New Mexico governor appoints brother to university board amid frustration with oversight, cronyism

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LAS VEGAS, N.M. (AP) — The governor of New Mexico has appointed her brother to the board of regents at New Mexico Highlands University, as concerns about wasteful spending and cronyism roil the state’s regional university system.

Greg Lujan — the 64-year-old brother of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham — has been appointed as the student regent to the five-member board at Las Vegas, New Mexico-based Highlands University, pending state Senate confirmation, the governor’s office confirmed Tuesday.

Jodi McGinnis Porter, a spokesperson for the governor, said Lujan was chosen from among several student applicants. Lujan, a mortgage loan officer, returned to college last year to pursue a degree in business and applied sciences, studying under a state scholarship and making the dean’s list with high grades, McGinnis Porter said.

Republican state Sen. James Townsend of Artesia told the Albuquerque Journal that the appointment of a sibling will be met with skepticism in the confirmation process.

“I just think she’s put her brother in a really unfortunate circumstance,” Townsend told the Journal.

The appointment takes place as state prosecutors try to undo a lucrative severance package for Joseph Shepard, former president at Silver City-based Western New Mexico University. It included a nearly $2 million payout approved in the wake of a scathing report that detailed wasteful spending and lax financial oversight at the school.

The scandal at Western has prompted legislative proposals this year that would bolster oversight of regents who vet and approve university budgets — from tuition rates to contracts with top administrators.

State lawmakers started raising questions in 2023 about spending on international trips and on high-end furniture by Shepard. They also question the use of a university purchasing card by his wife, Valerie Plame.

At the time, Shepard said regents vetted his spending requests and that he was familiar with policies governing the use of public money. The state auditor’s office found more than $363,000 in wasteful spending and improper use of public funds.

State Attorney General Raúl Torrez has outlined several allegations that included breaches of fiduciary duty and violations of the state’s open meetings law and state constitution. He also raised questions about who at the university rushed to issue a check to Shepard, noting that some regents already had resigned amid pressure from the governor.

William García, the departing chairman of the board at Highlands University, said that the student position on a university board carries full voting authority. The university has roughly 3,000 students, including many aspiring teachers and social workers.

“They’re called ‘student regent,’ but their vote is of equal value and eagerly sought,” García said.