These summer hearings offer a vital opportunity for Higher Education Institutions, Special Schools, and Tribal Colleges and Universities to submit funding requests for capital outlay projects deemed most consequential to the institutions and the state.
NTU’s leadership team, represented by Dr. Jason Arviso, Vice President, Dr. Elmer Guy, President, and Mr. Abe Bitok, Director of Support Services, detailed the day-to-day operations of their capital outlay projects. NMHED holds a statutory responsibility to administer an equitable annual review and recommendation process for public post-secondary capital outlay funding. As part of its recruitment and retention strategy, NTU aims to expand academic pathways with high schools each semester, ensuring graduating students who transition into the university receive continued support.
Current updates on campus projects include:
• A 17,000-square-foot expansion of the Trades Building.
• Renovations to the NTU Science and Trades Building.
• Classroom HVAC improvements.
NTU hosted all participating New Mexico tribal colleges during the event, including the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), which focuses on artistic disciplines; the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI), which specializes in vocational and technical education; and Diné College, which centers its mission on Navajo culture, language, and heritage.
To satisfy these structural needs, NMHED manages grant agreements with its partners, ensures compliance with grant terms, handles financial drawdowns via the State Board of Finance, and coordinates monthly Higher Education Capital Outlay Committee hearings to evaluate and approve projects before construction.
Following a presentation by NTU’s Biology department, State of New Mexico officials, including Cabinet Secretary Stephanie Rodriguez and Director of Communications Aurellia Ortiz, shared lunch with university representatives. They then conducted a campus tour to inspect sidewalk infrastructure concerns and review the designated site for the Trades Expansion Project.
The future looks bright for Navajo Technical University!
Abe Bitok
Director of Support Services
E: a.bitok@navajotech.edu