James F. Cole Memorial Award for Service

Randy Farmer, Class of 1977

For the past three decades, Randy Farmer has been involved with NMSU as one of its most loyal and committed supporters. Randy’s activities are not motivated by the opportunity for financial reward, but rather to build relationships and to serve his family, alma mater and community. 

Randy came to NMSU from Los Alamos and has a BS in Agriculture and Horticulture and an Honorary Master’s degree in Agriculture. His ongoing contributions to the plant and environmental sciences department aid with student travel, internships and instructional programs. Recently, Randy and his wife Cindy were named Outstanding PES Alumni in the College of ACES, and he was also awarded Citizen of the Year from the Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce in 2002. 

The “Greenhouse” in Las Cruces is Randy’s successful landscaping business that involved building playgrounds for schools, swimming pools, and donating over $50,000 worth of plants to the City of Las Cruces. Randy is always willing to hire NMSU students, both before and after they graduate. As a former horticulture student commented, “The list of former employees of The Greenhouse reads like a Who’s Who of New Mexico horticulture.”

Randy is now a partner with Genesis Builders, Inc. helping businesses reshape and grow. Randy is also very involved in his church where he serves on leadership boards and funds youth programs.  

A member of the Sam Steel Society, Randy has made major contributions to The NMSU Landscape Garden and served as the driving force for the Landscape Technician Program at DACC. He organized fellow alumni to help endow the Dr. and Mrs. Cotter Scholarship, the Bernard Corley Memorial Scholarship, and encouraged his father-in-law (Dr. Emroy Shannon) to endow the Shannon Family Internship Scholarship. Since 2017 Randy and Cindy have provided matching money each year for Giving Tuesday to match 5 scholarship donations, and as a direct result, many scholarships have hit the mark. Randy and Cindy also have an endowed scholarship that aids 5-6 students in PES each year. Most recently, the couple donated 12 Cedars of Lebanon trees to NMSU to honor the story tellers of the Las Cruces area.  

Randy and his wife Cindy have two daughters, Laura and Lisa, all of which are also graduates of NMSU. Randy and Cindy’s love story started at a flower judging competition during their undergraduate studies.