The NMSU President is the university’s chief executive officer and responsible for oversight of the entire NMSU System.
President Valerio Ferme, Ph.D.
Valerio Ferme became New Mexico State University’s 32nd president in January 2025. As president, he leads the state’s comprehensive research, land-grant university, through its mission of excelling in student education, research and innovation, and public service.
An avid reader and polymath with degrees in biology, religious studies, and comparative literature, President Ferme has had a successful academic career as a researcher, publishing three monographs, three edited volumes, two book-length translations, a book of poetry, and over 80 other publications. At the same time, his commitment to students led him to receive the top-faculty awarded teaching recognition at the University of Colorado, while supporting the careers of students who have earned PhDs in fields as different as Biochemistry, Italian Studies, Forestry, and Medical Sciences. These days, he can often be spotted strolling our Las Cruces campus during lunchtime fully engrossed in a book or chatting with students about their future plans.
His experience in team-based sports and partnerships – along with his time raising children and grandchildren with husband Giorgio Corda – have helped shape his collaborative approach to leadership, which he hopes will continue to become a mark of his presidency. In the current year he is excited to lead a review of a new strategic opportunities for the university; and just as excited to be co-teaching a seminar on Leadership for students in the Honors College.