NMSU hires community college head as interim president

Mar. 28—Aggies can expect to wait until January for New Mexico State University's next president to start work, but for the moment, they'll have a new interim leader.

NMSU's board of regents during a special meeting appointed Mónica Torres, chancellor of Doña Ana Community College, to serve as the university's interim president. She'll start May 1.

Regents also offered updates on the university's plan to select its next president, a search process slated to begin in April and end with a permanent president in place by January. The update comes more than a year into the university's search for its next permanent president after regents rejected all five finalists for the top job earlier this month.

"Our goal, as before, is to find the right leader for New Mexico State University at this critical time," board Chairwoman Ammu Devasthali said at Thursday's meeting. "We need everyone's help, patience and support through this process."

NMSU's next president will take over the role — which includes overseeing all four campuses and research centers across the state — from former Chancellor Dan Arvizu, whose contract expired in June.

The board plans to "move quickly" in the second search for NMSU's next leader, Devasthali said. After initiating the search in April, finalists will visit the campus in August with the goal of having a permanent president in place for spring semester 2025.

By that time, the search process will have stretched on for more than two years and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

As of March 12 — the day after NMSU's board of regents rejected the initial finalists — the university had paid $203,573 to the executive search firm WittKieffer, NMSU spokeswoman Amanda Bradford wrote in an email to The New Mexican.

The university's inability to hire Arvizu's successor is the latest in a series of blunders at NMSU, including a 2023 hazing scandal that resulted in an $8 million settlement with two former men's basketball players.

Torres, meanwhile, will replace former NMSU President Jay Gogue, who has served as the university's interim president since April 2023.

"I have a long history with the New Mexico State University system," Torres said during Thursday's meeting. "I have a deep commitment to the land grant mission and to our status as a [Hispanic Serving Institution] and a [Minority Serving Institution]."

She added, "We have work to do, and I look forward to working with the faculty and staff across the system and with the board of regents to get that done."