The former Womens’ Residence Center, which has been renamed in honor of longtime NMSU supporters Brette and John Monagle (right), now serves as a residence hall for students enrolled in NMSU’s Honors College. At left are Honors College Director William Eamon and President Mike Martin.

The effort to create an honors college began last summer when the Honors Program was renamed the Honors College. NMSU is the first university in New Mexico to have an honors college.

“This will bring an experience to NMSU that has previously been available only at elite, expensive schools,” says Honors College Director William Eamon.

A long-held dream of Eamon’s came true last fall when the dormitory previously known as the Womens’ Residence Center reopened as a residence hall where honors students can learn and live together. The residence hall has been renamed Monagle Hall in honor of longtime NMSU supporters John and Brette ’67 Monagle and includes offices and classrooms for the Honors College.

John Monagle served as head of the Chemistry Department from 1963-1967 and was dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from 1968-1970.

“This will be a place where honors students can live among other students who are interested in getting the most out of the opportunities offered to them,” Eamon says. “It also will be a place for social and extracurricular activities.” About 200 honors students are living in Monagle Hall this year.

Another new component of the Honors College is an office to help academically talented students compete for prestigious national scholarships such as the Rhodes, Marshall and Truman Scholarships. The new Office of National Scholarships and International Education is headed by Jason Ackleson, associate director of the Honors College. This year, the office is offering a course on how to apply for prestigious scholarships, as well as a course designed to prepare students for the interviews involved with applications for these programs.

Eamon and Ackleson say the Honors College will strengthen NMSU’s academic profile by attracting a diverse group of top high school and transfer students from across the state and region. Last fall, NMSU attracted three National Merit Scholars. National Merit Scholars are among the top one percent of high school seniors in the nation.

“For NMSU to be able to compete with some of the nation’s top schools and attract these talented students to our campus is really tremendous,” Ackleson says.

The Honors College will supplement the degrees offered by NMSU’s six academic colleges by awarding various levels of honors distinction to students who complete the prescribed honors track. Honors courses are enriched general education courses taught in a seminar format by some of NMSU’s best faculty members. The Honors Program (now Honors College) is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.