By Nicole Maxwell
The New Mexico Department of Justice’s legal actions against Western New Mexico University expanded following the university’s alleged refusal to provide documents to the department.
The New Mexico Department of Justice on Thursday modified its temporary restraining order filed against WNMU to prevent WNMU outgoing President Joseph Shepard from spending the nearly $2 million severance package dispersed to him on Jan. 2.
“I can tell you personally, the the level of greed and self dealing and arrogance that has been exhibited throughout this process, and frankly, throughout the last year and a half, is only been amplified by the actions and mismanagement of the board of the Board of Regents at Western New Mexico and the actions of Dr Sheppard,” New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said during as press conference Thursday. “We do not yet know who is responsible for ordering or directing the financial staff at Western New Mexico to go forward with processing the payment, but I can assure you that we will take every available measure to get to the bottom of how that decision was made, who made the decision, and how that process unfolded.”
At the most recent WNMU Board of Regents meeting, Shepard and the board’s former student regent were the only board members in attendance. The student regent was not re-appointed to his position but appeared to be present to work as the board’s secretary/treasurer.
A role which Shepard praised at the time, stating that, “we would not be able to make payroll, we would not be able to conduct the financial pieces of the university.”
Torrez did not say whether or not the student regent would be charged with anything at this time as the Torrez’s office is still investigating the severance package disbursement process.
“We don’t yet know enough about the process, but I can guarantee you we’re going to find out, and we will probably start with the regent who’s empowered to weigh in on those decisions,” Torrez said.
The state Department of Justice also filed a civil complaint against WNMU’s Board of Regents alleging violations including breach of fiduciary duties, violating the Open Meetings Act, Anti-Donation Clause violations and violating the state constitution, Torrez said.
A hearing is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 13 at Grant County District Courthouse with 6th Judicial District Judge Jaron Hofacket presiding.
The issues arising from the WNMU investigation led the New Mexico Department of Justice to announce it was proposing a legislative package for the upcoming session to revamp the way public university regents are chosen.
“At the end of the day, this is about safeguarding the money of the people of the state of New Mexico, and this is about ensuring that no one is above the law,” New Mexico Speaker of the House Javier Martinez said at the press conference. “In the upcoming legislative session, we will tackle the underlying issues, which are these political appointments to the governance boards of our public institutions of higher education. That is not okay. Political appointments should not be in charge of institutions that manage hundreds of millions of dollars every year and whose sole existence is to… educate our people, uplift families out of poverty, because, as we always say, education is a great equalizer.”
As of Jan. 9, nothing has been pre-filed. Legislators have until Jan. 17 to pre-file legislation.
The total arrogance and greed shown here are unimaginable. I hope he not only does not receive the payout, but that charges are filed against him and the BOD that even considered this heinous act. Unbelievable.