ALBUQUERQUE, N.M — New Mexico’s top prosecutor is suing Western New Mexico University’s regents and outgoing president to try to undo a lucrative severance package that included a nearly $2 million payout. The package was approved after a damning report showed that the school was wasting money and not keeping an eye on its finances.
Raúl Torrez, the state’s attorney general, laid out a list of accusations, such as breaches of financial duty and violations of the state’s open meetings law and constitution. He also asked who at the university rushed to give Shepard a check, pointing out that some regents had already quit because the governor was pressuring them to do so.
The office of the attorney general first asked the state district court to delay any payments to Shepard in an emergency move. They didn’t know that a check had already been sent on January 2.
At this point, the state wants Shepherd to not spend the money and wants the court to set up a trust where it can be kept until the legal fight is over.
Even though the university was asked for proof, Torrez said his office has not yet gotten any proof that would show who started the talks about Shepard’s departure. He said that greed and pride have ruined the process and that the kids will have to pay the price.
It’s disgusting that the people who were supposed to make sure they got the education they needed for a better future have instead used that chance to get rich by taking expensive trips paid for by taxpayers and then giving one of their friends a golden parachute when they are called to account, Torrez said. “That can’t stand.”
Shepard’s lawyers disagreed with the attorney general’s claims, saying that regents are in charge of negotiating and approving executive pay and severance agreements and that the local newspaper had printed notices that the board would be talking about the president’s contract at a meeting on December 20.
John Anderson, Shepard’s lawyer, told The Associated Press that the board had set up a subcommittee to work out the terms of the separation deal before agreeing to them all at once.
“Everything about this process was done correctly, legally, and openly,” Anderson wrote. “Doctor Shepard did not speed up his payment.” Any claims to the opposite are not supported by facts or the law.
Court records show that the university decided to pay Shepard more than three times the amount that would have been due if it had fired him without a reason. The deal also promises Shepard a job as a permanent professor for five years, paying at least $200,000 a year. He was given an eight-month paid leave and can work from home.
The change in leadership comes after a review by the state auditor’s office found that public funds were wasted and misused more than $363,000.
As early as 2023, lawmakers in the state began to wonder about Shepard’s spending on foreign trips, expensive furniture, and the use of a university purchasing card by his wife Valerie Plame. At the time, Shepard said that his spending requests were reviewed by the regents and that he knew how public money should be spent.
Because of these events, lawmakers may want to think about new laws during the session that starts this month.
Thursday, House Speaker Javier Martinez said he would back changes that would make sure public institutions are run in a way that benefits students and taxpayers, not just university officials’ own personal gain.
“In the end, this is about making sure that no one is above the law and protecting the money of the people of the state of New Mexico,” he said.
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