NMMI Recognizes Top Faculty Members
The New Mexico Military Institute proudly recognizes MAJ Staci Saiz, Dr. Joe Forchtner, and LTC Cody Northrup for their outstanding dedication to academic excellence. Over the past five years, these distinguished faculty members have consistently ranked among the Top 20 instructors at NMMI in course evaluations each semester — a testament to their exceptional teaching, mentorship, and commitment to cadet success. Their consistent performance reflects the highest standards of professional excellence and the core values of NMMI — leadership, discipline, and service. We congratulate these outstanding educators for inspiring cadets and setting the bar for academic achievement.
“As the Dean of Academics, these three represent the best of NMMI. All our faculty average 4.5 out of 5.0 on course evaluations every year, making them some of the highest-rated teachers in the country.” COL Orlando Griego, PhD
These distinguished instructors provided quotes on their experiences teaching for NMMI:
“Treat them as you would like your own treated. Teach them as you would like your own taught.” – NMMI Faculty Credo provided by MAJ Staci Saiz, Assistant Professor of Biology
“I love teaching the SPMD, kinesiology and nutrition classes at NMMI. We get great students who are genuinely interested in the course material. The students are balancing academics, athletics, and the corps of cadets, and their dedication is impressive. NMMI’s health science majors (pre-kinesiology, pre-nursing, and pre-med) have some overlap and the professors who teach the courses in these concentrations are amazing. Across the US, health science majors are the second most popular major category and health science occupations are growing much faster than the average for all occupations. In the field, I think there are close to two million job openings annually, so it’s awesome that we have such strong health science options at NMMI; they definitely fill a demand.” – Dr. Joe Forchtner (LTC), Ed.D., CSCS, USAW, Kinesiology Professor
“True success in any profession is not defined by money or accolades, but instead by a genuine love for what you do. I am fortunate that I love being in that classroom, getting to know my students, and watching them grow. I also get to teach students from all over the globe and learn so much from them in return.” – LTC Cody Northrup, Associate Dean of Social Science Division, Associate Professor of History
Congratulations once again to these top faculty members for their dedication to academic excellence at New Mexico Military Institute.
