Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

ENMU board evaluates president, approves bond resolution

PORTALES - The Eastern New Mexico University Board of Regents took no action following a 90-minute executive session at the end of Friday's meeting.

According to the agenda, the executive session was held to discuss two matters of threatened or pending litigation and the annual evaluation of Jeff Elwell, chancellor of the ENMU system and president of the ENMU-Portales campus.

Following the meeting Elwell said he could not share any details regarding the matter of litigation. Elwell said he was happy with the evaluation and felt it was accurate regarding his strengths and areas for improvement.

Elwell received a three-year contract extension and a 6.5 percent pay raise to bring his salary to $245,000 earlier this year.

Also Friday, the board unanimously approved all 19 action items on the agenda, including a resolution approving general obligation bonds for the system's three campuses for the Nov. 6 election.

Elwell said of the $11.5 million ENMU is seeking, $8 million would go to the Portales campus for renovations to the Roosevelt Science Center, ENMU-Roswell would receive $3 million and ENMU-Ruidoso would get $500,000.

ENMU-Ruidoso President Ryan Carstens said some of that money would go toward phase one of the campus' three-phase remodel, which was also approved at Friday's meeting.

The board also approved a separate general bond election for ENMU-Ruidoso to go toward renovation on campus. Elwell said this is the first time the two-year school has sought its own individual bond, though it as always utilized the biannual general obligation bonds.

Other approved items included the establishment of educational assistant and alternative licensure programs as well as fee changes at the Ruidoso campus and research and public service projects at the Portales and Roswell campuses.