New Mexico State University-Main Campus

Hiram Hadley Hiram Hadley, an Earlham College -educated teacher from Indiana , founded Las Cruces College. [ 15 ] Upon its opening on September 17, 1888, it included an elementary school, a university preparatory school, and a business school; it "was not a college in the contemporary meaning of the word." [ 16 ] A year later, the Territorial Assembly of New Mexico provided for the establishment of an agricultural college and agricultural experiment station with 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." 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. [ 15 ] Las Cruces College merged with the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts and opened on January 21, 1890. It began with 35 students and six faculty members. The college was supposed to graduate its first student in 1893, but the only senior, Sam Steel, was murdered before he was able to receive his diploma. [ 17 ] Classes met in the two-room adobe building of Las Cruces College until new buildings were erected on the 220-acre (0.89 km 2 ) campus three miles (5 km) south of Las Cruces. In February 1891, McFie Hall, popularly known as Old Main, opened its doors. [ 15 ] In 1960, to better represent its expanded programs and operations, New Mexico A&M was renamed New Mexico State University. [ 15 ]

Regulated by the New Mexico Constitution, [ 18 ] the Regents of New Mexico State University are a corporate body that implements legislation over the control and management of NMSU. [ 19 ] The board is made of up five persons appointed by the governor of New Mexico with the consent of the senate. Full-time faculty members number 840, with a staff of 3,113. [ citation needed ] [ 20 ]

London plane tree in NMSU The main campus of New Mexico State University occupies a core of 900 acres (360 ha) in the city of Las Cruces, New Mexico . [ 8 ] It is located adjacent to Interstate 25 , surrounded by desert landscape and greenhouses. [ 21 ] 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. [ 22 ] The Las Cruces campus is home to a nesting population of Swainson's hawks , a raptor species currently protected by federal law. Pedestrians are advised to be careful when walking on Stewart Street, as the birds can be aggressive during nesting season. [ 23 ] 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 Old Main, the original campus building, originally known as McFie Hall, which was destroyed by fire in 1910 (the remains are now a college landmark). The cornerstone and remains of Mcfie Hall stand near the flagpole in the middle of the horseshoe. [ 24 ] 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.

[ 25 ] NMSU is a land-grant institution with 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 campuses in Alamogordo , Carlsbad , Grants , Doña Ana County , and Las Cruces . [ 26 ] New Mexico State University's main campus, with Aggie Memorial Stadium on the left, and the primary "colleges" on the right, along University Avenue Medical school Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine at New Mexico State University The Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine at New Mexico State University (BCOM), a private medical school, is located on NMSU's main campus. Medical students can utilize the facilities and amenities of NMSU's campus, including on-campus student housing. [ 27 ] BCOM began instruction in August 2016 and graduated its first class in May 2020. [ 27 ] BCOM and NMSU created a pipeline program whereby qualified NMSU students are guaranteed a seat at the medical school following graduating from NMSU. [ 28 ] BCOM is the first osteopathic medical school in New Mexico and just one of two medical schools in the state, the other being in Albuquerque at the University of New Mexico.