New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU or Highlands) is a

public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

Las Vegas, New Mexico Las Vegas, often known simply as Vegas, is a city in and the county seat of San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. Once two separate municipalities (one a city and the other a town), both were named Las Vegas: West Las Vegas ("Old Town" ...

, United States. Founded in 1893, it has satellite campuses in Santa Fe,

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

Rio Rancho Rio Rancho () is the largest and most populous city in Sandoval County, part of the expansive Albuquerque metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of New Mexico. A small portion of the city extends into northern Bernalillo County. It is the third ...

, Farmington and Roswell. NMHU has an average annual enrollment of approximately 3,000 students and offers a variety of undergraduate and graduate degree programs across six schools and colleges, as well as online.

History

NMHU was first established as "New Mexico Normal School" in 1893, with prominent archaeologist

Edgar Lee Hewett Edgar Lee Hewett (November 23, 1865 – December 31, 1946) was an American archaeologist and anthropologist whose focus was the Native American communities of New Mexico and the southwestern United States. He is best known for his role in gain ...

serving as its first president. The institution became "New Mexico Normal University" in 1902, and primarily offered

teacher education Teacher education or teacher training refers to programs, policies, procedures, and provision designed to equip (prospective) teachers with the knowledge, attitude (psychology), attitudes, behaviors, approaches, methodologies and skills they requir ...

; it adopted its current name of New Mexico Highlands University in 1941, as it expanded its programs beyond teaching. NMHU now offers graduate and undergraduate programs in arts and sciences, business, education, nursing, and social work. Located in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, a city with a population of over 13,000, Highlands' main campus is close to recreational and wilderness areas and is within an hour's drive of Santa Fe and two hours from Albuquerque. The majority of NMHU's approximately 3,765 students are from New Mexico and Latino; the university is recognized as a

Hispanic Serving Institution A Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) is defined in U.S. federal law as an accredited, degree-granting, public or private nonprofit institution of higher education with 25% or higher total undergraduate Hispanic or Latino full-time equivalent (FTE ...

by the

U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a United States Cabinet, cabinet-level department of the federal government of the United States, United States government, originating in 1980. The department began operating on May 4, 1980, havin ...

, which denotes a total undergraduate enrollment that is one-quarter or more Hispanic. Highlands' programs explicitly focus on its multiethnic student body, especially the Latino and American Indian cultures distinctive of New Mexico.

Accreditation

NMHU is accredited by the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

and also has specialty accreditations for many programs. The School of Education received full accreditation by the

National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) was a professional accreditor focused on accrediting teacher education programs in U.S. colleges and universities. It was founded in 1954 and was recognized as an accreditor by ...

(NCATE) in 2012. The School of Business is accredited by the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (

ACBSP The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), formerly the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs, is a United States–based organization offering accreditation services to business programs focused on tea ...

). The School of Social Work is accredited by the

Council on Social Work Education The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is a nonprofit national association in the United States representing more than 2,500 individual members, as well as graduate and undergraduate programs of professional social work education. Founded in 1 ...

(CSWE). The School of Social and Behavioral Sciences is accredited by the Master's in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council (MPCAC). The Department of Forestry is accredited by the

Society of American Foresters The Society of American Foresters (SAF) is a professional organization representing the forestry industry in the United States. Its mission statement declares that it seeks to "advance the science, education, and practice of forestry; to enhance t ...

(SAF).

Academics

NMHU has several bachelor's and master's degree programs spanning six schools and colleges; these include business administration, counseling, nursing, social work, and the natural sciences. According to ''U.S. News & World Report,'' NMHU is one of the top 100 schools for economically disadvantaged students and ranks among the top 45-59 public schools nationwide; it is among the top 12 percent of schools in the 2022 Social Mobility Index, which measures the extent to which institutions provide opportunities for students with family incomes below the national median, based on metrics such as tuition cost, indebtedness among graduates, and post-graduate employment.

Athletics

NMHU's athletic teams are nicknamed the Cowboys / Cowgirls and compete in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

's Division II

Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), commonly known as the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) from approximately 1910 through the late 1960s, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (N ...

. Ten varsity athletics programs are offered, including women's soccer, men's and women's cross-country, women's track and field, volleyball, men's and women's basketball, wrestling, baseball, softball and football.

Statewide centers

In the 1997–98 academic year, New Mexico Highlands University established an extended learning center in

and began offering upper-division undergraduate and graduate courses in business, accounting, education, and social work. The center has since added studies in criminal justice, public affairs administration, computer science and general and school counseling. NMHU also has centers in

, Santa Fe, and Farmington.

Notable alumni

* S. Omar Barker, legislator, soldier, writer * Mary Camille Skora Bohannon, radio news anchor/reporter * Mark Cotney, professional football player * Charlie Cowan, professional football player *

Bill Dinwiddie Rashid K. Shabazz (born William E. Dinwiddie; July 15, 1943 – August 28, 2023) was an American retired professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He started the 1966–67 season playing for the Colum ...

, professional basketball player * Carl Garrett, professional football player * Len Garrett, professional football player *

Reggie Garrett Reginald Weldon Garrett (born November 21, 1951) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the ...

, professional football player * María Dolores Gonzáles, leader of bilingual education in New Mexico * Anthony Edwards, professional football player *

Eddie Guerrero Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) was an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures in WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and World Championship Wrestling ...

(1967–2005), professional wrestler *

Keith Jardine Keith Jardine (born October 31, 1975) is an American actor and retired mixed martial artist who most notably competed in the UFC and Strikeforce. Background Jardine was born in Butte, Montana, moved to Oregon, and finally settled in Los Angele ...

, football player; retired

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

, formerly for the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games *Strike Force (video game), ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *''Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *''Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *' ...

, and

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock Jr. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstre ...

* Leroy Lamis, sculptor * Ben Ray Lujan, U.S. Senator from New Mexico (2021–present), former U.S. Representative from New Mexico (2009-2021) * Ray Leger, educator and member of the

New Mexico Senate The New Mexico State Senate () is the upper house of the New Mexico State Legislature. The Senate consists of 42 members, with each senator representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts across the state. All senatorial distr ...

Laura Montoya Laura Montoya, in full ''María Laura de Jesús Montoya Upegui'' (26 May 1874 – 21 October 1949), religious name ''Laura of Saint Catherine of Siena'', was a Colombian Roman Catholic religious sister and the founder of the Congregation of the ...

New Mexico State Treasurer The state treasurer of New Mexico is an elected constitutional officer in the executive (government), executive branch of the U.S. state of New Mexico. Thirty individuals have held the office of state treasurer since statehood. The incumbent is L ...

Chris Newsome Christopher Elijah Duque Newsome (born July 25, 1990) is a Filipino American professional basketball player for the Meralco Bolts of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Early life Newsome was born in San Jose, California. He is the sec ...

, professional basketball player * Frank Olmstead, mayor of

and 18th Auditor of New Mexico *

Lionel Taylor Lionel Thomas Taylor (born August 15, 1935) is an American former football player and coach. He played professionally as a wide receiver, primarily with the Denver Broncos of American Football League (AFL). Taylor led the league in receptions ...

, professional football player * Patsy Trujillo, member of the

New Mexico House of Representatives The New Mexico House of Representatives () is the lower house of the New Mexico State Legislature. There are 70 members of the House. Each member represents roughly 25,980 residents of New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the South ...

* Kevon Williams, USA rugby player * Sam Williams, professional football player *

Don Woods Donald Woods (1933–2001) was a South African journalist and activist. Donald or Don Woods may also refer to: * Donald Woods (actor) (1906–1998), Canadian-born American film and television actor * Donald Devereux Woods (1912–1964), British ...

, professional football player

References

External links

*
Athletics website
{{Coord, 35, 35, 46, N, 105, 13, 15, W, display=title Buildings and structures in San Miguel County, New Mexico Education in San Miguel County, New Mexico Universities and colleges established in 1893 1893 establishments in New Mexico Territory Las Vegas, New Mexico Public universities and colleges in New Mexico