I am a proud supporter of my institution and higher education in general.
I’m a member of a very diverse World Class, HSI, Land-grant, Space Grant, Research University that is consistently ranked among the best schools in the nation for improving students’ social mobility. We are the “Yale of the Yuccas” and the “Harvard of the High Desert.” In the past few years my university has produced the 2017 L’Oreal For Women in Science Winner and the 2019 NBA Most Improved Player. My University has celebrated Diversity from its very beginning: our first graduating class in 1894 contained five students, including a woman (Kate Agnes Williams) and an Hispanic (Fabian Garcia) who used our institution as a launch pad to the Ivy Leagues (Cornell) only to return to my institution as the first director of the Agricultural Experiment Station where his research and outreach earned him acclaim as “the father of the New Mexican food industry.” Female students now make up the majority of our students and Hispanics represent 48% of our student population today.
Located in one of the most diverse and beautiful states in the Union, we have a wealth of compassion, expertise, and opportunity to offer the next generation. If you would like a better sense of why I am such a passionate supporter of my institution, or you think that you may wish to be a part of this amazing community, please check out the following 3 brief videos which highlight some of the many wonderful talents and accomplishments of my university:
Salon Discovery 2014: The Science of Chile Peppers
Salon Discovery 2015: NMSU Astronomy–Clyde Tombaugh and Beyond