Zimmerman, James Fulton, 1887-1944

James Zimmerman served as President of the University of New Mexico from 1928 to 1944. When the New Mexico Coronado Cuarto Centennial Commission was established he was elected president of the Commission. Other state commissions from Arizona, Texas, Kansas, and, Oklahoma were established as well as the United States Coronado Exposition Commission to plan the commemoration of the four-hundredth anniversary of the 1540 journey and explorations of Francisco Vásquez de Coronado to the American Southwest.

James F. Zimmerman was born in Glen Allen, Missouri, on September 11, 1887. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Vanderbilt University and his PhD at Columbia. Coming to UNM as a professor of political science in 1926, he was named interim President by the Board of Regents in 1927, an appointment that they saw fit to make permanent the following year. During his tenure as president, the University saw tremendous growth in academic programs, student enrollment, and the physical campus. Among the many buildings constructed on campus during the Zimmerman years are the library that now bears his name, an athletic stadium-also named for him-that was demolished in 1970, the administration building (Scholes Hall), and the first Student Union Building (now the Anthropology Building). In 1939, he presided over the 50th anniversary of the founding of the University and in 1940, as the chair of the Coronado Cuarto Centennial Commission, he oversaw the historical pageants commemorating the four hundred year anniversary of the arrival in New Mexico of Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado. Dr. Zimmerman’s term as University President, surpassed in length only by that of President Popejoy, was cut short by his death from a heart attack on October 20, 1944.

James Zimmerman served as President of the University of New Mexico from 1928 to 1944. When the New Mexico Coronado Cuarto Centennial Commission was established he was elected president of the Commission. Other state commissions from Arizona, Texas, Kansas, and, Oklahoma were established as well as the United States Coronado Exposition Commission to plan the commemoration of the four-hundredth anniversary of the 1540 journey and explorations of Francisco Vásquez de Coronado to the American Southwest.