WNMU regents depart in wake of spending scandal

This story was updated at 2:58 p.m.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham accepted the resignations of the remaining regents of Western New Mexico University on Tuesday and said she was reviewing candidates for a new board governing the Silver City-based university. 

The resignations followed a series of controversies stoked by a November review of spending at the university by New Mexico State Auditor Joseph Maestas.

The Office of the State Auditor reviewed expenditures including procurement and travel expenses from 2018 to 2023, reporting in November that the review uncovered “wasteful spending and improper use of university funds” indicating that the board of regents and university management had failed to comply with university policies and procedures. The review specifically found misuse of purchasing cards and expense accounts, as well as improper travel and lodging expenses, by university president Joseph Shepard, his spouse and regents. Among the findings was a purchasing card issued to Shepard’s spouse, Valerie Plame, although she was not a university employee.

Shepard, who has led the university since 2011, announced his resignation in December, with an effective date of Jan. 15. Yet a new controversy arose after the board of regents unanimously approved a $1.9 million severance payment for Shepard, plus a five-year faculty appointment at a $200,000 annual salary.

Lawmakers had expressed concerns about the university's leadership since 2023, when Searchlight New Mexico first published a report about spending by Shepard and trustees. 

On Dec. 31, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham called for the entire board of regents to resign, which would permit her to appoint a new board for the public university. Regents Lyndon Haviland, Dal Moellenberg and Dan Lopez all resigned, while regents Mary Hotvedt and Trent Jones (a student representative) concluded their terms on Dec. 31. 

In a scathing statement issued Tuesday afternoon, the governor wrote, "The WNMU Board's tone-deaf decision to approve a $1.9 million severance package for Dr. Shepard demonstrated an appalling disconnect from the needs of our state, where the median income of a family of four is just $61,000. The amount of money contained in Dr. Shepard’s separation agreement could have addressed food insecurity across the entire WNMU student body for a full year. "

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed an emergency motion on Jan. 6 asking a court to halt payment of Shepard’s severance, “to prevent a gross misuse of funds appropriated to support the education of Western’s student population,” the office stated in a news release.