Community activist Mona Frazier, left, speaks after she and Donna Lopez, right, presented Dr. Assata Zerai with an Eighth Generation blanket during the 2026 Statewide Diversity Summit at The University of New Mexico-Gallup on Friday, April 17, 2026. Lopez is a project manager with the UNM Division for Change & Empowerment and Zerai is the vice president of equity and inclusion at UNM as well as a professor of sociology. Photo by Richard Reyes/ñ.
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Organizers, attendees reflect on a successful summit, creating a future of solidarity in higher ed
By Richard Reyes, Friday, April 24, 2026
GALLUP, N.M. — The University of New Mexico-Gallup hosted the 2026 Statewide Diversity Summit on April 17-18, 2026, bringing together higher education partners from around the Land of Enchantment to engage in open dialogue about diversity related topics.
The two-day summit featured four keynote speakers and 24 breakout sessions on a variety of subjects, including academic freedom, immigration, LGBTQ+ issues, library censorship, and more. Approximately 170 attendees and presenters from around the state and the local community visited the ñ campus for the summit.
“What I would hope people left with was a basic understanding and meaning of diversity,” L.D. Lovett, the director of ñ Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, said. “It’s a mixture of similarities and differences. It’s about understanding and respect. And when they came and they left, I think they had that feeling that we’re in this as a team.”
Lovett served as co-chair of the planning committee that organized the summit alongside Dr. Aretha Matt, an associate professor of English at ñ.
L.D. Lovett, the director of ñ Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, serves as the master of ceremonies at the beginning of the 2026 Statewide Diversity Summit at The University of New Mexico-Gallup on Friday, April 17, 2026. Photo by Renaldo Fowler/ñ.
Together, Lovett and Matt led a team of employees from several ñ departments, including Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Zollinger Library, Native American Student Success Center, Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Facilities Management, Information Technology, and Public Relations.
“This was definitely a team effort, and it was a success because many folks across campus played an important role,” Matt said.
The UNM Division for Change and Empowerment, New Mexico Highlands University, and the City of Gallup were also key partners.
Standing in solidarity
Lovett said this is the third time ñ has hosted a statewide diversity summit — the first being in 2016 and the second being in 2021, which was done remotely because of the pandemic.
Lovett said he hopes this year’s summit sets the tone for future events, showing what a small team at a branch campus can accomplish. He also credited ñ leadership, particularly Chancellor Dr. Sabrina Ezzell, for supporting the summit.
Matt said she received overwhelming feedback from participants who complimented ñ for putting together a successful event. For Matt personally, as a Navajo professor, it was especially impactful to amplify Indigenous voices and perspectives.
“A summit like this brings people from a variety of backgrounds together to stand in solidarity around issues of inequality and marginalization,” she said. “In addition, it communicates to our communities and our students that we care about and value diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
Dr. Aretha Matt, an associate professor at ñ, serves as the mistress of ceremonies for former U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland's keynote address during the 2026 Statewide Diversity Summit at The University of New Mexico-Gallup on Saturday, April 18, 2026. Photo by Richard Reyes/ñ.
Tara Ashley, a student who works as an assistant for ñ Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, expressed pride in being part of such a successful and historic summit.
“This event was a huge win for our community, proving that when we come together, we can lead the way toward a brighter, more inclusive future for all of us at UNM-G,” she said.
Ashley is a human services major, with a focus on family and community education, with a specialized interest in substance abuse and counseling. She was a key member of the summit’s planning committee and read aloud ñ’s Land Acknowledgment during the event.
Creating a campus of inclusion
New Mexico Higher Education Department Deputy Cabinet Secretary Dr. Patricia Trujillo said she has been participating in statewide diversity summits for several years — since the time she served as the founding director of the Office of Diversity and Equity at Northern New Mexico College.
At this year’s event, Trujillo opened the summit as the first of four keynote speakers.
“During this time where we see so many attacks even on the nomenclature, it just feels really good to know that we have a statewide summit where we can continue to have conversations on our own terms,” she said.
Trujillo said it’s critical to have gatherings like this in New Mexico because it brings together so much knowledge, particularly traditional knowledge, that helps improve the state’s higher ed institutions.
Dr. Eric Romero, the director of Native American/Hispano Cultural Studies at New Mexico Highlands University, delivers a keynote address during the 2026 Statewide Diversity Summit at The University of New Mexico-Gallup on Saturday, April 18, 2026. Photo by Richard Reyes/ñ.
Dr. Eric Romero, the director of Native American/Hispano Cultural Studies at New Mexico Highlands University as well as an assistant professor of languages and culture, also talked about the importance of traditional knowledge during his keynote address.
Romero emphasized that true education is rooted in place and family, advocating for a shift toward honoring cultural identity and community wisdom in academic disciplines.
“This is not just an event; this is culture,” Romero said. “This is an institutional investment in doing the work. So my congratulations to you all in putting this together and working on creating a campus of inclusion.”
Embedding “servingness” in higher education
Trujillo also commended ñ for doing an extraordinary job of convening the summit, calling it a labor of love.
“To come to our branch campuses like ñ, to be able to spend time here and see how beautiful and dynamic the campus is, that is what has really resonated with me,” she said. “I was talking to Chancellor Ezzell, and I was saying that I can tell that the concept of servingness is really embedded throughout the campus.”
“Servingness” is a framework for actively supporting students, particularly those from marginalized or minority backgrounds, to ensure they feel a sense of belonging and achieve academic success.
Dr. Assata Zerai, the vice president of equity and inclusion at UNM as well as a professor of sociology, also reflected on servingness during her keynote address, highlighting mentoring as a primary way to put it into practice.
She noted that ñ, where nearly 70% of the student population identifies as American Indian, has done “amazing work” of implementing servingness values.
Dr. Patricia Trujillo, the deputy cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Higher Education Department, delivers the opening keynote address of the 2026 Statewide Diversity Summit at The University of New Mexico-Gallup on Friday, April 17, 2026. Photo by Renaldo Fowler/ñ.
“Relative to the rest of the UNM system, the Gallup campus has higher percentages of students that report that they have access to mentors to advise them on their program of study and expected careers,” Zerai said. “And this has resulted in successful outcomes for students from ñ who earned degrees and certificates in a number of fields. Their expertise enriches our state greatly.”
Leaving the ladder down
Deb Haaland, the former secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, also emphasized the importance of different types of expertise enriching the state during her keynote speech. She shared her personal history of economic hardship and cultural identity to advocate for empathic leadership.
“I truly believe that diverse perspectives and lived experiences shape the best solutions,” she said.
Haaland concluded her speech with a call to action, challenging current leaders to support the next generation.
“One of my personal goals is to leave the ladder down behind me for more people to climb,” she said. “And then when they do climb the ladder, I will lift them up on my shoulders so that they can climb even higher than me.”
Lisa M. Taylor, a professor in the Graduate/Professional program at the UNM College of Nursing in Albuquerque, said her brain was still buzzing after attending the final keynote address of the summit.
Deb Haaland, former secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, delivers a keynote address during the 2026 Statewide Diversity Summit at The University of New Mexico-Gallup on Saturday, April 18. Photo by Richard Reyes/ñ.
“The messages from Dr. Trujillo, Dr. Romero, Dr. Zerai and the honorable Deb Haaland resonated with me as not only just a person in academia, but a woman of color in academia,” Taylor said. “It’s nice to be in a space of my people.”
Taylor described the summit as “vital,” noting that she has colleagues in other states where DEI programs have been eliminated and certain words have been banned.
“It was wonderful to get to come to Gallup, see your beautiful campus, make new friends, and meet new colleagues,” she said. “It's been restorative.”
Being part of a movement
Mona Frazier, a community activist in Gallup and a member of the summit’s planning committee, said the event pushed her outside of her comfort zone in a positive way.
She said the summit gave her the privilege of being in the company of knowledgeable individuals who strive to empower marginalized groups to become more involved in politics and to pursue higher education to better themselves.
“Because it has done that for me,” Frazier said. “It gave me insight into the different programs that are available to the community as well as different programs for enriching my life.”
Jotham Ippel, a school social worker for Gallup-McKinley County Schools, attended the second day of the summit along with his son Jeremiah because he met Romero at a previous summit and wanted to reconnect with him in addition to hearing from Haaland.
ñ Chancellor Dr. Sabrina Ezzell asks a question after Dr. Assata Zerai's keynote address during the 2026 Statewide Diversity Summit at The University of New Mexico-Gallup on Friday, April 17, 2026. Photo by Richard Reyes/ñ.
“I appreciated … just connecting with like-minded people,” Ippel said. “Dr. Romero was right on with kind of what I needed reinforced for my work and the change that’s needed. I think being part of a movement is part of why I came in.”
The Cellicion Zuni Dancers perform during the 2026 Statewide Diversity Summit at The University of New Mexico-Gallup on Friday, April 17, 2026. Photo by Richard Reyes/ñ.
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