Celebrating Community and Design with UNM Dean’s Circle
Since moving downtown in 2017, as the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta fills the skies, SMPC has had the privilege of welcoming members of the University of New Mexico’s School of Architecture + Planning Dean’s Circle to our downtown office for a morning of connection and celebration.
Hosted on the rooftop above the Banque Lofts, the annual gathering brings together alumni, faculty, and supporters of UNM’s design programs for breakfast and conversation. This year, the weather cooperated beautifully — clear skies, crisp air, and the aroma of coffee, Golden Pride burritos, and donuts filling the morning. While the balloons drifted north, the sense of community remained firmly centered here in downtown Albuquerque.
Dean Robert González shared exciting updates from the School of Architecture + Planning (SA+P), including:
- The appointment of Rolf Pendall as the new Chair of Community + Regional Planning.
- Leadership transitions within the School: Chris Cornelius stepping down after four impactful years as Chair of Architecture, with Michaele Pride stepping in as interim Chair while a search begins for a new Chair and Director of DPAC in Spring 2025.
- Highlights from SA+P’s 50th Anniversary Programming, including the Homecoming luncheon and the ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the renovated Antoine Predock Center for Design and Research.
- A milestone achievement of awarding $70,000 in scholarships this year — providing support to one in every eleven students, with a goal to reach one in four in the coming years.
For SMPC, this gathering represents more than burritos and balloons — it’s a chance to reaffirm our connection to UNM, the next generation of designers and planners, and the broader community we serve together.
We’re proud to share space, conversation, and breakfast with those shaping the future of design in New Mexico, and we look forward to continuing this tradition each Balloon Fiesta season.
Photography by D’Ali Roberts/SMPC
