By Maurissa Munoz
Eastern New Mexico University welcomed a new dean to campus in October.
Penny A. Garcia, the dean of Education, is no stranger to the “Land of Enchantment.” She is a native of Albuquerque, and all of her degrees are from New Mexico schools. Garcia obtained her bachelor’s degree from the College of Santa Fe, and her master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of New Mexico.
Garcia said ENMU has a long tradition of doing a good job, and she wants to help that tradition continue.
Her goal for Education is “to prepare highly successful teachers for schools in New Mexico and places far beyond.”
Garcia loves the school’s motto of “Student Success.”
Her idea of student success is to produce ENMU alumni teachers who are capable and qualified to produce successful students in their classrooms. She says her ultimate clients are children.
Garcia says that the field of education is changing. This change stems from school districts that are evolving and developing with time and accreditation standards from the Public Education Department.
The College of Education and Technology at ENMU needs to embrace change, Garcia said. She is an advocate of using new technology, and she thinks that will help the college stay relevant through the change.
Garcia hopes to be able to steer the ship through an ocean of change; to help get from shore to shore in a successful, efficient, and professional way; and to be proactive rather than reactive.
“This is not my vision, but it is our vision,” Garcia said.
The College of Education and Technology has received accreditation for the next five years.
Garcia has three children and six grandchildren. She taught for 25 years in New Mexico as a kindergarten teacher and an elementary principal. While in New Mexico, she did a lot of work in schools on Native American reservations.
After leaving New Mexico, she taught in higher education at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh for 16 years. At Wisconsin-Oshkosh, she was a professor of Education Leadership, the chair of the department of Education Leadership and Human Services, and an associate dean.
She said it was a good experience and that she looks forward to her time at ENMU being just as good.