Governor works to replace ‘tone-deaf’ regents at Western New Mexico University

SILVER CITY, N.M. — More members of the embattled board of regents at Western New Mexico University have resigned, a confirmation that came Tuesday during roll call at a meeting scheduled to address the departure of the university’s president amid fallout from wasteful spending and lax financial oversight. Michelle Lujan Grisham in a year-end letter to the regents had asked for their immediate resignations, saying new leadership was needed to ensure the Silver City-based university can regain its “equilibrium and once again serve its students first and foremost.” Only the student regent and university President Joseph Shepard were present for Tuesday’s meeting, leaving too few board members to conduct business. “We must ensure that generous payouts no longer reward poor performance while maintaining our ability to attract qualified leaders,” she said, noting that she planned to work with state lawmakers to change how severance packages are structured at New Mexico’s public institutions. The case also has the attention of New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, who on Monday filed an emergency motion in state district court seeking to put on hold a $1.9 million payout from Western New Mexico University to Shepard that is part of a severance package.