Regents’ ties to schools probed

Jennifer Knight

Monday, Nov. 4, 2002 | 10:56 a.m.

The state's university and community college presidents are being asked to list all family or financial ties Board of Regent members may have to their institutions -- a request that will likely lead back to Regent Linda Howard, whose daughter recently got a job at the Community College of Southern Nevada.

The request for information by Chancellor Jane Nichols follows allegations that Howard has abused her power as a regent. Howard admitted looking at the personnel files of Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates, who works at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the private records of two students who criticized her.

Howard's daughter, Charleta Byrd, was hired by the Community College of Southern Nevada in July 2002. She now works in a clerical position in the athletics department, making $38,000 a year.

Howard denied playing a part in the hiring of her daughter, who was one of 41 applicants. Byrd said she did not get help from her mother. Regent Tom Kirkpatrick, a friend of Howard's at the time, recommended Byrd for the job.

"I was asked by Byrd for a reference, and I said I would have to find out more about her, and I did," said Kirkpatrick, who has since had a falling out with Howard. "(Howard) did not ask me."

Howard did not return repeated calls for comment.

Helen Cloughtery, who chaired Byrd's search committee, said she learned that Byrd was Howard's daughter during the search process but did not pass the information on to the rest of the committee. But Kirkpatrick's reference did carry some weight.

"That just gets your attention when you're calling a regent for a reference," Clougherty said.

CCSN's Associate Vice President for Human Resources Thomas Peacock defended the choice of Byrd.

"The committee went through all the applications under review and as far I know, she was the best qualified candidate," he said.

Regent Steve Sisolak requested the chancellor ask all presidents for a disclosure of regents' ties, because the board signed off on an anti-nepotism policy last month requiring regents to disclose such information, he said.

"I don't know if there was a fair search process, but I'm certainly not interested at looking at anybody's personnel files," Sisolak said. "I think this is a reasonable request that we make this public. If that offends anybody, I'm sorry."

Howard's recent actions also prompted the chancellor to request that all institutions report any regent's request to access student or personnel files at their institution, and to funnel any future requests through the chancellor's office.

Nichols' office authorized Howard's access to student records last December but public outrage has put pressure on the system to look at strengthening its policies.

"There has obviously been some criticism for Regent Howard looking at files," Nichols said. "Many regents feel that if she is not the only one who has done this, that this is unfair and we need to know what the extent of the practice is."