Joseph Shepard

For the Texas pioneer, see Joseph W. Shepard.

Joseph Shepard is an American academic administrator serving as the 15th president of Western New Mexico University. Appointed on April 27, 2011, he assumed office on July 5, 2011.^[1] Following long-standing accusations of corruption and wasteful spending substantiated by the State Auditor,^[2] Shepard agreed to resign effective Jan. 15, 2025, having been awarded a severance package of roughly two million dollars by the WNMU Regents.^[3] Joseph Shepard is married to Valerie Plame, a former CIA operations officer and author. Plame has faced scrutiny for her use of a university purchasing card, which state investigators have deemed a violation of university policy, as she is not a university employee.^[4]

Joe Shepard
15th President of Western New Mexico University
Incumbent
Assumed office July 5, 2011
Personal details
Born	Joseph Shepard
Education	Northern Arizona University (BS) University of North Texas (MS) Florida International University (PhD)

Education

Shepard earned a Bachelor of Science degree in math education from Northern Arizona University, Master of Business Administration in finance and banking from the University of North Texas, and a PhD in public administration from Florida International University.^[5]

Career

Prior to being president of Western New Mexico University, Shepard worked as an administrator at Florida Gulf Coast University, where he was chief student affairs officer, chief business officer, and chief financial officer.^[6][7] As president of Western New Mexico University, Shepard was responsible for the university's main campus in Silver City, New Mexico and three additional satellite locations. In September 2019, Shepard's contract was extended for three years by the university's board of regents. He is no longer President of Western New Mexico University. ^[8]