WNMU regents intend to resign following governor's letter

All five members of the Western New Mexico University Board of Regents intend to resign following pressure from the governor amid the recent approval of a multimillion-dollar severance package for university President Joe Shepard, who is stepping down Jan. 15 under a cloud of ethics investigations.

Faculty Senate President Phil Schoenberg said during a Faculty Senate meeting Thursday that he spoke to Board Chair Mary Hotvedt, who told him the board intended to follow Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s direction and step down, which the university later confirmed. The board consists of Hotvedt; former Cabinet secretary Daniel H. Lopez; private attorney Dal Moellenberg; WNMU student Trent Jones; and nonprofit executive Lyndon Haviland, who already announced her resignation.

Schoenberg’s remarks came ahead of the Faculty Senate’s unanimous vote of no confidence in the board, which on Dec. 20 unanimously approved stripping Shepard of his contract and replacing it with a new one that entitles him to a $1.9 million payout and a full professorship to the School of Business making $200,000 per year. The board’s decision quickly drew criticism from faculty members, including Assistant Professor Jorge Romero-Habeych, who said the business school was not consulted in the drafting of the agreement.

The agreement came after Shepard agreed to step down as president, a post he had held since 2011. He had intended to serve until 2027. Shepard, his wife, ex-CIA Agent Valerie Plame, and members of the board had faced questions over the last year for allegedly spending over $360,000 on lavish foreign business trips and furniture for the president’s residence between 2018 and 2023. Shepard and the board have denied the allegations.

Following State Auditor Joe Maestas’ findings in November, the allegations faced inquiry from numerous state entities, including the Ethics Commission, the Higher Education Department and most recently the attorney general, Raúl Torrez, who accused the board of approving a “golden parachute” for Shepard. The university is also conducting its own audit into the allegations.

Lujan Grisham on Tuesday asked for the immediate resignation of all of WNMU’s regents “to help ensure that Western New Mexico University will be able to regain its equilibrium and once again serve its students first and foremost.”

On Thursday, Hotvedt issued a two-sentence letter to Lujan Grisham stating her intent to resign that day, adding that she knew her term was complete Jan. 1, and she was only serving until replaced. Hotvedt, who last month said she was staying in her position throughout a presidential search and said the board and Shepard were being treated unfairly in the court of public opinion, did not mention the wasteful spending allegations. Hotvedt was the second known board member to resign; Haviland was the first.

Schoenberg responded to the developments in his own letter to colleagues prior to the Faculty Senate meeting, stating he was “grateful” for the governor’s request and that the university owes “a debt of gratitude” to Haviland, who did not respond to the Journal’s multiple requests for comment Thursday.

During Thursday’s Faculty Senate meeting, faculty approved a vote of no confidence in the board and demanded they all resign or be forced to by lawmakers, who approve the governor’s nominations of members of all the state’s higher education governing boards. The Faculty Senate’s declaration also demanded lawmakers do anything they can to prevent the separation agreement from going into effect.

During discussion about Shepard’s contract prior to the vote, faculty senators said that the board’s granting of tenure to the president without consulting the appropriate academic department was a violation of faculty policies. Romero-Habeych raised questions over the ethics of the contract and whether it would hurt the university financially.

Schoenberg said the no confidence vote was not motivated by personal attacks and each faculty senator voted representing their department, not themselves.

Following the vote, Schoenberg said the vote “was not motivated by any desire to make a personal attack, or to shame, or to humiliate the regents.”

“We now look to the governor and our other elected officials with the hope that something can be done before Jan. 15, when the president’s severance agreement becomes effective,” he said.

Hotvedt issued a statement saying, “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.”

Romero-Habeych told the Journal following the meeting that the Staff Senate intends to consider a no confidence vote in the board. A staff representative could not be reached Thursday and a Friday meeting notice was not listed on the Staff Senate’s website.

The Faculty General Assembly, which has the power to enforce — or reverse — the senate’s actions, will meet Jan. 16 to consider a no confidence vote in the board.

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to state that Jan. 16 is the correct date of the upcoming Faculty General Assembly meeting. Faculty Senate President Phil Scoenberg's letter listed an incorrect date.