From the days of its roots as an agricultural college in 1888 to the high-tech, global society of today, New Mexico State University has always been committed to reaching out to the communities it serves. That outreach mission can be seen today across the colleges and throughout the state – indeed, even as far away as the Middle East – and much of that effort is profiled in this issue of Panorama.

I am enjoying the challenges and privilege of serving as your interim president, and I am committed to paying back the trust invested in me through my most earnest efforts to continue to move the institution forward during this interim period. Just in the past months we have seen the start of an exciting new semester, a successful launch of the Pete V. Domenici Legacy project with the Domenici Public Policy Conference in August, and soon we will celebrate the official reopening of the renovated O’Donnell Hall in the College of Education. We continue to work to make projects like the Native American Cultural Center and Center for the Arts – just dreams a few years ago – the reality of the future.

These outstanding efforts are made possible by the hard work of so many people here at NMSU and in the communities we serve, and the support of so many – including alumni. As I mentioned in July after being selected for this post by the Regents, there is no challenge that together we can not resolve, no goal that as a community we can not accomplish.

Waded Cruzado
President