LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KRQE) – The New Mexico State University Board of Regents unanimously approved the contract of incoming university president Valerio Ferme on Friday. According to the contract, the new president will earn a $600,000 annual base salary. NMSU said Ferme will officially take on the president role on Jan. 1. His employment, however, will begin on Nov. 18 with a transition period where he will meet with stakeholders at the university’s campuses, agricultural science centers, cooperative extension offices and with others around the state of New Mexico. State awards $57.81M in federal funding to 37 public entities for local projects “My family and I are honored to join the land-grant institution of the state of New Mexico, even as I am humbled by the responsibility that this role entails toward our campuses and communities and, equally importantly, to the citizenry and government of the state,” Ferme said in a message to the campus community. Ferme’s contract runs until Jan. 1, 2030, and includes a tenured faculty appointment at the rank of full professor in the Department of English in the College of Arts and Sciences. It also includes provisions for an annual evaluation and a long-term retention incentive of up to $50,000 for each calendar year from 2025 through 2029. Ferme will also receive employee benefits and will be reimbursed for business expenses including travel and lodging pertaining to official NMSU and educational activities. As part of the contract, Ferme and his family will live at the NMSU President’s Residence and will reimbursed $22,000 to relocate. Interim President Mónica Torres will continue to serve as leader until Ferme takes over in 2025.