Ethics Commission to decide Rosenberg case

Wednesday, Dec. 18, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

But a hearing on the matter was postponed until February at the request of Rosenberg's attorney, Byron Bilyeu, and Rosenberg said he plans to take his seat on the board when it meets in January.

"If they don't like that, let them go to court and stop us," Bilyeu said.

"I just want to make life better for our students," Rosenberg said after the board agreed to consider the issue. "It's all that's in my mind."

Rosenberg won a surprise victory in the Nov. 5 election over Mary Ellen McMullen.

Two days later, university system lawyer Don Klasic raised the prospect that it may be illegal under Nevada law for Rosenberg to be a regent while continuing to teach at the University of Nevada, Reno. Chancellor Richard Jarvis then asked the ethics panel for an opinion on the situation.

Klasic said the law makes it a felony for state officers to "in any manner ... receive any commission, personal profit or compensation of any kind resulting from any contract" greater than $250.

As a regent, Rosenberg would be considered a state officer. The position is unpaid. As a professor, he is under contract for about $70,000.

Bilyeu opposed the commission's participation, saying it did not have jurisdiction in the matter because Rosenberg was not yet a regent. He also argued that the questions raised in Jarvis' opinion request amounted to "what if" hypothetical scenarios that lawmakers specifically wanted to avoid when they amended the statute to allow third parties to seek commission opinions.

The commission had scheduled a hearing on the case at its next meeting Jan. 23-24 in Las Vegas.

But it was delayed until February when Bilyeu and Rosenberg said it should be held when the board meets in Reno, from where Rosenberg was elected.

Any decision made by the commission is unlikely to resolve the dispute definitively.

Bilyeu, in opposing the commission's jurisdiction, said the issues are legal ones that ultimately may be decided in court.

Rosenberg called the ordeal frustrating.

"I think the administration has lost sight of the individual students," the 30-year art and film professor said. "My first responsibility is to my students. All the rest of this is noise."

He acknowledged occasions may arise when his dual roles would create a conflict, but he said such instances should be dealt with as they come up.