UNLV vice president Ackerman to step down

Valerie Miller

Monday, May 15, 2000 | 11:11 a.m.

Longtime UNLV administrator Robert Ackerman will step down from his post as vice president of student services at the end of this week.

Ackerman, whose last day is Friday, may take a job as an associate professor in UNLV's College of Education this fall.

He came to UNLV in 1986 as dean of student services when Robert Maxson was the university's president. He has held the job of vice president of student services -- one of UNLV's highest-ranking positions -- since 1989.

Rebecca Mills, an assistant to President Carol Harter and a member of the College of Education faculty since 1987, will take the post of interim vice president of student services when Ackerman vacates the position, a statement released last week said. The university Board of Regents will vote on Mills' appointment June 22-23.

A national search will follow to find a new vice president of student services.

Ackerman, 59, said he has been contemplating such a move for a while, and the decision was his alone.

"No one asked me to resign or put any pressure on me," he said.

"I've been in the educational field my entire career -- 34 years, and as an administrator for 29 years. I've been thinking a lot now about the road not taken, and I know I want to do something else."

While he might teach some educational leadership or administration courses at UNLV in the fall, Ackerman said he is uncertain about the direction he wants to take in his life at this point.

"Right now, I'm going to take some vacation time, which I have coming, and prepare for the classes I will be teaching in the fall," he said.

Ackerman, who informed his staff of his decision Friday, said he told Harter about six weeks ago that he was not interested in signing a new contract to remain vice president for another year. He said Harter offered him the job of teaching educational leadership at UNLV for two years or longer.

Ackerman, who currently makes more than $134,000 a year, said that while he has not discussed a salary for his new position, he expects it to be less than what he makes now.

During his tenure as vice president of student services for the past 11 years, Ackerman has seen UNLV grow to close to 22,000 students. New dormitories, a Student Health Center, the Women's Center, Multicultural Student Affairs and the Disability Resource Center all have been added to the campus.

Ackerman has also seen his share of turmoil. Since last fall students have held rallies claiming brutality and abuse of power by the university police, which is under Ackerman's authority.

The problem came to a head in early March after a controversial drug raid at a UNLV dormitory that resulted in acting UNLV Police Chief Don Drake and another member of the force being put on administrative leave.

The university just two weeks ago named a new police chief, Jose Elique, who will take the position June 1.

"The university is in good shape right now. I think we got the best candidate (Elique)," Ackerman said about the new UNLV police chief. "We had a problem, but we handled it extraordinarily well. I take some pride in that."

Ackerman said he also felt the time was right to step down because UNLV had just finished its accreditation evaluation last month, which he thinks went very well.

Valerie Miller is a reporter for the Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-2319 or by e-mail at valerie@lasvegassun.com.