On Feb. 28, 1889, the New Mexico State University (NMSU), located in Las Cruces, was founded as a land-grant agricultural college and preparatory school. Today, it is a comprehensive institution dedicated to teaching, research, and service, and is home to the state’s NASA Space Grant Program.

The school’s origins go back to Hiram Hadley, a College-educated teacher from Indiana who started Las Cruces College in 1888. The Territorial Assembly of New Mexico in 1898 provided for the establishment of an agricultural college and agricultural experiment station with Bill No. 28, the Rodey Act of 1889.