Couture out as NMSU president

After being on leave for all of last week and with her future in doubt,Barbara Couture is no longer the president of New Mexico State University.

The announcement was made by the NMSU board of regents at a publicmeeting at NMSU’s Corbett Center on Monday afternoon.

The open meeting followed a two-hour closed session where the board discussed personnel and legal matters. This was the fourth closed session in the last month and a half.

At the open meeting, the regents announced a motion for a mutually-agreed upon
separation agreement with Couture. The motion was approved.

Board members refused to comment on any details regarding Couture’s resignation.

“I’m not going to comment on rumors in my business, and I’m not goingto comment on these kinds of rumors,” board chairman Mike Cheney said.”Personnel issues are exempt from public discussion to protect Dr.Couture and to protect the university, so we will not discuss thespecifics behind the decision.”

Cheney said Couture initiated her annual leave last week. He said theboard did not decide on accepting her resignation until 10 minutesbefore Monday’s meeting.

She will be on administrative leave until Dec. 31 and will receivefull benefits and salary in the meantime.

At Monday’s meeting, the regents appointed Provost Wendy Wilkins toovertake president’s administrative duties. Regents hope to have aninterim president lined up by their next meeting on Oct. 15.

Last week ABC-7 reported a source close to the university told usCouture would be out of her position soon. Our source said Couture wasforced out for various reasons that matched up with Regent JavierGonzales’ list of issues plaguing the university.

“There is no understating the challenges we are facing as auniversity. We’ve seen falling enrollment, decline in our research dollars, unreliable and inconsistent state funding, an athleticprogram that’s in danger of finding itself with no conference to playin, a nursing school that just lost its accreditation and much more,”Gonzales said at the meeting. “As regents we know the buck stops withall of us, and it’s our job to address the many challenges facing ourgreat university.”

The board is adamant they had nothing to do with Couture’s resignation.

“None of this came about as a result of any type of pressure from anyregent or any university constituency,” Gonzales told ABC-7.

Counsel for the NMSU regents said Couture has taken a senior advisingposition with the Association of Public Land-Grants Universities.

Couture chaired the Executive Committee for the Council on AcademicAffairs for the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities from2008-2009, according to her bio on the NMSU website.

Couture was scheduled to give the State of the University Address “OurPartnerships, Our Future,”on Oct. 10. Regents said all of Couture’spublic appearances for at least the next two weeks have beencancelled.

In Nov. 2009, the NMSU board of regents appointed Couture as theuniversity’s 25th president. Couture assumed the office in Jan. 2010and led the land-grant institution with four community colleges,cooperative extension offices in 33 counties, a network of off-campusagricultural science centers and the university campus in Las Cruces.

According to Couture’s original contract, she was supposed to receivea $500,000 retention bonus in her fifth year. The contract clearlystates if she left her position for any reason, she was not entitledto any portion of that bonus.

According to her settlement with the university, she will receive alump sum payment of $453,092.72 in January.