Portales, NM – March 3, 2025 – The Eastern New Mexico University Board of Regents approved a contract extension running through January 1, 2030, for ENMU Chancellor James Johnston.

The ENMU Board of Regents voted unanimously in support of extending Johnston’s contract.

“The ENMU Board of Regents enthusiastically and unanimously approved Chancellor James Johnston’s contract extension,” said Trish Ruiz, ENMU Board of Regents President. “Under his leadership, ENMU has witnessed exceptional growth across our three campuses, transformative educational programs, and continues to enhance opportunities for student success. His successes are evident in ENMU’s recent recognition and rankings by the Wall Street Journal, including being ranked 69th of 500 colleges in the U.S. for overall experience while attending the university.”

“I truly appreciate the ongoing support of the ENMU Board of Regents for my efforts to continue the great things we are accomplishing across the ENMU System,” said James Johnston, ENMU Chancellor. “For me, this contract represents a continued mutual commitment to the growth and success of ENMU and the ENMU System.”

Since Johnston arrived at ENMU, the University has seen several accomplishments.

  • ENMU saw its most significant growth in enrollment in over a decade, with a first-time freshman class up 18.9 percent and new graduate students up 19.7 percent. Overall enrollment increased to 5,737, a 6.3 percent increase from 2023-2024.
  • The number of full-time students for undergraduate and graduate classes was up for the 24-25 school year, leading to an 8.9 percent increase in student credit hours, adding over 4,000 more student credit hours compared to the 23-24 school year.
  • ENMU set an all-time record for the number of graduate students enrolled at ENMU for the fall of 2024 with 1,487.
  • For the 5th straight year, with the support of the Board of Regents, held tuition and fee rates flat to maintain accessibility and affordability of higher education for ENMU students
  • Several ENMU facilities have had significant renovations in the last year. The $23 million Roosevelt Science Center was completed and opened. The University broke ground on the $35 million construction of the new Student Academic Services building, the first new building on the ENMU campus in more than a decade. Over the last year, other projects included the demolition of Harding Hall, the demolition of Bernalillo Hall, and several improvements to athletics facilities, including the new infield turf at Greyhound Baseball Stadium.
  • Established a Division of Advancement and Public Relations. Since the inception of the advancement division, the ENMU Foundation has seen record-breaking growth year over year. In FY 2023, $4,304,523 was raised in new gifts and commitments. FY 2024 saw a 67% increase from 2023, raising $7,196,997.
  • ENMU continued to engage the Portales community with the Rally on Main community pep rally and concert this past fall in addition to the 90th-anniversary celebrations this past year, which included the first-ever drone show on the ENMU campus as part of the 90th-anniversary homecoming celebration.
  • Additional coordination with the community and region included continued work on access to behavioral health, business growth, efforts to attract new business, and paid student internships.
  • The ENMU System continued work on One Eastern, a vision to create system-wide access to all programs offered and seamless, supportive student engagement from start to graduation.

Details on Johnston’s contract extension, running through January 1, 2030, include an 8.8 percent equity adjustment in salary and a supplementary retirement contribution to a 403B fund equal to 7 percent of his base salary.

For more information on Eastern New Mexico University, visit www.enmu.edu.