New Mexico Statutes
Article 8 - New Mexico State University
Section 21-8-3 - [Curriculum; management vested in board of regents; number and qualifications; corporate style and powers; quorum.]

The course of instruction of the college [New Mexico state university] hereby created shall embrace the English language, literature, mathematics, philosophy, civil engineering, chemistry and animal and vegetable anatomy and physiology, the veterinary art, entomology, geology, and political, rural and household economy, horticulture, moral philosophy, history, mechanics and such other sciences and courses of instruction as shall be prescribed by the regents of this institution of learning. The management of said college [university] and experiment station, the care and preservation of all property, of which such institution shall become possessed, the erection and construction of all buildings necessary for the use of said college [university] and station, and the disbursement and expenditure of all moneys provided for by this act, shall be vested in a board of five regents. Said five regents shall possess the same qualifications, as required for the regents of the university of New Mexico. Said regents and their successors in office shall constitute a body corporate, with the name and style of the the [sic] regents of the New Mexico college of agriculture and mechanic arts [New Mexico state university], with the right as such of suing and being sued, of contracting and being contracted with, of making and using a common seal, and altering the same at pleasure, of causing all things to be done necessary to carry out the provisions of law. A majority of the board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, but a less number may adjourn from time to time.
History: Laws 1889, ch. 138, § 20; C.L. 1897, § 3553; Code 1915, § 5130; C.S. 1929, § 130-1002; Laws 1939, ch. 28, § 1; 1941 Comp., § 55-2503; 1953 Comp., § 73-26-3.
Bracketed material. — The bracketed material was inserted by the compiler and is not part of the law.
Laws 1889, ch. 138, § 2, created and established the agricultural college and agricultural experiment station of New Mexico, as an institution of learning. Laws 1893, ch. 61, § 24, changed the name of the agricultural college and agricultural (experiment) station of New Mexico to the New Mexico college of agriculture and mechanic arts. Article XII, Section 11, of the constitution of New Mexico, as repealed and reenacted November 8, 1960, further changed the name to the New Mexico state university. See also 21-8-2 NMSA 1978.
Compiler's notes. — "This act" refers to Laws 1889, ch. 138. For the compilation of operative sections, consult the tables of corresponding code sections.
Cross references. — For board of regents, number, appointment, qualifications and duties, see N.M. Const., art. XII, § 13.
Term of treasurer of board. — The treasurer of the board would still continue as such until the election and qualifications of his successor. Bowman Bank & Trust Co. v. First Nat'l Bank, 1914-NMSC-014, 18 N.M. 589, 139 P. 148.
Scope of powers. — The legislature has expressly recognized the authority of institutions of higher learning to receive benefits and donations from the United States and from private individuals and corporations; to buy, sell, lease or mortgage real estate; and to do all things, which in the opinions of the respective boards of regents, will be for the best interests of the institutions in the accomplishment of their purposes or objects and, therefore, the legislature lacks authority to appropriate these funds or to control the use thereof through the power of appropriation. State ex rel. Sego v. Kirkpatrick, 1974-NMSC-059, 86 N.M. 359, 524 P.2d 975.
Exemption from zoning ordinances. — Zoning ordinances and regulations of the city of Las Cruces are ineffective on property belonging to the university of New Mexico, even if the university is annexed to the city, and they cannot prohibit or interfere with the uses of university property as desired by the board of regents. 1969 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 69-143.
University officials may preclude the sale of ice cream by private individuals from a mobile ice cream truck on university streets, providing the reasons for the regulation directly concern the health, safety, education and welfare of the students and are not so unreasonable and arbitrary as to offend "due process" of law under the Fourteenth Amendment. 1962 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 62-38.
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 15A Am. Jur. 2d Colleges and Universities §§ 3, 32 to 35.
14A C.J.S. Colleges and Universities §§ 2, 10, 11, 17.

Structure New Mexico Statutes