What may WNMU’s ex-president’s exit bundle pay for?

The controversial exit bundle for former Western New Mexico College president Joseph Shepard may have funded a number of scholarships, based on one evaluation, whereas the state’s governor says that the cash may have helped feed hungry college students on the college for a yr.

Judith Wilde, a analysis professor at George Mason College who research presidential compensation and contracts, beforehand advised Inside Increased Ed that Shepard’s exit bundle may have funded 90 scholarships for undergraduate college students at Western New Mexico.

To Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, the choice to green-light a $1.9 million severance fee to the departing president “demonstrated an appalling disconnect from the wants of our state, the place the median revenue of a household of 4 is simply $61,000.”

“The amount of cash contained in Dr. Shepard’s separation settlement may have addressed meals insecurity throughout your entire WNMU scholar physique for a full yr,” Lujan Grisham mentioned in a information launch final week.

The estimated $3.5 million bundle—together with advantages—for a president accused of improperly spending taxpayer {dollars} has infuriated state lawmakers and led to the resignations of a number of regents. Extra fallout is predicted because the state legal professional common seeks to claw again the severance fee.

Shepard’s final day as president was Wednesday.

Shepard, who led the college for 13 years, made a base wage of $365,000 a yr. He’s not the one faculty president to get a beneficiant severance on his method out the door, however in comparison with offers at different establishments, the settlement is unusually profitable and can value the college greater than a number of line gadgets in its price range. For instance, when Ben Sasse stepped down as president of the College of Florida, he struck a deal to maintain his $1 million annual wage via 2028 regardless of exiting the highest job. However UF’s annual price range is simply over $5 billion, which means Sasse’s exit bundle contains a tiny fraction of college bills.

Comparatively, Shepard’s exit bundle far exceeds these of different former presidents in his state. Former New Mexico State College system chancellor Dan Arvizu acquired an exit bundle valued at between $500,000 and $650,000 when he introduced his early departure in 2023, a transfer each events known as a “mutual separation” amid tensions. In 2016, Bob Frank left the College of New Mexico presidency early amid allegations of bullying, hanging a deal for a $190,000-a-year tenured college job—down from the $350,000 annual wage initially thought-about.

At WNMU, a college that enrolled 3,570 college students in fall 2023, Shepard’s complete exit bundle provides as much as nearly 5 % of its $74.2 million fiscal yr 2024 price range, an Inside Increased Ed evaluation discovered.

In one of many poorest states within the union, greater than half of WNMU’s college students obtain Pell Grants. A 2023 survey additionally discovered almost 60 % of faculty college students in New Mexico have been meals insecure, prompting efforts at Western New Mexico and different schools to handle the problem.

Shepard’s exit bundle has roiled lawmakers, notably in mild of the financial challenges within the state and a state investigation that discovered the outgoing president improperly spent $360,000 in taxpayer cash on worldwide journey, splashy resorts and costly furnishings. Had the board elected to fireside Shepard with out trigger, it may have spent roughly $600,000 to chop ties with him. Or the board may have waited for the conclusion of one other state investigation, which could have given them trigger to fireside him with out spending any extra cash, relying on the findings.

As an alternative, regents minimize him a $1.9 million verify and gave him a tenured college job educating two programs a yr with a distant choice. Altogether these perks add as much as a $3.5 million, Wilde estimated. (WNMU officers mentioned the cash was paid for out of reserves.)

4 out of 5 WNMU regents have since resigned beneath scrutiny from lawmakers, together with the governor. Lawyer Normal Raúl Torrez additionally demanded an investigation into Shepard’s “golden parachute” and sought a restraining order to forestall him from accessing the $1.9 million severance fee because the state challenges the contract. Nevertheless, a choose shot down the request to put a maintain on these funds Monday. A authorized problem to the contract is pending.

ButJohn C. Anderson, an legal professional for Shepard, defended the fee as “acceptable” and mentioned that the previous president had “labored tirelessly on behalf of Western New Mexico College for almost 14 years to extend commencement charges, modernize the campus via main renovations and the development of latest services, and increase the varsity’s packages,” amongst different accomplishments. (Shepard’s authorized staff additionally disputed the estimate of $3.5 million however didn’t present their very own determine.)

Because the authorized wrangling continues, Inside Increased Ed took a take a look at WNMU’s price range to find out how Shepard’s controversial exit bundle stacks as much as spending on athletics, educational assist, college salaries and different line gadgets within the fiscal yr 2024 price range, which was final up to date in December. Whereas Shepard has already acquired an almost $2 million severance fee, the rest of his deal can be paid out to him as a tenured college member the place he’ll initially make $200,000 a yr. His wage can be paid for by the enterprise college.

• WNMU athletics groups—often called the Mustangs—compete on the NCAA Division II stage. Western New Mexico College sponsors 13 sports activities with an athletics price range of $5.4 million.
• The scholar companies price range at WNMU is $4.5 million. That cash is unfold throughout a spread of choices from incapacity companies to funding for particular occasions and scholar well being and well-being.
• WNMU budgeted $4.4 million for the operation and upkeep of campus.
• WNMU budgeted $3.9 million in educational assist.
• The scholar monetary assist price range at WNMU was $1.2 million.
• Shepard’s exit bundle additionally surpasses the whole college salaries for any division at WNMU. The nursing division has 19 full-time college members, incomes a mixed wage of $1.4 million, based on price range paperwork. Nursing seems to be the most important program at WNMU primarily based on the variety of full-time staff listed. Social work can also be among the many college’s largest packages, with 17.2 full-time college members listed incomes simply over $1 million.