UNM-Los Alamos (UNM-LA) has been awarded a Strengthening Institutions Program grant of nearly $3 million from the U.S. Department of Education, representing a major investment in the future of the campus, its students and northern New Mexico. Over the next five years, Advancing Skills & Careers through Education for the New Digital Age (ASCEND) will strengthen the campus’s long-term capacity to prepare northern New Mexico students for emerging, high-growth careers.

UNM-LA Associate Dean, Irina Alvestad, Ph.D., Program Manager, Anne Jarrett, Ph.D., J.D., MBA, Dean of Instruction, Brent Pickett, Ph.D., Data Analyst, Valida Osman, and Technical Analyst, DeBray Bailey, worked together to develop the successful proposal. 

“As higher education evolves and adapts to the needs of the modern, high-skilled workforce, the ASCEND grant provides UNM-LA with targeted resources that escalate our commitment to educate and train our students for these specialized positions as part of short- and long-term economic development for Northern New Mexico,” said Jarrett. 

“This award is a significant investment in the future of UNM-Los Alamos,” said Alvestad.

A signature component of ASCEND will be the addition of a Workforce Resource Center to the UNM-LA library, bringing together career services, tutoring, academic support, technology access and workforce navigation. The initiative will also strengthen faculty capacity, expand flexible learning opportunities, develop new academic and workforce pathways, and create partnerships with regional employers. Additionally, this grant award includes an endowment match of $250,000 which will further strengthen the long-term financial viability of UNM-LA and build on the endowment match successfully raised by our recent Title V PASE grant, which increased the campus endowment funds by a total of $500,000.