Photo: (left to right)
Jon Hitchcock, Vice President/Treasurer, ENMU-Roswell Foundation; Annemarie Oldfield, Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs; Eric Mann, Kosa Award recipient; Romo Villegas, Kosa Award recipient
May 12, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Donna Oracion, College Development Director, 575-624-7403
VILLEGAS AND MANN RECEIVE KOSA MERIT AWARDS
The ENMU-Roswell Foundation is recognizing ENMU-Roswell instructors, Romo Villegas and Eric Mann, as the recipients of the 2022 Kosa Merit Award. Villegas is instructor of Criminal Justice and GEAR UP Director. Mann is the Director of Clinical Education and the Interim Program Director for Emergency Medical Services (EMS).
Villegas attended El Capitan Elementary, Sierra Middle School, and Goddard High School. After graduation in 1989 and a completed term of military service in 1997, he received a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from NMSU. He served as a New Mexico State Adult Probation and Parole Officer/Supervisor in Las Cruces and a United States Probation Officer in Roswell. Villegas continued his education, receiving a Master of Science degree in Public Safety with a specialization in Criminal Justice. He began teaching Criminal Justice at ENMU-Roswell in 2016. Recently, he was selected to serve as the Director for the GEAR UP Program on campus. Villegas has one beautiful son, Dominic, who is 15 years old.
Mann has been involved in EMS for 20 years, first as a member of the Roswell Fire Department, and then as an EMS educator. He has an Associate of Applied Science degree in Emergency Medical Services and an Associate of Science degree in Paramedic from ENMU-Roswell. He also has a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences degree in Career and Technical Education from ENMU. Mann began teaching at ENMU-Roswell as an adjunct instructor for the Paramedic Program in 2007. He then started teaching as a lead instructor for the EMT-Basic class. He accepted a full-time faculty position as the Paramedic instructor in 2019 and was quickly promoted to Director of Clinical Education.
Long before the current campus complex existed, William and Ethel Kosa contributed a gift of $31,000 to Roswell Community College. Their generosity eventually led to the establishment of the ENMU-Roswell Foundation, a source of scholarships and funds for students and faculty. The Kosa Merit Award, instituted in 1970, recognizes two instructors each year for excellence in teaching, rapport with students, professional achievements, and service to the institution. Chosen by their peers, the honorees receive an engraved plaque and a stipend of $500 from the ENMU-Roswell Foundation.
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