Medical school officer’s degree probed

Jennifer Knight

Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2003 | 11:47 a.m.

The University of Nevada, Reno is investigating allegations that a high-ranking administrator in the School of Medicine did not have the master's degree that was required when she was hired.

Lisa Kaye Davis, the medical school's newly appointed chief financial officer, listed a master's degree in business administration from the University of Montana on her resume.

But the Montana school has no record of Davis attending that institution, even under her former name, Lisa Kaye Slaughter.

"Questions that have been raised about a university employee are being fully investigated, while protecting the legitimate rights of that employee," UNR President John Lilley said in a prepared statement.

Davis was hired by UNR in 1999 as the chief business officer of MEDSchool Associates North, a private nonprofit arm of the school that oversees clinical practices in Northern Nevada. According to her job description at the time, a master's degree was required for the position.

Davis' academic records indicate she was enrolled in UNR's MBA program when she applied for the position at UNR.

The university's former medical school dean, Robert Daugherty, Jr., noted a degree when recommending her for the appointment in 1999.

"Lisa Davis recently earned her MBA," Daugherty wrote in a July 1999 letter. "We believe she is highly qualified for this appointment and hope that you will approve this request." Davis was subsequently hired, without a search, on Dec. 1, 1999, for the job that paid $79,250 a year.

Davis then earned her MBA from UNR in December 2000, a graduate school official said.

Davis has since been promoted and now earns $108,000 a year overseeing the school's $111 million annual budget.

Stephen McFarlane, the interim dean for the medical school, said he realizes Davis does not have an MBA from Montana, and that he doesn't know how or why that information is listed on her resume in UNR's human resources file.

"I am not sure about the hiring of her and where this information came from," McFarlane said. "You'll have to ask her how this information got into her file." Numerous attempts to reach Davis for comment were not successful.

McFarlane defended Davis' hiring.

"All I know is that I had a (CFO) position to fill," McFarlane said. "I put her in that position and she's done a great job."

There have been other recent cases in Nevada regarding questions about about academic credentials:

In the 2003 Legislature, Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, crafted a bill to make lying about educational credentials on employment applications illegal. The bill died in Williams' committee.

Regent Linda Howard also addressed the issue in a memo she wrote earlier this month: "This problem appears to be a growing concern in the UCCSN system. Please advise as to how we can address this concern at the next special or regular board meeting."

UNR officials said they do not know how long the internal investigation on Davis will take.