Casitas are being renovated at SMU-in-Taos.
Since 1973, in the mountains of northern New Mexico, SMU-in-Taos has been offering summer courses. The rustic
casitas at the Fort Burgwin campus, however, were impractical for use during colder weather. And lack of cell phone service made students and faculty feel more isolated than they prefer in this day of instant communication.
Now, the construction of new casitas, renovations to existing housing and technological improvements will allow students and faculty to live at SMU-in-Taos comfortably during the fall and winter, making it possible to offer a fall semester for the first time. A $4 million gift from William P. Clements Jr. ’39 and his wife, Rita, is funding the improvements, which will be dedicated this summer.
To qualify as fall Taos Scholars, students must have a minimum 3.3 GPA and be sophomores in fall 2009. Students will take 12-16 hours of courses, among them anthropology, geology, biology, statistics, accounting, photography, art, literature and history. SMU-in-Taos director Mike Adler says each course will use the region’s history and culture as a platform for experiential learning.
The semester will be broken into four blocks of about three weeks each, with five-day breaks between each block. During breaks, students can participate in outdoor adventures to places like the Grand Canyon; SMU-in-Taos will cover the cost of one excursion for each student.
Adler believes a unique aspect of the new fall program will be the Taos Experience course required of all students. Meeting once a week, the course will include a service-learning component, allowing students to work with such groups
as Habitat for Humanity and the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, among others. In addition, a wellness program will offer activities ranging from hiking to fly-fishing.
– Kim Cobb