By Lynn Janes

On December 12, 2024, the WNMU Board of Regents  held a special meeting in the Serna conference room at Western New Mexico University. All regents had been in attendance either in person or online which included board president Mary Hotvedt PhD, Danel Lopez PhD, Dal Moellenberg, Lyndon Haviland PhD and Trent Jones. Dr. Joseph Shepard, president of WNMU, had also attended.

The board had a number of people in attendance for public input so the agenda would be amended to move public comment to the beginning of the meeting. Many had come for public comment for support and non-support of the university and Shepard.

Jay Hemphill, a former employee and husband of Senator Siah Correa-Hemphill spoke first. He said he came to speak to Shepards unprofessional and reckless behavior. He referenced the first story that came out in the Searchlight, an online publication in New Mexico. He further said Shepard and the regents had misspent hundreds of thousands of dollars. Hemphill continued his admonishment of Shepard and listed a number of expenditures that Shepard has denied.

Josh White said the board had failed to uphold their fiduciary responsibilities by neglecting to adhere to established university policies and procedures. Kendra Milligan and graduate of WNMU said she was shocked at the misappropriation of funds. She spoke to the enrollment before Shepard being 3,360 and after his many trips, $50,000 bonuses the enrollment had only increased to 3,536.

Dr. Mark Donnell said he was not there to criticize Shepard. He had done a lot of good things for the university. He cited his flaws being acquiring tax money to benefit himself. What he had really come to speak of had been Dr. Magdaleno Manzanarez, a recent member of the WNMU administration. He is vice president of external affairs. He had taken a vacation to Rome, Italy and accepted $3.300 of taxpayer money to help pay for his trip. The reason given for the trip had been to attend the 22nd International Conference on New Direction in the Humanities and present a research paper. He told the regents if they had been doing their job and performed due diligence, they would have discovered the sponsoring organization has been a loosely knit group of mostly academic folk who like to travel to interesting destinations every summer so they can hold conferences to justify the vacations.

Donnell continued that anyone could become a member by paying a fee. Manzanares had not been a speaker or mentioned in the pre-conference advertising. The contribution Manzanarez made had been he had two out-of-state associates joined together to make a 20-minute presentation to a subgroup of the conference entitled Afro-Mexican, Forgotten People. Clearly there had not been any benefit to WNMU. He added the state auditor would be examining the travel of Manzanares. "As the board of regents, you are supposed to be providing oversight of the university administration. If you had been doing your jobs, Shepard's career might not have been ruined as it is now." He went on to say Hotvedt should have been providing the leadership to prevent this, but she also had been receiving taxpayer reimbursement for her travels.

Jamie Thompson addressed the number of students that actually graduate and why it had been so low. He gave an example of a student that wanted to come to WNMU, but her math scores and writing had not been high enough. She took remedial classes and passed but still could not enter the nursing program. She tried for three years and just kept incurring more debt. The story went downhill from there and ended with the police and now said everyone had to deal with it. The question came back to why 70 percent never graduate.

Nancy Gordon said she had come to speak on the same thing she has spoken to before, to advocate for the preservation of the historic house at 901 12th Street. "I applied to get on this agenda but was rejected." She had sent the regents a handout that gave them some ideas to consider. The architect had recommended a full roof inspection. Gordon had made an offer to donate the money to have that done and they rejected the offer and said the house had not been a priority.

Gordon pointed out this house is a historic property. The twin house next door has been listed on the state registry as a cultural property. Several people had worked on nominating the house to be on the registry and had been submitted to the regents. "Listing it would show you value Silver City's history and its distinctive architecture and it would help obtain funding for its rehabilitation." The university had paid around $150,000 for the property in 2016.

When Gordon moved to Silver City, she and her husband had owned a brick house built in 1918 like this house had been. This house had also been a twin to the one next door. Those houses had been kept up. "I would think you would want to protect that investment by maintaining the property." The shingles have been falling off, boards coming loose and the deck needs treatment. At this point animals can enter the home. These would be things that a responsible homeowner would take care of. She feared if they continue to allow the deterioration, they will just want to demolish it. She suggested they sell it to someone that would want to care for it.

Miriam Hill spoke to the misuse of funds and went over what she felt the regents and Shepard had done wrong. She had worked as an adjunct professor and had been told the art department could not afford to make color copies for six students. It had been basic materials needed for a summer class. She felt the regents and Shepard had the opportunity to take the high road but had fallen short. She asked for them all to step down.

Anne Lowe felt all of these funds should be used for full scholarships for local people in need.

Jason Quimby, director of housing and resident life at WNMU, addressed some past concerns brought up about the graduation rate in comparison to enrollment. People had been concerned about the 34 – 37 percent graduation rate. He said although low since Shepard's coming to WNMU in 2011 they had previously seen only a 10.4 percent graduation rate. Some other issues brought up had been the trip to Zambia. "I think we forget the fact that we are an institution of higher learning. We change paradigms and that comes with a culture shift." If the culture shifts, it brings different cultures here so they can be learned from. "It is important. I have to beg the question why Zambia." He continued to ask why not Spain, Mexico or Germany. By perpetrating the perception that the university is poor has not been good and a falsehood. It contributes to the failure of the students.

Quimby said in 2015, WNMU had been among the top five universities for their math program. They ranked fourth amongst the top four master's program for social work. According the research.com the university had been the fifth most affordable online social work program. He cited a number of other high rankings for different programs.

University president's report.

Shepard turned the report over to Bartholomew Brown, director of network operations,  who wanted to congratulate all the students that would be graduating. "Not only are they reaching personal milestones, but they're also helping others achieve theirs. We are proud of their hard work." This time of year, will always be busy for many of the teams but Brown wanted to highlight a small group, the theater production team. During the holiday they work to make the university a hub for Silver City. He pointed out from commencement to a Mariachi Christmas.

Under the leadership of Michael Acosta and Jason Rowland the team had elevated the productions to a new level. He thanked the grounds crew for making the campus look festive and beautiful. The pride they have in their work has been evident.

Dr. Phil Schoenberg, Faculty Senate president, said they will be at the end of another term. It had been a busy finals week. He had brought three new handbooks with changes before the board. They had also instituted the best practices that will be in place for the administrative access to the online course delivery software called Canvas. He felt it to be a big win for the faculty. They had continued cooperative efforts with Bobbi Dodson and her team in the policy department. In a number of places, the faculty voices have been heard, and it had really improved policies at the university.

Schoenberg said they would be changing the way they vote on the faculty senate president and vice president. He will also be making the effort to raise money for the university foundation by encouraging faculty to donate through their paycheck. The foundation does really important work for supporting the students.

Brenda Dominguez, student government president, said she had done her undergraduate work at WNMU and came back to do her masters. "I have seen the support that you guys give the students. I have lived it. I have experienced it." She said they had a great semester with the student senators of which some had been first time. She had enjoyed seeing them grow into their role and understand how procedures work.

They had presented their lobbying proposal to the legislative forum and had great support. She thanked several people that helped in the process. One thing they had lobbied for had been an upgrade in the virtual desktop infrastructure. The system would allow for students to access academic tools wherever they would be and allows Deming and Gallup campus labs to connect to the main campus remotely. The quote came in lower than expected so they asked for additional security cameras and water fountains at the mustang village. The group looks forward to the trip to Santa Fe next month.

Jones thanked Dominguez for her work and the number of new names in the list of senators had been a good testament to her marketing and having students getting involved. He appreciated her concern for the virtual students in Deming and Gallup. "We are not just a Silver City campus, we're international."

Shepard said it has been very important having their voices in Santa Fe for the legislature and what has been given by the legislature to the university. He had attended a dinner at the Chamber of Commerce recently and he noticed when the staff for the chamber had been introduced, they had all been WNMU students and graduates and some international. The director of the chamber is a WNMU graduate.

The next day, Shepard pointed out, would be graduation and he had provided them with the schedule of events. "We are here to graduate students and see them succeed."

He said they had 150 additional applicants compared to last year for next semester.

He went over all of the accomplishments of the administration recently and sports teams.

Shepard asked for a moment of silence for some people that had passed since the last meeting. Senator John Arthur Smith, Representative Donna Erwin, alumnus Marshall Warren and so many other significant others.

They had a successful 20th academic symposium. The faculty had really stepped up in terms of "we're not a research institution, comprehensive university but our students engage with the faculty on the various research endeavors. Some of the presentations had been phenomenal work by the faculty and students. The mentorship means a lot."  He also referred to the Grant County Prospectors presentations.

An emeritus faculty member, Michael Metcalf, has a new sculpture near the nursing building. They will be having a dedication.

Fall commencement will have approximately 225 graduating. It will be done on Zoom as well because half of the students have been online students.

As Quimby had said earlier ,Shepard went over some to the accomplishments of the university. The school of business has been recognized as providing one of the most valuable business degrees of 2024 by research.com best college rankings. In the rankings it showed they scored higher in their exit exams than many institutions. WNMU has been scoring 70-80 percent above the exit exams of other business students.

The school of social work had once again earned the prestigious title of the nation's top online master's school program, ranked first by EduMed.org and it highlighted the programs flexibility, advanced curriculum, affordability and student- faculty ratio.

The college of education was awarded an A plus in science of teaching reading by the National Council of Teachers Control. WNMU has also ranked top in affordability for online education.

Shepard said many students could not afford to go to other countries, so they must encourage other countries to come here. "We have to be globally competitive."

In the legislative finance committee, they had expressed a strong interest in looking into electronic transmission so that New Mexico could become really competitive in the international market. International and online had been the focus for education.

New Business

Jack Crocker, provost and vice president of academic affairs, recommended Barbara Flores for staff emeritus designation. Shepard had also recommended her. All of the regents approved Barbara Flores. They went over all of the reasons they felt she should be staff emeritus.

Crocker and Shepard recommended Dr. Heather Franklin for completion and credential for tenure. She had become an integral part of the faculty but has become very active in the community. Currently she serves as the poet laureate for Grant County. All of the regents approved her tenure.

Crocker recommended Dr. Jennifer Coleman and Dr. Benjamin Klein for a sabbatical. Applications are received each year requesting sabbaticals. A faculty committee reviews these and makes recommendations. Both will be working on major projects, book-length research. To be granted the sabbatical they have to agree to come back for at least a year. Shepard also recommended. All of the regents approved the sabbaticals.

The regents all approved the post-tenure review for Professor Amanda Jost. She had successfully completed all the requirements, as recommended by the review committee. Both Shepard and Crocker made the recommendation.

The regents received a list of new programs and the five-year plan for them. Career technical education programs have been marked as the most important. The legislative finance committee has also put a great deal of importance on this. The university will also be looking at the development of the first PhD program. All of the regents approved.

Crocker commended Schoenberg for the work done on the faculty handbook changes. Schoenberg said the staff had done an excellent job. They had made three changes. The first had to do with policy procedures and aligning them with the student handbook. Some had to do with a lot of old wording. It had included a discipline committee, and they have not had one for decades. They put together a committee for teaching observations. It will bring them in line with best practices in higher education and help build a stronger rapport among colleagues. The last thing will change the procedures for post-tenure review and brings the university more in alignment with state statues. All of the regents approved the changes.

Kelley Riddle, vice president of business affairs, had a midyear budget adjustment request. She had provided them documents for review. The had an increase in revenues due to tuition, fees, law enforcement funds and grants. It also included a few other items. She went over all of them and why they had to be adjusted. All the regents approved the budget adjustments.

Riddle explained the assets disposal procedures. She wanted them to be aware and probably would be addressing it later.

Riddle went over the capital project transmittal for revised pool repairs. The regents had approved the project earlier, but a small change had been made. They would be adding to the scope of the project by replacing the heater. By having it done at the same time the university would save some money having the company do it while they will already be here. The increase will be $112,000.

The pool has not been operational for the past few months. The pool has been having the filtration system replaced and now will go ahead and replace the heater. The next step will be to drain the pool and refinish the surface. That will take several weeks. They hope it will be operational by January.

Riddle had a resolution of signature authority. This will help with the chief procurement officer signing certain contracts and will make it clearer when questioned on authority of the president, vice president of business affairs or chief procurement officer. It does allow the president to designate others within departments to sign memoranda of understanding with other universities. All the regents approved the requests from Riddle.

The regents and Shepard discussed policies that they had been looking at and they will be reviewing them for the meeting in January or later.

Public comment had been moved to the beginning of the meeting, but someone had come later that didn't know it had been moved.

Senator-elect Gabriel Ramos had attended to give public comment. He said he looked forward to working with all of them and said he supported Western New Mexico University. "It is about the young adults going to school here. It is time to move on and let Dr. Shepard and the board do their job." He appreciated that the board had moved forward and started working on the policies to take care of some of the issues.

Ramos had a letter from Representative Luis Terrazas he wanted to read. "This is a small part of the letter." He addressed it to all interested in the success of Western New Mexico University. He had graduated from WNMU and knew times had changed and it had become very competitive and needed to appeal to new students. That recruitment needs to be local, nationwide and international. Obviously, they must evaluate costs and viability like in any business. He pointed out a student that had come from Kazakhstan and made his home here and has a successful business. He had been recruited here for tennis.

Terrazas continued that the regents had heard the issues, received feedback from the audits and acted quickly and decisively to correct any problems that were found. He did feel all New Mexico universities should be evaluated on the same criteria. He wanted WNMU to be allowed to continue what they have done successfully former than 100 years, preparing and educating the youth for challenges without the negativity. He said he supported WNMU regents, Shepard, university employees and students.

Ramos said his wife had received her degree here and his daughter would be receiving her third degree the next day from WNMU.

Board closing comments.

Haviland thanked Ramos and Terrazas for their support and helping them to remember that they are here about the education of the next leaders and public servants of New Mexico. "I am proud to be associated with Western and I'm proud of the way we are fulfilling our mission." It takes a dedicated faculty, staff, leadership and students for education to be transformational. "I think the future of Western is very bright."

Lopez thanked Hotvedt for running a wonderful meeting. She had given the public an opportunity to express their views whether positive or negative. "I think this is the role of the board. We can handle whatever comes our way but will continue to focus on the students, faculty and administration." He continued that the board will simply be an oversight group.

Moellenberg agreed with Haviland and Lopez. Student achievements and accomplishments have been the best news and most important part of their work. It had been wonderful to hear about the continuing positive accreditations and rankings. He said the success happens because of the support of the president, administration and faculty and thanked them.

Jones thanked everyone on the board and said it had been an honor to serve with them the last two years. He had learned so much from them and grown as a professional and individual. He told them he would always be grateful. It had benefited him because he now works with the early childhood education department in the human resources. He will still be involving himself in state government. It all had happened because of the experience, relationships, and mentorships he had received at Western. He felt his business degree had meant a lot and he had been able to apply what he had learned realistically in the world. He will be pursuing his MBA at Western. He had appreciated the feedback from the public.

Hotvedt said this would be her last meeting and she had served six years. She said she had a lot of people to thank for helping the university. They have a wonderful board, staff and faculty. She complimented Shepard and said he has been a wonderful president. Shepard had many accomplishments leading the university and she also thanked his wife for what she had brought to the academic community with speakers and other recognitions. She praised the local media for fair and balanced reporting, especially the last year.

Hotvedt thanked the community who have spoken up for public comment for projects and concerns that they felt would make a better relationship with the town. She included the legislators that have supported and would support their budget requests.

She switched her comments to the board and the handling of the crisis and controversaries of the past several months. She referenced a New York Times article that said, "We are in a time of destruction of institutions, a time of distrust and tearing down of perceived elites, of grievance rather than building or constructive criticism and patience with change." She added, 'Facts are boring and, in this climate, but conflict and accusations are much hotter and interesting."

The regents and president had started asking for an independent audit in late summer of 2023. The board has reviewed and approved a vast number of policy updates and changes. Some had been meant to address the state auditor's concerns and also those of higher education. The state auditor noted these changes in their report, a report that found no fraud or legal concern. The administration and board have complied with all the duplicate audits to date and will continue to do the work necessary to ensure the health of the university. "Some people including some of the media outside our community will find that information boring. There is a political drum roll to not just damage the president but also the university and its entire governance structure."

Hotvedt continued that boards have been designed to be boring. They have power but have to be bound to many statues and policies. The board had taken a pummeling in the media and from some vocal critics. They had been accused of being corrupt, idoits and political hacks. "Our careful silence is taken to mean that we are unaware and complicit in something bad." She said the people on this board have been some of the most accomplished, solid human beings she had ever met. "They are ethical to a fault." Hotvedt said she had been honored to serve with them.

She didn't feel the board deserved the verbal abuse of some of the public and media. She added the governor didn't deserve rebuke for her choices in appointing them. The board deserves praise and support in building a greater, healthy and more transparent university.

The next day would be graduation and Hotvedt said it was time to celebrate their achievements.

Adjourned