NMSU Writing Style Guide
This style guide is intended to be a supplement to The Associated Press Stylebook. It includes items not addressed by the AP Stylebook, items that are specific to New Mexico State University and a few instances in which we depart from the AP style – plus a few AP style rules that are listed here for reinforcement.
These style guidelines are meant to favor simplicity and clarity over formality, with some deference to the academic world’s penchant for rank and titles. These guidelines should apply to articles prepared for campus periodicals as well as to news releases. Some special types of writing, such as resolutions, policies or citations, will require a more formal style.
Also, there may be a need to deviate from the guidelines in certain applications, such as using abbreviations in Hotline calendar listings that we would not use in a news story. Separate style rules may be needed to maintain consistency in those cases.
References used to determine university style:
- The Associated Press Stylebook – This is the standard reference for all university publications.
- Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition
- The Chicago Manual of Style
- Words into Type
- The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage
A-Z Quick Navigation
“A” Mountain
abbreviations and acronyms
Follow AP style. Avoid using abbreviations or acronyms for organizations, even on second reference, except for NMSU and those that are household names (NASA, FBI, etc.)
about is preferable to some when using approximate numbers.
academic degrees
Several variations are acceptable, but we should lean toward the simplest in most cases: bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and doctorate. The apostrophe goes in the same place for the plural: master’s degrees, not masters’ degrees. Associate degree is not possessive. In some instances it might be pertinent to specify bachelor of science degree in biology or master of fine arts or some such, but use the lowercase style for those also.
Avoid using baccalaureate as a substitute for bachelor's degree, but if you must, do not couple it with the word degree. Baccalaureate means bachelor’s degree. Similarly, it’s doctorate or doctoral degree, but never doctorate degree.
Avoid abbreviations of degrees; there are too many of them and most non-academic people don’t know what they mean. But if you have reason to use abbreviations, make sure you use the right ones. All Ph.D.s are doctorates, but not all doctorates are Ph.D.s.
Charley Johnson, who is one of only a handful of NFL players ever to earn a doctorate, served as head of the Chemical Engineering Department at NMSU.
academic departments
Capitalize when referring to a specific academic department.
The gift is a tremendous boost for the Agricultural and Extension Education Department not The gift is a tremendous boost for the agricultural and extension education department.
academic titles
Follow AP style on capitalization. That is, capitalize official titles preceding names but lowercase those that follow names: President John Doe, or John Doe, president of NMSU. The exception to this would be when the title is an endowed chair and appears after the name: Enrico Pontelli, Regents Professor and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Note that modifiers accompanying titles such as professor, dean and chairman are not capitalized, even when the title precedes the name: art Professor Julia Barello. In most cases, it will be better to place the title after the name, because academic titles tend to be long or to require modifiers: Joe Lakey, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, reads better than Arts and Sciences Associated Dean Joe Lakey.
Another reason for placing faculty titles after names rather than before them is this: We should be specific when using titles that refer to faculty rank. Use professor only for full professors, not as a generic term for faculty members. To avoid awkward constructions such as economics Associate Professor Larry Blank, use Larry Blank, an assistant professor of economics. In most cases, faculty rank is not important to the story and general or descriptive terms will do: economist ... biologist ... who teaches biochemistry ... who heads the electrical engineering program at NMSU, etc.
Do not capitalize descriptive terms that precede names: astronomer Nancy Chanover.
For department chairs, the correct reference is academic department head for department name:
“Today we have three times the research funding we had 10 years ago,” says Brad Shuster, academic department head for biology.
accreditation statement
New Mexico State University has been accredited since 1926. The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
Accredited programs and certifying agencies specific to programs should be requested through each department.
addresses
Keep address style consistent with postal regulations, using no punctuation.
Marketing and Communications
MSC 3K
New Mexico State University
PO Box 30001
Las Cruces NM 88003-8001
adviser not advisor. This is the Associated Press preferred spelling used by media statewide.
affect vs. effect
Affect is a verb that means to influence: The final exam will affect his final grade.
Effect is a noun that means result: The effect of tuition increases on enrollment is uncertain.
afterward not afterwards.
all right two words, never alright.
alma mater
alumni
this Latin word has separate forms and plurals for male and female graduates. One male graduate is an alumnus; one female graduate is an alumna. Alumni (not alums) correctly refers to a group of male graduates or a group of both males and females, and alumnae is used for plural female graduates. All alumni referenced in NMSU alumni publications (i.e. Panorama) should have their alumni year listed after their last name: Joe Smith ’58.
a.m., p.m. lowercase, with periods. Avoid redundant usage: 8 a.m. this morning.
Americans with Disabilities Act
To ensure access to educational events, meeting notices, news releases, syllabi and calendars should contain a contact and accommodation statement:
Contact _______ (name of event organizer) before the event if you are an individual with a disability who is in need of a auxiliary aid or service to participate.
Arrowhead Center
Arrowhead Center, New Mexico State University’s hub for technology commercialization and business assistance, was formed in 2004 to help prospective entrepreneurs identify markets, verify new technologies, write business plans and find financing. Through the center, companies have access to 150 business advisers, including university students, faculty members and retired business people. In exchange, the center receives a fee or equity share in the new companies.
athletics
It is the Department of Athletics or the Athletics Department, but the director of athletics. Coach is also lowercase, even when preceding a name: volleyball coach Mike Jordan.
backward, forward, toward Not backwards, forwards or towards.
BE BOLD. Shape the Future.®
Starting in 2018, this became the university’s tagline. In 2021, it received a federally registered trademark. For use, please contact Marketing Services at mktgserv@nmsu.edu. (note: the previous tagline, “All About Discovery!” has been retired and is not to be used.)
book titles
These should be in italics:
In 1972, he published That All May Learn, a history about New Mexico State from the university’s founding through 1964.
bulleted lists
When listing items in bulleted form, capitalize the first word of each item and end each item with a period, whether it is a complete sentence or not:
The agenda for the Board of Regents includes:
- Approval of the 2022-23 budget.
- Discussion of a proposed nepotism policy.
- An executive session to consider the chancellor’s contract.
Keep all items in a bulleted list consistent in form; do not mix fragments with sentences, for instance, or start some items with verbs and others with nouns.
NOTE: For news releases, use dashes rather than bullets, because special symbols like bullets usually are lost when releases are converted to plain text for e-mailing.
campus buildings and physical features
Capitalize the official names of all university buildings, streets, parks, etc., when using the full names. Follow any quirky spellings when doing so, but lowercase and revert to standard spelling when using generic descriptions. Mark and Stephanie Medoff Theatre becomes the theater on second reference.
If a question arises as to the proper name of a campus building or facility, check with the Office of Space Planning for a ruling on the correct name and spelling, then add it to this style sheet for future reference.
campus organizations
Many of these require a description in addition to a name, because they aren’t familiar to the general public: The Round Up, the NMSU student newspaper. Associated Students of NMSU, the student government. (On subsequent references, use either ASNMSU or student government.)
campuswide. One word. Also systemwide.
century
Lowercase: the 21st century. Hyphenate when used as an adjective: He teaches 18th-century literature.
child care is two words with no hyphen in all cases, an exception to Webster’s.
chile, not chili, when referring to peppers.
college names
[Capitalize the full names of each college on first reference but use lower case college or the six colleges on subsequent references. Here are the proper names of the colleges at New Mexico State:]
[These should always be capitalized:]
College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences
College of Business
College of Engineering
College of Health, Education and Social Transformation
Honors College
University and college naming:
When referring to the various campuses of New Mexico State University, here are the preferred styles:
Group:
Community Colleges:
New Mesxico State University Communuity Colleges
NMSU Community Colleges
All campuses:
New Mexico State University campuses
NMSU campuses
Individual:
Doña Ana Community College
New Mexico State University Alamogordo
New Mexico State University Grants
New Mexico State University Las Cruces
Or
DACC
NMSU Alamogordo
NMSU Grants
NMSU Las Cruces (or NMSU main campus)
Or
New Mexico State University’s Doña Ana Community College campus
New Mexico State University’s Alamogordo campus
New Mexico State University’s Grants campus
New Mexico State University’s Las Cruces campus
New Mexico State University’s main campus
compose, comprise, consist
Comprise means to encompass or contain: The United States comprises 50 states. It is never followed by of, as in comprised of. Most of the time it will sound more natural to say is composed of or consists of.
composition titles
For our own publications, the rule of thumb is to italicize the titles of major works and use quotation marks for titles of shorter ones. Specifically:
- Italicize the titles of books, magazines, newspapers, academic journals, plays, motion pictures, operas and other long musical compositions, collections of poetry and long poems, paintings and statues.
- Put quotation marks around the titles of magazine articles, short stories, songs, speeches, radio and television programs, short poems and unpublished works.
- NOTE: For news releases, follow the AP guidelines for capitalization and use of quotation marks. Do not use italics. Magazine and newspaper names are not put in quotation marks. Titles of books, plays, songs, poems and television programs are.
course work. Two words.
courtesy titles, doctor
In general, do not use courtesy titles (Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms.) or the title Dr., either on first or subsequent references. If it is pertinent to note that a person has a doctorate, do so in a descriptive way: Smith, who has a doctorate in physics, has studied ...
Exceptions can be made for formal applications such as resolutions and citations. Definitely do not use “Dr.” in conjunction with another title ex. Agricultural and Extension Education Department Head Dr. Steven Fraze.
curriculum, curricula
Curriculum is the singular form, while curricula is the plural form.
data
A plural noun, it usually takes plural verbs and pronouns: These data are inconclusive.
database One word.
dates
Do not use “on” before dates: The bust was dedicated September 11 not The bust was dedicated on September 11.
Do not use “of” with dates: The Pan Am Center will receive a much-needed face-lift beginning in January 2005 not The Pan Am Center will receive a much-needed face-lift beginning in January of 2005.
department names See academic departments.
directions and regions
In general, lowercase north, south, east, west, northeast, northern, etc., when they indicate compass direction. However, capitalize when they designate regions: West Texas, Northern and Southern California, South Florida, the South Side of Chicago, the Lower East Side of New York, North Dallas, Northern New Mexico.
With names of nations, lowercase unless they are part of a proper name or are used to designate a politically divided nation: northern France, eastern Canada, the western United States, but Northern Ireland, South Korea, South Africa. Southwestern America offers a splendid laboratory for Interdisciplinary Studies.
Doña Ana County
Needs an ~ over the “n” in Dona. To insert this symbol, go to insert/symbols and select the “Latin-1” subset. Select the ñ character and click “insert.”
Earth
Capitalize when used as the proper name of our planet: He is studying the atmosphere on Earth. Lowercase in other uses.
email
Not E-mail. Also esports. Use a hyphen with other e- terms.
emeritus/emerita
This word often is added to formal titles to denote that individuals who have retired retain their rank or title. When used, place emeritus (in italics) after the formal title, in keeping with the general practice of academic institutions: Bob R. Leonard, professor emeritus; Professor Emerita Beverly Carl.
endowed chairs See academic titles.
ensure, insure, assure
Use ensure to mean guarantee: Steps were taken to ensure accuracy.
Use insure for references to insurance: The policy insures his life.
Assure means to make a person sure of something, or to convince: “I assure you, this team has been playing with a lot of emotion,” he told the reporters.
faculty
A collective noun, which takes a singular verb. Refers to an entire group of educators who staff a department or school. When not referring to the whole group, use faculty members.
Examples: The faculty is meeting here. Faculty members are meeting here. The faculty is discussing the issue. The faculty has considered the proposal.
Do not use Faculty are ...
farther vs. further
Farther refers to physical distance: He walked farther into the woods.
Further refers to an extension of time or degree: She will look further into the mystery.
fewer, less. In general, use fewer for individual items, less for bulk or quantity.
fractions
Spell out amounts less than one using hyphens between the words: two-thirds, three-fourths, four-fifths, etc. Use figures for precise amounts larger than one, converting to decimals whenever practical: 1 1/2, 3 3/4, 2 5/8, etc.
full time vs. full-time
Hyphenate when used as a compound modifier: She has a full-time job.
Open when used as an adverb:. He works full time.
fundraising and fundraiser are one word in all cases. This is a change from previous recommendations.
Global Campus
The NMSU unit that manages, houses and delivers most of the online courses systemwide.
governor
Lowercase except when referring to the governor: Gov. Bill Richardson but That’s a statement coming from the governor.
GPA. Acceptable in all references for grade-point average.
groundbreaking. One word in all uses.
historian, historic, historical, history
A historic event is an important occurrence, one that stands out in history. Any occurrence in the past is a historical event. Always use a – not an – before each of these words: a history, a historian, a historic event, etc.
homepage. One word.
homecoming is lowercase in most references unless referring to a specific event:
During homecoming week, the Crimson Crew brought back the tradition of wearing beanies. But: Homecoming 2004 will be held Oct. 28-30.
Honors College
New Mexico State University established the state’s first Honors College in 2003. The Honors College supplements the degrees offered by the university’s six colleges with a core curriculum leading to honors distinctions. Honors courses are taught in seminar formats by the university’s top faculty. Other components of the Honors College are the Crimson and Centennial Scholars programs and the Office of National Scholarships and International Education, formerly the Fellowships Office.
internet. Not capitalized.
internet terms
email, esports (Other “e-” terms are hyphenated)
internet (not capitalized)
online (one word)
website (one word)
World Wide Web (capitalized)
See the AP Internet Guide in The Associated Press Stylebook for a more complete listing.
it’s vs. its
It’s is a contraction for it is or it has: It’s up to you, It’s been a long time.
Its is the possessive form of the neuter possessive pronoun: The company lost its assets.
judgment. Not judgement.
Kickoff, kick off
One word as an adjective and noun. Two words as a verb.
laptop. One word.
land-grant
NMSU is a land-grant university, a Hispanic-serving university and a NASA Space Grant institution.
Legislature. Capitalize: the state Legislature.
liaison
likable Not likeable.
lion’s share
Avoid this term, not just because it’s a cliché, but because it is almost always misused. In the story it comes from, the lion’s share is not just the biggest share, it’s the whole thing.
Los Alamos National Laboratory
-ly
Do not use a hyphen between adverbs ending in -ly and adjectives they modify: an easily remembered rule, a badly damaged ship, a fully informed person.
magazine names
Capitalize the name but do not place it in quotes – use italics. Lowercase magazine unless it is part of the publication’s formal title: The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek magazine, Time magazine. Check the masthead if in doubt.
majors
Not capitalized unless they are a proper noun such as English, French, Spanish.
Their endowment provides scholarships for freshmen studying chemical engineering
not Their endowment provides scholarships for freshmen studying Chemical Engineering.
midnight, noon
Do not put a 12 in front of either of these.
minorities
In deciding whether to refer to race or other group identities, use news judgment. Include these details only when they are clearly relevant.
Black
Use the capitalized term as an adjective in a racial, ethnic or cultural sense: Black people, Black culture, Black literature, Black studies, Black colleges. African American is also acceptable for those in the U.S. The terms are not necessarily interchangeable. Other commonly used terms include Hispanic or Mexican American, Latin American, Native American, and Asian or Asian American.
more than is preferable to above or over when referring to quantities.
myriad
Forget it. It’s wrong to put of after it, but sounds wrong without it.
National Academy of Sciences. Not National Academy of Science.
New Mexico Department of Agriculture
The New Mexico Department of Agriculture is the only state cabinet agency headquartered outside Santa Fe. It is located on campus and reports to the governor and NMSU Board of Regents. This agency is sometimes confused with the College of Agriculture and Home Economics, one of six colleges at the university. NMDA is a regulatory agency responsible for stopping the spread of animal and plant diseases, as well as regulating gas pumps statewide.
New Mexico State University
In external news and publications, always spell out New Mexico State University on first reference. Thereafter, use New Mexico State or NMSU when space is a factor, as in headlines or listings with multiple agencies: NMSU’s Physical Science Laboratory.
If the use of “State” could result in confusion with a state government agency, use an alternate format: university or campus police to distinguish from the New Mexico State Police.
numbers
In text, and in general, spell out numbers one through nine. Use numerals for 10 and above. Some exceptions are percentages, ratios, monetary amounts, temperature readings, ages, physical dimensions, and sports scores: 44 percent, 104 percent, $4 (not four dollars), 4 C or four degrees centigrade (not 4 degrees centigrade), They won the baseball game 4-2, She is 4 years old, The porch is 9 feet by 11 feet, etc.
Large Numbers: When large numbers must be spelled out, use a hyphen to connect a word ending in y to another word; do not use commas between other separate words that are part of one number: twenty, forty, twenty-one, forty-one, one hundred forty-four, one thousand four hundred forty-four, one million four hundred forty-four thousand four hundred forty-four.
Sentence Start: Spell out a numeral at the beginning of a sentence. If necessary, rewrite the sentence to avoid this. The only exception to this rule is when a sentence is started with a number that identifies a calendar year:Plural Numbers: Add an “s” with no apostrophe to form plurals: She remembers the 60s.
- Wrong: 2,444 first-year students entered NMSU last year.
- Right: Last year 2,444 first-year students entered NMSU.
- Right: 2003 was a very good year.
Centuries: The “10 and above” rule applies: Spell out centuries below 10; use numerals for 10 and above. Lowercase century: I etc.
Commas: Include commas in all four-digit numbers, except when listing years and SAT scores.
off of
The of is unnecessary: He fell off the stage, not He fell off of the stage.
OK. Not okay or O.K
on-campus, off-campus
Hyphenate only when used as a compound modifier. She used the sources available from the on-campus libraries. He decided to live off campus.
online. One word, no hyphen, no matter what the usage.
over
In most cases, try to use the phrase more than: The course required more than eight hours of study each week. While over is generally used for spatial relationships such as The plane flew over the city, it can be used with numerals at times: She is over 30.
“open to the public”
No need to say so in most cases. Generally the events we write about are open to the public, and if there are restrictions (an event to which alumni are invited, for instance), the story should make that clear. Do include the admission charge if there is one, or say the event is free if there is none.
overused words
Try to avoid overusing descriptive words such as unique, excellent, state-of-the-art, acclaimed, world-class, etc.
part time vs. part-time
Apply the same rules as full time and full-time. In other words, hyphenate only when used as a compound modifier: She has a part-time job but She works at the restaurant part time.
People, persons
Use person when speaking of an individual. People is preferred to persons in all plural uses.
percent
Use of the percent sign (%) is preferable to spelling out the word “percent” except at the beginning of a sentence. Do not add a space between the numeral and the percent sign.
Physical Science Laboratory. Not Physical Sciences Laboratory.
predental, preveterinary, prelaw, premedicine, preveterinary etc. No need to hyphenate these.
President’s Associates
Not Presidents’ Associates when referring to this organization that supports scholarships for NMSU students.
punctuation
Follow AP style. Some common mistakes are worth pointing out here:
- No comma before the conjunction in a series, except where it is needed for clarity.
- No hyphen is needed in compound modifiers when an adverb ending in “ly” is
followed by an adjective: steadily growing enrollment, easily remembered rule. - No hyphen is needed to join figures with the words million or billion, even if used as a modifier: $14 million building. However, if you are using the word dollar instead of figures and a dollar sign, compound modifiers do need hyphens: a million-dollar smile, hotter than a two-dollar pistol.
- Put a space before and after dashes – and ellipses ...
- Quotation marks Periods and commas should always go within punctuation marks.
- Special symbols: For news releases, avoid the use of symbols such as bullets, em dashes or accents on Spanish words. They often are dropped or replaced with gibberish in the process of converting to plain text for e-mailing.
ratios
Use figures and hyphens: the ratio was 4-to-1, a ratio of 4-to-1, a 4-1 ratio. The word to should be omitted when the numbers precede the word ratio.
renowned. Not reknown. Klipschorn speakers are world renowned.
Rio Grande
Since Rio means “river” in Spanish, Rio Grande stands alone. Don’t use Rio Grande River.
ROTC
Acceptable for all references to the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. If reference to a specific service branch is necessary, use the following forms: Army ROTC or Air Force ROTC (no periods). Do not use the abbreviations AROTC or AFROTC.
Sam Steel
Sam Steel was shot in 1893, weeks before he was to become the first university graduate and the first college graduate in New Mexico Territory. His family members later attended and graduated from the university. The correct spelling of the name is Steel (no final “e”). (The campus street sign for Sam Steel Way on the west end of campus has an incorrect spelling.)
Sandia National Laboratories
says, said
Said is the preferred attribution for most news releases, but says is the preferred attribution for articles written for NMSU publications such as Panorama. The exception is when you are quoting a statement that someone made at a particular event.
schools
New Mexico State University has five schools:
Klipsch School of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering
School of Nursing, College of Health, Education and Social Transformation
School of Social Work, College of Health, Education and Social Transformation
School of Teacher Preparation, Administration and Leadership, College of Health, Education and Social Transformation
School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences
seasons
Lowercase all seasons and seasonal terms such as fall, spring, winter, wintertime, etc., unless they are part of a formal title: Winter Olympics, Summer Olympics, etc.
Southwest
Lowercase when referring to direction but capitalize when referring to the region. He is producing a comic book series set in the Southwest. Same applies to other regions – Northeast, Midwest, Northwest, etc.
spring break. No need to capitalize. It was a week before the beginning of spring break.
states. Spell out state names in body text.
state of
Lowercase in “state of” constructions: He is licensed in the state of New Mexico. Also, do not capitalize when referring to a level of legal or political jurisdiction: state Sen. Bill Ratliff, state Rep. Pete Patterson, the state Transportation Department.
subjects
Lowercase academic course subjects, unless they are a language or are followed by a roman numeral: English, French, Algebra I.
telephone numbers
Do not use parentheses: 505-646-6100. Always include the area code 505 in numbers used in news releases, even though most of our releases go to newspapers and broadcast stations within that area code. If extension numbers are given, use a comma to separate the main number from the extension.
television. Spell out in all uses. Do not use tv, TV or T.V.
that vs. which
That is the preferred pronoun to use when introducing essential clauses that refer to inanimate objects or animals without a name.
Which is the preferred pronoun to introduce nonessential clauses that refer to inanimate objects or animals without a name.
Note: Nonessential clauses must be set off by commas.
Examples: The ruling that overturned the holiday schedule resulted in protests. The unpopular ruling, which was announced Tuesday, resulted in protests.
theater, not theatre, unless used as part of a proper name, such as Hershel Zohn Theatre. In such cases, revert to the generic theater on second reference.
times and dates of events
In general, list time, day of week, date and place, in that order: 4 p.m. Monday, Aug. 8.
Use noon and midnight rather than 12 p.m. or 12 a.m., and never use 12 noon or 12 midnight.
When using times for events that occur at the start of the hour, do not include :00. For example: The meeting will begin at 11 a.m., and should last until 4 p.m.
Use lowercase a.m. and p.m., with periods between the letters. Do not use AM, A.M., PM, P.M. Also, avoid such redundancies as 4 a.m. in the morning, 8 p.m. at night, etc. If necessary, use 4 a.m. today or 8 p.m. Monday, etc.
If a beginning and ending time are needed, use from and to rather than hyphenating, and don’t use a.m. or p.m. on the first number unless the time stretches from one to the other: from 8 to 11 a.m., from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., from noon to 3 p.m., etc.
When referring to dates within the current year, in most cases it is not necessary to state the year. State the year when referring to events in upcoming or previous years, or when needed for clarity.
towns, cities and states
Always spell out the names of states in body copy. In general, in releases prepared for media in this area, there is no need to add New Mexico after New Mexico place names, except to avoid confusion (to differentiate between Anthony, New Mexico and Anthony, Texas, for instance, or between Las Vegas, New Mexico, and Las Vegas, Nevada). When writing for out-of-state publications, always specify the state.
toward. Not towards.
twofold . Not two-fold
T-shirt Not Tshirt, T shirt, tee shirt, etc.
underway. One word.
United States
U.S. is now acceptable as a noun or adjective. Formerly it was acceptable only as an adjective and the noun “the United States” had to be spelled out. Now “the U.S.” is permitted.
The United States is the best country in the world, or, The U.S. is the best country in the world.
Adjective form: Jeff Bingaman is a U.S. senator. He is studying U.S. history.
university
Do not capitalize this other than when it is the first word in a sentence. People who made planned gifts to the university were honored as members of the 1888 Society not People who made planned gifts to the University were honored as members of the 1888 Society.
universitywide. Not university-wide. Same with citywide and statewide.
U.S. Department of Agriculture
New Mexico State University has two U.S. Department of Agriculture facilities on campus:
- Jornada Experimental Range (offices and labs are located in Wooton Hall; range research is at USDA facilities 25 miles north of Las Cruces)
- Southwestern Cotton Ginning Research Lab (one of only three such ginning research centers in the nation, located on the west end of campus.)
vice
Use two words, with no hyphen: vice president, vice chair, vice regent, vice chancellor.
website. One word, lowercase. For more information, visit our website at www.nmsu.edu.
-wide
citywide
statewide
universitywide
X-ray. Use in all cases, as a noun, verb and adjective. Not x-ray.