What’s New
The fallout over an investigation into inappropriate spending by leaders at Western New Mexico University escalated this week as the institution’s Board of Regents faced pressure from the Faculty Senate and the state’s governor to resign. As of Friday morning, two of the five members have done so.
The Details
In a letter dated December 31, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat of New Mexico, asked the regents to resign, citing the need for “a clean slate.” And on Thursday, the university’s Faculty Senate unanimously voted no confidence in the board.
The governance upheaval is the latest chapter in a spending controversy that has rocked the university over the last year. Last month, the university’s president, Joseph Shepard, said he would resign after the state auditor concluded that he took “extravagant” international trips, stayed in lavish hotels, and purchased high-end furniture for the presidential residence, all on the university’s dime. In December 2023, the investigative news outlet Searchlight New Mexico first reported details about the improper expenses, which also included alleged spending by Valerie Plame, Shepard’s wife and a former CIA officer whose cover was publicly blown by Bush administration officials in the so-called “Plame affair” over two decades ago. (Shepard defended the spending to news outlet and disputed the auditor’s findings last month, saying in part that he had gotten proper approvals for the expenses and that he was not being afforded due process.)
The state’s attorney general is now investigating a severance agreement between the regents and Shepard that includes a $1.9-million payment and a tenured faculty position in the School of Business. The Faculty Senate unanimously voted to support the governor’s call for resignations and ask state officials to use any legal authority to rescind Shepard’s offer.
“This agreement is shocking considering all the accusations that have plagued the Board of Regents and the president in the last few years,” Jorge Romero-Habeych, an assistant professor of economics who represents the School of Business on the Faculty Senate, told The Chronicle. Romero-Habeych raised concerns that the deal was announced during winter break and that faculty in the School of Business were not consulted about hiring Shepard.
The university provided The Chronicle with a statement from the board chair, Mary Hotvedt, who resigned Thursday: “This symbolic vote underscores the university’s commitment to upholding the integrity, transparency, and collaborative decision-making processes essential to the institution’s continued success.”
If the deal is taken off the table, as the Faculty Senate hopes, then, Romero-Habeych said, it will be great for New Mexico taxpayers. He pointed out that Shepard’s excessive spending and lucrative new contract starkly contrasts with the state’s financial struggles. New Mexico has one of the highest poverty rates in the United States, and the median household income in the university’s home city is about $39,000.
“What we hope is coming here is a new renewal, like a regaining of trust and transparency by our students, the community, and other people in New Mexico because this has implications for the entire state,” he said.
What to Watch For
The faculty assembly, a larger voting body that includes all full-time faculty, will also take up a vote of no confidence in the board on January 9. The no-confidence votes are symbolic, and only the governor can force regents to resign. Shepard is set to receive his severance payment on January 15, the day his resignation is effective.
