A Message from the Dean
Welcome to SA+P:
Thank you for your interest in what we do in New Mexico—on Indigenous land, along borderlands where cultures converge, and inside our classrooms where ideas are tested against real needs. When we design a door, our discussions go beyond the shape of the door or the hinge; we want to know who gets to walk through it, feel safe, is seen, and feels like they belong.
You may have seen a quote of mine recently circulating in the press:
“I’m eager to keep us focused on what matters most: confronting climate change and advancing social justice in the built environment. The current wave of political posturing—meant to distract—will pass. What endures is our educational mission, rooted in equity, sustainability, and resilience. The classroom is a powerful place to teach transformation. By holding fast to these values, we give students the clarity and courage to lead with vision and purpose, even in uncertain times.” (The Architect’s Newspaper, September 2025)
I stand by it. Not just because it is meant to provoke, but because it is practical. Wildfire embers do not check party affiliation. Housing insecurity is not just an abstract debate topic for our students—it is often the reality they know too well. It is about their families, their future clients, and their communities. If design does not confront these conditions head-on, it becomes mere décor and the design trend of the season. At UNM, we strive to train practical visionaries.
At the School of Architecture & Planning, design and planning are forms of civic action. And as you get to know us, you will be inspired by our faculty and students. I’d like to share one example. From the halls of Pearl Hall came the foresight of Community and Regional Planning Professor Jennifer Tucker and her students to propose and implement a new democratic civic funding model with an Albuquerque city councilor, funding 1.5 million in community-designed and community projects. A few semesters later, Professor of Architecture Michaele Pride and her students responded to this very call and successfully submitted a winning design for citywide One Stop Respite Stations for the unhoused. A full-scale prototype will soon be built and tested in our courtyard, led by Professor of Architecture Chris Cornelius and FabLab Manager Keenan Boliek-Poling—from concept to design to installation. That is how we move from idea to impact at UNM SA+P, and how our allied disciplines each contribute.
Alongside this work, we are also advancing a new strategic plan—shaped by faculty, staff, and students. It will chart our next decade of ambition and accountability, ensuring that equity, sustainability, and resilience remain the foundation of everything we do. And we do this with a remarkable community. Our faculty publish, build, and organize. Our students win competitions and establish award-winning firms. Our staff keeps the engine humming. We are also stewarding campus design at UNM and collaborating with world-class architects on new campus landmarks.
To prospective students: your education here is not a waiting room. Expect to do meaningful work with real impact. We serve our communities, counties, and region—and we are on call.
To our partners: Tribal nations, neighborhoods, agencies, firms, and fellow advocates—we are honored to continue to work with you. Hold us accountable. Push us to do more.
Finally, a word about the current climate. Higher education is weathering a season of destabilizing currents, something we have endured before—though never at this scale. We will not take our eyes off the work that matters. We measure success in what we build—in every sense of the word—and in the extent to which our communities thrive with our support. We remain steady, and like a good concrete structure, we gain strength with time. We like to remember that some of our educational institutions are older than our cities, states, and nations.
New Mexico has always produced world-changing ideas by insisting on place-based intelligence. At UNM SA+P, we embrace that tradition and claim our transformative classrooms as the critical spaces where our world’s future leaders take shape.
Come see what we are doing—or join us!
Robert Alexander González
Dean, School of Architecture and Planning
