New Mexico State University's President of three years Barbara Couture has resigned from her position.

Provost Wendy Wilkins has taken up the duties of president until Couture's replacement will be found.

Though there are rumors doing rounds that she was forced out by the board of regents for lacking confidence in her leadership, the official statement says otherwise.

According to the university, Couture has been accepted as senior adviser for the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities.

Her resignation was accepted by the board Monday. The separation agreement marks her official exit from the university.

To prepare for her new position she has been granted administrative leave through December 2012. She won't receive a salary from APLU while on leave.

Following a closed-door meeting, the regents announced the news in a packed public meeting at NMSU's Corbett Center.

The board is not ready to indulge in details of the agreement nor has it agreed to get into specifics of the issue of resignation. But, they have denied the allegations that Couture was forced to resign.

"I'm not going to comment on rumors in my business, and I'm not going to comment on these kinds of rumors," board chairman Mike Cheney said.

"Personnel issues are exempt from public discussion to protect Dr.Couture and to protect the university, so we will not discuss the specifics behind the decision."

Couture had been on a leave since last week. Around the same time, the rumors of Couture leaving her position starting to surface. A source told abc7 that Couture was forced out for various reasons that matched up with Regent Javier Gonzales' list of issues plaguing the university.

"We've seen falling enrollment, a decline in our research dollars, unreliable and inconsistent state funding, an athletic program that's in danger of finding itself with no conference to play in, a nursing school that just lost its accreditation and much more," Regent Javier Gonzales said.

Cheney said that the university needs a strong leader who can stand up to challenges that the university is facing. But, he did not respond to the question whether Couture failed to provide that kind of leadership.

"I'm not going to comment on what we did or didn't have, or any strengths or shortcomings, but I will tell you Dr. Couture contributed to this university."

Couture did not attend Monday's meeting with board of regents, but issued a statement later. She thanked everyone from NMSU community for the opportunity to serve them.

The name of the interim president will be announced Oct. 15 and the search for a new president will begin immediately.