Rogers closer to his goals

Saturday, Jan. 28, 2006 | 7:27 a.m.

UNLV President Carol Harter's pending departure is one more chess move in Chancellor Jim Rogers' quest to remake the Nevada System of Higher Education.

It is also a move that has at least two university system regents calling for a special meeting to have his head, and others wanting to know more about what else Rogers has up his sleeve.

The news of Harter's retirement took most regents by surprise, with some accusing the chancellor of pushing her out.

Harter, through spokeswoman Hilarie Grey and a campus e-mail, announced Friday that she would be retiring as UNLV president effective June 30 to work as an executive of the UNLV Foundation.

But while regents and the public were told that Harter's move was mutually agreed to after private negotiations, Regents Linda Howard and Howard Rosenberg said they believe Rogers pushed Harter out.

After months of "professional differences" Rogers' admits he "encouraged her" to pursue other opportunities, but said the idea for her to go work for the foundation was hers. He similarly encouraged former UNR President John Lilley to find work elsewhere, in his case at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.

Harter is remaining mum on the topic because "she isn't in a position to talk about the specifics right now" for legal reasons, Grey said.

The vacancies at UNR and UNLV allow Rogers to get fresh blood in two key positions, people he hopes will have the energy and the mind-set to help him reshape the system and lay the groundwork for the long-proposed academic medical center.

"Regardless of who a president is, you run out of energy and ideas after a while," Rogers said. "Carol seems to have endless energy, but 11 years is a pretty good run."

New presidents will not have the "old UNR and UNLV baggage with them" of the schools constantly competing, said Rogers, who stepped in between an ongoing tug of war between Lilley and Harter. Nor will there be anyone claiming seniority over the other and dictating how things will be done.

Several regents said that Rogers has made the academic medical center his top priority. Regent Dorothy Gallagher said he was "obsessed" with it, and Regent Steve Sisolak said he believed Rogers viewed it as his possible "legacy" as chancellor.

Rogers has already left his imprint in many ways, including successfully lobbying the regents to give him more authority as chancellor, reining in the often fractious 13-member board, forging new partnerships between the system and private industry and talking state lawmakers into allocating an unprecedented amount of money for construction projects.

But Harter's departure may be the final straw for some regents. Howard said Rogers "unfairly pushed" Harter out of the presidency and that she knew of no one on the board who would have supported her removal.

"I believe his actions are inappropriate and I think the board needs to call him to task for it," Howard said.

Rosenberg seconded that, adding that a special meeting should take place soon.

"The behavior I'm seeing is typical of Mussolini," Rosenberg said. "The chancellor means well, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions."

While there wasn't a groundswell of support for Howard and Rosenberg's strong stance, several other regents were upset by the news. A majority of the regents said they wanted to know more about what exactly happened to generate Harter's sudden retirement. Several were upset that they were not clued in that there were even any negotiations going on.

"I think if things are mutually agreed upon, I'm fine with that," Regent Stavros Anthony said. "I think if we strong-arm people to get them to leave for no apparent reason, I have a problem with that."

But while some appeared clearly shocked by news of the announcement, other regents have been murmuring for months that Rogers wanted Harter out.

Rogers' "professional differences" were mostly over management style, he said. Rogers said he prefers having powerful, creative people below him handling most of the major decisions, and Harter was much more hands on.

He was also critical of how she handled donors -- the stories about her irking certain donors, notably gaming industry figures Stan Fulton and Steve and Elaine Wynn, are legendary -- and her current friction with minority groups about diversity issues.

At the same time, Rogers praised Harter for the work she has done as president, particularly in starting the law and dental schools. Working for the foundation, she'll be able to continue her work in fund raising and in developing such projects as the Black Mountain Institute that will encourage public discourse on key issues, Rogers said. Regents also almost universally praised Harter.

As to the concerns of some regents that he is a maverick acting outside of his authority in many areas, Rogers said his goal as chancellor was to create a system that can function effectively. He said he understands the desire of regents for "more information and control," but he said he sometimes has to push harder than they would prefer to get things done.

"It's one thing to have a great idea and go 'Rah rah, let's do it,' and then it never gets implemented," Rogers said. "I don't want to be someone who has lots of ideas that never get implemented. I don't want the system to be a place that has lots of ideas that never get implemented."

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