, you know, either French and Canadian or English. But in Quebec, they've taken it by themselves to make Spanish their number one language, and they actually have some great partnerships with the Latin America and our great participants. So, you know, it's like somebody, you know, the old detail that was reflected in the native toy, who recently, that a person that could speak two languages is good as two people. So that's one way, and then also making sure that the faculty and the classes we teach are, are commensurate with the, with the experience that some of our students have had in growing up, you know. A lot of times historically, we did away with their experiences. We tried to take it away and then want to talk about it. It would be good to start talking about the history of our seconds in northern New Mexico, you know, the Rio Grande Compact, a forest management, and the horror pork farmers handled it, and things of that sort, to have students be able to dwell into their passion, and their young

adult experiences, and be able to relate to it at the university, and, you know, recapture the, the enthusiasm of our faculty to make a commitment to help these kids get through a, through college, the young adults, the non-traditional students. We're going to make it a place where you'll be proud to work and to go to school and to teach, and, and a place where, you know, one of our things there is that the best way to predict the future is to create it, and that's what we intend to do, and, and uncertain then the understanding that the 90% of all success is followed through, and you're going to be requested to do that, so everybody does their job, because how the carnival, in a short period of time, high-level university will become the premier Hispanic serving institution in the United States. Well, the pendulum swings from the old days when a Spanish speaking native would have his hands slapped for speaking Spanish, and the other swing of the pendulum, you mentioned Quebec, they have wanted to secede from Canada, and only speak French,

and keep everyone who spoke another language out, so between those two, Highlands will sail the middle way here. A lot of times have changed, I remember that, that points in my life, where you were embarrassed, it seemed like, you know, to go to school with a, a tortilla sandwich with Bologna, and, and those were those days. Today, if you go, you can't shoot anybody, because they're going to grab it, you know, everybody wants it now, you know, it's a pretty amazing change, and in the times that we've all grown up in, but it's, you know, a lot of studies have been done, and, and one of the concerns, and the things that, like, that reaches out, is that education, but for many years practice, subtractive education, in other words, they try to take away the experiences of young people from where they were, where they were born, and then they were not important, the traditions or cultures, the, the experiences of life experiences that they had in young people, because they were raised in Pena School, or in Thru Chas, or in Mora, and educators are not learning that it's really good to relate to those experiences, because they

can use those as vehicles to transfer science and math and, and engineering, remember, what was that, when we was a stand-in deliverer, with a skillante, you know, remember, he said, well, let's talk about jiggleos, you know, how many, how many girls would he have to have working to make this kind of, when we think the thing is to talk about it, and if it's really dating to that, all of a sudden, you see a school come out of the, out of the ashes, the rise like the Phoenix has started passing the college calculus test, I mean, so it's that kind of, you know, atmosphere recognizing and respecting was background and using it to your advantage. And not only recognizing and respecting it, but it's a dying way of life. Now it's, people are not astounded for it, now it's precious. Now we want people, you know, to write down their stories, write down what their grandmothers taught them. And one thing I would love to see you do at Highlands, if you're going to enhance the Spanish Literature Department, you, if you could have a, a writer's series with, you know, Ridolfo Anaya, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, I mean, if we could get some world class. They will be invited and asked to, you know, to make presentations up there. I mean,

the talent in your Mexico is, it's not in measurable. All we have to do is ask. And it's, it's amazing how many Mexico is volunteered to help, if you just reach out and ask you, but many times we don't do that. And now we're going to take full advantage of all that and, and the odd point of support from all these types of individuals has been tremendous. And, and that's what we need to do. And then I think that's what will occur in the course of their Native Americans, the same thing is true. You know, with, you know, the Donna Harris, Fred Harris, Fred Harris is probably an icon at the University of New Mexico. I mean, every student who wants to take his class, he just shares his experiences and then his, and his very colorful past and, and his very bright mind is very interesting. I want to, you know, see we can get him up there and provide a one hour course where anybody at the University wants to take it just so that they get a feel for that kind of dynamic individual. And they're just all over the place. Tony Hillman, you know, you know, the actor Sooty, I mean, there's, there's performance on many things of the Peter McDonald's, you know, and, and to talk about the, about the Native American

history and, and the environment that they were raised in, and the, the level of tradition and culture and code talkers, and everybody's going to be respected and enthused to be there, because I think that's what it's going to take for us to move to, to move forward in Northern New Mexico, feel respected and feel that, you know, you're, some of that matters in that institution. That's what we ought to put in there. And how will your interface be with some of the major economic forces in New Mexico? I know that Pete Nanos had written a wonderful of Los Alamos National Labs, had written a glowing letter of recommendation for you. And I'm sure you'll be able to draw upon your connections with Intel and the labs and this to maybe institute some special programs. Absolutely, you know, you know, you know, Admiral Nanos, Pete Nanos, the director, has, has brought a fresh new approach to Los Alamos. He is getting high kudos from a lot of people in Northern New Mexico. He has, he's addressed the salary, the salary questions of, where it's not being fair to certain workers and with their experiences and, and, and, and,

he has opened up the lab for collaboration with Highlands University, the University of California through Los Alamos is going to give Highlands for a year, a dean that is very well-versed in, in computational engineering. And we're going to try to establish the first computational engineering, a creative program in the United States. And what you do there is you have some hundred to 200 computers that you, that you put all the data that you need into these computers and then you have your students to the, to the work of technology, be able to solve problems on hydrology, geology, anything. I mean, just about anything you could possibly think of. And Los Alamos is very committed to having us do that and through Senator Domenici and this legislature and other individuals, we just are going to open a new science building on the Highlands campus. It's a beautiful building that is probably hopefully be open in about a couple of months. And it's a commitment from, from those individuals recognizing that

Highlands has to expand its offerings that it had in the past. You know, it did have doctoral programs. It had quite a few graduate programs, master's programs. And over the last few years, some of them have gone away because of having to do away with programs to meet the financial problems that they were facing. So, when you had that kind of support and commitment from individuals like, like, Liberty Richardson and Congressman Yudal, you're Senator Domenici and you're Senator Binghamen and, you know, Congresswoman Heather Wilson, I mean, she's so enthusiastic. She called the game, her personal line in her office, her softened and her phone at home, which was very impressive and whatever we can do to help Highlands. So, New Mexicans have a lot of good people working for them. It's just pulling them together and putting aside all these petty nuances that we're not so accustomed to and doing some good for our people. That's going to be something that's going to be hopefully very rewarding. Well, I, when I heard this news, really sought as the extension of all the work you've done in

the Senate. And for 30 years, I have watched you from the Senate radio room for a long time, and then from the galleries. And no one- Was your friend Bob Barth and Ernie Mills, yes. But no one in the Senate really, you know, I should never make an extreme statement like that. But you fought so passionately and articulately for health care, for the disadvantage, for education, for corrections. There are, you've had a series of pet projects you have just taken to the wall and for people who couldn't fight for themselves. And so, to me, an education was always in there. This is the next step for you, this challenge in your development. I would love to take a moment and look back at your Senate years. And who, you know, you leaving, and also Richard Romero leaving, there will be a huge void in the leadership. Who do you see? How do you think that's all going to coalesce in the new leadership? You think there'll be more coalitions? Who have you loved working with and who do you

think would step easily into leadership, or do you want to just let them? No, you know, I don't think that coalitions are very productive because so many personal relationships are affected and just that occur and seems to take more time than anything or any of the issues that are really important to deal with, and making sure you're able to keep your numbers together rather than worrying about the issues that you should be addressing, taking care of all those that help put the coalition together rather than putting people in the committees that they really could do the most beneficial help of the state. I would hope we would go back to the majority and there's a minority, and I think it's worked very well over the years, and I think it works well throughout the country. And as far as leadership, you know, there are so many individuals, I mean, you know, they're all being groomed as you come into this Senate, you can't help,

but learn and get groomed. But, you know, Senate dropped it, but I'm certainly, you know, sticks out. He is our senior member. He's been here 34 years now and seeking another term. I mean, there's an individual that could leave, but he's committed to it. He's no question about his ability, and Senator Fidel would certainly do a good job at any capacity and heading up a committee, but he really takes care of an important subject matter with us with the capital outweigh. You know, Senator Chishneros of Tows has done wonderful in conservation and trying to address the water needs. He filled them for us when we didn't have anybody in education, did a wonderful job there, was nationally recognized. Carlos Chishneros is a real trooper, I mean, he'll work hard in wherever you put him and get it done. Senator Compos is very competent, you know, in finances and in education. And, you know, a very charming good person that gets along with everyone. And, you know, Senator Sanchez, Michael Sanchez, who's, you know,

very good at the judiciary. And, you know, he just wants to read everything across every T and not every I. So, yeah, every type of individual in there. And there's other Senator Gregor, of course, and Mary Jankar Sia, who's already there. But at Sanchez, well, you know, she's as enthusiastic as you can get, you know, I mean, in fact, she probably tries to over-meeting everybody there, but that's the kind of person that you need. And this would probably go on. Senator Jennings has certainly sort of, you know, in a very positive manner as much Georgia leader, and I think he may have been the wit before. So, I don't think there's any void in the democratic side. Of course, Republicans haven't been given that much opportunity to share those type of positions, but they've certainly shown that they're capable of having that kind of leadership, and it was Senator Engel, and of course, Senator Coraro. And other things would get people too, you know, don't get it. He's a really fine person, but I'm not concerned about the Senate. They certainly have the potential. What they need to do is learn how to get together and work it out,

and do, and do, and sign up for what they came here to do. And that is to strengthen, you know, the opportunities for your Mexicans and education, economic development, health care, absolutely, take care of those, you know, our development disabled population that keeps growing, you know, the poverty of our children, you know, the ruralness of our Native American tribes, the challenges are astounding. I mean, it's pre-disconcerting, you know, when you look back, but I know that we made a difference, and your Mexico has come a long way, and I think it'll be well served by the people who stayed behind. Well, that's the people, but some of those issues I want to look at a little bit closely. Health care is very near and dear to my heart. We have come a long way, but where do you see us going and do you think we'll ever get to universal health care system just in New Mexico? Well, that's for the problem. I think, you know, I think New Mexico is probably, and this legislature would take a little bit more serious, except for the threat that we ever did it on our own. Always a question, well, then there's

other, there's a flood. Of course, we live in America, and everybody's free to go wherever. The concern of the people that we will attract them throughout the country, which was only certified, what we know, and it is true, is that they need this kind of health care. Of course, they would come here to be walking them into a system where they could take care of the children and their own health care needs. So that's a problem. It's always been there, but I don't know if you remember Sucom, and she was a provost at UNM, and she was hired away from UNM six, seven, eight years ago by the University of Michigan to be their president, the University of Michigan. She was subsequently made the chairman of the National Institute of Health. And just in the last six months for the first time in its history, that group came out and said that universal health care is the only salvation for addressing this crisis. So you're seeing things come around and turn around. Universal health care has got to be available for everyone last year for the first time in my, since we've ever had any real say here, and it's probably been about 15 years, we've really had to say, was the first time that I saw how I was going backwards on health care,

we started talking about cutting benefits in Medicaid to try to make it fit, to learn here recently that we're making more money and being a little bit more prosperous, that the formula at the national level has changed, and I was going to cost us $80 more million from the general fund just to keep what we have now, because we're not going to get the match, the federal match we used to get, because our personal income has gone up, and it's formula driven. So that's kind of scary. You're like, boy, you know, so we're doing good, but we're starting to go back on health care, and I don't think there's a bigger issue than health care in my mind, I mean, you know, I like it, we're almost used to, they asked him, what's the most important thing in your life, you know, but they said, oh, my wife, my kids were, and he said, my health, because with all that, I can't take care of my wife, I can't, you know, I can't be with my kids, and the health care is bottom line responsibility for every individual, so you ask a very good question, and I don't sense that we, I think we recognize what needs to be done, I just want to think that we've had

the political attitude to do it, but we keep trying and we should continue to do that, because that's kind of people that we are, we should be. And education, we really have come a long way, and that is really quantifiable, and the other thing, you spend a lot of time working with corrections, getting corrections up to speed, I even have a videotape, you're doing the riot with Ernie in 1980. When I first really got the honor, you know, and the, and his journalistic, I guess, commitment, I would call it craziness or braveness, but I mean, I can still see him walking into the administration building of the old penitentiary into total darkness, with you can see the lights of the cameraman following him, with nothing but inmates surrounding, but inmates with with stalking caps over their heads, we cut our eyes and shanks, and he went in there, and he did a remarkable job, I'm sure it changed his life, but it was too much life, because what he witnessed

was pretty, pretty brutal. Pretty brutal, I mean, what people can do to people, and I'll never forget it, I mean, it was an amazing, but he did an important role in that, in setting up communication with the inmates, and actually, probably staving off an even more brutal, ending to that. By saving 15 guards that were hidden away. Absolutely, I mean, there's no question about it, and that corrections, I think, has come a long way, you know, we took a lot of, a lot of hits on, you know, on the expanding our system and this privatization, which I'd never supported, but I'm told you go to Hobbs now with the prison, I'm never visited, that we have there with the Substance Abuse program that has been put up, placed by Wacken Hut, and I think now the company name has changed, and it is really, really helped to hire a claim by anybody who goes through, especially our conservative interest, and they go, this is really a heck of a problem,

but it's cocky, you know, so, so I love looking, I love looking back with you, because we have come, you know, in the 30 years that you've been here, I see so much progress that's been made, I want to talk a little about personalities, because you've worked with many, many governors over those 30 years. Who did you really enjoy working with, and who did you feel that you could partner with in solving New Mexico's problems? Well, you know, interestingly enough, the one that probably had the most success with was the Governor Corothers, he's a very pro-education governor, I mean, he supported us in raising the monies that were needed to infuse some very needed resources into higher education and into, you know, K through 12. Governor and I had a tough time because of politicians in both the houses, I mean, I think he's one of the brightest people I ever met, but he could never get out of the blocks because they were blocking him every time, I remember the session we came in for, he's advocating for a one-cent increase to put into education, yeah.

We took the budget, we just said the prayer signed in and a motion to sign a contract with me, and we went home. Yeah, you remember that. I do, I do. And this governor, Governor Richardson? Bill is really a mover and a shaker, and he does whatever it takes to get the job done. I think that he's bringing a new era into New Mexico politics, he's put enthusiasm back into it, he's trying to bring everybody back together again, it's interesting to read in the recent election that he supported Republicans, too, saying that, you know, we gotta get over this, you know, we gotta have a job to do, and you know, you help me by agenda and believe in that, and that what we're doing is right, then I'll help you. So, you know, that's probably, you know, a lot of Democrats probably don't like that. I kind of welcome it saying, somebody gotta step up and say, we gotta get out of this, you know, just loving each other outside of the roundhouse, but getting on that floor, and it's just so partisan that you can't move,

you know, and so I think he's a real breath of fresh political life into this state that hopefully we'll change it, you know, we have a heck of a reputation, you know, remember Dirkson on the famous Republican leader in the Senate, you know, when he was questioned about his politics, one time said that if you wanna get your bachelor's in politics, you go to the US Senate, wanna get your master's, you go to the House in Illinois, but if you ever wanted to get your doctor, you go to Santa Fe in New Mexico, where we were really known as a group of people that debated issues, worked hard, fought hard, got things done, and they left us friends, you know, as we did in the past, and they had that for a long time, but here recently this, the ugly politics has made it virtually difficult to see all these good people that we have, be able to show their talents and really rise to the top. One other governor, Governor King, our most recycled governor, is... Yeah, the governor King, you know, I mean, who, one more of a fondly figure, and a mother figure than Bruce King and Alice King, I mean, what they did for this stage is, you know, it's historical,

and they're still doing it, you know, in fact, Governor King, you know, the Children of Youth and Families Department, I mean, he's concerned for so many issues, and Bobby Socialist throughout the stage is his unbelievable memory of people's names and backgrounds, and how respectful that was, and how many people were, and, you know, in Governor King, there's no question about his commitment, and we had, for all practical purposes, very smooth running governments, well, Governor King was here, you know, and he'll always be appreciated, you know, no doubt about that. Governor Johnson, you know, I wish he would have practiced really preached, I mean, I think you talked a good game, and we got some things done, but had he followed through with his commitments, and at least let people put things on the table to discuss, but when everything was, let's just

do this, no, we can't discuss that, well, then that caused a problem that none of us could really deal with, because we thought that, you know, when you look at the state government, you have to look at the whole picture, you just can't isolate one thing and go after it, so he could have done so much better. In my opinion, there's a lot of people that think he did very, very well, but you know, that's my opinion. But we learned from bad examples as well as good examples. Always, yes, and I am so looking forward to seeing what you will do with Highlands, maybe in six months after you've been at the Hill, maybe after a school year, you'll come back and tell us, because the Senate will miss you so much with your passion, your ability to speak, you know, for the disenfranchised, I know that I'll miss you. Look it down on the floor. I'm going to miss the Senate tremendously. It's been my family for 30 years. Yeah, yes. Well, I want to thank you, Manny Eragon, for being with us today and discussing your new position as the new president of Highland University and your many, many years of service in the Senate. Thank you for being here. Thank you, Louie. Thank you for anything.

Yeah, okay. I'd like to thank you for being with us today on report from Santa Fe. Report from Santa Fe is made possible in part by a grant from the members of the National Education Association of New Mexico, an organization of professionals who believe that investing in public education is an investment in our state's economic future.