The ACES Dean’s Office and the Department of Innovative Media, Research and Extension have been sharing the life stories of graduates from the past century who used their education to support the prosperity and health of New Mexico’s families, farms and ranches, environment, and culture, in some cases with global impacts. The goal is to encourage all students, especially minority and first-generation students, to be confident that the college is supporting and encouraging them to break down barriers to reach for their dreams.

We encourage you to view these visual and written accounts of the lives and accomplishments of past graduates of New Mexico State University on the first floor hallway of Gerald Thomas Hall. More will be added to the ACES Heroes posters in the next months.

Fabián García (1872–1948), horticultural pioneer and champion of education for all, developed chile varieties that form the basis of all New Mexico type chile grown today. As director of the agricultural experiment station he personally signed the note to purchase land for the college’s horticultural research farm. Later, he donated his estate to help low-income students.

Fabiola Cabeza de Baca (1894–1991) established Extension programs in remote Hispanic and Pueblo communities, with deep respect for the traditional methods and cultural richness of places where she worked. She then carried the wisdom and traditions of rural people to larger audiences, writing the widely celebrated books We Fed Them Cactus, The Good Life, and Historic Cookery. 

Roy Nakayama (1923–1988), famed chile and pecan breeder, contributed to huge economic impacts for New Mexico. Born and raised in the Mesilla Valley, he conducted research at NMSU for 32 years and developed important varieties of chile and pecans. Yet, as a returning military veteran, he was nearly denied the opportunity to complete his degree, due to anti-Japanese sentiment after World War II.

Jessie Fitzgerald (1930–2013), America’s first female County Agricultural Extension Agent, was a skilled agriculturalist and 4-H leader with a dream to serve New Mexico communities. She never stopped reaching for that dream, even when others said it was impossible.

Rose Marie Valdes Pangborn (1932–1990), who developed a rigorous research program to understand how our senses shape our experience of food, was a pioneering scientist, brilliant innovator, and beloved supervisor of graduate students. She is considered a founder of the discipline of sensory science. 

Anthony “Tony” Bellotti (1937–2013), agricultural entomologist, helped prevent famine in tropical regions of the world, working tirelessly to develop inexpensive, biological control methods for pests of cassava to help protect people from food shortages.

See more about the ACES heroes here: https://aces-heroes.nmsu.edu/ 

For more information, contact Amy Smith Muise, smiamy@nmsu.edu, Instructional Designer, Innovative Media, Research and Extension.