University of New Mexico - Main Campus

School Description

University of New Mexico - Main Campus School Description

With more than 200 top-quality academic degree programs, there's no career, no future --- no life --- you can't reach when you begin at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. A leading research university, with renowned faculty and exceptional facilities for learning and exploring, UNM is also one of the best educational values in the country.

The University will engage students, faculty, and staff in its comprehensive educational, research, and service programs. UNM will provide students the values, habits of mind, knowledge, and skills that they need to be enlightened citizens, to contribute to the state and national economies, and to lead satisfying lives. Faculty, staff, and students create, apply, and disseminate new knowledge and creative works; they provide services that enhance New Mexicans' quality of life and promote economic development; and they advance our understanding of the world, its peoples, and cultures. Building on its educational, research, and creative resources, the University provides services directly to the City and State, including health care, social services, policy studies, commercialization of inventions, and cultural events.

University of New Mexico - Main Campus

The University of New Mexico (UNM) is a public university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. It was founded in 1889. It offers multiple bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and professional degree programs in all areas of the arts, sciences, and engineering. Its Albuquerque campus currently spreads over 600 acres (2.4 km²), and there are branch campuses in Gallup, Los Alamos, Taos, and in Valencia County.

Campus

The main campus is located in central Albuquerque between Central Avenue on the south, Girard Boulevard on the east, Lomas Boulevard on the north, and University Boulevard on the west. The North Campus, which includes the medical and law schools, is located on the north side of Lomas. The South campus is centered around the intersection of University Boulevard and Avenida César Chavez and includes most of UNM's athletic facilities.

The UNM campus is noted for its unique Pueblo Revival architectural style, introduced when the university's third president, William G. Tight, plastered over the Victorian-style Hodgin Hall to create a monument to Pueblo Indian culture. Vilified for his primitivism, Tight soon found himself removed from office. History would eventually vindicate him, however, as his vision found new life under the regime of university architect John Gaw Meem. Meem, a famed Santa Fe architect, designed many university buildings in the pueblo style, including Zimmerman Library and Scholes Hall, and is credited with imbuing the campus with its distinctive Southwestern feel.

In recent years, UNM has undergone a comprehensive overhaul of many of its main campus buildings, including a $5.8 million renovation of the historic Communication and Journalism building. In addition to its remodeling efforts, UNM has added several new buildings to the campus such as the $42 million Centennial Engineering Center and a 108,000-square-foot Architecture and Planning building.