New Mexico State University top choice for students
When it comes to quality higher education, New Mexico State University is one of the best choices available.
This isn’t just my opinion. Two prestigious publications, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education and Washington Monthly ranked NMSU among the top universities in the country for graduating students fully prepared to take on the challenges of the “real world.” Further confidence in our educational excellence can be found in this fall’s increased enrollment, record numbers of first-time freshmen, growth in research grants and contracts spending and increased alumni donors.
The mission of NMSU is simple: To serve the educational needs of New Mexico’s diverse population through comprehensive programs of education, research, extension education and public service.
At NMSU, we fulfill that mission. We strive to provide the best opportunities in higher education for all students in the state, without regard to ethnicity or socio-economic status.
For these reasons, Washington Monthly lists NMSU as 44th out of 245 colleges and universities in the U.S., the highest-ranked institution in the state of New Mexico. The publication, a monthly magazine of U.S. politics and government based in Washington, D.C., measures how well universities serve the public interest by fostering research and an ethic of national service and social mobility.
Diverse: Issues in Higher Education ranked NMSU among the best in awarding undergraduate and graduate degrees to minorities. For undergraduate programs, the university is among the top 100 in 18 of 66 academic categories, including being in the top 10 in five categories and in the top 20 in nine others. For graduate programs, NMSU is in the top 100 in 12 of 66 graduate categories, and had five top 10 rankings, including the College of Agriculture and Home Economics listed first in awarding degrees to Hispanics and all minorities combined.
Further good news arrived with the fall semester that saw a more than 2 percent increase in overall enrollment, including the third-largest freshman class in the last 20 years. Students are living in new residence halls and taking classes in new disciplines. It’s clear our recruitment and retention efforts are succeeding. Mentoring programs are reaching students before high school and a university-wide effort is underway to improve all aspects of our students’ first-year college experience.
Spending on research and other grants and contracts increased by almost 8 percent in the 2005-06 fiscal year. This continues a trend at NMSU, where expenditures on grants and contracts have increased nine out of the past 10 years. Several goals have been outlined to maintain the momentum, including strengthening collaborations with the University of New Mexico and New Mexico Tech on statewide initiatives and improving partnerships and collaborations with Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories, White Sands Missile Range, the Air Force Research Laboratory and others.
Our alumni are also giving back to support NMSU’s needs. The number of alumni donors almost doubled, resulting in more than $15 million in cash gifts and private grants. This provided funding for several projects around campus, including the first endowed chair in the history of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Two years ago we launched a Comprehensive Private Fundraising Campaign—“Doing What Counts.” Our goals were to raise $150 million. It appears we completed this campaign three years ahead of schedule. In all likelihood we’ll pause for a brief celebration, set a new goal and carry on. Our fundraising success strongly suggests there are many donors willing to “bet on NMSU as a winner.”
This is just a glimpse of the exciting advances here at NMSU. As the state’s land-grant institution, we have important obligations to fulfill. Unlike other colleges and universities, NMSU does not turn away young people who want to learn but who are not in the prestigious top echelon of students nationwide. We have an open enrollment policy. We provide all students with the tools they need to succeed as students at NMSU – and as citizens when they graduate.
Our peers and those involved in education nationwide recognize that as the true measure of success in education. We are honored by the recognition.
By President Michael V. Martin