The Associated Press reports that Western New Mexico University's president, Joseph Shepard, who has faced scrutiny over his spending on overseas trips and his wife's use of a university credit card, resigned Friday as part of a deal that guarantees him a new job and $1.9 million.
Shepard's resignation comes after an investigation by the New Mexico state auditor’s office found top university officials and regents had failed to uphold their fiduciary responsibilities. The audit made public last month cited more than $363,000 in spending that didn’t comply with university rules.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that Shepard's last day will be Jan. 15. He will get a one-time payment of $1.9 million. Shepard also secured a teaching job for five years at the university's business school. The position pays at least $200,000 annually. The university's board of regents approved the deal in a 5-0 vote.
At the meeting, Shepard said the accusations against him were lies, according to the newspaper. State lawmakers started raising questions last year about Shepard's spending on international travel and high-end furniture. Despite the scrutiny, regents threw their support behind Shepard. University officials said in a statement at the time that WNMU takes its fiduciary responsibility seriously.
In a statement, New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez said while his office awaits any findings from the state's Ethics Commission which launched an investigation into questions surrounding the university's spending, his office will conduct a separate inquiry that will examine whether WNMU’s board of regents “satisfied its fiduciary duty to the university and the taxpayers of New Mexico.”
This story was updated on 12/23/24 to include additional reporting from the Associated Press and the Santa Fe New Mexican.