Audit: UNLV arts center lost $400,000

Monday, Oct. 20, 1997 | 11:19 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The Performing Arts Center at UNLV lost $400,000 in the first nine months of last fiscal year because it booked too many artists and the crowds were too small, an internal audit says.

In one case, the center had to cancel an event after the performers arrived in town because of poor ticket sales, said Sandi Cardinal, director of internal audit for the University and Community College System of Nevada.

The financial examination also shows a fee was paid to an artist for a canceled event due to a scheduling problem and there's a lack of communication between those in charge and the staff.

The audit suggests that UNLV try to find a private donor to underwrite all or part of its Master Series to cut the losses.

The audit will be presented to the Board of Regents, which meets Thursday and Friday at the Community College of Southern Nevada's West Charleston Boulevard campus. The regents will complete an evaluation of the performance of Chancellor Richard Jarvis and vote on how much his $181,162 salary should be increased.

Jarvis himself has recommended pay raises of 5.5 percent to 8.1 percent for top executives in the university system. Raises must be approved by the regents.

Jarvis is recommending 8.1 percent pay raises for James Randolph, president of the Western Nevada Community College in Carson City, and Ronald Remington, president of Great Basin Community College in Elko. Randolph's salary would rise to $114,179 and Remington's would go to $127,370.

The chancellor is suggesting 5.5 percent raises for Carol Harter, president at UNLV; Joseph Crowley, president at the University of Nevada, Reno; and Richard Moore, president of the Community College of Southern Nevada. Harter's pay would rise to $178,798, Crowley's to $193,476 and Moore's to $138,410.

The regents will also vote on creating a master's degree program for hospitality administration at UNLV. This 30-credit program would be composed of existing graduate courses, which can be customized to meet the needs of a specific group of managers in the hotel industry.

The budget for the first year would be $205,000 and that would rise to $463,900 the second year.