WNMU Regents Thank Maples in Grants

Western New Mexico University’s Board of Regents used its April 24 meeting to publicly thank interim president Chris Maples as the university moved through governance, budget and leadership business in Silver City. Grant County Beat reported the thanks in a May 30 article on the meeting, which listed Board Chair Steven Neville, Regents J. Dean Reed, John Wertheim and Gregory Trujillo, and student regent Keana Huerta as participants. Maples attended as interim president. The same meeting also produced formal board action on the fiscal 2027 operating budget and on incoming president Jose Coll’s rank-and-tenure agreement, according to a university account. ### Who was being thanked, and by whom? Chris Maples was the official being thanked. Grant County Beat’s account of the April 24 meeting said regents thanked Maples during the session, which was held while he was serving as WNMU’s interim president. The article identifies Neville as chair and names Reed, Wertheim, Trujillo and Huerta as the other regents on the board. (grantcountybeat.com) Steven Neville had also thanked Maples publicly at a March 17 board meeting tied to WNMU’s Sixth Street Elementary School property effort. In that earlier meeting, as summarized by Grant County Beat, Neville said Maples, Vice President of Business Affairs Kelley Riddle and Silver Schools Superintendent Will Hawkins had navigated “a long, tedious process” and reached “a great solution that saves taxpayers millions of dollars.” That earlier remark helps place the April 24 thanks in a pattern of public praise from regents during Maples’ interim tenure. (grantcountybeat.com) ### What was happening at the April 24 meeting when the thanks were reported? The April 24 meeting included routine board approvals, campus reports and several votes on university business. Grant County Beat reported that the board approved the agenda and prior minutes, heard no public comment, and then moved into the president’s report, where Maples turned first to updates from campus groups. Student body president Carlos Carranza reported he had been reelected and said the Great Race had gone well. (grantcountybeat.com) Faculty Senate President Gregory Robinson-Guerra discussed handbook revisions, including election rules and post-tenure review language. Outgoing Staff Senate President Bart Brown and incoming president Dean Foster also addressed the board. The university’s own summary of the same meeting said regents approved faculty-focused items, accepted the fiscal 2025 final audit report, approved the fiscal 2026 final budget adjustment request and passed a resolution naming an authorized representative for the LITEPATH project. The board also approved a student regent scholarship resolution and annual asset disposal items, the university said. (grantcountybeat.com) ### Why does Maples matter in this stretch of WNMU’s timeline? Maples has been leading WNMU through the period between the departure of prior leadership and the installation of a permanent president. Grant County Beat reported that regents in June 2025 authorized a personnel committee to negotiate and execute a contract with Maples to serve as interim president. A later Grant County Beat report said Neville introduced him at a July 31, 2025 meeting and that Maples had officially started June 29, 2025. (wnmu.edu) January 29 and March 5 meetings show that the board was simultaneously handling a presidential search and property matters while Maples remained in the interim role. The Daily Press reported in January that the search committee had narrowed 20 candidates and planned campus visits in late February and early March. Grant County Beat reported that on March 5 the regents went into executive session to discuss the final four presidential candidates and the possible acquisition of Sixth Street Elementary School. (grantcountybeat.com) ### What else did regents approve that day? Jose Coll’s appointment process advanced at the same April 24 session. WNMU said Provost Jack Crocker presented and the board approved the rank-and-tenure agreement for Coll, whom the university identified as the incoming president. The university also said Crocker presented a five-year plan for new program offerings. (scdailypress.com) The fiscal 2027 operating budget was another central vote. WNMU said Vice President of Business Affairs Kelley Riddle led the board through the budget approval, describing it as the financial plan for the next academic year. That places the public thanks to Maples alongside concrete board actions on leadership transition and finances rather than as a standalone ceremonial item. (wnmu.edu) ### What comes next after the regents’ thanks? Jose Coll is the named incoming president in WNMU’s April 24 meeting summary, making his transition into office the next major milestone identified in the board’s public record. Grant County Beat’s April 20 meeting notice also showed the board planned the April 24 session as a hybrid meeting at the J. Cloyd Miller Library with livestream access for the public. Future board actions and leadership updates are typically posted through WNMU meeting notices and university releases. (wnmu.edu)