New Mexico lawmakers ask questions about spending by university president and his wife

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Western New Mexico University President Joseph Shepard was peppered with questions about spending on overseas trips and his wife’s use of a university credit card during a hearing Wednesday before a group of powerful lawmakers. The Legislative Finance Committee — the state’s lead budget-writing panel — was hearing presentations from higher education officials on budget priorities when the focus shifted to Shepard and recent reports detailing tens of thousands of dollars in spending on international travel and high-end furniture. State Sen. Siah Correa Hemphill, a Democrat who represents the district that includes the university, brought up the allegations of lavish spending at Western New Mexico. Shepard reiterated that the travel was meant to build relationships that would net more international students for Western New Mexico University and that trying to quantify that would be an impossible task.