New NMSU president to take job Jan. 1

LAS CRUCES(AP) - The new year will bring a new president to New Mexico State University - one with an incentive to stay.

Barbara Couture takes over as NMSU's first female president on Jan. 1.

The former University of Nebraska at Lincoln senior vice chancellor for academic affairs will earn $385,000 a year.

That's $26,000 more than the previous president, Michael Martin, was making when he left in 2008.

If Couture stays for the full five years of her contract, she will earn a $500,000 retention bonus from the NMSU Foundation, the university's nonprofit fundraising arm.

The chairman of NMSU's regents, Blake Curtis, has said the retention bonus is because people want someone to remain as university president.

Information from: Las Cruces Sun-News