Other NM universities announcements

The Las Cruces International Film Festival chose Academy Award-winning actress Helen Hunt to receive its "Outstanding Achievement in Entertainment" award at this year's festival. The 10th annual LCIFF, April 9-13, is supported by New Mexico State University and Visit Las Cruces.

Hunt will receive the award at the LCIFF VIP Party after a special screening of "As Good As It Gets" at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 10, followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience at the Allen Theatres Cineport 10, 700 S. Telshor Blvd. Tickets for the celebrity screening of the film are $35. VIP tickets to attend the awards ceremony are $200 and are available now at www.lascrucesfilmfest.com.

Portales, NM – February 10, 2025 – Eastern New Mexico University announced today that they will host the third annual Rio Grande Physiological Society Meeting March 28-29 on the ENMU campus in Portales, New Mexico.

"This is an exciting and unique opportunity to host a regional conference at ENMU. As the current president of the Rio Grande Physiological Society, it is my privilege to invite world-renowned medical scientists and their student trainees to our campus to present their most recent research findings," said Dr. Matthew Barlow, Professor and Chair of Biology. "The Rio Grande Physiological Society is a chapter affiliation of The American Physiological Society with invited research members from institutions including UNM, NMSU, Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine, the University of Texas at El Paso, Texas Tech University, the University of Texas at Arlington, and Fort Lewis College. We want to invite the regional students and teachers, including high school and college, also to be welcome to observe these presentations."

"George Andrews" was the second feature-length film made by a professor at New Mexico State University. The late Orville Wanzer was a pioneering yet under-recognized filmmaker whose influence helped shape the evolution of "the modern western" and independent avant-garde filmmaking in the United States.

The rediscovered and restored film will be screened for one night only at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24 at the Fountain Theatre in Old Mesilla. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m., and the event will likely sell out. Tickets are $17 online, $18 at the door for general admission and $10 at the door for students. Julia Smith will introduce the film and highlight the painstaking restoration process to revive "George Andrews." She will remain after the screening to have a conversation with the audience.

Local artist Virginia Maria Romero will design the poster for the 2025 Las Cruces International Film Festival (LCIFF). The artwork seeking to embody the spirit of the festival will be revealed at a poster party in March before the five-day festival in April.

Join the artist and fans of the festival to reveal Romero's vision to represent the festival from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, March 7, at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, 4100 Dripping Springs Road. Tickets are $30 and include a signed collectible poster, food, drinks (beer and wine) and music. The original artwork will be auctioned off at the event. The artist will be on hand to sign limited-edition prints. Discounted VIP tickets to the film festival will be on sale for $150 only at the poster party, a savings of $50.

PORTALES, NM – February 3, 2025 – Eastern New Mexico University released enrollment data on Monday, February 3, 2025, for Spring 2025; the results showed continued enrollment growth on the main campus, with spring enrollment up 5.2 percent over spring 2024 Undergraduate enrollment numbers are at 3,899 students, a 3.7 percent increase from spring 2024, with student credit hours at the undergraduate level increasing by 9.3 percent. ENMU also saw a 6.5 percent increase in transfer students from spring 2024 to spring 2025.

In today's workforce, success often hinges on more than technical expertise. To help professionals excel, NMSU Global Campus is launching a new suite of microlearning courses focused on soft skills — the cornerstone of effective leadership, teamwork and personal growth.

Designed to empower New Mexicans and learners worldwide, the online courses bridge the gap between ambition and achievement by equipping participants with essential interpersonal skills. From excelling in job interviews and collaborating effectively in teams to resolving conflicts and safeguarding their online presence, learners gain the tools they need to thrive in a competitive job market.

Nearly two dozen chile pepper experts will gather in Las Cruces to present the latest industry trends and research breakthroughs at the 2025 New Mexico Chile Conference.

Presented by the New Mexico State University's Chile Pepper Institute and Department of Extension Plant Sciences, the conference will take place Monday, Feb. 3, and Tuesday, Feb. 4, at the New Mexico Farm and Heritage Museum.

"The New Mexico Chile Conference is the premier annual event in the country that focuses solely on chile peppers, providing the latest research findings and production guidance for the state's signature crop," said Stephanie Walker, Extension vegetable specialist at NMSU and co-chair of the conference.

New Mexico State University is starting the new year with another outstanding performance in the 2025 U.S. News & World Report's Best Online Programs rankings, the most in-depth evaluation of U.S.-based degree-granting programs that are designed to be administered online.

NMSU earned multiple spots in the top 100 best online programs, including bachelor's in psychology (tied 25), bachelor's for veterans (tied 46), master's in criminal justice (tied 52), bachelor's in business (tied 68), master's in information technology (74-97), and bachelor's programs overall (tied 84).