UNM’S University House no longer taking events

The University House on University of New Mexico campus is a historic building that has hosted its presidents for decades along with “10,000 guests a year,” according to the UNM website.

The university said that “until further notice, the University House will no longer be available to rent for your event.” The Office of the President said the home serves three different purposes: It is a home for the president, a way to show the campus, and a facility for entertainment.

First and foremost it is a home for the president, first occupied by James F. Zimmerman in 1930.

“From 1927 until 1968, James F. Zimmerman and his executive assistant, Tom Popejoy, served successively as president of the University of New Mexico for 39 years, with only a short, two-year interregnum,” according to State Historian’s website. “That has been the longest period of administrative stability that the University has enjoyed.”

Named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, the house has been home to many presidents but not every president has lived in it. According to Elizabeth Albright, administrative coordinator, if a president is local they are less likely to live in the house. Louis Caldera, president from 2003 to 2006, did not live in the house and at that point more events were hosted there.

All presidents that chose to live in the house sign a contract of agreement to take care of the house while they are in office. When a president does not live in a house it is more likely to host events because no one is occupying it. According to Cinnamon Blair, chief marketing and communications officer, Caldera did not live in the house, and at that point the house was a hot spot for events, Albright said.

The current president, Garnett Stokes, lives at the house. Blair said that in May the president offered root beer floats at the house to the students of UNM before they left for the summer.

The house is a historic building that has served many different roles over the last almost 90 years. Presidents have and have not lived there but regardless it hosts people on campus. It is a symbol of history and hospitality.