Recently appointed UNM-LA CEO Cindy Rooney in her office in Building One on the college campus. Photo by Bonnie J. Gordon/ladailypost.comDr. Cynthia Rooney was named chief executive officer of UNM-Los Alamos March 7 after serving as interim executive director since August 2015. The decision was reached after consultation with faculty, staff, the UNM-LA Advisory Board and University of New Mexico officials, Provost Chaouki Abdalla said.
“Dr. Cynthia Rooney is the best choice to continue to lead the Los Alamos branch campus,” Abdallah said. “She clearly has the support of the campus and local community and is the best choice to lead the campus as it strengthens and re-defines its role in Los Alamos.
“I have a strong desire to serve our campus,” Rooney said. “I’m in agreement with the UNM provost that we need a full-time leader here in Los Alamos. “We’re a unique campus and having someone in the role who understands the campus and the community is very important. I want this institution to serve the needs of our community. If we do that, we’ll be successful.”
Rooney has a long history at UNM-LA, having served as dean of instruction since July 2013, and before that as associate dean and as the chair of the Business Department, as well as being a member of the Business Department faculty since 2000.
Her teaching interests and research have primarily been in financial accounting and auditing, with appointments at the College of William and Mary, Xavier University, and the University of New Mexico’s Anderson School of Management. A licensed CPA, Rooney holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration, with a major in Accounting and a minor in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, from the University of Tennessee.
Rooney stressed the importance of being visible in the Los Alamos Community and getting the word out about what UNM-LA has to offer.
“Our vision and mission remain the same,” she said. “We want to prepare students to transfer to four-year schools and to prepare students to pursue careers, as well as to assist with lifelong learning.”
UNM-LA will continue to provide solid STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education as well as a solid liberal arts foundation, Rooney said.
Dual credit programs with Los Alamos High School, home school students and students from surrounding areas is a growing part of UNM-LA’s mission.
Recently, UNM-LA has partnered with LAHS in its early college program that allows students to earn an associate degree while in high school as well as in an internship program, Rooney said. More than 300 LAHS will take classes at UNM-LA this year.
The newest program at UNM-LA will be a personal care attendant program, which the College plans to roll out in Fall 2016, Rooney said.
“We’re sensitive to the needs of the marketplace and this is a field where there is a growing need,” Rooney said. “We are also in close communication with Los Alamos National Laboratory about their workforce needs over the next 5-10 years. Cybersecurity and other computer science specialties are areas of growth at all levels, from associate degrees though Ph.D. level positions.”
“We’re bucking the trend in that we’re growing!” Rooney said. “We’ve grown in the double digits the past four semesters. We’re up 10.7 percent this spring over Spring Semester 2015. We’re growing in both online and face to face classes.”
The Emergency Medical Service and Fire Science programs are among the fastest growing programs at UNM-LA, Rooney said.
The campus is redesigning the space for these programs to include a state-of-the art ambulance simulation lab and a home environment lab, including a bed and a bathroom. The new facility will be unveiled some time this summer, Rooney said.
Rooney plans to be in close touch with the faculty at UNM-LA and guest lecture in business-related classes when she can. “At heart, I’m an educator,” she said.
