Panel picks Carpenter next president of CCSN

Thursday, May 13, 2004 | 9:10 a.m.

In a rare showing of unanimity, the 19-member community college presidential search committee voted without discussion on Wednesday to recommend Richard Carpenter as the next president of the Community College of Southern Nevada.

University regents are scheduled to vote on the recommendation of Carpenter, who is currently president of the Wisconsin Community and Technical College System, on June 3-4, when they meet at Great Basin Community College in Elko.

Regent Tom Kirkpatrick, chairman of the search committee, said he was "pleasantly surprised" by the unanimous vote.

"We really did have three top-notch candidates, and any one of them could have done a great job," Kirkpatrick said. "Carpenter had the most experience working with big, multi-campus colleges, and I think he'll do an outstanding job."

Carpenter accepted the job immediately via speaker phone and thanked the committee for its "major vote of confidence."

"I see such an incredible potential with the college," Carpenter said.

Carpenter asked for the help and support of those around the table to "do the mending we need to do."

CCSN faculty and administrators who attended focus groups on each of the college's three main campuses on Tuesday repeatedly said in their evaluations that they saw Carpenter as a healer who would bring stability to a college that has had six presidents in the past 10 years.

Regents demoted Carpenter's predecessor, Ron Remington, from his post as president on a split vote after a 17-hour, two-day closed session in November. The move shocked Remington and faculty members at CCSN, many of whom have continued to support Remington's reinstatement.

The demotion of Remington and lobbyist John Cummings spurred both men and the Nevada attorney's general office to file lawsuits alleging the regents violated the state's open-meeting laws during the closed session. In the lawsuits the plaintiffs have asked the court to void the demotions.

The continued uncertainty of those legal actions have caused many faculty members to question why regents have moved to hire a replacement for Remington at all, Mitzi Ware, CCSN faculty senate chair, said during the public comments at the end of Wednesday's meeting.

Ware told the committee she was happy with the selection of Carpenter but she and many other faculty members believed the Board of Regents should have waited to select a permanent president.

"We had hoped the legal ramifications would be worked out before a replacement was chosen," Ware said. "There are many unresolved issues that make it an unstable situation."

Ware has sat through all of the search committee meetings even though she is not a member of the committee.

Kirkpatrick began to respond to Ware's comments by saying that the regents have made their decision on Remington. He was then silenced by university system attorney Tom Ray, who reminded Kirkpatrick that he could not discuss Remington without violating the state open-meeting law.

Ware's reminder of why CCSN was searching for a new president did not, however, overshadow the consensus of committee members on selecting Carpenter.

"I very much enjoyed being part of a process that is unanimous," Regent Bret Whipple said.

"To have 19 individuals agree upon the person who was going to dictate the leadership of the community college is amazing."

The committee members did not discuss Carpenter's merits before they voted, but they did listen to the evaluations from CCSN faculty and administrators before they made their decision.

Carpenter received the most accolades of any of the final candidates from the CCSN focus groups and few negative remarks. In addition to the comments of Carpenter's willingness to heal the campus, the evaluations including praise for Carpenter's inclusiveness, understanding of the mission of community colleges, knowledge of the college's current challenges, great fund-raising ideas, work with bringing in alternative revenue through outside businesses, and his extensive experience with managing multi-campus colleges.

The only negative remarks included in the evaluations were that Carpenter did not appear to be in favor of seeking four-year degrees at the community college level and that he was long-winded. A few evaluations also included fears of how long Carpenter would stay with CCSN considering his willingness to leave his position in Wisconsin after only three years.

If the Board of Regents approves Carpenter as CCSN president, he may start as early as July 1. His contract will be negotiated through Interim Chancellor Jim Rogers and Regents Chairman Stavros Anthony. Remington was paid $166,000 a year plus travel and housing benefits.