Happy October! It was a tricky end of September with the rainy weather around much of the country, so hopefully the weather in October proves to be a treat. So far, so good here.
While Bob and I have been going to the rec center at the WNMU campus and poked in the student union, we hadn’t walked the whole campus, so we did that today.
WNMU was founded in 1893 and has had four names — Normal School, New Mexico State Teacher’s College, New Mexico Western College, and now WNMU. The longest tradition is the Great Race which began in 1967 and which we learned a bit about at the museum (more below). The university currently offers more than 70 fields of study, and they offer fully online master ‘s and bachelor’s degrees. 3,500 students are enrolled, and while 50% of the undergraduate enrollees are Hispanic, over 18 countries are represented in the student body.
We saw students on the tennis courts and in the library but hardly any walking around campus which would indicate a large portion of online attendance.
in front of the Fine Arts Theatre
We wanted to go into the McCray Gallery of Contemporary Art on campus, but a posted sign on the door noted that it is closed until October 18th as they prepare for a new exhibition. We’ll try again after the 18th.
of Kristy Nawman (1958-2011)
and the sign notes that the books are
from the artist’s private collection (not the library’s)
and no state or federal funds paid for the display.
The upper level of the library had some great views of Silver City and the surrounding area.
says “Outdoor Gear Rental,” not a typical campus building.
Fleming Hall was built between 1916 and 1917 by El Paso architects Trost and Trost to serve as the university’s gymnasium and science center (quite a combination). It was the last building built on the original 20 acre campus. It served briefly as the home to the library and expressive arts department before opening as the university museum in 1974. It provides some history of the university and building but mostly focuses on its pottery collection of the Mimbres Pueblo in the Mimbres Valley, a region in Southwestern New Mexico defined by the Mimbres River.
Although impressed by the age of the Mimbres-Mogollon culture whose villages were established around 200 AD and whose height of cultural significance was between 1000 and 1130 AD, we were honestly more interested in learning about the much more recent history of the university.
In 1967, WNMU students started participating in The Great Race. Inspired by soap box derbies and the Indianapolis 500, teams of students and faculty race around campus.
from throughout the years.
one floor below the entrance level
a chemistry lab located directly below the gymnasium
We opted to use the museum restrooms before continuing on with our walk, and Bob got to use a historic urinal.
made by J. L. Motts Ironworks.
After leaving campus, we walked to the public library to look inside and then a bit further to check out a couple of small local stores. We found another big head.
