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NMSU president tells health committee university is expanding student supports, addressing assault response and studying wider Narcan access
Summary
New Mexico State University President Valerio Ferme told the Legislative Health & Human Services committee the university is expanding counseling and advising, has extended SNAP‑Ed staffing for three months while seeking session funding, and is implementing dozens of Department of Justice recommendations on campus safety.
Valerio Ferme, president of New Mexico State University, told the Legislative Health & Human Services committee that the university is prioritizing student wraparound services and has taken immediate steps after a recent Department of Justice review.
Ferme said the university has used recent legislative funding to hire additional counseling and advising staff and has extended the employment of SNAP‑Ed program staff for three months after state funding was cut. "We have agreed to extend the employment of those individuals for another 3 months," he told the committee. He said the secretary of health is assisting to include longer‑term funding requests in the coming session.
On campus safety and sexual‑assault response, Ferme said the university created a task force after the DOJ report and has implemented "about 23 or 24 of those ... recommendations." He described mandatory trainings for students and targeted trainings for athletes and fraternities and said the institution has hired additional personnel in the office of institutional equity "to help cut down on the weight" of investigations and to triage higher‑severity cases sooner.
Lawmakers pressed Ferme on response times and accountability. Representative Anaya said a survivor had sought systemic changes rather than a settlement; Ferme acknowledged past delays and said understaffing and poor triage practices were contributing factors and that the university had hired additional investigators and was working on response‑time goals.
Committee members also asked about overdose prevention on campus. Ferme said campus public‑safety staff carry naloxone and that he has asked university staff for cost and distribution information. "If we can expand the number of people who have access ... whether we should make it available in every dorm," he said, adding that vandalism, expiration and private‑space access are operational concerns to be studied.
Ferme also discussed graduate‑student supports, internships and partnerships with extension offices. He pledged to follow up with lawmakers with additional details and data, including specifics on SNAP‑Ed staffing, graduate assistant stipends and planned outreach to tribal communities.
