New Mexico State University

New Mexico State University (commonly referred to as NMSU-Las Cruces, NMSU, New Mexico State, or NM State), is a major public, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in the state of New Mexico. NMSU is the second largest four-year university in the state, in terms of total enrollment across all campuses as of 2011, with campuses in Alamogordo, Carlsbad, Doña Ana County, and Grants, with extension and research centers across New Mexico.

It was founded to teach agriculture in 1888 as the Las Cruces College, and the following year became New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. It received its present name in 1960. NMSU has 18,497 students enrolled as of Fall 2009, and has a faculty-to-student ratio of about 1 to 19. NMSU offers a wide range of programs and awards associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees through its main campus and four community colleges. NMSU is the only research-extensive, land-grant, USA-Mexico border institution classified by the federal government as serving Hispanics.


> History

In 1888 Hiram Hadley, an Earlham College-educated teacher from Indiana, started Las Cruces College. One decade later, the Territorial Assembly of New Mexico provided for the establishment of an agricultural college and agricultural experiment station with Bill No. 28, the Rodey Act of 1889. It stated: " Said institution is hereby located at or near the town of Las Cruces in the County of Doña Ana,upon a tract of land of not less than one hundred (100) acres, This land could be contiguous to the main Las Cruces irrigating ditch, south of said town." Designated as the land-grant college for New Mexico under the Morrill Act, it was named the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. [full citation needed]

Las Cruces College then merged with the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts, and opened on January 21, 1890. It began with 35 students and 6 faculty members. The college was supposed to graduate its first student in 1893, but the only senior, named Sam Steel, was murdered before he was able to receive his diploma. Classes met in the two-room adobe building of Las Cruces College until new buildings were erected on the 220-acre (0.89 km2) campus three miles (5 km) south of Las Cruces. In February 1891, McFie Hall, popularly known as Old Main, opened its doors. McFie Hall burned down in 1910, but its remains can be seen in the center of Pride Field on the University Horseshoe.

In 1960, in move to better represent its operations, New Mexico A&M was renamed New Mexico State University by a state constitutional amendment.

New Mexico State University now has a 6,000-acre (24 km2) campus and enrolls more than 21,000 students from the United States and 71 foreign countries. Full-time faculty members number 694, with a staff of 3,113. The university has an extensive international student population from in Central America, the Caribbean, South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

> Campus

As one of the largest college campuses in the nation, the main campus of New Mexico State University sits on 6,250 acres (24 km²) of land in the city of Las Cruces, New Mexico.It is located in the southern part of the Pan American Highway interchange, Interstate 25, surrounded by desert landscape and greenhouses.The main campus is also bordered by Interstate 10, which is the main east-west interstate highway across the Southern part of the United States. To the east of Interstate 25, the campus facilities consist of the President's residence, NMSU Golf Course, the "A" Mountain west slope, and the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum. South of University Avenue are Pan American Plaza, 48 acres of horse farm, and the Fabian Garcia Science center, which houses the Chile Pepper Institute's research, teaching and demonstration garden, algal biofuels research equipment, grape vineyards and gazebos, and fields and greenhouses for plant research projects. About six miles south of campus on 203 acres of land is the Leyendecker Plant Science Research Center.


The first master plan of the university was to create a "Horseshoe", a U shaped drive, in an open large lawn. At the center, was the Old Main, the original campus building, originally known as McFie Hall, destroyed by fire in 1910 and the remains are now a college landmark. The cornerstone and remains of Mcfie Hall stands near the flagpole and in the middle of the Horseshoe.Today, the Horseshoe is the center of campus and is the location of the main administration building, Hadley Hall, which sits at the top of the Horseshoe, and other classroom buildings.

As a land-grand institution, its mission is to serve New Mexico's diverse population through comprehensive programs of education, research, extension education, and public service across New Mexico, the nation, and the world.As a result, NMSU has a presence in all 33 counties of New Mexico, a satellite learning center in Albuquerque, 13 research and science centers, distance education opportunities, and five NMSU campuses in Alamogordo, Carlsbad, Grants, Doña Ana County, and in Las Cruces.

>> Housing

NMSU Housing is available to students who choose to live on campus. There are several residential areas to choose from, including residential halls, apartments, graduate housing, family communities, living learning communities, and theme communities.Housing includes;

Chamisa Village Apartments Stage I
Chamisa Village Apartments Stage II
Cervantes Village Apartment Complex
Cole Village
Garcia Hall
Monagle Hall
Pinon Hall
Rhodes Garrett Hamiel
Tom Fort and Sutherland Village
Vista Del Monte Apartments

>> Libraries


NMSU has two major libraries on the main campus.These include Branson Hall Library and Zuhl Library. Both libraries have a total collection of more than 1 million volumes.

>> Branson Hall Library

Branson Hall Library was built in 1951 and houses texts and resources related to engineering, business, agriculture, science, special collections, maps, government publications, and archives.A sculpture made of bronze named "Joy of Learning", created by Grant Kinzer, former Department Head of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Weed Science, can be found on the north side of Branson Hall.|coauthors=

>> Zuhl Library

Zuhl Library was built in 1992 at a cost of $11 million. The library houses texts and resources related to the arts, humanities, and sciences. North of Zuhl Library is a 20 foot wide steel and granite sculpture, named " A Quest for Knowledge", which was created by Federico Armijo, an Albuquerque native.


>> Museums and Collections

NMSU is home to several museums, collections, and galleries. The NMSU Arthropod Museum, which houses more than 150,000 research and 5,000 teaching specimens, is housed in Skeen Hall. Specimens are used globally for taxonomic research and within the state for community outreach. The University Museum (established in 1959) serves the community as a repository and exhibitor of local and regional culture and history.  The Klipsch Museum is a tribute to Paul and Valerie Klipsch, who provided materials representing more than 80 years of audio engineering. It is located in NMSU’s Foreman Engineering Complex. The Zuhl Collection combines the functions of an art gallery and natural history museum and showcases thousands of specimens of petrified wood, fossils, and minerals.

>> Police Department

The university has a dedicated police department employing 35 people, including 22 full-time commissioned police officers. The number of employed personnel expands greatly during special events such as concerts or sporting events, with as many as 50 security guards and dozens of additional officers from other departments. The current chief of police is Stephen Lopez.In addition to the Las Cruces campus, the department also has authority for all university-owned campuses, lands and facilities around the state.

To improve student safety, the department monitors a network of cameras around campus, using recorded footage to solve crimes after they occur or real-time monitoring to investigate suspicious activity as it occurs. The university is currently working to improve the quality and consistency of cameras across campus.

The department also offers personal defense courses for females on campus, including training in rape prevention, escape and the proper use of pepper sprays. Campus officers receive training on gender identity/expression issues, which has helped the university achieve an overall score of 4 out of 5 for LGBT friendliness.


> Academics

New Mexico State University is the land grant university of the state of New Mexico. As a thriving center of higher education, deeply rooted in the southwestern tradition, its role as a comprehensive university is recognized throughout the state. New Mexico State University offers a wide variety of programs through the Graduate School and the colleges: Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, Engineering, Extended Learning and Health and Social Services. The 21 doctoral programs are limited primarily to agriculture, education, engineering, and the sciences; the specialist in education degree is offered in 4 study areas; the education doctorate degree is offered in 3 study areas; there are 51 master’s degree programs and 87 baccalaureate degree programs. At its four branch community colleges, Alamogordo, Carlsbad, Doña Ana Community College and Grants State University offers academic, vocational/technical, and continuing education programs. In accord with its land-grant mission, New Mexico State University provides informal, off-campus educational programs through the Cooperative Extension Service. Through a statewide network of 9 research facilities, the Agricultural Experiment Station conducts basic and applied research supporting agriculture, natural resources management, environmental quality, and improved quality of life