New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham nominated three people last week to serve on the NMSU Board of Regents. The nominations were confirmed Friday.
Grisham’s selections were: Dina Chacón-Reitzel, Ammu Devasthali and student Luke Sanchez. These individuals were nominated after being chosen and vetted by an advisory committee led by former chancellor Garrey Carruthers.
Dina Chacón-Reitzel is an NMSU alumna who has been honored with a Distinguished Alumni award from the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. She has nearly three decades of experience as the executive director of the New Mexico Beef Council and has more recently become a member of the Federation Advisory Committee.
Ammu Devasthali, also an NMSU alumna, has taken a leadership role in promoting the arts in southern New Mexico by participating in the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico, the Las Cruces Art Fair executive committee, and a Downtown Las Cruces Partnership think tank.
Devasthali was the recipient of a Governor’s Award in 2016 for her contributions to the arts, and was named the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser of Southern New Mexico in 2018. She was also recently awarded an honorary doctorate in fine art during the NMSU fall 2018 commencement ceremony.
Luke Sanchez is a biology student involved with research at NMSU’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He is also a director for the NMSU chapter of Camp Kesem.
Chacón-Reitzel has been appointed to a six-year term expiring Dec. 31, 2024. Devasthali’s appointment, which will fulfill the remainder of a six-year term, will last until Dec. 31, 2022. Sanchez’s, two-year term expires Dec. 31, 2020.
“We are fortunate to have each of these individuals joining the board and I look forward to working with them to further advance our university,” Chancellor Arvizu wrote in a recent email sent out to all NMSU employees.
The new regents will take the seats of Kari Mitchell, Christopher T. Saucedo and student regent Margie Vela.
