The New Mexico Highlands University Board of Regents has denied wrongdoing in its decision to fire former President Neil Woolf, the latest development in a monthslong administrative saga at the state-owned university in Las Vegas, N.M.
The regents and the former president have been publicly trading barbs since Woolf was abruptly placed on paid administrative leave in May and fired the next month — the first in a wave of high-level departures at the institution.
Woolf filed a lawsuit accusing the university of violating his contract and retaliating against him after he refused to follow an order from Regent Frank Sanchez to redirect a construction contract to a local firm with ties to a politician.
Attorneys for the university filed a response to that suit Monday in San Miguel County’s 4th Judicial District Court, denying almost all of Woolf’s allegations. The regents went a step further Wednesday, issuing a statement to the media that further disputes the former president’s claims.
“Recently, certain allegations have been made by former NMHU President Neil Woolf, who claims his separation from the university resulted from his refusal of a demand by Regent Dr. Frank Sanchez that Woolf cancel a contract and give the work to a local firm, Franken Construction Co. NMHU denies these allegations,” the statement said, before listing what it called “the facts” from the university’s perspective.
The regents’ statement points to a May 27 letter to the New Mexico Office of the State Auditor as an explanation for their decision to fire Woolf.
That letter, obtained by The New Mexican in June via a public records request, accuses the former president of improper hiring and procurement practices, financial mismanagement and retaliation against university employees, among other misconduct.
Nicholas Hart, an attorney for Woolf, framed both the statement issued by the regents Wednesday and the university’s May 27 letter to the state auditor as erroneous.
“This letter to the media is another example of inaccurate information being put forth by the university,” Hart wrote in an email to The New Mexican. “In this, the university references a letter to the state auditor that contains errors, falsehoods, illegal accusations, and religious discrimination.”
He added, “We look forward to these matters being decided through the protections afforded by New Mexico law.”
Woolf’s lawsuit against the university — and the regents’ response — are related to a contract with the Kansas City-based design firm Ampere Design for pre-construction and design work on a new athletics stadium and indoor swimming pool. That contract is worth $1.2 million plus tax, for a total of $1.3 million, according to a university purchase requisition obtained by The New Mexican via a public records request.
Woolf in his lawsuit claimed Sanchez directed him to cancel that contract and redirect about $600,000 to local contractor Franken Construction — owned by Sanchez’s ally, Jim Franken.
According to Woolf’s complaint, Sanchez said steering the money toward Franken “would go a long way” in securing additional appropriations from state Sen. Pete Campos, a Las Vegas Democrat and Sanchez’s brother-in-law.
The university’s answer to the former president’s complaint denies most of Woolf’s allegations — aside from a handful of facts to which both parties agree, like the former president’s start date and the college’s decision to contract with Ampere for athletic facility designs.
The regents’ statement also disputes the date and subject of the meeting in which Woolf claims he was pressured to redirect university funds.
“This did not happen and was not possible since Franken does not do design work, the scope of work of the contract that was being completed by Ampere Design,” the statement said. “Ampere designs projects; Franken Construction builds things. It was not possible to transfer this contract to Franken.”
The university has asked the court to dismiss Woolf’s lawsuit and award the regents the cost of claims and attorney fees. No hearings have yet been set in the case, according to the New Mexico courts’ online records system.
