The NM State auditor recently released a detailed report on the misuse of several hundred thousand dollars by Dr Joseph Shepard and members of the WNMU Board of Regents. These funds were used for personal travel and extravagant home furnishings, as well as for travel by Dr Shepard's wife, Valerie Plame. It details the complete failure of the Board of Regents to provide any meaningful oversight and guidance of Dr Shepard to prevent such misuse of taxpayer money.

In a reply to that report, the Chairperson of the WNMU Board, Dr Mary Hotvedt, has attempted to downplay and white-wash the report. That is understandable, since Dr Hotvedt has actually been on some of these illicit trips with the Shepards and has received taxpayer reimbursement for some of her expenditures. In her reply, she wrote that changes have been made to prevent future misuse of taxpayer funds, yet not four months ago this same Board approved a new policy that entitles Dr Shepard's wife to be reimbursed with taxpayer money when traveling with her husband. Dr Hotvedt's level of corruption clearly knows no limit.
Honestly, Joe Shepard has done a number of good things for the University and for this community. The real problem is that he has managed to corrupt enough members of his Regents such that they are no longer able to provide oversight and limitations on his major character flaw, a love of spending public money for his own personal gain.

These current Board members are incapable of doing their jobs. They were appointed by the Governor, and they need to be replaced by the Governor. I urge everyone who cares about this problem to Email the Governor and ask her to remove most or all of the current members of the WNMU Board of Trustees, and to appoint new honest citizens of this State to the Board. It is past time to drain the swamp that Dr Hotvedt and her allies have created at our University.

Mark S. Donnell, M.D.
Silver City, NM