Memories, Memorials, and Monuments

My father, Van Dorn Hooker, passed away in 2015 at age 93 in Albuquerque. He came to UNM as University Architect in the early 1960s from private practice in Santa Fe and retired as University Architect Emeritus in 1984. His vision was to make the world a better place, and to that end, his legacy can be found throughout the UNM campus, his several books and articles, and in his efforts to create the University Archives.

Van Dorn Hooker was also deeply interested in history, architectural history, art, and people. He spent the last several years of his life researching the history of the people for which places and things at UNM have been named or for which memorials were placed. He was grateful for the assistance he received from many people, including those listed in the Acknowledgements, and especially the staff of the University Archives and the University Planning, Design & Construction Office, which houses the current University Architect..

The compendium at hand, which is admittedly incomplete and limited to the Albuquerque campus, may be read as a companion to Van Dorn Hooker's books Only in New Mexico: An Architectural History of the University of New Mexico, the First Century 1889-1989, and the large format picture book The University of New Mexico (with V.B. Price and photographer Richard Reck). This compendium also augments the related book Miracle on the Mesa: A History of the University of New Mexico, 1889-2003 by former UNM President William "Bud" E. Davis.

As an aid to readers, archivists, historians, and the families of those memorialized, I have corrected a few dates and filled in some gaps based on obituaries and other readily available biographical information from digital sources. I have included historical photographs where available from such sources as the UNM Center for Southwest Research through the New Mexico Digital Collections website. I am especially grateful to Portia Vescio, University Archivist, and Suzanne Mortier, former University Landscape Architect for their assistance. Special thanks also to Denise Taylor of Taylor Made Glass, LLC, for information about the Tree of Life stained glass featured on the cover, and to Patricia Hamilton of Park Place Publications, in Pacific Grove, California, for her care and expertise in formatting the manuscript and facilitating its publication.

The campus began with a scattering of buildings on a treeless mesa at the eastern edge of Albuquerque that has since given way to a vibrant and green campus within the larger metropolitan area. Many of the earliest buildings depicted in the older black and white images may not be easily recognizable today. Nonetheless, I included these images to depict the buildings and places at or close to the time they were named.

As with any change in the built environment, some named buildings and several markers have been lost to time. Background information is scattered or missing. My hope is that this first compendium, which is not intended to be a treatise, will serve as a major starting point for interested readers. I further believe that my father and the many people who assisted him in his research would wish that this initial work will spur others, including those associated with the satellite campuses, to carry on the effort as the University continues to change and new people are memorialized.

Ann Hooker Clarke, Carmel Valley, California, 2019