Aggies in AZ

New Mexico State University, which began in 1888 as an agricultural college and preparatory school, is a comprehensive institution dedicated to teaching, research, and service at the graduate and undergraduate level. It is the only land-grant institution that is also classified as Hispanic-serving by the federal government and ranked by the Carnegie Foundation in the top research category, Research-Extensive. The university is also home to the state's NASA Space Grant Program. With extension and research sites in every county, New Mexico State is developing distance-education capabilities to extend its reach to all the citizens of the state. It is located in the southern New Mexico city of Las Cruces, which has a population of about 75,000. The region features desert mesas, the farmlands of the Rio Grande Valley, and the Organ Mountains, an extension of the Rocky Mountain chain.