SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has asked for the immediate resignation of regents at Western New Mexico State University after revelations of wasteful spending and failures in financial oversight, according to documents released Thursday.
In a year-end letter to the five-member board of regents, Lujan Grisham said new leadership is needed in the “spirit of a clean slate” to ensure the Silver City-based university can regain its “equilibrium and once again serve its students first and foremost.” The board’s chairwoman resigned Tuesday.
The turmoil follows the announced resignation of Joseph Shepard as university president after an investigation by the state auditor’s office found top school officials and regents failed to uphold their fiduciary responsibilities.
Lawmakers started raising questions in 2023 about Shepard’s spending on international travel and high-end furniture, along with wife Valerie Plame’s use of a university credit card. Plame is a former CIA operations officer who ran unsuccessfully for New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District in the 2020 Democratic primary.