Eastern New Mexico University

Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU or Eastern) is a public university with a main campus in Portales, New Mexico, and two associate degree-granting branches, one at Ruidoso and one at Roswell. ENMU is New Mexico's largest regional comprehensive university and is the most recently founded state university in New Mexico (legislated in 1927, opened in 1934). It is a federally designated Hispanic-serving institution and a member of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. The ENMU System consists of three campuses.

The New Mexico legislature approved the construction and staffing of a normal school in eastern New Mexico in 1927, and approved appropriation for construction in 1929, but the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression hindered the school's opening, which was delayed until 1934 (construction had begun in 1931).

From 1934 to 1940, the institution, first named Eastern New Mexico Junior College (ENMJC) operated as a community college. In 1940, the third and fourth years of college were first offered, leading to a bachelor's degree, and the institution was renamed Eastern New Mexico College (ENMC). ENMC was accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools as a four-year liberal arts college in 1946–47. Graduate work leading to the master's degree in some departments was added in 1949, and on April 5, 1949, the board of regents approved the change of the institution's name to Eastern New Mexico University.

ENMU's main campus (ENMU-Portales), consisting of over 400 acres (1.6 km²), is located in Portales on the extreme eastern border of New Mexico, in the Eastern New Mexico/Llano Estacado region about halfway between the northern and southern boundaries of the state. (Portales is 90 miles (140 km) northeast of Roswell, 120 miles (190 km) southwest of Amarillo, Texas, and 110 miles (180 km) northwest of Lubbock, Texas.) ENMU owns KENW (TV) and KENW-FM, a public television and radio station that are housed and operated on the main campus. The president of ENMU-Portales also serves as the chancellor for the ENMU System.

The ENMU Ruidoso Campus, ENMU-Ruidoso, is a community college (one of 18 in New Mexico) and an official branch of ENMU (branch status being granted in July 2005). Undergraduate and graduate coursework completed at the ENMU-Ruidoso campus is transferable for credit toward an undergraduate or graduate degree at ENMU-Portales, and, typically other undergraduate/graduate institutions in the United States. In 1991, the Ruidoso location had been established as the ENMU Ruidoso Branch Community College and offered two-year college academic and vocational programs. ENMU-Ruidoso offers Certificates of Completion, Associate of Science, Associate of Arts, and Associate of Applied Science degrees, as well as community education classes, customized training workshops, and adult basic education courses. It operates a One-Stop Career Center which provides free employment services for employers and job seekers in Lincoln County. The center offers both an academic and vocational curriculum. (Ruidoso is located southwest of Portales, in a mountainous region of south-central New Mexico.)

The ENMU Roswell Campus, ENMU-Roswell, also a two-year branch, offers a wide variety of programs. ENMU-Roswell was established in the fall of 1958. In the spring of 1967, the institution moved to twelve buildings on 241 acres (0.98 km²) of the former Walker Air Force Base. Roswell is one of New Mexico's larger cities, located in the southeast section of the state.

ENMU also offers online degrees. ENMU's online degrees in the fields of business and education are the most affordable in the U.S.

ENMU-Portales consists of four colleges and a graduate school: