More Administrators Dismissed From New Mexico Highlands

Since New Mexico Highlands University president Neil Woolf was placed on paid administrative leave last week, additional administrators have been removed from their positions, the Albuquerque Journal reported.

Provost Daniel Brown and men’s basketball coach Zach Settembre have also been placed on paid administrative leave, and three other top officials have been dismissed, according to the Journal.

The board of regents has given no reason for the leadership shakeup.

Settembre told the local media he had no idea why he was removed. “When I started getting calls Tuesday night, saying that there was an article out or two articles out that I was fired, I was shocked as anyone,” the coach told KRQE. “HR told me that I was on leave.”

Hired last year, Settembre noted that he was dismissed just five days after signing a three-year contract extension. “You hope that you get due process and you have a chance to at least understand what the leave is about or why the termination occurred,” he said.

Student and employee frustrations are mounting in the absence of answers. When they tried to log on to a scheduled Zoom meeting, they discovered the meeting had already concluded, KOAT reported.

One professor told the ABC News affiliate that the unexplained dismissals are causing students stress.

“Of course, people have thoughts, but we don’t know why officially,” the professor said.