For nearly five decades, Thomas & Brown Hall has stood at the center of engineering education at New Mexico State University. Generations of students have passed through its classrooms and labs, launching careers that span industries, continents, and innovations that shape the world around us.
But the demands of modern engineering and today’s Aggie engineers have outgrown its walls. To remain competitive, attract top students and faculty, and prepare graduates for a rapidly evolving technological landscape, NMSU is undertaking a bold transformation of its College of Engineering, anchored by the construction of a new facility for the Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
This project is not simply about replacing an aging building. It is about creating an environment where innovation thrives, collaboration is seamless, and students are prepared to lead in tomorrow’s economy. Over the coming months, we will share the stories of those who are helping make this vision possible.
A History of Support for NMSU
General Obligation bonds are typically presented to New Mexico voters every two years, and passage of the bonds represent a continued investment in New Mexico’s public higher education infrastructure. New Mexico voters approved a GO Bond in 2023 allocating $22.5 million, along with $10 million from the state’s General Fund in 2024, for the demolition of Thomas & Brown Hall and the construction of a new engineering facility.
New Mexico’s long-term economic strength hinges on its ability to attract, grow and retain high-tech industries, and these GO Bonds help move that vision forward. From the expanding space sector to the energy-water-food nexus, the state’s priority industries demand a highly skilled, multidisciplinary workforce. NMSU stands at the forefront of developing that talent, preparing graduates to lead, innovate and power the state’s future.
Reimagining Thomas & Brown Hall, named for Melvin A. Thomas and Harold “Prof” Brown and dedicated in 1972, strengthens NMSU’s ability to deliver a collaborative, cross-disciplinary, and distance-enabled education that serves students across the state and around the world.
Why Now: A Facility for the Next 50 Years
The new engineering building will completely replace Thomas & Brown Hall, now demolished and under construction, and transform the new yet-to-be-named engineering corridor into a modern, flexible, future-ready hub designed around student success. Planned features include:
• A new home for the Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Advanced teaching and research laboratories, faculty and administrative offices, and collaborative conference spaces
• Technology-enabled classrooms and dedicated student study areas providing tutoring, mentoring, and academic support
• Designated workspaces for capstone design, connecting students with real-world, industry-aligned projects
Every square foot is intentionally designed to foster cross-disciplinary collaboration, modern engineering practice, and distance-enabled learning, capabilities that were not possible when the original hall was built.
A Tradition of Student-Centered Innovation
The College of Engineering transformation continues a legacy that began more than a century ago with engineering professor Ralph W. Goddard, who conducted early radio transmission experiments at NMSU and ignited a culture of experimentation and possibility.
More than a replacement building, the project reconfigures the entire engineering ecosystem at NMSU, creating:
• Enhanced facilities for the Aggie Engineering Capstone Design Program
• Modernized, specialty labs such as the Optics Lab, Robotics Lab and Electromagnetics Lab
• Collaborative environments that mirror industry and research settings
• An expanded Aggie Innovation Space supporting hands-on prototyping and fabrication, including metal additive manufacturing capabilities
This is infrastructure designed to position Aggie engineers to compete with any engineering college in the nation.
Powered by Philanthropy: A Call to Build What’s Next
While GO Bonds cover part of the cost of reconstruction, philanthropy is essential to complete this vision. The Richard L. Leza Learning Center, for example, will serve as a dynamic first-floor hub for collaboration, experiential learning, and engineering student organizations, demonstrating how donor support directly shapes the student experience.
With expected completion in Spring/Summer 2027, additional naming opportunities will be available for classrooms, instructional and research laboratories, offices and study areas supporting undergraduate and graduate students.
NMSU’s commitment is clear: provide the spaces, tools, and support that empower Aggie engineers to excel. But this vision requires private investment. If you can trace part of your success to an engineering lab that sparked your curiosity, a mentor who challenged you, or a classroom where something finally clicked, you understand the power of the environment in which you learn.
Today’s students deserve that same spark, only stronger. Now is the moment to help build what’s next. Your support will shape the next 50 years of engineering education, innovation, and discovery at New Mexico State University.
Engineer the future. Invest in the new NMSU College of Engineering complex at https://alwaysanaggie.org/donate/thomas-and-brown/, or contact Austin Tourtillott at 575-201-9023 to inquire about naming opportunities.