Former assistant challenges Harter on diversity

Thursday, Dec. 22, 2005 | 7:54 a.m.

University system Chancellor Jim Rogers' roundtable meeting Tuesday to discuss diversity included a heated spat between UNLV President Carol Harter and a former employee.

Ann Casados-Mueller, who was UNLV's assistant vice president for diversity until 2004, was part of the meeting at the exclusive Stirling Club and took Harter to task over diversity issues at the university.

Harter argued that the way the diversity office at that time was structured wasn't effective, and Casados-Mueller argued that it wasn't effective because she wasn't given the authority to enforce Equal Opportunity guidelines.

After Casados-Mueller threatened to sue Harter for defamation, Rogers ordered Casados-Mueller to sit down and be quiet.

Community members on Rogers' diversity roundtable have complained for months that Harter did not have a diversity officer in her presidential Cabinet and that those responsible for enforcing Equal Opportunity guidelines reported to the head of human resources. UNLV is the only state institution that combines the two offices.

"The diversity department has to be the watchdog for human resources," Hannah Brown, president of the Urban Chamber, said.

After fielding nearly two hours of often hostile complaints, Harter agreed to restructure the university's diversity office to raise its visibility and separate it from human resources.

Harter said she will work with the roundtable, which includes members of the Latin, Urban and Asian chambers, to make the desired changes.

Hurt feelings

Upset that he wasn't part of the in crowd on the Board of Regents, Regent Mark Alden last week resigned from all of his committee assignments.

That resignation lasted just 48 hours.

Alden said his previous concerns have been taken care of and said he would go back to his four committee assignments.

As a senior regent, Alden said last week that he had felt that he wasn't being listened to on committees and that he wasn't a part of the "club" on the board. He also said he needed some time off to raise money for his re-election campaign.

Chancellor Jim Rogers said Alden often gets his feelings hurt and overreacts, but he said he serves the Nevada System of Higher Education well.

"We've tried to get him to count to 10 before he sends in the letters and sometimes he doesn't do it," Rogers said.

Regents conflicted over conflict

Regents may see a showdown Jan. 6 as Regent Doug Hill continues to challenge whether Regent Howard Rosenberg should be allowed to serve on the UNR presidential search committee.

Hill, who lives in Sparks, has asked board Chairman Bret Whipple to get an opinion from the attorney general's office and the state Ethics Commission on whether there is a conflict with Rosenberg helping to select his next boss.

In 1997 the Ethics Commission split over whether Rosenberg, a UNR art professor, could serve as a regent and keep his position at the university. The commission allowed it with the caveat that Rosenberg excuse himself from votes where there may be a conflict and ask for subsequent opinions whenever there was a question.

"Regarding questions of disclosure and abstention, an ounce of prevention truly is worth a pound of cure," commissioners wrote in the opinion.

Rosenberg said he has never seen a need to ask for an opinion from the commission, doesn't see the need now and wouldn't follow an opinion that said he shouldn't serve on the search committee.

He served on the search committee for outgoing President John Lilley, and Rosenberg said professors have always served as advisers in the search process.

"There is no conflict," Rosenberg said. "There never has been, there never will be."

Whipple said he will ask regents to vote on Hill's request at the board's meeting next month in Reno.

Christina Littlefield can be reached at 259-8813 or at clittle@ lasvegassun.com.