Nichols makes chancellor cut

Jeffrey Libby

Monday, Aug. 21, 2000 | 12:01 p.m.

A search committee chose three finalists for chancellor of the University and Community College System of Nevada after 10 hours of interviews with five candidates on Saturday.

Interim Chancellor Jane Nichols, who interviewed on Wednesday, made the cut, as did Robert Tad Perry, executive director of the South Dakota Board of Regents, and Richard Rush, president of Minnesota State University in Mankato.

Eliminated were Owen Cargol, president of the University of Maine at Augusta, and William Fulkerson, former president of the State Colleges in Colorado.

After eight hours of interviews, it took the search committee less than 10 minutes of discussion over a chicken dinner at the UNLV Performing Arts Center to narrow the field from five to three candidates. The initial search netted 44 candidates.

"We met many outstanding leaders in higher education yesterday," Regent Jill Derby, chairwoman of the search committee, said.

Starting with Rush at 9 a.m., committee members asked candidates questions about their leadership style, their ability to deal with limited resources, as well as how they would increase diversity on campuses, and how they would cope with competitions between presidents.

On leadership, Rush joked that, "The floggings will continue until morale improves."

On a more serious note, Rush noted his previous experience in California, where in 1988 he helped lobby for $240 million in state and federal funds to build California State University at San Marcos. He also completed most of the hiring for the new school.

At Minnesota, Rush said he has taken several trips to Finland to establish working partnerships with start-up businesses. He also established charter alliances with several American telecommunications giants in order to graduate more highly-skilled students.

On the subject of diversity, Rush demonstrated his pragmatic approach to addressing evolving needs.

"The first thing I did at Minnesota -- I went to the campus store and asked if they had grooming aids for African Americans," Rush said. "You start at those simple but significant signs of caring."

Perry described himself as an applied political scientist with 30 years experience in public policy.

He elicited a roomful of nods several times, most emphatically when he described strategies he used to avoid funding cuts.

"You've got to play policy based on circumstances," Perry said.

In answering to workforce shortages and students graduating unprepared for a high-tech job market, Perry said the essential structure of universities, and community colleges in particular, will have to change.

"We do things in semesters, in three-hour classes, in lecture halls. But we may have to cut education into smaller bites, particularly for the working adult," Perry said.

Perry was candid about diversity issues. Despite instituting an aggressive policy to recruit American Indians, and rebuilding his staff over six years so that half comprise under-represented minorities, he said the program "has, frankly, been a disaster. We're trying, but we're still losing (American Indians). We haven't found the magic."

Regent Dorothy Gallagher said Nevadan educators have experienced similar frustrations.

Candidates will tour the university and community college campuses and interview with faculty, students and staff beginning Aug. 28. The search committee will meet Sept. 1 to pick a nominee to present to the full Board of Regents at a Sept. 7-8 meeting.

On Saturday, the search committee scheduled hosts to guide the finalists.

"This is when you really get to know them," Gallagher said. "When you're picking them up at the airport. When you're hosting them."

Two interim chancellors have served the university system since Richard Jarvis resigned in June 1999.