students and six faculty members. The college was supposed to graduate its first student in 1893, but the only senior, Sam Steel, was murdered before he was able to receive his diploma. Classes met in the two-room adobe building of Las Cruces College until new buildings were erected on the 220-acre (0.89 km2) campus three miles (5 km) south of Las Cruces. In February 1891, McFie Hall, popularly known as Old Main, opened its doors.
In 1960, to better represent its expanded programs and operations, New Mexico A&M was renamed New Mexico State University.
== Organization and administration ==
Regulated by the New Mexico Constitution, the Regents of New Mexico State University are a corporate body that implements legislation over the control and management of NMSU. The board is made of up five persons appointed by the governor of New Mexico with the consent of the senate.
Full-time faculty members number 840, with a staff of 3,113.
== Campus ==
The main campus of New Mexico State University occupies a core of …
