 In 2017, the Board of Regents announced that his contract would not be renewed, resulting in his retirement effective July 1, 2018.He was succeeded by John D. Floros, a food scientist and former Dean of the Kansas State University College of Agriculture

Questioned by faculty at an on-campus meeting on his candidacy to become NMSU chancellor in 2013, Carruthers said that there was not a scientific consensus on climate change, stating "I don't know.I'm an economist.