NMSU's Major Construction Projects

• Center for the Sustainable Development of Arid Lands: Completed for fall 2000 occupancy, $22 million.

• Garcia Hall: Renovate residence center by fall 2000, $12 million.

• Student Health Center: Renovate, expand waiting room and examination space by fall 2000, $2 million.

• Presley-Askew Field: Added new grandstands, restrooms, ticket booths, scoreboards and press box at baseball and softball complex in spring 2000, $1 million.

• Tennis courts: Build two new courts by fall 2000, $50,000.

• Dona Ana Branch Community College: health and public services addition, $2.2 million; technology laboratory addition, $700,000, both to be completed in 2000.

• Goddard Hall: Remodel College of Engineering landmark building by summer 2001, $5 million.

• YMCA Building: Remodel as Conroy Honors Center, year-long project to begin in fall 2000, $1.8 million.

• Williams Hall: Renovate art building in 2001, $1.8 million.

• East Mesa Center: Satellite of Dona Ana Branch Community College, year-long project to begin in 2001, $6.5 million.

• Jornada Experimental Range Headquarters: USDA construction project south of Gerald Thomas Hall to be completed by summer 2001 , funded by $6.7 million Congressional appropriation.

The $22 million Center for the Sustainable Development of Arid Lands, at the corner of College Drive and Knox Street, opened in time for the fall semester. Joint state and federal funding enabled NMSU to build the complex to house teaching and research laboratories for the study of problems associated with arid lands, especially as they relate to agricultural production. Among the special features are an insect quarantine lab, a greenhouse for testing imported insects for biologically controlling invasive plants and an electron microscope lab. Construction of the 116,000-square-foot building required 20 miles of pipes, 37,000 roof tiles and more than 5,000 cubic yards of concrete - enough to cover a football field 2-1/2 feet deep.

Photo by Michael Kiernan.

A Tradition Begins On Aggie game days, fans can learn if the team wins by glancing at the tower of the Center for the Sustainable Development of Arid Lands. If the tower's lights glow crimson the Aggies have scored a victory. Photo by Michael Kiernan.

Making shade Over the past three years 266 pecan trees have been transplanted at NMSU, the majority in rows on the west side of campus and several near Alumni Pond. Half of the trees were donated by Karin (Gustafson) Davidson, '81, '84, manager of Silver Farms in San Miguel, N.M. The other half were trimmed by Silver Farms and donated by Greg Daviet, owner of Daviet Farms near Las Cruces. NMSU hired pecan growers Greg Salopek and Steve LeDuc, '96, to do the transplanting. Pecans use moisture efficiently, require less water as they become established and adapt well to the local climate, says Pat Montoya, '86, '95, NMSU grounds manager. Photo by Michael Kiernan.

Improving the Landscape Unified landscaping plays a part in developing pride in a university, says Pat Montoya, '86, '95, NMSU grounds manager. Pictured is a newly landscaped area at the southwest corner of campus. In a decade at NMSU Montoya has moved the university to more xeriscaping with drought-tolerant plants and to an almost entirely automated overnight sprinkler and drip watering system. For long-term plantings in southern New Mexico, Montoya favors the Texas sage, cherry sage, juniper, crape myrtle and southern live oak. Among his picks for annuals that do well in the fall are ornamental cabbage and pansies. Photo by Michael Kiernan.

The Student Health Center has undergone a facelift with a new exterior that complements the design of the neighboring Zuhl Library. To better serve students, the waiting room and examination space have been expanded.  Photo by Deja Cloud.

On display throughout the Zuhl Library are artifacts from the collection of Joan and Herbert Zuhl of Las Cruces. Examining polished petrified logs in the first floor lobby are fiscal specialist Barbara Hart, '75, and records specialist Joe Chavez, '99, library employees. Three display cases in the lobby contain other examples of petrified wood and fossilized rocks, fish, dinosaur vertebrae and insects. The Zuhls donated almost 1,000 pieces from their collection to NMSU and made a gift of $3 million to benefit the library and geology department. Photo by Michael Kiernan.

Goddard Hall is in the midst of a $5 million remodeling project scheduled for completion by summer 2001. Designed by noted architect Henry Trost, Goddard was built in 1913 with expansions in the 1930s and '60s. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and its tower is one of NMSU's most recognizable landmarks. The National Science Foundation contributed about $1.5 million toward restoration, another million came from alumni and friends, and the rest is funded by New Mexico severance taxes and general obligation bonds. When renovated, Goddard Hall will have new classrooms, seminar rooms, offices and lab space for the College of Engineering. Meanwhile the South Horseshoe is closed to traffic, but access to the Horseshoe is available via Sweet Avenue from Stewart Street. Detour signs are posted.

Photo by Michael Kiernan.