Amid recent higher education scrutiny, governor appoints brother as NMHU regent

Yahoo

18-02-2025

Feb. 18—SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is defending her decision to appoint her brother as a student regent at New Mexico Highlands University.
The appointment of Greg Lujan comes amid recent scrutiny of New Mexico regents' handling of university president contract issues, including a $1.9 million payout to former Western New Mexico University President Joseph Shepard.
That "golden parachute" prompted Attorney General Raúl Torrez to file litigation seeking to claw back the settlement money.
Lujan Grisham officially nominated her brother as a student regent at NMHU in an executive message to the Senate dated Feb. 3. His term as regent would start Jan. 1 and go through Dec. 31, 2026.
The governor in a statement said she encouraged her brother to apply to be student regent, which he did through the university's application process.
She then selected him from among a list of applications forwarded by top administrators at the Las Vegas-based university.
"I asked him to serve because I know he'll do an outstanding job for New Mexico Highlands University," Lujan Grisham said.
"He's exactly the kind of person we want in these roles," the governor added. "He's an incredibly hard worker and he embodies a deep commitment to education, having gone back to school as an adult to pursue his dream of a college degree."
Like all other regent appointments, the nomination of Greg Lujan is subject to Senate confirmation.
The Senate Rules Committee has not yet scheduled a hearing on Lujan's nomination during the 60-day session that reaches its halfway point this week. If he is not confirmed, he cannot assume the role of student regent.
The panel's chairwoman, Sen. Katy Duhigg, D-Albuquerque, declined to comment Monday on the appointment of the governor's brother.
But Sen. James Townsend, R-Artesia, the committee's ranking Republican, said Lujan Grisham recently called him and asked him to support her brother's appointment.
"I told her that it would be awfully hard for a guy in southeast New Mexico to step out on that plank for an appointment that would be met with such skepticism," Townsend recalled.
He also said he subsequently had a cordial meeting with Greg Lujan but warned him he could face a tough road to Senate confirmation.
"I just think she's put her brother in a really unfortunate circumstance," Townsend told the Journal.
Regents already in focus at Roundhouse
New Mexico's process for student regent appointments works slightly differently than the process for selecting traditional regents.
The governor must select an appointee from a student member list provided by a higher education institution's president, which also considers recommendations of the student body president.
Sen. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, told the Journal he's curious about how that process went with the governor's brother. He said the state should create nominating commissions to pick and vet the best candidates, an idea he has unsuccessfully pushed in past legislative sessions.
"Sometimes that could be a supporter, it could be a family member," Steinborn said. "But there's a process that's transparent, and we know we're getting the best of the best that are being advanced. I still think it's crucial we do that."
Other proposals dealing with university regents have also been proposed during this year's legislative session, including a proposed constitutional amendment that would make it easier for regents to be removed in cases of malfeasance or breach of duty.
University says proper process followed
NMHU spokesperson David Lepre said Monday the university included Greg Lujan in a packet of student applications provided to the Governor's Office.
"NMHU has full confidence in both of Gov. Lujan Grisham's regent nominees, Greg Lujan and Gary Tripp, and appreciates her consideration of regent appointments," he told the Journal.
He also said the governor's previous NMHU student regent nominees have served the institution with distinction.
Greg Lujan, who did not return a phone call seeking comment Monday, has largely stayed out of the political spotlight since Michelle Lujan Grisham was elected governor in 2018. He did speak at his sister's reelection ceremony after she won reelection in 2022.
The two siblings grew up in Santa Fe and also had a sister, Kimberly, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor when she was 2 years old and died at age 21. The governor has talked publicly about her family's struggles with her sister's health issues.