WNMU Faculty Senate to consider no confidence vote against board

The Western New Mexico University Faculty Senate will meet later this week to consider a vote of no confidence against the university’s governing board, which approved a severance contract for President Joe Shepard. He announced more than a week ago he would step down early next year amid a string of ethics investigations.

The senate’s meeting on Jan. 2 is scheduled to ahead of a WNMU Board of Regents meeting on Jan. 7 to address public concerns surrounding the contract. The provisions award Shepard $1.9 million and a full professorship in the business school while making $200,000 a year after he steps down on Jan. 15. He will also hold a president emeritus title.

The whirlwind developments on the Silver City campus cap a week that began with New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez announcing an inquiry into the conduct of the university’s board and what he described as the “golden parachute” it gave Shepard. Now, it seems a growing chorus within the campus community are voicing the AG’s concerns and the regents are having to deal with the fallout.

On Sunday, Board Chair Mary Hotvedt issued a letter to the campus community stating that in response to their questions and concerns about Shepard’s resignation and the separation agreement, the board will meet to provide an “explanation of our actions and the factors we considered when accepting President Shepard’s resignation.”

“We will do so in a way that does not violate confidential personnel matters and will answer many concerns,” Hotvedt wrote.

The board will also use the meeting to address the interim appointment and the process for selecting a new president, she wrote. Previously, Hotvedt announced that Jack Crocker, WNMU provost and vice president of academic affairs, was expected to become interim president once Shepard steps down, though she did not mention him in Sunday’s letter.

WNMU spokesman Mario Sanchez said in a prepared statement Friday that the university did not consult the business school about the contract “due to personnel and legal considerations.” Sanchez said the university respects faculty members’ right to free speech and is “committed to shared governance.”

Faculty Senate President Phillip Schoenberg said in a letter to faculty on Friday he felt the governing body should meet before Shepard’s new contract kicks in.

Schoenburg also cited letter to the Faculty Senate from Jorge Romero-Habeych, assistant professor of economics in the School of Business, as a factor in his decision to hold a meeting. Romero-Habeych, who represents the business school in the Faculty Senate, stated in his letter that his colleagues are concerned about the circumstances surrounding the board’s approval of Shepard’s contract.. Romero-Habeych urged the faculty senate to “take immediate and transparent steps to review” the board’s decision and said the university “cannot in good faith” search for a new president until that review is complete.

Schoenberg told faculty members, “whether we agree with (the School of Business) or not, it seems to me that the senate should address their concerns and seriously consider their suggestion for a vote of no confidence of our colleagues.”

It was the second letter from Schoenberg, associate professor of philosophy and English, who wrote on Dec. 23 that faculty concerns about Shepard’s severance contract were “legitimate” and that “decisive action” in the faculty senate is needed “after more of the relevant details are available.”

Schoenberg also voiced his support for probes from the state attorney general and ethics commission, which are investigating Shepard’s and the board’s alleged wasteful spending. Shepard and the board, in a statement through Hotvedt, have denied wrongdoing, have made university policy reforms and say they are being treated unfairly in the court of public opinion.

In November, State Auditor Joe Maestas concluded that Shepard, his wife, ex-CIA Agent Valerie Plame, and board members spent more than $360,000 from 2018-23 on trips and furniture for the president’s residence. Maestas’s findings were sent to the ethics commission. The state Higher Education Department and the university are conducting their own audits, which are expected to be complete sometime next year.