LAS VEGAS, N.M.
Former legislative leader Manny Aragon’s tenure as president of New Mexico Highlands University ended over the weekend, as the school’s board of regents approved a contract buyout that will pay him $200,000.
The regents approved the settlement with Aragon on a 4-1 vote and then unanimously agreed to name Manuel Pacheco as the university’s interim president.
Pacheco, who starts Tuesday, is a former president of the University of Missouri system and the University of Arizona. He will be paid $12,000 a month in salary. He will also receive $3,000 a month instead of a benefits package.
Pacheco will live in the university president’s mansion, but will not be a candidate to replace Aragon permanently, says regents chairman Javier Gonzales.
Aragon, a lawyer, had no experience in higher education administration before becoming the university’s 16th president. Advocates had charged he was being pushed out by disgruntled, non-Hispanic faculty who were trying to undermine Aragon’s leadership.
Gonzales says Aragon’s lack of experience contributed to problems during his administration. The American Association of University Professors censured the school after two professors filed lawsuits because they were denied tenure.
