Joseph Shepard was inaugurated as the 15th president of Western New Mexico University on Friday afternoon.
Regent Tony Trujillo served as the master of ceremonies.
Gail Rein on viola and Patricia Prewitt on piano from the Silver City ensemble Variations of Three performed the prelude, including selections from works by Bach, Corelli, Vivaldi, Handel, Haydn, Schubert, Bridge and Fauré.
Those seated on stage and faculty members processed into the Fine Arts Center Theatre to “Die Meistersinger von Nurenberg” by Richard Wagner.
Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 358, Color Guard presented the colors.
The “Star-Spangled Banner” was sung by three WNMU football players from Hawaii, Leighton Pogia, Sosaia Vaitai and Dunia Vaitai.
Deacon Bill Holguin of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church gave the invocation in Spanish.
Trujillo introduced dignitaries seated on stage.
Representatives from several organizations delivered greetings to the president, including Jason Lucas, Associated Students of WNMU president; Virginia Huegel, Faculty Senate president; Matthew Lara, Staff Senate president; and Jack Howell, Alumni Association president. Each welcomed Shepard and said their organizations looked forward to working with him.
James Marshall, Silver City mayor, read from the proclamation passed by Silver City, Grant County, Bayard, Santa Clara and Hurley.
“I think I was invited to speak on behalf of the others, because Silver City donated the first 23 acres to this university in 1893,” Marshall said.
Zoran Jolevski, Ambassador of Macedonia to the U.S. and Mexico, called Shepard a man of great vision. Jolevski met Shepard in 2008, when Jolevski's son looked for a place to study in Florida, and, because of Shepard, chose to stay at Florida Gulf Coast University, where Shepard was serving in various leadership positions. “Shepard is a man of competence and integrity, and he's fun, too. … There is no progress, if children do not do better than their parents.”
Board of Regents Chairman Charles “Randy” Briggs invested Shepard into the presidency.
Shepard then gave his inaugural address.
“We are not the wealthiest in financial resources,” Shepard said, “but we are wealthy in people resources.”
He thanked the faculty. “In academics, Western is second to none.” He invited them to stand to a round of applause.
He also lauded the staff members, the students, alumni and community, and invited each group to stand to applause.
“Today's inauguration is less about one person as it is a commitment to your university,” Shepard said. “I entered the field of education because I believe in the power of education. It not only shapes the individual, but can also shape history.”
He began a recitation of stories to show the impacts of education.
“When a young man took the helm almost 20 years ago, the university was nearing bankruptcy,” Shepard said. “It fell squarely on his shoulders to revive Western. We owe him a heartfelt gratitude.”
Shepard led the audience in applauding former president John Counts.
Shepard began each of his two other stories in 1893, when the Normal School was being established.
“Two men were going back to Mexico,” Shepard said. “They were from wealthy families and were returning from an education in the U.S. to take over their family business.”
The Madero brothers, Francisco and Gustavo, longed for a free Mexico. In 1910, Porfirio Diaz, the president agreed to free elections, but then he placed the Madero brothers in jail.
They escaped and went to the U.S. to plan a revolution, which began the next year. By November, Francisco Madero was president. He was too trusting, and in 1913, was shot and killed after agreeing to sign his resignation. Gustavo was killed soon after, but not before marrying and having a family.
“Both men used their education for the cause of freedom, nobler than life,” Shepard said.
He then introduced his wife Marcela, who is a direct descendant of Gustavo Madero. Her parents, sister and husband and their children were also introduced.
“In 1893, a toddler was shivering in the cold,” Shepard continued. “High school would be a dream for him, but education was not an option.”
He married, and in the 1920s, during a strike, because he had a family to feed, he kept working, and was beat over the head with a beer bottle and became paralyzed. His son got an education.
In 1935, the first son did all he could for his sons. He saved, and helped the second in a long line of the family to get a high school education and then went into the Army for World War II.
The woman who would become his wife met him during her senior year in college and, straight from his stint in the Army, they married.
College was a requirement for their children, and they had eight of them. Shepard cited the degrees each attained.
“The third child stands before you as your 15th president,” Shepard said. “Although my father lacked a college degree, he was my best teacher. He taught by example. He was a newspaperman, and I worked beside him. Procrastination was not an option, as deadlines always loomed.”
He introduced his mother, his sister and her family, and remembered his father, who died two weeks ago.
Shepard named those who were instrumental in his life, and noted: “It is dangerous to list names, because so many have impacted our lives.”
“This university has transformed so many because of education,” Shepard said. “We believe in the promise of every student.”
He predicted in five years the university will grow to 5,000, with 1,000 living on the campus.
“We have an obligation to educate our children,” Shepard concluded. “Together we will transform history.”
Mariachi Tierra Bella, directed by Sergio Morales, serenaded Shepard and the audience.
Chelsea Crespin, WNMU Native American Club president, gave a blessing and benediction in a Native American language.
The recessional was “Allegro con Spirito” by Johann Nepomuk Hummel.
An inaugural dinner and dance were held in the evening, with more than 500 attending the event.