![Tyson Foods Plant [Photo: Food Manufacturing]](https://southarkansassun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/iStock_1185520857__1_.5e441daa51cca-600x337.jpg)
![Silverado Senior Living Management Inc. [Photo: Los Angeles Times]](https://southarkansassun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/download-6-4-600x337.jpg)
![China's Wuhan Institute of Virology [Photo: Nature]](https://southarkansassun.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/d41586-021-01529-3_19239608-600x337.jpg)
New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez has expressed concern over the buyout deal announced by Dr. Joseph Shepard, the outgoing president of Western New Mexico University (WNMU). In a Board of Regents meeting on Friday, Shepard revealed he would be stepping down in mid-January. This announcement comes amid controversy surrounding the university’s finances, following a state audit that highlighted over $200,000 in travel and lodging expenses from July 2018 to June 2023. Additionally, the audit uncovered more than $145,000 in credit card spending, including expenditures for furnishing Shepard’s residence.
Also Read – JTIP Grants $2.2 Million for Employee Training in New Mexico’s Growing Industries
Torrez issued a statement on Saturday, expressing his alarm over the $1.9 million settlement agreed upon for Shepard’s departure, given the troubling findings of the audit. He confirmed that the New Mexico Department of Justice will launch a separate investigation to determine whether the university’s Board of Regents acted in the best interests of both the institution and New Mexico taxpayers.
