CNM officials give tour of Rio Rancho campus as changes announced

RIO RANCHO — Central New Mexico Community College officials provided government and industry players a tour of the Rio Rancho campus Thursday and announced some expected changes to academic programming and the property itself.

Brian Sailer, director of CNM-Rio Rancho, gave invited guests a walk-through of the property, located at 2601 Campus Blvd. NE, and founded in 2010. The tour was part of the Sandoval Economic Alliance’s regular breakfast meeting featuring a keynote address from CNM President Tracy Hartzler.

“This is such a stunning place,” Hartzler said during her address, which included a presentation about how CNM and Sandoval County can strengthen its partnership.

The campus sees between 350 and 400 students during the summer and close to 800 students during the fall and spring, according to Brain Sailer, CNM-Rio Rancho campus director and associate dean. CNM-Rio Rancho offers less than 10 programs, only a fraction of the more than 80 CNM provides, he said. The Rio Rancho campus offerings include pre-nursing, nursing, nursing assistant, medical assistant, emergency medical services, line workers, general studies and fire science, according to Sailer.

Hartzler said in an interview that in spring 2026, the campus will offer weekend and evening classes for all the programs it offers to meet the demands of students. The changes made by CNM officials may require additional faculty, advisers and tutors, Hartzler noted.

“We want to make sure that we are providing the most access we can and using our facilities to their fullest capacity,” she said. “Imagine City Hall workers, when they’re done with their shift, they should be able to go to class over the hill to CNM.”

She was referring to the campus’ proximity to the city of Rio Rancho offices. Hartzler also noted the expansion of evening and weekend courses would also apply to CNM’s Westside campus in Albuquerque, near the Sandoval County line, and RioTECH, located at 7001 Zenith Court N.E., set to hold its first classes next month.

Hartzler used part of her presentation to announce new workforce training funding. For the new fiscal year that began July 1, CNM hopes to have 2,700 paid scholarships for workforce training programs and 280-300 paid internships from a $60 million program funded by the Legislature. Hartzler told the Observer that CNM is still signing up employers, including those in Rio Rancho, to host the scholars and interns.

Aside from the programmatic changes coming the campus’ way, Sailer told industry players during the tour that an art installation — “Lunar Gate,” by artist Stephen Shachtman — would be placed on the southeast corner of the property.

The two-story campus with common areas and a small dining area includes a variety of classroom spaces. During the tour, Sailer showed industry officials areas for the nursing program, which includes life-like manikins and and an ambulance. The power poles on rural land visible from campus are where line worker students train, Sailer noted.

“It’s a little hidden gem in the middle of Rio Rancho,” he said in an interview. “We are here to serve the community.”

Fred Shepherd, CEO and president of SEA, said SEA hosts monthly meetings to highlight the work of its partners, including CNM. Last month, the alliance hosted the University of New Mexico Health Sciences at its Rio Rancho campus, not too far from CNM.

“CNM has a strong track record of collaboration and rapidly developing training programs that meet the evolving needs of local employers,” Shepherd wrote in an email to the Observer. “This meeting was a great reminder of the strength of our educational ecosystem and the bright future it’s helping to build for our community.”