Search for new CCSN chief starts over

Jennifer Knight

Monday, March 12, 2001 | noon

A search committee charged with finding a president for Community College of Southern Nevada has decided to scrap all four job candidates and restart the search, even though a Supreme Court ruling gave it the go-ahead to hire right away.

Four finalists for president have been waiting in the wings for more than six months pending the outcome of a Nevada Supreme Court ruling that would determine whether candidate interviews should be held in open session.

"What we have here are four people who have stuck with us. How do you say to someone now, 'You're no good, so we're going to start all over again?' " Regent Howard Rosenberg said during Friday's committee meeting.

The court agreed with the University and Community College System of Nevada in a 4-3 vote that a president was not a public official, so regents were not required to hold interviews in open session.

The ruling came just 20 minutes before Friday morning's presidential search committee meeting began. The ruling effectively gave the committee the green light to hire one of the finalists for the position.

Instead, the members voted to start the search again so they would have a richer pool of candidates. The new search will also specifically target a more diverse group of candidates to include qualified minorities and women.

"I felt that our finalists weren't necessarily the strongest pool," Fred Alvarez, CCSN's Senate Faculty president, said. "I think we have the opportunity to look at potentially more candidates and even better candidates."

The committee decided to spend up to $27,000 to hire Association of Community College Trustees of Washington, D.C., to perform the search.

"I don't know why so many people have decided to go to a search firm now, after deciding some months ago that you didn't want one," Regent Steve Sisolak said.

Last year the committee voted 14-1 against hiring a search firm. Sisolak was the lone vote in favor of hiring one.

Friday's decision was the reverse with all but Sisolak in favor of using a search firm.

"What can I say, you learn as you go," committee chairman Regent Doug Seastrand said.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Rosenberg said.

The committee also voted unanimously to keep the interviews open, despite the Supreme Court ruling in a lawsuit brought by the Las Vegas Review-Journal that they didn't have to. The search firm consultant advised against opening the interviews, noting it would narrow the number of candidates.

Several committee members expressed that anyone who is appointed president should get used to public scrunity.

"In this state, if you can't handle the sunshine, well ..." joked Seastrand who was referring to the state's sunshine laws which require public officials to do their business out in the open.

The committee will have to move at break-neck speed to get a new president in before May 20, the end of the semester. The search firm is expected to bring back 12 to 15 viable candidates for the position sometime in early May.

If the four finalists wish to contend for the job again, they must reapply with either the search firm or petition a board member to recommend them. All four as of last month said that they would reapply.

Despite the Supreme Court's decision to allow the board to carry on their interviews in closed session, Seastrand said the experience has changed the way the board does operates.

"I think it changed the way we did business because first of all, we lost six months in the process. It's also a reality check because they made it clear they wanted it open, and we agree with that."