Four regents seek meeting with Rogers

Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2004 | 10:53 a.m.

Interim Chancellor Jim Rogers for weeks has been pontificating on various issues affecting Nevada's higher education by sending out memos to the Board of Regents and copying the media.

In one, Rogers even said that divisiveness among board members was partly to blame for the dysfunction in the system.

Now four regents, led by lame duck Regent Tom Kirkpatrick, want to have their say by calling Rogers into a personnel session at the upcoming Oct. 14 and 15 Board of Regents meeting in Reno.

Kirkpatrick and Regents Bret Whipple, Linda Howard and Marcia Bandera requested the personnel session in order to engage in "constructive dialogue" with Rogers in regard to the policy and behavior that regents expect from the chancellor position, according to a memo Kirkpatrick sent on Thursday to Board of Regents Chairman Stavros Anthony.

"We want to give the chancellor an opportunity to answer questions any of the board members have since he's been chancellor and to give him a chance to speak to any of the board members," Kirkpatrick said.

Rogers said he saw the personnel session as an opportunity to talk with regents and has asked that it remain open to the public.

"Anything they've got to say I'm happy to have said in public, and anything I have to say I'm happy to say in public," Rogers said.

Nevada law allows public agencies to hold closed personnel session in order to discuss the character, alleged misconduct, professional competence or physical or mental health of certain executive employees.

In closed personnel sessions last November, regents demoted two Community College of Southern Nevada administrators on a split vote. The agenda item for this personnel session does allow the board to take a "number of possible actions," but regents would not say what that would entail.

Kirkpatrick said he wants to discuss with Rogers the interim chancellor's comments in memos that supported an appointed rather than an elected Board of Regents.

Because regents unanimously approved a resolution that they remain an appointed board, Kirkpatrick said it was Rogers' job to support and implement that position as he would be required to do of any board policy. If he cannot reconcile himself to the board's position, he should resign, Kirkpatrick said.

Kirkpatrick said he believes Rogers' memo about the board's divisiveness may have led to his loss in the primary, but he said that had nothing to do with his decision to call for a personnel session.

"Oh, Lord no," Kirkpatrick said. "I'm happy that I'm not going to be on the board. My wife and I both feel somewhat relieved we don't have this responsibility anymore."

As an outgoing regent, Kirkpatrick also said he has no plans to call for any negative action against Rogers.

"That would be inappropriate," Kirkpatrick said.

Whipple said he was supporting the personnel session because he said it was a great way to communicate with the chancellor and an opportunity to address all of the different issues that have come up in the past few weeks. Whipple also said he did not think it would be a "critical evaluation" of the chancellor's performance, but that some regents may have "other issues."

Whipple will be chairing the search committee to find a permanent replacement for Rogers, who said he only plans to stay in the post until June 1.