ENMU Celebrates 80 Years of Success 1927: Portales is designated as the site for a new “normal school” to serve the more than 40 percent of the state’s high school graduates who live in eastern New Mexico.
1928: The Chamber of Commerce raises $7,000 to buy 43 acres of land for campus on the west side of town. The money is later repaid by the Board of Regents. 1929: Initial state funding of $62,500 is approved for the first campus building.
permanent buildings and an enrollment of 826.
1940: To finance their educations, many struggling students bring cows to college. They sell milk to pay their way through school. Other enterprising students raise chickens, sell eggs and rent horses to local citizens. 1941: ENMC awards 41 Bachelor of Arts degrees to members of its first four-year graduating class. 1942: Floyd Golden becomes Eastern’s second president. 1943: During World War II, enrollment drops to 241. 1945‑46: Enrollment skyrockets as returning veterans continue their educations. Eastern creates housing for 100 married students with surplus buildings from the deactivated Fort Sumner Air Base. The apartments are known as Vetville. 1949: Eastern begins offering master’s degree programs. The Science Building is completed.
1930: With less than half of the Administration Building complete, the cornerstone is laid. During the Great Depression, the English Tudor building is vacant for three years, except for cattle taking shelter.
1955: The state Legislature approves a name change to Eastern New Mexico University.
1967: ENMU opens its Roswell campus. In Portales, the physical education complex and Bernalillo Hall open their doors to students.
1969: The Eastern Men’s Basketball team wins the NAIA championship in Kansas City, Missouri. 1973: The state Legislature funds an educational television station. 1975: Warren Armstrong is named Eastern’s fifth president. 1983: Robert Matheny becomes ENMU’s sixth president. 1984: Eastern celebrates its 50th anniversary. 1989: Thomas A. Bond is named ENMU president. 1991: ENMU opens an instructional center in Ruidoso. 1991: Everett L. Frost begins his term as Eastern’s eighth president. 1999: ENMU becomes a federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution.
1934: Eastern New Mexico Junior College opens to 145 students for a six-week summer session. Students can enroll in two-year programs in teacher education and business. Donald MacKay serves as first president.
2001: Steven Gamble is selected as ninth ENMU president. 2006: Science fiction pioneer Jack Williamson, an ENMU professor for 17 years, dies at age 98 in Portales.
1935: Eastern celebrates its first graduating class of 14 women and three men. 1936: The Administration Building and Quay Hall are completed.
1960: Dr. Donald C. Moyer is named Eastern’s president.
2008: Campus bustles with construction as part of $60 million in upgrades to buildings and utilities.
1939: The renamed Eastern New Mexico College adds a fourth year of classes. The campus has four
1965: Charles Meister becomes the fourth ENMU president.
2014: USA Today names ENMU one most affordable colleges in the U.S.
El Portal’s Major Milestone
75
years is a long life for anyone. They are an eternity for a literary magazine. Editors leave, students graduate and often the money runs out. El Portal was founded in 1939, and although it lived under a different name for several years, it has survived. Under the guidance of new editor Alexandra Itzi, a graduate student in the Department of Languages and Literature, the magazine is now accepting submissions from writers in English from around the world. The new, 75th anniversary issue reflects the diversity of voices and styles of contemporary literature, with students publishing their work alongside writers from Florida, Hawaii and Russia. “We’re especially proud of this issue,” says Alexandra, “as it represents a new, bolder future but also contains a grateful nod to the past.” Included is
By Stefan Kiesbye
science fiction great and El Portal benefactor Jack Williamson’s 1928 story, “The Metal Man.” Alexandra has also re-booted the magazine as an outlet for writing about the West, in all its forms and incarnations. West can be a bullet-riddled 1985 Grand Marquis sitting on a front lawn, a gleaming spaceship hovering over Roswell, a cowboy paying his latte with the Amex-card, the dust storm sanding your car, the champagne underneath the Hollywood sign, or green chili-and-cheese burritos from the gas station. West is a geographic location, a dreamscape, a fixture of the mind. “But most importantly,” Alexandra says, “we want to attract the best writing.” El Portal’s deadlines are March 31 and October 31, and you can contact the editor via elportaljournal.com. Alexandra Itzi
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Green & Silver | November 2014
