UNM Anderson School of Management Launches Center for the Future of New Mexico’s Economy

February 10, 2022 - Anna Dykeman

Albuquerque, N.M. – The Anderson School of Management at The University of New Mexico recently announced the formation of its new Center for the Future of New Mexico’s Economy.

The new center was formed to harness the expertise of New Mexico’s universities to support the goal of transforming New Mexico’s economy over the next generation through economic development. Specifically, Anderson seeks to approach economic development from a broad and comprehensive perspective, bringing together experts from multiple disciplines and backgrounds to address important questions associated with the state’s economy.

As a focal point for economic development research, the center will provide the infrastructure for scholars interested in advancing strategies to enhance economic advancement and a conduit for partnerships across the state. This may include serving as an agent for distributing federal or state funding to communities as needs and opportunities surface.

“We’ve created the center to be a hub to share data about how New Mexico is doing, to bring critical issues to public attention, and to work with communities to tackle big problems,” said Robert G. DelCampo, Anderson’s executive director of corporate and community engagement. “We want it to be a place that is trusted, is nonpartisan, gives policy input, and provides a forum to tackle some of the issues we face regarding our state’s economy.”

The Anderson Foundation is serving as lead investor, providing the funding to establish Economic Development Fellows positions that will support the work of the center.

“We certainly owe our gratitude to the Anderson Foundation Board leadership and members for their support in these endeavors,” said Anderson Dean Mitzi M. Montoya. “The capacity to grow to meet the ever-changing needs of New Mexico business and beyond is key to fulfilling our mission, and the Anderson Foundation has been instrumental in continually providing that capacity.”

“This is exactly the kind of new initiatives that we have been building toward in our partnership with the UNM Anderson School in a collaborative pursuit of driving the regional economy forward, and it exemplifies best practices and successful models seen elsewhere in the nation. We are thrilled to have this new resource at our disposal and look forward to also being a significant partner as it takes flight,” commented Danielle Casey, President and CEO of Albuquerque Regional Economic Alliance (AREA), formerly AED.

A related initiative to connect and support the state’s economic development efforts is Anderson’s four-part Regional Innovation Series. The third event: Collaboration for a Clean Energy Economy, takes place in Albuquerque Thursday, March 17, in partnership with AREA and several companies in the renewable energy sector. For more information, visit abq.org/events.