The third annual Higher Education Technical Summit drew more than 300 educators and policy professionals from the state’s colleges and universities to New Mexico State University in Las Cruces on March 23-24, the New Mexico Higher Education Department said in a news release. The department says no other state organizes a conference like it.
Speakers included Lt. Gov. Howie Morales, state Sen. Bill Soules, House Speaker Javier Martinez and state Rep. Nathan Small, along with Tom Harnisch of the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, Jennifer Torres of Complete College America and representatives of the University of New Mexico Basic Needs Project. Sessions covered financial aid, national trends in how states fund higher education, campus capital investments, academic policy, institutional planning and research, and adult education.
Morales said the summit showed how much colleges and universities matter to communities throughout the state, and that New Mexico keeps investing in higher education in ways that help families and local economies. Harnisch said New Mexico is making major progress in higher education, and Torres said, “College is more than a credential; it’s a pathway to purpose.”
Higher Education Secretary Stephanie M. Rodriguez said higher education in New Mexico has “garnered incredible momentum over these past eight years,” and that events like the summit provide encouragement that the upward trend will continue.
Editor’s note: Updated Oct. 31, 2026. This story was revised to cite the New Mexico Higher Education Department news release it is based on. Learn how Brant.One reports in our editorial standards.
