Northern New Mexico College President Jose Griego has announced that he’s retiring, but he won’t be going far.
Immediately after accepting Griego’s letter of retirement June 18, the College Board of Regents voted unanimously to hire the outgoing president as a consultant come August. For a flat $40,000 fee, Griego will help smooth the transition for his successor and lead development of a program for returning veterans on the El Rito campus, Board President Michael Branch said.
Branch said the College will not buy out the remainder of Griego’s contract, which was valid through Jan. 31, 2010. Instead, Griego will simply cut short his contract, which pays $190,000 a year, and begin collecting retirement Aug. 1, Branch said.
Branch said a January retirement date would have made hiring Griego’s replacement difficult.
“We had talked to him and told him that it’s really an awkward time if you try to hire somebody during the (winter legislative) session or during the middle of the school year, as far as availability of other candidates,” Branch said.
The timing of the agreement means that Griego will exit the stage just before the College celebrates its 100th anniversary, in September. Rumors have been flying for months that Griego was on the chopping block after it became public that the College had jumped the gun in offering then-unaccredited degree programs.
Branch admitted they had a few hiccups, but said Griego was not fired.
“It’s an amicable situation,” Branch said. “This is voluntary on his part.”
Griego has served as president since April 2005. He said very little after his retirement letter was read aloud during last week’s meeting. He did not respond to a request for an interview Monday.
On the Wrong Foot?
The veteran’s program that Griego will be spearheading is still in the conceptual stages, but it was described as a national retreat center for veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Branch said the College would need outside funding, and would likely partner with the state Veterans Affairs Department and local clinics to provide any necessary counseling services.
The College would provide the educational component, Branch said.
“These guys that are coming back, almost 100 percent of them are gonna have the GI bill,” Branch said. “So we’ll be able to provide vocational training for various locations — at El Rito and at Española.”
Branch emphasized that the College will work with the community to develop the specifics.
But an active group of El Rito residents was surprised to learn that Griego was already being contracted to develop a veterans’ program. For the last several months, the El Rito Campus Committee has been meeting regularly to hatch ideas for advancing the El Rito campus, and veterans’ education was just one of dozens of proposed ideas.
“We were kind of surprised by the dismissal of the process that had just been established,” Committee member Jonathan Cartland said. “But we’re sure (Griego) is going to learn to work with a community group.”
About an hour before Griego’s new agreement was signed, a large contingent of Committee members presented their first consensus report to the regents, with much fanfare and goodwill. Regents applauded the document, which outlines a set of recommendations to address specific faculty and student complaints, as well as the general sense of abandonment and bitterness felt by many El Rito residents toward the College.
Branch even suggested setting aside a full afternoon of the Board’s upcoming retreat to discuss El Rito issues with the Committee, and many members left in high spirits. But then the Board went into closed session, and the few remaining committee members learned of Griego’s new contract from a detailed agenda in the meeting packet. Not long after, it was approved by the Board.
“It wasn’t a good beginning,” Cartland said. “The (coalition) really hopes the Board is serious about working with the community.”
Branch denied that there had been any sort of end-run around the Committee process and said the Board has a good relationship with the group.
“It’s my goal to see that we make El Rito blossom,” Branch said.
El Rito resident Ted Bucklin, who recently led a campaign to seat at least one El Rito resident on the Board, said he’s optimistic.
“If the Board can take their nose out of the excitement the whole project that they have in Española and direct their attention to El Rito, that is a major step forward,” Bucklin said. “Good things can come from that. It might be small, it might be big — but we’re hoping for big.”
Looking Ahead
The Board of Regents was scheduled to meet Wednesday (6/24) to appoint an interim president. Branch said the person will be promoted internally so they can take over immediately upon Griego’s departure.
Branch said in putting together a search committee for the College’s next president, he hopes to use a model developed during the last presidential search. It calls for a wide array of input — the last search committee had representatives from the business community, state Education Department, faculty, alumni, area pueblos, the Los Alamos National Laboratory and students, to name a few.
Branch has appointed two search committee co-chairs: Regent Theresa Martinez, a former kindergarten principal and vice chair of the Rio Arriba County Democratic Party, and Regent Alfred Herrera, an Española city councilor.