New Mexico State University
Encyclopedia
New Mexico State University at Las Cruces (officially New Mexico State University, although also commonly referred to as NMSU-Las Cruces, NMSU, or NM State), is a major land-grant university
Land-grant university
Land-grant universities are institutions of higher education in the United States designated by each state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890....

 in Las Cruces, New Mexico
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Las Cruces, also known as "The City of the Crosses", is the county seat of Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 97,618 in 2010 according to the 2010 Census, making it the second largest city in the state....

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is the second largest four year university in the state in terms of total enrollment across all campuses as of 2011, It also has campuses in Alamogordo
Alamogordo, New Mexico
Alamogordo is the county seat of Otero County and a city in south-central New Mexico, United States. A desert community lying in the Tularosa Basin, it is bordered on the east by the Sacramento Mountains. It is the nearest city to Holloman Air Force Base. The population was 35,582 as of the 2000...

, Carlsbad
Carlsbad, New Mexico
Carlsbad is a city in and the county seat of Eddy County, New Mexico, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 26,138. Carlsbad is the center of the designated micropolitan area of Carlsbad-Artesia, which has a total population of 55,435...

, Doña Ana County
Doña Ana County, New Mexico
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*74.1% White*1.7% Black*1.5% Native American*1.1% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.0% Two or more races*18.5% Other races*65.7% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

, and Grants
Grants, New Mexico
Grants is a city in Cibola County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 9,182 at the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Cibola County....

, with extension and research centers across New Mexico.

The school was founded in 1888 as the Las Cruces College, an agricultural college, and in 1889 the school became New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. It received its present name in 1960. NMSU has approximately 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
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

, master's
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...

, and doctoral
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...

 degrees through its main campus and four community colleges. NMSU is the only research-extensive, land-grant, USA-Mexico border institution classified as Hispanic serving
Hispanic-serving institution
A Hispanic-serving institution, or HSI, is a term used for a Federal program designed to assist colleges or universities in the United States that attempt to assist first generation, majority low income Hispanic students...

 by the federal government.

History

In 1888, an institution of higher learning, based in small adobe buildings, known as Las Cruces College—led by Hiram Hadley, a respected educator from Indiana—had even bigger plans in mind, which was established in the heart of the small village of the same name. One year later, a foundation for much growth was established when the Territorial Assembly of New Mexico provided for the establishment of an Agricultural College and Agricultural Experiment Station with bill No. 28 or the Rodey Act of 1889. The bill stated that, " 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, contiguous to the main Las Cruces irrigating ditch, south of said town." The institution, which was designated as the land-grant college for New Mexico under the Morrill Act, was named the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts.

Las Cruces College merged with New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts, and the new school opened on January 21, 1890. That first semester there were 35 students in the college level and preparatory classes and six faculty members. Classes met in the old two-room building of Las Cruces College until suitable buildings could be put on the 220 acre (0.8903092 km²) campus three miles (5 km) south of Las Cruces. In February 1891, the university's first building McFie Hall, popularly known as Old Main, opened its doors. Unfortunately, the building burned down in 1910, but its remains can be seen in the center of Pride Field on the University Horseshoe,, or old university center

In a move to better represent its operations, the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts was changed by the state constitutional amendment to New Mexico State University in 1960.

Today New Mexico State University sits on a 900 acres (3.6 km²) campus and enrolls 18,497 students from all 50 states and from 71 nations. Regular faculty members number 694 and staff, 3,113. The university also has an extensive international student population from countries in Central America, Caribbean, South America, Europe, Asia and Middle East.

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
Carlsbad, New Mexico
Carlsbad is a city in and the county seat of Eddy County, New Mexico, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 26,138. Carlsbad is the center of the designated micropolitan area of Carlsbad-Artesia, which has a total population of 55,435...

, Doña Ana
Doña Ana
Doña Ana may refer to:* Doña Ana County, New Mexico* Doña Ana, New Mexico, a city in the above county* Dona Ana Bridge in Mozambique...

 and Grants, New Mexico
Grants, New Mexico
Grants is a city in Cibola County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 9,182 at the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Cibola County....

 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.
NMSU is divided into graduate school and several smaller colleges. These include:

Celebrating Diversity

NMSU is classified as a Hispanic-serving institution by the U.S. Department of Education and is a member of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. Our undergraduate population is 24 percent Hispanic; other minorities that make up the student body include American Indians, Asians and African-Americans. Historically, NMSU has supported minorities in their academic goals—in fact, we admitted an African-American woman in 1928, well ahead of most other institutions of higher education. The university offers a multitude of support services to all students; interested minorities may also take advantage of the American Indian Program, Black Programs and Chicano Programs offices.
  • Diverse: Issues in Higher Education ranks NMSU at No. 19 on the list of top 100 undergraduate degree producers in the category of Hispanic bachelor's degrees. The same publication ranks us at No. 20 for Native American bachelor's degrees. NMSU's highest rankings in Hispanic baccalaureates were in education at No. 6 and engineering, at No. 13.
  • Diverse: Issues in Higher Education places NMSU among the top 100 graduate degree producers. We come in at No. 25 in the nation for Hispanic master's degrees, No. 37 for Native American master's degrees and No. 61 for Hispanic doctoral degrees.
  • The University of Southern California
    University of Southern California
    The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...

    's Center for Urban Education names NMSU as one of the top 25 institutions with "effective practices for increasing the number of Latino recipients" of bachelor's degrees in the STEM
    STEM fields
    STEM fields is a US Government acronym for the fields of study in the categories of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The acronym is in use regarding access to work visas for immigrants who are skilled in these fields. Maintaining a citizenry that is well versed in the STEM fields...

    --science, technology, engineering and math—fields.

National Recognition

  • The College of Education's graduate program also was ranked in the top 50% by U.S. News & World Report
    U.S. News & World Report
    U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...

    s America's Best Graduate Schools 2011 Edition.

Research Programs

Since its founding as New Mexico’s land-grant college in 1888, New Mexico State University has encouraged and supported creative scholarly activity of its faculty and students. New Mexico State University is ranked 105th among colleges and universities in research and development in the nation, and is ranked 29th among institutions nationally without medical school in terms of R&D expenditures by National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...

. Most early research followed mandates of the founding legislation of land-grant colleges by generating knowledge useful in agriculture and engineering. Over time, however, research has expanded from this focus on applied natural sciences to include all disciplines of the university. Today, creative scholarly activity leads to basic scientific discoveries as well as practical applications emanating from the natural and social sciences, arts, humanities, business, education and health sciences in addition to engineering and agriculture. This creative activity enriches academic program for students, provides training and employment opportunities, and attracts externally funded support to enhance university research, academic programs and facilities.

The university is home to New Mexico's NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

 Space Grant Program.

In 2010, the NMSU Physical Sciences Laboratory has secured a study contract with Reaction Engines Limited
Reaction Engines Limited
Reaction Engines Limited is a British aerospace company based in Oxfordshire, England.- History & personnel :Reaction Engines was founded in 1989 by Alan Bond and Richard Varvill and John Scott-Scott...

, a British aerospace company that is developing technology for an airbreathing single-stage to orbit, precooled air turboramjet based spaceplane.

NMSU is a very active research university, with $150 million per year in externally funded research programs. Our estimated annual economic impact in New Mexico is $1 billion. Anchoring the southern end of New Mexico’s Rio Grande Research Corridor, NMSU is the only university to reach the platinum, or highest, level of service to NASA’s Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program. SATOP makes the expertise of corporate and university researchers available to small businesses.

Academic Centers and Research Institutes

  • Agricultural Experiment Station
    Agricultural experiment station
    An agricultural experiment station is a research center that conducts scientific investigations to solve problems and suggest improvements in the food and agriculture industry...

     conducts basic and applied research supporting agriculture, natural resources management, environmental quality, and improved quality of life.

  • Bureau for Business Research and Services provides business and economic research services to the public and private sectors of the state, region, and country and management services to business organizations and associations, government agencies and the public.

  • Chihuahuan Desert Rangeland Research Center (CDRCC) conducts educational, demonstrative, and experimental development with livestock, grazing methods, and range forage including investigation of the sustainability and management of natural resources and environmental ecosystems. CDRCC is a major source of arid land research.

  • Institute for Energy and Environment (IEE) is a multidisciplinary, energy sector and water resource institute serving the Southwest and beyond. IEE develops innovative solutions through the synergy of an academic, governmental and private sector partnership. IEE’s ultimate goal is to provide global leadership, expertise, and technology for public policy, technical and human resource development to meet growing energy and water needs. The International Environmental Design Contest
    International Environmental Design Contest
    The International Environmental Design Contest is a competition hosted by the WERC Consortium and the at New Mexico State University. It is an annual event in which student teams prepare written, oral, poster, and bench-scale model presentations in response to design tasks. The student solutions...

     is co-hosted by the IEE.

  • Manufacturing Technology and Engineering Center (M-TEC) supports economic development in New Mexico by providing quality manufacturing education, technical assistance, and other extension services to extension services to industries in New Mexico.

  • Physical Science Laboratory, a nonprofit research and development arm of NMSU, provides a wide variety of research and development services to support defense and space activities around the world.

  • Water Resources Research Institute overall mission is to develop and disseminate knowledge that will assist the state and nation in solving water problems.

Athletics


NMSU's teams are called the Aggies, a nickname derived from the university's agricultural beginnings. New Mexico State is in its sixth season as a member of the Western Athletic Conference
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...

 (WAC). The Western Athletic Conference is the fifth conference NMSU has been affiliated with in its football history. New Mexico State spent the past six seasons as a member of the Sun Belt Conference. Prior to that, NMSU was a member of the Big West Conference (called the Pacific Coast Athletic Assocation until 1988), Missouri Valley Conference and the Border Conference.












Rivalries

NMSU maintains strong athletic rivalries with the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...

. The UNM-NMSU rivalry is represented by the Rio Grande Rivalry
Rio Grande Rivalry
The Rio Grande Rivalry is an intercollegiate rivalry between The University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University. The rivalry began in 1894....

, a series based on points awarded to the winners of head to head competitions between the two universities in every sport. A rotating trophy is granting to the winning university for a period of one year, until the award presentation the following year. Different traditions take place at each schools the night before game day. NMSU also has had a strong rivalry with the University of Texas, El Paso.

Traditions

In the 1940s, the Victory Bell, a gift of the Class of 1939, was housed in an open-sided structure on the Horseshoe and rung to announce Aggie victories. In 1972, the bell was rededicated as the NMSU Engineer's Bell and mounted on a platform near Goddard Hall. On game days, various school organizations took turns in toting the ringing bell around Las Cruces prior to kick-off. The Bell was then taken to Aggie Memorial Stadium where it salutes Aggie touchdowns with its distinctive – and loud – chimes. More recently, the bell has been permanently mounted at field level just behind the south goal post of the stadium.

"A" Tradition
In 1920, students of then New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts scouted for an appropriate place to display their school letter. Tortugas Mountain, located three miles (5 km) east of campus, seemed a natural spot. Brave males gathered enough stones to form a big "A" easily visible from campus and the surrounding area. On the following day, April 1, students trudged up the mountain side with their five-gallon cans of whitewash and splashed it on the stones, turning them into a gleaming white "A".
For many years, giving the "A" its annual fresh coat of whitewash was an all school effort. The seniors mixed lime and water at the foot of the mountain and the freshmen and sophomores toted the mixture up to the juniors who splashed it on the "A." With the growth of the university through the years, the tradition was taken over by the Greek Council.

Student Organizations

NMSU has multiple student organizations, as well as a Greek system. There are several religious organizations, including The Christian Challenge-BSU. The Associated Students of New Mexico State University is the student government, it has a departmental organization.

Greek Life

The Greek System at New Mexico State University includes:
  • Fraternities:
    • Alpha Gamma Rho
      Alpha Gamma Rho
      Alpha Gamma Rho is a social-professional fraternity in the United States, with 75 university chapters including chapter in Mindanao State University, Philippines...

    • Alpha Tau Omega
      Alpha Tau Omega
      Alpha Tau Omega is a secret American leadership and social fraternity.The Fraternity has more than 250 active and inactive chapters, more than 200,000 initiates, and over 7,000 active undergraduate members. The 200,000th member was initiated in early 2009...

    • Delta Sigma Phi
      Delta Sigma Phi
      Delta Sigma Phi is a fraternity established at the City College of New York in 1899 and is a charter member of the North-American Interfraternity Conference. The headquarters of the fraternity is the Taggart Mansion located in Indianapolis, Indiana...

    • FarmHouse
      FarmHouse
      FarmHouse Fraternity International, Inc. is an all-male international social fraternity founded at the University of Missouri on April 15, 1905. It became a nationally recognized fraternity in 1921. FarmHouse is one of only three fraternities not to adopt Greek letters...

    • Kappa Sigma
      Kappa Sigma
      Kappa Sigma , commonly nicknamed Kappa Sig, is an international fraternity with currently 282 active chapters and colonies in North America. Kappa Sigma has initiated more than 240,000 men on college campuses throughout the United States and Canada. Today, the Fraternity has over 175,000 living...

    • Lambda Chi Alpha
      Lambda Chi Alpha
      Lambda Chi Alpha is one of the largest men's secret general fraternities in North America, having initiated more than 280,000 members and held chapters at more than 300 universities. It is a member of the North-American Interfraternity Conference and was founded by Warren A. Cole, while he was a...




    • Omega Delta Phi
      Omega Delta Phi
      Omega Delta Phi , also known as O D Phi, is an intercollegiate fraternity that was founded on November 25, 1987 by seven students attending Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Its seven founders known as the "Men of Vision" to fraternity members wanted to create an organization to help...

    • Pi Kappa Alpha
      Pi Kappa Alpha
      Pi Kappa Alpha is a Greek social fraternity with over 230 chapters and colonies and over 250,000 lifetime initiates in the United States and Canada.-History:...

    • Pi Kappa Phi
      Pi Kappa Phi
      Pi Kappa Phi is an American social fraternity. It was founded by Andrew Alexander Kroeg, Jr., Lawrence Harry Mixson, and Simon Fogarty, Jr. on December 10, 1904 at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina...

    • Sigma Alpha Epsilon
      Sigma Alpha Epsilon
      Sigma Alpha Epsilon is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is the only one founded in the Antebellum South...

    • Sigma Chi
      Sigma Chi
      Sigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...

    • Tau Kappa Epsilon
      Tau Kappa Epsilon
      Tau Kappa Epsilon is a college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University with chapters in the United States, and Canada, and affiliation with a German fraternity system known as the Corps of the Weinheimer Senioren Convent...


  • Sororities:
    • Alpha Xi Delta
      Alpha Xi Delta
      Alpha Xi Delta is a women's fraternity founded on April 17, 1893 at Lombard College, Galesburg, Illinois. Alpha Xi Delta is one of the oldest women's fraternities as well as one of the ten founding fraternities of the National Panhellenic Conference...

    • Chi Omega
      Chi Omega
      Chi Omega is a women's fraternity and the largest member of the National Panhellenic Conference. Chi Omega has 174 active collegiate chapters and over 230 alumnae chapters. Chi Omega's national headquarters is located in Memphis, Tennessee....

    • Delta Zeta
      Delta Zeta
      Delta Zeta is an international college sorority founded on October 24, 1902, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Today, Delta Zeta has 158 collegiate chapters in the United States and over 200 alumnae chapters in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada...



    • Delta Gamma
      Delta Gamma
      Delta Gamma is one of the oldest and largest women's fraternities in the United States and Canada, with its Executive Offices based in Columbus, Ohio.-History:...

    • Pi Beta Phi
      Pi Beta Phi
      Pi Beta Phi is an international fraternity for women founded as I.C. Sorosis on April 28, 1867, at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. Its headquarters are located in Town and Country, Missouri, and there are 134 active chapters and over 330 alumnae organizations across the United States and...

    • Zeta Tau Alpha
      Zeta Tau Alpha
      Zeta Tau Alpha is a women's fraternity, founded October 15, 1898 at the State Female Normal School in Farmville, Virginia. The Executive office is located in Indianapolis, Indiana...

    • Kappa Delta Chi
      Kappa Delta Chi
      ----Kappa Delta Chi , also known as K-D Chi, pronounced Kay-Dee-Kie, is a Greek letter, intercollegiate sorority founded by Latina women in the United States...


Alumni

  • Nasser al-Aulaqi, Yemeni Agriculture Minister, president of Sanaa University, and father of Anwar al-Awlaki
    Anwar al-Awlaki
    Anwar al-Awlaki was an American and Yemeni imam who was an engineer and educator by training. According to U.S. government officials, he was a senior talent recruiter and motivator who was involved with planning operations for the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda...

    .
  • Charley Johnson
    Charley Johnson
    Charley Lane Johnson is a former quarterback in the NFL. During his 15-year career he played for 3 teams; the St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Oilers, and Denver Broncos. During his collegiate career at New Mexico State he became the only person to date to be named Most Valuable Player of the Sun Bowl...

    - football, NFLQuarterback
    Quarterback
    Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

    , played for the St. Louis Cardinals
    St. Louis Cardinals
    The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...

    , Houston Oilers and Denver Broncos
    Denver Broncos
    The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

    . Currently a full professor of Chemical Engineering at NMSU. Member of the Denver Broncos Ring of Honor
  • Paul W. Klipsch, audio pioneer and founder of Klipsch and Associates. Namesake of the Klipsch School Electrical and Computer Engineering at NMSU.
  • Chito Reyes, basketball player, Olympian
  • Casey Owens, Professional Basketball Coach--Chicago Bulls, Shanghai Sharks

Faculty

  • David Boje
    David Boje
    David M. Boje is currently Professor and Bill Daniels Ethics Fellow, a past endowed Bank of America professor of management at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces...

    , author; current NMSU endowed Bank of America professor of management
  • Garrey Carruthers
    Garrey Carruthers
    Garrey Edward Carruthers currently serves as Dean of the College of Business at New Mexico State University. Previously Carruthers served as Special Assistant to the U.S...

    , former governor of New Mexico; current NMSU dean of School of Business
  • Edward O. Thorp
    Edward O. Thorp
    Edward Oakley Thorp is an American mathematics professor, author, hedge fund manager, and blackjack player. He was a pioneer in modern applications of probability theory, including the harnessing of very small correlations for reliable financial gain.He was the author of Beat the Dealer, the first...

    , mathematician best known for writing the book Beat the Dealer and co-inventing the first wearable computer
    Wearable computer
    Wearable computers are miniature electronic devices that are worn by the bearer under, with or on top of clothing. This class of wearable technology has been developed for general or special purpose information technologies and media development...

    ; Associate Professor of Mathematics 1961–65
  • Clyde Tombaugh
    Clyde Tombaugh
    Clyde William Tombaugh was an American astronomer. Although he is best known for discovering the dwarf planet Pluto in 1930, the first object to be discovered in what would later be identified as the Kuiper Belt, Tombaugh also discovered many asteroids; he also called for serious scientific...

    , astronomer best known for his discovery of Pluto
    Pluto
    Pluto, formal designation 134340 Pluto, is the second-most-massive known dwarf planet in the Solar System and the tenth-most-massive body observed directly orbiting the Sun...

    ; former professor of astronomy
  • Jose Z. Garcia, Government; Current Secretary of Higher Education for New Mexico

External links


Related External Links
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