New Mexico State University Chancellor Dan Arvizu has been named to the Border Industrial Association Board of Directors. (NMSU photo)

New Mexico State University Chancellor Dan Arvizu has been named to the Border Industrial Association Board of Directors. The move will allow both the BIA and the NMSU system to better leverage their respective economic development operations in support of the regional economy.

“In our country, thriving economic areas tend to be found near strong and vibrant higher education institutions,” Arvizu said. “That’s why we are excited to work with the Border Industrial Association. Education and economic development simply go hand in hand, and we’re ready to engage a number of NMSU’s economic development assets to work in collaboration with BIA.”

As the state’s land-grant university, NMSU has a mission of providing education, research and outreach services to the region. For many years, those outreach efforts have included economic development activities through NMSU’s Arrowhead Center. Arrowhead focuses on student entrepreneurship; business creation and growth; intellectual property and tech commercialization; and regional economic development collaboratives.

“We are excited to have on our board someone of the caliber of Chancellor Dan Arvizu,” said Jerry Pacheco, president and CEO of the Border Industrial Association. “He is internationally recognized and respected, and he will be a great asset in helping our organization develop jobs and investment in New Mexico’s border region.”

Headquartered in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, the Border Industrial Association is an industrial advocacy organization that focuses on improving the business environment for its members and the region. New Mexico’s southern border region is the state’s second largest industrial base and largest export base. As a growing manufacturing and distribution hub, the BIA also believes the border region represents a significant economic opportunity for New Mexico.

The BIA consists of 125 members located in or doing business in the Santa Teresa region. BIA members represent more than 6,000 jobs and more than $1 billion of private investment in southern New Mexico.

Arvizu has served as the NMSU chancellor since 2018. He previously served for more than a decade as the eighth director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo. He retired in December 2015 and is currently director emeritus. Arvizu, a native of Alamogordo, New Mexico, was appointed in 2004 by President George W. Bush to serve on the National Science Board, the governing body of the National Science Foundation, for a six-year term. He was subsequently reappointed by President Barack Obama in 2010. He was twice elected NSB chair by his peers, testifying annually on the National Science Foundation’s budget before Congress.