In 1917, the College of Arts and Sciences was founded as the School of General Sciences, one of three schools at the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. John H. Vaughn was the first dean. Today, the college is the largest at NMSU, featuring departments in fine arts, humanities and social sciences.
Clara Belle Williams became the college’s first African American graduate, earning a bachelor’s degree in English at the age of 51 in 1937. She took summer courses at the college while working as a teacher at Booker T. Washington School in Las Cruces. In 1961, NMSU named Williams Street on campus in her honor. She received an honorary doctorate degree from NMSU in 1980. She died in 1994, and in 2005, NMSU renamed the English Building as Clara Belle Williams Hall.
Ralph B. Crouch began his career at NMSU as a member of the Department of Mathematical Sciences faculty in 1947. He later became the department’s head and associate dean of the Graduate School. Today, the Crouch Award recognizes a current or former living employee of NMSU for their outstanding contributions to the life of the university community.
In 1952, Branson Library opened on the NMSU campus. It was constructed in 1951 and named for John William Branson, NMSU president from 1949-1955. The university’s oldest library is still in use today, and has been expanded several times over the years. It also underwent a renovation from 1993-1994.
The first section of the International Mall was dedicated a year after the NMSU Alumni Association began collecting donations from alumni to construct a pedestrian mall as part of a campus beautification project. The university matched the donations, and formally dedicated the first section between Hadley Hall and Milton Hall in 1972. It was named International Mall to reflect the more international focus of many of NMSU’s programs at the time.
Williams
Crouch
International Mall
Dove Hall, Room 212
305 N. Horseshoe Drive
Las Cruces, NM 88003
