OPINION: Unaccountable college regents an open invitation for abuse

The scandal at Western New Mexico University is the story of a board of regents and its relationship with what appears to be a president with an insatiable appetite for foreign travel, lavish floral arrangements and expensive furniture.

Some board members went on unusually expensive trips abroad with university President Joe Shepard, generating a conflict of interest between the board and Shepard that may have colored subsequent actions.

The story at the time of writing is still unfolding, as Attorney General Raúl Torrez questions what he calls an “unconscionable” severance package for Shepard, far beyond what is required in his contract.

What is the role of a regent? When I became secretary of New Mexico Higher Education Department in 2011, one of my first actions was to organize a conference of members of the boards of regents. We held it at the legendary Santa Fe Institute. Regents saw Sam Shepard, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer-movie star of “The Right Stuff,” walking around the premises that day.

As the conference opened, we handed the two dozen or so board members present blank cards. We asked them to jot down major responsibilities for board members stipulated in the New Mexico Constitution. When we checked, not one board member had it right.

The Constitution, Article 12, section 13, stipulates: “The legislature shall provide for the control and management of each of the institutions … by a board of regents for each institution …” The word “control” suggests fiscal responsibility, and “management” suggests policy and operational oversight. A few members got the financial part right, and fewer mentioned management oversight, but none included both.

Some members insisted they could not get involved in day-to-day operations. Others emphasized a supportive role to the president. Still others believed their only duties were to hire and fire the president, as is largely the case with New Mexico public school boards. We discussed all of this, providing examples of what regents might appropriately be concerned with.

At the end of the day, one prominent member of a major institution pointedly said to all, “I just think of my job as being a cheerleader for the president. I’m not an expert.” This remark, after a day of telling her otherwise, and what seemed like indifference from other board members, suggested there was a systemic problem of accountability in N.M. higher education.

It seems relevant, in the case of Western New Mexico University, that while the president and regents were jet-setting around the world, WNMU, after 13 years under Joe Shepard, was tied for last place among 115 “Regional Universities West” by U.S. News & World Report in 2024. There are consequences to students when regents don’t control and manage their institutions, as Attorney General Torrez has pointed out.

While some regents I encountered were outstanding exemplars of what a regent should be, I viewed many others as followers, not leaders.

There are no qualifications for the job, and there are no required training programs for regents. The New Mexico Supreme Court has all but eliminated their possible removal from office by the governor, so they face virtually no accountability in their official actions. (The governor instead asked all five regions to immediately resign.) Campaign contributors sometimes covet these appointments for the prestige value they confer. And regents certainly understand they will be well wined-and-dined by the one person who is normally accountable only to them: The president of the institution.

This is an open invitation for abuse.

Many states create a statewide board of regents for major universities, another for four-year colleges and another for two-year colleges. Serious qualifications are required for members, and legislatures and governors check up on progress toward statewide goals. Cabinet officials are given clear authority to act when failures within institutions occur. Alternative reforms are available as well.

A system for higher education is needed, not a patchwork of sovereign institutions unaccountable to the state.

Dr. Jose Z. Garcia taught political science at New Mexico State University for over three decades and was secretary of the New Mexico Higher Education Department from 2011-14 during the administration of Gov. Susana Martinez. He is retired and lives in Las Cruces.