UNM Retiree Continues to Support Students

Kimmerly Kloeppel

Kimmerly Kloeppel (BA ’80, MPA ’05, PhD ’11) lives her values of being kind and grateful while encouraging others to do the same. A native of Albuquerque, Kim attended Valley High School, received three degrees from UNM, and dedicated 25 years as a UNM staff member for the division of Student Affairs.

Starting as a program manager for Student Health and Counseling, Kim was promoted to managing operations for all 23 Student Affairs departments including the appointment of the interim Dean of Students for three years. During this time, Kim finished her MPA and PhD, launched the Mobile Food Pantry, which grew to have a permanent space on campus, and initiated STEP, the Student Transitional and Engagement Program. This program helped students find a career and learn about financial planning, including budgeting and buying a home.

During her tenure, Kim created the BeKind UNM Committee, which promotes random acts of kindness on campus. During BeKind UNM Week in February, attendees at Lobo basketball games in The Pit are encouraged to bring a new teddy bear to toss onto the court at halftime. The bears are donated to first responders to be given to children in traumatic situations.

Kimmerly Kloeppel

“A lot of people don’t realize the effect that Student Affairs has on students and how they work very closely with academic departments to provide support,” Kim shared. The Student Affairs division provides an array of services for students, including health, counseling, recreation, mentorship, career services, and an overall sense of community and connection.

Providing support to UNM students is and always has been a top priority for Kim. Through her will she is supporting various Student Affairs initiatives, the Presidential Scholarship, and student-athletes. She currently sponsors a Presidential Scholar, donates to the Lobo Food Pantry, and gives to many funds supporting the health and well-being of students.

Throughout her career, Kim saw many students drop out due to bills, car repairs, or other financial reasons that could have been solved by a small loan or learning how to budget. That is why she is establishing a Main Campus Emergency Fund Endowment to help students make it to graduation.

Kim feels it is important to help students keep their dream of obtaining a higher education alive. She says, “You find pride in what you can do when you’re really pushing yourself. It’s gratifying. Push through it because you can get through it.”

Kim encourages others to “think about being kind and having gratitude towards what UNM has done for you and what you can do for UNM by including it in your estate plan. Paying it forward is not hard, it just takes some thought.”