Key names will pop up during regents probe

Jennifer Knight

Friday, Nov. 14, 2003 | 9:17 a.m.

Ten key people will be discussed by the state Board of Regents Monday in an investigation that began with a community college secretary's complaint of unfulfilled promises and could end in disciplinary action of top officials in the university system.

System officials have notified Chancellor Jane Nichols, Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, Assemblyman Wendell Williams, D-Las Vegas, and Mike Sullivan, president of Paladin Advertising, that their names may come up during Monday's meeting.

Regents have also named Community College of Southern Nevada President Ron Remington; his adviser and lobbyist John Cummings; Topazia "Briget" Jones, the CCSN secretary who filed the complaint; Tom Peacock, the human resources associate vice president; Dan Tafoya, the director of government relations; and Patty Charlton, vice president of finance and administration.

No one on the board has been clued in on what results the investigation could yield or even what independent investigator Jeffrey Cohen was looking for when he interviewed CCSN employees.

Despite Board of Regents Chairman Stavros Anthony's vouching for the integrity of the investigation, some say they are concerned the results could be unfocused or even flawed.

"I'm concerned that one or two respected administrators will take the heat or be disciplined for something that was caused by a probationary entry-level employee," Regent Linda Howard said. "Most board members know nothing about this investigator or what he is investigating, and I'm not sure that this investigation will be fair and unbiased."

The investigation stems from a complaint filed by Jones in August. Jones was hired as a clerical trainee and acted as Williams' "special assistant" during the part of the legislative session this year.

Jones claims that CCSN officials attempted to fire her after she did not follow Cummings' orders to help with a bill to make the college an institution that grants four-year degrees. Jones also complained about the college's hiring practices and claimed she was incorrectly told her salary would double within months.

Monday's oral presentation of Cohen's findings could yield a different set of results than originally expected.

When the investigation began, the focus was supposed to address Jones' allegations. The scope of the investigation has since ballooned to include a memo sent by former CCSN employee Larry Braxton and an audit of Cummings' expenses during the legislative session.

Braxton's nine-page memo names several employees who were allegedly hired through special favors. A good portion of that memo has since been discounted as factually incorrect, others say.

Still Giunchigliani, a spokeswoman at CCSN, said she reviewed a transcript of Cohen's interview with Cummings and he seemed to use Braxton's memo as a template, she said.

"It does (seem to follow his memo)," Giunchigliani said. "And that's unfortunate because you have an anonymous unsigned fax sent by an individual who is suing the system. In fact, I think there was only one question having to do with Briget Jones in those transcripts that I can recall."

Giunchigliani and others pointed out that the investigator neglected to interview two key people -- Debra Solt, Jones' immediate supervisor who recommended she be terminated; and Peacock, who approved her termination.

Regent Mark Alden said that although he believes the investigation will be thorough and unbiased, he is concerned that Nichols, the chancellor, was exonerated by Anthony before the investigation was finished.

Nichols had been tied to the hiring of Jones, but Anthony said he was assured that Nichols did nothing wrong.

"I asked the investigator if at this point there was any indication there was any wrongdoing on the part of the chancellor, and he said no," Anthony said. "She is the one that is responsible for running the system, and I wanted to know what her involvement was."

All 13 regents will be in Monday's closed meeting. After Cohen's oral presentation board members will have the chance to ask questions before going into open session.

Anthony said regents will have the option to take action against employees or extend the investigation.

"There's a good possibility that the board will take action based on the outcome of the investigation, but it could be that the board decides they need to get more information by extending the investigation," he said.