Historical Commencement Facts
- NMSU’s first graduating class, the class of 1893, had just one member – Samuel Steel. Unfortunately, Steel was shot and killed shortly before graduation in what was then still very much the Wild West.
- The following year we had five graduates. All received bachelor’s of science degrees. One of them was the university’s first female graduate, Agnes Williams. Another person in that class was Fabian Garcia.
Honorary Degree Recipients
Honorary Degree Recipients are outstanding individuals who have made great contributions to the educational, business, scientific, and cultural life of our state and nation. Such an individual is selected by the Board of Regents.
| Name | Degree | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Fabian Garcia | Doctor of Agriculture | 1927 |
| Elmer Ottis Wooten | Doctor of Science | 1932 |
| Frank Murphy (US Supr. Ct. Justice) | Doctor of Laws | 1939 |
| Gen. Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright | Doctor of Laws | 1945 |
| Clinton Presba Anderson | Doctor of Agriculture | 1946 |
| Tomlinson Fort, Jr. | Doctor of Laws | 1952 |
| Oris Vernon Wells | Doctor of Laws | 1952 |
| Gen. George Gage Eddy | Doctor of Science | 1953 |
| Bruce Hornbrook Sage | Doctor of Engineering | 1953 |
| George Lee McNew | Doctor of Science | 1954 |
| Seaborn Pasco Collins | Doctor of Laws | 1956 |
| William Herman Goodrich | Doctor of Laws | 1956 |
| John Arthur Logan | Doctor of Laws | 1956 |
| Conrad Nicholson Hilton | Doctor of Laws | 1957 |
| William Edgworth Morgan | Doctor of Laws | 1958 |
| Gen. John Bruce Medaris | Doctor of Laws | 1959 |
| Cleofas Calleros | Master of Fine Arts | 1960 |
| Harry Joseph Goett | Doctor of Engineering | 1960 |
| Maj. Gen. Leighton I. Davis | Doctor of Laws | 1961 |
| Dr. Sarah E. Stewart | Doctor of Laws | 1961 |
| Paul Horgan | Doctor of Laws | 1962 |
| Rear Admiral Levering Smith | Doctor of Laws | 1962 |
| Guenther Hintze | Doctor of Laws | 1962 |
| D. Brainerd Holmes | Doctor of Laws | 1963 |
| Herman E. Charles | Doctor of Laws | 1963 |
| George W. Gardiner | Doctor of Laws | 1963 |
| Ernest Sterling Marsh | Doctor of Laws | 1964 |
| George E. Mueller | Doctor of Laws | 1964 |
| John Frederick Thorlin | Doctor of Laws | 1964 |
| Dr. Arnold Toynbee | Doctor of Letters | 1964 |
| Watrous Henry Irons | Doctor of Laws | 1965 |
| Jesse Mack Hanks | Doctor of laws | 1965 |
| Carlos Villamar Talledo | Doctor of Laws | 1965 |
| Jack M. Campbell | Doctor of Laws | 1966 |
| Frank C. DiLuzio | Doctor of Laws | 1966 |
| James E. Webb | Doctor of Laws | 1966 |
| Dr. Earl Walden | Doctor of Human Letters | 1966 |
| Dr. Emilio G. Collado | Doctor of Laws | 1967 |
| Brig. Gen Leo A. Kiley | Doctor of Laws | 1967 |
| Dr. Miguel Aleman | Doctor of Laws | 1967 |
| Robert O. Anderson | Doctor of Laws | 1968 |
| Erle Stanley Gardner | Doctor of Laws | 1968 |
| Peter Hurd | Doctor of Laws | 1968 |
| Sr. Juan Gonzalez A. Alpuche | Master of Humanities | 1969 |
| Albert K. Mitchell | Doctor of Laws | 1969 |
| D.W. Reeves | Doctor of Laws | 1970 |
| Robert R. Gilruth | Doctor of Laws | 1970 |
| Albert Rosenfeld | Doctor of Letters | 1970 |
| John A. D. Cooper | Doctor of Laws | 1971 |
| Maria Montoya Martinez | Doctor of Fine Arts | 1971 |
| Edgar Dean Mitchell | Doctor of Science | 1971 |
| William Henry Mauldin | Doctor of Letters | 1972 |
| Norman Borlaug | Doctor of Laws | 1973 |
| Lee Buck Trevino | Doctor of Laws | 1973 |
| Bertha P. Dutton | Doctor of Laws | 1973 |
| Henriette Wyeth Hurd | Doctor of Fine Arts | 1974 |
| Edwin Leard Mechem | Doctor of Laws | 1974 |
| Hugh Fleming Steen | Doctor of Laws | 1974 |
| Fray Angelico Chavez | Doctor of Laws | 1975 |
| Dr. Charles Price Loomis | Doctor of Laws | 1975 |
| Sen. Joseph Manuel Montoya | Doctor of Laws | 1975 |
| Frank Waters | Doctor of Letters | 1976 |
| Elliott Speer Barker | Doctor of Laws | 1976 |
| Francine Irving Neff | Doctor of Laws | 1976 |
| Stephen E. Reynolds | Doctor of Laws | 1977 |
| Jackson A. Rigney | Doctor of Laws | 1977 |
| J. Cloyd Miller | Doctor of Laws | 1977 |
| Agnes Bernice Martin | Doctor of Fine Arts | 1978 |
| Dr. Roy Alton Young | Doctor of Laws | 1978 |
| Abelicio Marquez Pena | Doctor of Laws | 1978 |
| Earl Nunn | Doctor of Laws | 1978 |
| John P. Stapp | Doctor of Science | 1979 |
| Richard R. Bradford | Doctor of Letters | 1979 |
| Albert Henry Schroeder | Doctor of Laws | 1980 |
| Clara Belle Williams | Doctor of Laws | 1980 |
| Reginald Robers Aston | Doctor of Laws | 1980 |
| H C Cox | Doctor of Laws | 1981 |
| Paul W. Klipsch | Doctor of Laws | 1981 |
| Pete Domenici | Doctor of Laws | 1982 |
| William Jack Howard | Doctor of Laws | 1982 |
| Harry Vearle Payne | Doctor of Laws | 1982 |
| Richard Edward Greenleaf | Doctor of Laws | 1983 |
| Corinne Howell Wolfe | Doctor of Laws | 1983 |
| Jorge Espinosa de los Reyes | Doctor of Laws | 1983 |
| Alvin M. Stockton | Doctor of Laws | 1984 |
| Evern Randolph Wall | Doctor of Laws | 1984 |
| J. Paul Taylor | Doctor of Laws | 1985 |
| Katherine Davalos Ortega | Doctor of Laws | 1986 |
| Keith Willette Avery | Doctor of Letters | 1986 |
| Brig. Gen Leo Marquez | Doctor of Laws | 1987 |
| Senator I. M. (Ike) Smalley | Doctor of Laws | 1988 |
| William Claud Tharp | Doctor of Letters | 1988 |
| Frank O. Papen | Doctor of Laws | 1988 |
| William Kent Schriver | Doctor of Laws | 1989 |
| Effie Hall Jones | Doctor of Letters | 1989 |
| Jimmy Ray Walls | Doctor of Laws | 1990 |
| Eve LucilleYoquelet | Doctor of Laws | 1990 |
| Reynaldo Ursulo Ortiz | Doctor of Laws | 1991 |
| Joseph R. Skeen | Doctor of Laws | 1991 |
| Alice Martin King | Doctor of Laws | 1992 |
| Robert C. de Baca | Doctor of Laws | 1992 |
| Samuel A. Donaldson | Doctor of Laws | 1993 |
| Morgan Nelson | Doctor of Laws | 1993 |
| Jerry King | Doctor of Laws | 1994 |
| Lt. Gen. Edward D. Baca | Doctor of Laws | 1994 |
| Suzanne Hoyt Garcia | Doctor of Laws | 1995 |
| John L. Whitmire | Doctor of Laws | 1995 |
| Norman Brinker | Doctor of Laws | 1996 |
| Stan B. Hanssen | Doctor of Laws | 1996 |
| Jeanne B. Hanssen | Doctor of Laws | 1996 |
| Richard Leza | Doctor of Laws | 1997 |
| Ernest T. “Ernie” Mills | Doctor of Letters | 1997 |
| Jerome Shaw | Doctor of Laws | 1998 |
| Hubert B. Cooper | Doctor of Laws | 1998 |
| Nadia Salerno-Sonnenberg | Master of Musical Arts | 1999 |
| Ciriaco Q. Gonzales | Doctor of Laws | 1999 |
| Daniel D. Villanueva | Doctor of Laws | 1999 |
| Linda Mitchell Davis | Doctor of Laws | 1999 |
| Alvy Ray Smith | Doctor of Laws | 1999 |
| Edward L. Lujan | Doctor of Laws | 2000 |
| Robert W. Davis | Doctor of Laws | 2000 |
| John T. Ackerman | Doctor of Laws | 2001 |
| Luis V. Amador, M.D. | Doctor of Laws | 2001 |
| John A. Yates, Sr. | Doctor of Laws | 2001 |
| Nancy Enriquez Archuleta | Doctor of Laws | 2002 |
| Joan Raabe-Asprey | Doctor of Laws | 2002 |
| Robert R. Asprey | Doctor of Laws | 2002 |
| Albert Torres Gonzales, J.D. | Doctor of Laws | 2002 |
| Stanley E. Fulton | Doctor of Laws | 2003 |
| Gen. Lester L. Lyles | Doctor of Laws | 2003 |
| G.X. McSherry | Doctor of Laws | 2003 |
| Harrison Hagan Schmitt | Doctor of Laws | 2004 |
| Col. Leonard Sugerman | Doctor of Laws | 2004 |
| Louis R. Henson | Doctor of Laws | 2005 |
| Mary Catherine Brantner Henson | Doctor of Laws | 2005 |
| Andrea C. Everett | Doctor of Laws | 2005 |
| George Carl Everett, Jr. | Doctor of Laws | 2005 |
| Melvin “Don” Kidd | Doctor of Laws | 2006 |
| Michael L. Johnson | Doctor of Laws | 2006 |
| Ms. Paulina Salopek | Doctor of Letters | 2007 |
| Mr. Mike Maloof | Doctor of Letters | 2007 |
| Mrs. Barbara Hubbard | Doctor of Letters | 2007 |
| Mr. Harold W. Foreman | Doctor of Letters | 2008 |
| Mr. Edgar Foreman | Doctor of Letters | 2008 |
| Mr. Jesse Francis (Jeff) Bingaman, Jr. | Doctor of Letters | 2008 |
| Ms. Carla Aragon | Doctor of Letters | 2009 |
| Mr. Norbert “Herb” Wright Wimberly, Jr. | Doctor of Letters | 2009 |
| Mr. Jose Eduardo Calzada Rovirosa | Doctor of Letters | 2009 |
| Del Archuleta | Doctor of Letters | 2010 |
| Peyton Yates | Doctor of Letters | 2010 |
| Bradley B. Gordon | Doctor of Letters | 2010 |
| Herbert & Joan Zuhl | Doctor of Letters | 2011 |
| John A. Papen III | Doctor of Letters | 2011 |
| Judy Gray Johnson | Doctor of Letters | 2012 |
| Bill Sheriff | Doctor of Letters | 2012 |
| Jerry Harland Landrum | Doctor of Letters | 2013 |
| Max Evans | Doctor of Letters | 2014 |
| Royal W. Jones, Jr. | Doctor of Letters | 2015 |
| Dan E. Arvizu | Doctor of Science | 2015 |
| Charley Johnson | Doctor of Science | 2016 |
| Louis F. Sisbarro | Doctor of Letters | 2016 |
| Patricia L. Sisbarro | Doctor of Letters | 2016 |
| Laree Estes Perez | Doctor of Letters | 2017 |
| Kevin Johnson | Doctor of Letters | 2017 |
| Sharon A. Jones | Professional Degree in Management | 2017 |
| Ramakrishna Devasthali | Doctor of Science | 2018 |
| Ammu Devasthali | Doctor of Fine Arts | 2018 |
| Larry Allen | Professional Degree in Management | 2019 |
| Smoky Glass Torgerson | Doctor of Letters | 2022 |
| Mary Kay Papen | Doctor of Letters | 2023 |
| Neil Burcham | Doctor of Agriculture | 2024 |