More members of the embattled board of regents at Western New Mexico University have resigned.
Confirmation of the departures came Tuesday during roll call at a meeting to address the resignation of the university's president after accusations of wasteful spending and lax financial oversight.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in a year-end letter to the regents had asked for their immediate resignations.
Only the student regent and university President Joseph Shepard were present for Tuesday’s meeting, leaving too few board members to conduct business.
The chairwoman of the five-member board resigned last week along with one other regent. The other two turned in their papers Tuesday.
Lujan Grisham on Tuesday called the board “tone-deaf” for approving a lucrative severance package for Shepard, suggesting that the dollar amount could have addressed food insecurity across the entire student body for a full year.
The board shakeup followed the announcement of Shepard’s resignation and a state auditor investigation that found more than $363,000 in wasteful spending and improper use of public funds.
The case also compelled New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez to take action.
On Monday, Torrez filed an emergency motion in state district court seeking to put on hold a $1.9 million severance payout from Western New Mexico University to its-soon-to-be former president.
The payment, set to be issued by January 15, has sparked controversy, with the Attorney General’s Office calling it a misuse of taxpayer money.
According to the motion, the university’s Board of Regents approved the payout without sufficient justification, violating their duty to responsibly manage public funds.
In an press release , Torrez’s office says the amount is more than triple what Shepard would have been entitled to under his existing contract if he were terminated.
The motion also highlights concerns over a lack of transparency in how the deal was negotiated, particularly as a state audit had already uncovered questionable spending practices at the university between 2018 and 2023.
Attorney General Torrez argues the payment fails to serve the interests of students and taxpayers.
The governor’s statement included an endorsement of the legal actions being taken by attorney general Torrez.
Lujan Grisham said she would work with the state legislature to reform how severance packages are structured at state institutions.
The AG’s emergency motion to block the severance package now heads to the state’s sixth judicial court for consideration.
