Thursday, Feb. 24, 2005 | 11:02 a.m.
After months of saying he wasn't interested, Interim Chancellor Jim Rogers is throwing his hat into the ring for the permanent job.
Rogers said the change of heart came because there are too many things he wants to "see through."
"I think I'm kind of bitten at this point," Rogers said of his 10 months as the interim chancellor. "I think I'm hooked in the process."
The millionaire media mogul said he will apply for the position like any other candidate going through the search process, and if hired, will commit three more years to the position. It will be one of the first times he has ever applied for a job, Rogers said.
And as he did in the interim position, Rogers said he will work for the $8,000 minimum mandated by law. The current salary range for the job is between $225,000 to $334,000 a year.
Because Rogers lacked academic experience when he took the interim job, however, he had the system hire an assistant chancellor who is paid about $165,000 a year, so that reduced the amount of savings the system received under Rogers' own minimum salary arrangement.
The Sun reached 12 of the 13 regents Wednesday, and almost all contacted were in favor of Rogers' applying and had nothing but praise for him.
The almost universal sentiment was that Rogers, in his short tenure, had brought the state's eight institutions together as a system and restored credibility to the Board of Regents.
One regent, Mark Alden, said he wanted to do away with the search process and save the estimated $80,000 the process will cost taxpayers.
"I'm encouraged by Mr. Rogers wanting to become chancellor," Alden said. "... The board has become much more effective since he's become interim chancellor."
While other regents certainly shared Alden's enthusiam, all others said the search process was essential.
"The system deserves the best," Regent Bret Whipple, chairman of the search committee, said. "And as much as I respect and appreciate Jim's interest, I think its incumbent upon us to do a nationwide search and make sure we get the best person for the job.
"I think it's money well spent because we don't know what other people are interested in the possibility and what other people can bring to the plate."
Regent Howard Rosenberg, the only regent to express opposition to Rogers' candidacy, said he feared Rogers entrance into the race would scare other candidates off.
"It would send a signal that this could be just an exercise and that anyone applying wouldn't have a chance," Rosenberg said.
The UNR professor has gone head-to-head with Rogers on a number of issues, and does not believe that Rogers, a lawyer and businessman, has the proper academic experience to do the job permanently.
"I'm grateful for what he has done, but we need someone as chancellor who knows higher education and knows education period," Rosenberg said. "We don't have that right now."
As late as last Wednesday, Rogers was telling regents that he still wasn't interested in the position, Regent James Dean Leavitt said. It was only in the last few days that he changed his mind and began to bat the idea around with a handful of regents, including Chairman Stavros Anthony, Vice Chairwoman Jill Derby, and regents Whipple, Dorothy Gallagher and Steve Sisolak.
Rogers called the rest of the regents Wednesday afternoon and send them a formal memo announcing his intention to run for the position.
Two issues Rogers said he wants to pursue are more private money for the university system and the use of private-public partnerships to pay for some of the building needs on the state's campuses. He personally has donated or pledged more than $60 million to the university system.
In January, Rogers had floated the idea of regents creating a position for him -- vice chancellor for development -- so he could continue to work to develop the system and raise money. He said Wednesday that he thought he would be more efficient and effective at raising money with the chancellor title.
Rogers' announcement did disappoint at least on regent, Sparks resident Doug Hill.
"I was hoping he was going to run for governor," Hill said.
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