New Mexico State’s Beleaguered Chancellor Resigns, Effective Immediately

New Mexico State University’s chancellor, Dan E. Arvizu, resigned, effective immediately, on Friday during a special meeting of the Board of Regents. The board had agreed in December not to renew Arvizu’s five-year contract, which was to end June 30.

Instead of waiting for the contract to expire, the board accepted Arvizu’s resignation to smooth and accelerate the transition to a new leader. Arvizu has overseen a period of turmoil at the Hispanic- and minority-serving institution that saw the provost fired, the president leave, and the men’s basketball coach fired and its season canceled. Meanwhile, tensions between the directors of Black Programs and the university’s equity, inclusion, and diversity office resulted in a churn of leaders in that office, and demands from Black student leaders that they be assigned to a different office.

“This separation is truly mutual,” Arvizu said during the meeting. “For the past five years, my only motivation has been to do what I believe is in the best interest of NMSU, and transitioning now will allow the university to devote the time and effort needed over the next several months for a successful search.”

“I am not a traditional university administrator. I didn’t grow up in the academy,” he added. “My expertise is in energy research and in materials and process science, development, and deployment. In 2018, I was honored to be selected as chancellor of this great university system. Since then, it has been my privilege to lead this institution through some tough times, navigate a pandemic, and engineer the turnaround. Now, the time has come to accelerate the transition to a new chancellor.”

The board also announced the selection of Jay Gogue, who served as president of NMSU from 2000 to 2003, as interim chancellor, starting immediately. He also served as president and chancellor of the University of Houston system, as well as Auburn University. Gogue will serve while the board searches for the next permanent chancellor.

“The Board of Regents appreciates all Chancellor Arvizu has done for our university,” Ammu Devasthali, chair of the regents, said. “As we thank him and wish him well, we, at the same time, welcome Jay and Susie Gogue back to Las Cruces.”