Governor seeks resignation of Western New Mexico University regents after spending revelations

SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has asked for the immediate resignation of regents at Western New Mexico State University after revelations of wasteful spending and failures in financial oversight, according to documents released Thursday.

In a year-end letter to the five-member board of regents, Lujan Grisham said new leadership is needed in the ''spirit of a clean slate'' to ensure the Silver City-based university can regain its ''equilibrium and once again serve its students first and foremost.'' The board's chairwoman resigned Tuesday.

The turmoil follows the announced resignation of Joseph Shepard as university president after an investigation by the state auditor's office found top school officials and regents failed to uphold their fiduciary responsibilities.

Lawmakers started raising questions in 2023 about Shepard's spending on international travel and high-end furniture, along with wife Valerie Plame's use of a university credit card. Plame is a former CIA operations officer who ran unsuccessfully for New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District in the 2020 Democratic primary.

Regents backed an arrangement for Shepard's resignation as president that guarantees him a new faculty job, a six-figure annual salary and a one-time payment of $1.9 million.

The package is under scrutiny by the State Ethics Commission, and state Attorney General Raúl Torrez announced an inquiry into whether the regents satisfied their fiduciary duty. Shepard and board members have defended their conduct.

Faculty at the university backed a no-confidence vote against the board of regents Thursday, also urging state officials to intervene and rescind Shepard's arrangement.

''It is merely a potentially powerful way for the faculty to send a strong public expression of their lack of confidence in their leaders and to make this known publicly,'' professor and faculty senate president Phillip Schoenberg said.

Schoenberg expressed gratitude for the governor's efforts to replace the regents, citing a need for ''responsive and decisive leadership.'' The four remaining regents are expected to resign before Friday, he said.

University administrators did not respond to phone and email inquires about further possible resignations.

Shepard was appointed president in 2011 following a 16-year career at Florida Gulf State University that included several administrative roles.

Western New Mexico State's history dates to the 1890s, before statehood, though its name has changed multiple times over the years.