Four professors and a graduate student at New Mexico State University say they found threatening, racist letters in their offices when they came to the campus on Monday. New Mexico Public Radio reported that two junior faculty members who had recently been denied tenure were among those who told the police they had received the offensive letters.

Those professors — John Moraros and Yelena Bird — have said they believe they were denied tenure in the university’s department of health science because they are members of ethnic minority groups. The two are married: Mr. Moraros is Greek and Mexican, and Ms. Bird, a native of England, is black.

According to the public-radio broadcast, the letters used several profanities, including the “n” word, and said: “Get out of Las Cruces and NMSU ASAP or else.” The graduate student who reported receiving one of the letters works for Mr. Moraros. The university’s police department is investigating.

The letters are just the latest in a series of incidents at the university surrounding the tenure denials. Last month Mr. Moraros accused Larry K. Olsen, who was an associate dean in the College of Health and Social Services, of e-mailing Mr. Moraros more than 100 pornographic images. Mr. Moraros said he had been denied tenure after he complained about the porn. Mr. Olsen later admitted to sending pornography and apologized.

When The Chronicle posted a blog item about the apology, it received dozens of comments, including some from anonymous administrators and staff members at New Mexico State who said that the university administration was corrupt and that the tenure denials and the porn were just a few indicators of major problems in how the university is run. —Robin Wilson