WNMU names Jose Coll as next president

SILVER CITY — Western New Mexico University has plucked its 16th president from Oregon’s Willamette Valley.

On Tuesday, the board of regents approved a three-year contract appointing Jose Coll, provost and vice president of academic affairs at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, as WNMU’s chief executive.

“If you were here and you watched the four candidates on campus, you know the quality was there: It was a tough decision,” Regent J. Dean Reed told the crowd that assembled at Miller Library on the Silver City campus to watch the regents meet in a mixed in-person and video conference format.

Reed said the consulting firm working with WNMU’s selection committee received approximately 588 forms based on town hall meetings with the finalists over the past month.

Four of the five finalists announced in February participated in town hall meetings with the community. One candidate, Cameron Braxton Wesson of La Salle University in Pennsylvania, withdrew from consideration.

Upon his official start date on July 1, Coll will succeed Joseph Shepard, who held the job from 2011 through 2024. Shepard’s departure was at the center of a rocky chapter in the university’s 133-year history, including multiple state probes into spending by Shepard and previous regents, the departure of the entire governing board in the aftermath of a controversial $1.9 million severance package for Shepard and several lawsuits that linger in state court.

For the past year, Chris Maples has served as WNMU’s interim president and was not a candidate for the permanent position.

Coll’s appointment was greeted with warm applause in the library as Coll himself appeared on a screen over the regents’ heads.

“As I transition into this role, my absolute first priority will be to listen, to learn and to collaborate with you all as we build upon the rich history of this remarkable institution,” the president-designate said in a brief address to the meeting. In the months leading up to July, he said he planned repeat visits to campus.

Jose E. Coll was born in Havana, Cuba. According to his bio from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, he immigrated to the United States in 1980 as part of the exodus known as the Mariel boatlift, when over 125,000 Cubans crossed to Florida on crowded boats.

Coll is a professor of social work and social sciences who founded the San Diego Academic Center at the University of Southern California in 2008. He was also the founding director of the office of veteran student services at Saint Leo University in Florida prior to administrative leadership roles at Texas State University and Portland (Oregon) State University before moving on to Monmouth in 2023. He holds a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from the University of Florida.

Coll’s contract terms include a base annual salary of $310,000, with a clause allowing an automatic two-year renewal based on performance targets for his first year. The contract also provides for tiered retention incentives, beginning at $25,000 in the first year and gradually increasing to $35,000, based on performance evaluations. 

He will be appointed as a full professor with tenure and be eligible to remain on faculty if he leaves his job as president, provided he is not terminated for cause, the contract states. 

Coll will also reside at the university president’s residence on campus and be paid up to $25,000 for moving expenses. He will also receive a private vehicle use allowance rather than a university-owned vehicle. 

Algernon D’Ammassa is the Journal’s southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.