Eastern New Mexico University

Eastern New Mexico University

Former name	Eastern New Mexico Junior College (1927–1940) Eastern New Mexico College (1940–1949)
Motto	Explore. Experience. Excel.[1]
Type	Public university
Established	1927; 97 years ago(1927)
Academic affiliations	CONAHEC
Chancellor	James N Johnston
Academic staff	156 full-time and 83 part-time (Fall 2023)[2]
Students	5,106 (3,833 undergraduate) (Fall 2023)[3]
Location	Portales , New Mexico , United States
Campus	Suburban/small town, 433 acres (1.75 km2) (main campus)[1]
Colors	Green & silver[4]
Nickname	Greyhounds
Sporting affiliations	NCAADivision II–Lone Star
Website	www.enmu.edu

Eastern New Mexico University(ENMUorEastern) is apublic universitywith a main campus inPortales, New Mexico, and two associate degree-granting branches, one atRuidosoand one atRoswell. ENMU is New Mexico's largest regional comprehensive university and is the most recently founded state university in New Mexico (legislated in 1927, opened in 1934). It is a federally designatedHispanic-serving institutionand a member of theHispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. The ENMU System consists of three campuses.

The New Mexico legislature approved the construction and staffing of anormal schoolin easternNew Mexicoin 1927, and approvedappropriationfor construction in 1929, but theStock Market Crash of 1929and theGreat Depressionhindered the school's opening, which was delayed until 1934 (construction had begun in 1931).

From 1934 to 1940, the institution, first namedEastern New Mexico Junior College(ENMJC) operated as acommunity college.^[5]In 1940, the third and fourth years of college were first offered, leading to abachelor's degree, and the institution was renamedEastern New Mexico College(ENMC). ENMC was accredited by theNorth Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schoolsas a four-yearliberal arts collegein 1946–47. Graduate work leading to themaster's degreein some departments was added in 1949, and on April 5, 1949, the board of regents approved the change of the institution's name to Eastern New Mexico University.

ENMU's main campus (ENMU-Portales), consisting of over 400 acres (1.6 km²),^[1]is located in Portales on the extreme eastern border of New Mexico, in theEastern New Mexico/Llano Estacadoregion about halfway between the northern and southern boundaries of the state. (Portales is 90 miles (140 km) northeast ofRoswell, 120 miles (190 km) southwest ofAmarillo, Texas, and 110 miles (180 km) northwest ofLubbock, Texas.) ENMU ownsKENW (TV)andKENW-FM, a public television and radio station that are housed and operated on the main campus. The president of ENMU-Portales also serves as the chancellor for the ENMU System.

TheENMU Ruidoso Campus, ENMU-Ruidoso, is a community college (one of 18 in New Mexico) and an official branch of ENMU (branch status being granted in July 2005). Undergraduate and graduate coursework completed at the ENMU-Ruidoso campus is transferable for credit toward an undergraduate or graduate degree at ENMU-Portales, and, typically other undergraduate/graduate institutions in the United States. In 1991, the Ruidoso location had been established as theENMU Ruidoso Branch Community Collegeand offered two-year college academic and vocational programs. ENMU-Ruidoso offers Certificates of Completion,Associate of Science,Associate of Arts, andAssociate of Applied Sciencedegrees, as well as community education classes, customized training workshops, and adult basic education courses. It operates a One-Stop Career Center which provides free employment services for employers and job seekers inLincoln County. The center offers both an academic and vocational curriculum. (Ruidoso is located southwest of Portales, in a mountainous region of south-central New Mexico.)

TheENMU Roswell Campus, ENMU-Roswell, also a two-year branch, offers a wide variety of programs. ENMU-Roswell was established in the fall of 1958. In the spring of 1967, the institution moved to 12 buildings on 241 acres (0.98 km²) of the formerWalker Air Force Base. Roswell is one of New Mexico's larger cities, located in the southeast section of the state.

ENMU also offers online degrees.^[6]ENMU's online degrees in the fields of business and education are the most affordable in the U.S.^[7]

ENMU-Portales consists of four colleges and a graduate school:

• College of Business
• College of Education and Technology
• College of Fine Arts
• College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Among ENMU's other facilities are 5 museums, an art gallery, and a library.

The Golden Student Success Center (GSSC) construction was completed in 2018 replacing the original Golden Library building. The building now houses the Golden Library, the Runnels Gallery and the offices of Tutoring and Supplemental Instruction and Distance Learning.^[8]

Golden Library

The Golden Library features General Collections, Special Collections and Government Information. Special Collections includes the Jack Williamson Science Fiction Library, Southwest Collection (including New Mexico collections), University archives, and local history. The General Collection includes newspapers, serials, juvenile books, and K-12 curriculum materials.^[8]

Jack Williamson Science Fiction Library

TheJack WilliamsonScience Fiction Library is part of the Special Collections and has one of the top science fiction collections in the world with over 30,000 volumes, including science fiction books, science fictionpulp magazinesdating back to the early 1900s, manuscripts, correspondence, and photographs.^[9]

Runnels Gallery

The Runnels Gallery is an exhibit space open to the public that features art by ENMU students, ENMU faculty, and guest artists. Runnels Gallery has hosted national juried exhibitions for artists working in various mediums including two-dimensional, three-dimensional and photography.

Dr. Antonio Gennaro Natural History Museum

The Dr. Antonio Gennaro Natural History Museum is affiliated with the ENMU Department of Biology.^[10]The purpose of the museum is to educate the public about the diversity of life while emphasizing the natural heritage of eastern New Mexico and the greater Southwest, particularly the Llano Estacado.^[10]Formerly known as the Eastern New Mexico University Natural History Museum, the museum was renamed and dedicated to Dr. Gennaro in spring 2016.^[10]In addition to the taxidermy and study skins on display,^[11]the museum features a live animal exhibit with both native and non-native species.^[10]Gennaro came to ENMU in 1966 as an associate professor of biological sciences and went on to become a nationally recognized researcher. He started ENMU's vertebrate collection for the museum. He authored and published two books,Nature's WayandWildlife Falsehoods.

Blackwater Draw Museum

The originalBlackwater Draw Museumopened in 1969 at the midway point between Clovis and Portales to display artifacts uncovered at the Blackwater Locality No. 1 site and illustrate life at the Blackwater Draw site during the Clovis period (over 13,000 years ago) through the recent historic period. In 2017, the museum was moved to the ENMU campus and expanded to more broadly incorporate anthropology and related topics.

Miles Mineral Museum

The MilesMineralMuseum features a comprehensive collection ofgeologicalspecimens representative of thePecos Rivervalleyarea, as well as a sampling of specimens from other regions, including severalmeteorites.^[12]The bulk of the objects contained within the museum were once part of the private collection of amateurgeologistsand mineral enthusiasts, Fred and Gladys Miles.^[11]ENMUpurchased the [approximately] 2,500 piece^[11][12]collection ofgeological,archaeological, andanthropologicalspecimens from the couple in 1967.^[12]Many additional specimens have been added to the museum over the years since that time. The entire collection was originally displayed at a single ENMU facility named the Miles Museum, which opened in 1969.^[12]In 1984 the objects in the collection were divided up into two categories, and two separate museums were formed to display them; the Miles Mineral Museum and theMiles Anthropology Museum.^[12]The Miles Mineral Museum is now located in Roosevelt Hall, adjacent to theDr. Antonio Gennaro Natural History museum, on the ENMU campus.

Mr. Fred Miles and Mrs. Gladys Miles began collecting mineral andfossilspecimens along the Pecos River after they moved toRoswell,New Mexico, in 1928.^[13]They were prolific collectors for 40 years, scouring the Pecos River valley for specimens.^[13]They particularly enjoyed findingnative Americanartifactsand a specific type ofquartz crystalformation referred to asPecos Diamonds.^[13]For several decades^[11]they displayed the majority of their enormous collection at a Texacoservice stationin Roswell operated by Mr. Miles, who enjoyed showing it to inquisitive customers.^[13][12]

Miles Anthropology Museum

The Miles Anthropology Museum is home to various anthropological and archeological specimens collected by amateur anthropologists Fred and Gladys Miles, as well as to other collections from digs in the region. The private collection of Mr. and Mrs. Miles was also used as the foundation of theMiles Mineral Museum. Both museums are located in Roosevelt Hall in a space that was once the first dining hall on the campus.

ENMU's athletic teams participate in theNCAADivision IILone Star Conference. The men's and women's teams are nicknamed theGreyhounds. Prior to 2015, the women's teams were nicknamed theZias. In early 2015, students, faculty and staff voted to discontinue the Zia nickname and the women's teams become Greyhounds alongside the men's teams. ENMU vacated five seasons of wins in several sports starting from the 2008–09 season after the university self-reported over 100 eligibility violations.^[14]

ENMU currently features two active associated socialfraternitiesand two active associated socialsororities. Historically, the school featured several additional social fraternities. The school also features several honors fraternities

• Chi Omega(active)
• Zeta Tau Alpha(active)

• Kappa Sigma(active)
• Pi Kappa Alpha(?-suspended 1993)
• Phi Kappa Psi(1969-dormant 2006)^[15]
• Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia(active)
• Sigma Alpha Epsilon(1963-dormant 2000s)(Reinstated 2021)(Colony)
• Sigma Nu(1966-dormant 2001)
• Sigma Chi(1967-suspended by ENMU in 2017)^[16]

• Alpha Psi Omega(active)
• Alpha Sigma Lambda(active)
• Delta Mu Delta(active, established 1981)
• Kappa Delta Pi(active)
• Kappa Kappa Psi(active, chapter established 1949)
• Pi Alpha(active)
• Psi Chi(active)

This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia'sverifiabilitypolicy. Pleaseimprove this articleby removing names that do not have independentreliable sourcesshowing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriatecitations. (April 2024)

• Ronny Cox
• Steven Michael Quezada
• Evan Peters
• Daryush Shokof

• John E. Douglas
• Arthur M. Dula

• Michael Blake
• Diana Ossana
• Jack Williamson

• Clyde Snow

• Jeffrion L. Aubry
• Bobby Baldock
• Harold Elliott
• Paul Krutak
• Greg Lyne
• Jack Scott
• Christopher Stasheff

• Official website
• ENMU Athletics website

34°10′37″N103°20′55″W / 34.17694°N 103.34861°W /34.17694; -103.34861