University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso

The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas, United States. The school was founded in 1914 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy, and a practice mineshaft survives on the mountainous desert campus. UTEP is part of the University of Texas System. The campus features a collection of buildings in the Dzong architectural style. It is on hillsides overlooking the Rio Grande, with Ciudad Juárez in view across the Mexico-United States border.

The campus expanded in 1976 with the completion of the Engineering-Science Complex. The same year, the College of Nursing was founded. In 1977, the Special Events Center (now the Don Haskins Center) was built, featuring a 12,000-seat capacity for sporting events, live concerts, and other performances.

An expansion of Sun Bowl Stadium followed in 1982, increasing its capacity to 52,000. The six-story University Library opened its doors to the public for the first time in 1984. Mining Minds is an iconic piece of public art installed in 2010 to enhance The University campus. At night, blue and orange lights illuminate the steel structure while LEDs emanate from the perforated ones and zeroes at each end of the pick.