Other NM universities announcements

New Mexico State University will move forward with the demolition of Cole Village, an on-campus residential complex that has been vacant since 2017. Preliminary work is underway as the university prepares for full demolition activities to begin in January 2026. A demolition ceremony for Cole Village will take place at 2:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18, at the southeast corner of Wells Street and S. Espina. 

Cole Village was constructed in 1965 to provide affordable housing for students and their families during a period of rapid enrollment growth. Although the complex once served as a vital residential option near campus, university officials say the aging buildings can no longer be used safely. 

New Mexico State University will award 1,256 degrees this week, honoring its fall 2025 class at two commencement ceremonies at the Pan American Center. 

A commencement ceremony for recipients of master's and doctoral degrees will begin at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12. A separate ceremony for recipients of bachelor's degrees will take place the following day, Saturday, Dec. 13, starting at 10 a.m.

Arcelia Mendoza, of Anthony, New Mexico, is among the 366 graduates from NMSU's College of Arts and Sciences. Mendoza followed her siblings' footsteps to NMSU, but she forged her own path.

With the end of each academic semester comes final exams, presentations and projects, and before the stress arrives, students at New Mexico State University have a nationally recognized resource to help them succeed academically. NMSU's Campus Tutoring Services provides a free, full service-tutoring program in more than 200 undergraduate subjects. 

Campus Tutoring Services offers College Reading and Learning Association, or CRLA, certified peer tutors, who serve the entire NMSU campus, and was awarded level 1, level 2 and level 3 program certification from the CRLA. Level 1 and level 2 are recertifications, while level 3 is a new accomplishment. The certifications are official for four years through November 2029. 

With grit and determination, New Mexico State University's rodeo team wrapped up its 2024-2025 season in championship style by securing regional titles and celebrating its first national champion since 2011. 

"It was an outstanding year," head coach Brice Baggarley said. "The men's team went undefeated all season and was ranked second nationally going into the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyoming. The men finished first, earning the title of Grand Canyon Regional Champions, while the women placed second in the region." 

Students at New Mexico State University explored innovation, real-world career pathways and entrepreneurial thinking during the 2025 Bold Idea Conference, hosted by the Hunt Center for Entrepreneurship at Arrowhead Center.

Among the event's most engaging breakout experiences were two engineering-focused sessions sponsored by the Mike Hunt Construction Sprints, a program dedicated to elevating student exposure to construction, engineering and industry leadership. 

Guggenheim Fellow and Pushcart Prize-winning author Brandon Hobson's sixth book came out in October. Hobson is an associate professor of creative writing at New Mexico State University.

"The Devil is a Southpaw" is a novel within a novel, set at juvenile detention facility in Oklahoma in 1988. The story is told partly from the perspective of an unreliable narrator who received the book from a long-lost friend. The friend, living in the woods, writes about his childhood rival when were locked up together at an Oklahoma juvenile facility.

Despite persistent climate challenges, severe labor shortage and steep production costs, a small but dedicated group of coffee growers in Puerto Rico is breathing life into an industry that began on the island in the 18th century.

At its peak, in the late 19th century, Puerto Rico produced more than 30 million pounds of coffee annually. That changed when the United States annexed the island in 1898, and coffee production began to plummet. 

More than a century later, Puerto Rico's coffee industry is once again picking up steam, with an estimated 4,000 coffee growers producing 3 million pounds of coffee each year. 

The state of Chihuahua has recognized New Mexico State University horticultural pioneer Fabián García as a "Chihuahuense Distinguido" for his scientific legacy, social contributions and role in the development of commercial agriculture in New Mexico and the region. 

On Nov. 12, in Chihuahua City, Mauro Parada Muñoz, secretary of rural development of the state of Chihuahua, presented a delegation from NMSU with a plaque recognizing García and signed by the governor of the state of Chihuahua, María Eugenia Campos Galván.