University President Accused of Squandering Public Money Receives $2 Million Severance Package
“had been receiving about $415,000 annually in salary and bonuses as WNMU’s president”
Must be nice. How is that no one ever seems to be held accountable for anything?
Reason reports:
A University President Accused of Squandering Public Money Resigns in Exchange for a $2 Million Payout
It will be a happy new year for Joseph Shepard, the outgoing president of Western New Mexico University (WNMU), who is scheduled to receive a $1.9 million lump-sum payment on January 15 as part of a severance package after resigning amid allegations of “wasteful” and “improper” spending. Under the agreement, which the public university’s five-member Board of Regents unanimously approved on December 20, Shepard, who had been receiving about $415,000 annually in salary and bonuses as WNMU’s president, will step down into a tenured position paying him $200,000 a year to teach a couple of business classes each semester. The salary is guaranteed for at least five years, adding another $1 million to the cost for taxpayers.
That sweetheart deal for Shepard came a month after a scathing report from New Mexico State Auditor Joseph M. Maestas highlighted $214,000 in travel spending that violated WNMU’s own policies, along with another $150,000 or so in improper charges on university credit cards. One example of the former: The university spent $25,500 in taxpayer money for six staff members to undergo training at a Ritz-Carlton resort in Palm Springs, California. Searchlight New Mexico, which has been digging into WNMU’s spending practices for more than a year, notes that the same course was available online.
The state auditor’s report, which covers July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2023, describes “$214,261.91 worth of spending covering 402 instances of domestic and international travel and lodging for university staff and leadership” that were “found to be noncompliant with university policies and rules.” It also cites “$149,264.08 worth of spending” on university credit cards by Shepard “covering 91 instances of procurement,” including noncompliant purchases of “high-end custom furnishings” for Shepard’s house on the WNMU campus in Silver City.
Maestas notes trips by Shepard that were covered by the university even though they “appear[ed] to be unrelated to official university business.” They included “trips related to other noneducational organizations [with] which the President is affiliated, such as the Finca Vigia Foundation, dedicated to saving author Ernest Hemingway’s Cuban legacy, and for conferences and events where his spouse [former CIA officer Valerie Plame] was a guest speaker.”
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“…and for conferences and events where his spouse [former CIA officer Valerie Plame] was a guest speaker.”
New Mexico: A satellite swamp
“How is that no one ever seems to be held accountable for anything?”
I’m going to take a flyer here and speculate that it has something to do with the US court system, which the Founders envisioned as a national chain speedily processing orders á la McDonalds, has instead turned every proceeding on their dockets into a big-budget, six-season run of Lost.
Ex University presidents have it made.
There’s one at the uni I work near who was pushed to stepped down over 15 years ago. He draws his full salary of about 3-4xs the average faculty member while just teaching the most basic history courses and refusing to retire (He’s 70+)
He also didn’t like parking problems on campus and just started parking up on the sidewalks near the building he teaches in. They eventually gave him a reserved parking space for his behavior.
The president that just retired recently 2 years ago made up a chancellor position for himself for a hefty pay off of multiple millions. That was in effect until the permanent replacement was hired and the ex-president/ex-chancellor is now drawing a million dollar salary to be an endowed faculty professor teaching 1 class to 19 students for the entire year in “special topics in leadership”.
Every school superintendent. Gets hired on 3 year contract. Can’t fix unfixable problems so let go after 2 years, but will be paid for 3rd. School Boards never admit mistakes, so they a) send the loser off somewhere with glowing reccomendations and b) hire another loser. Loser A then gets new job with 3 year contract and double dips for a year before being let go after year 2 at new spot, so he/she/it double dips once again between that job and new job. Loser B plays the same game, and after 2 years is replaced by Loser C, …
Why don’t they fire him for cause and dare him to sue?
Maybe during discovery they’ll uncover things the Board of Regents don’t want exposed.
Headlines should read: Valerie Plame’s husband outed as useless.
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