LOOKING IN ON: HIGHER EDUCATION

Sunday, July 9, 2006 | 7:38 a.m.

Maybe it's a control thing, or ego, but regents get upset when they read in the press about new programs before they approve them.

And they are irked when they are asked to approve contracts they haven't yet had the chance to read.

They get downright blustery when they get calls from reporters seeking comments about major problems - say, cheating at the dental school - that they don't know about.

But what really gets under some regents' skin is when they aren't invited to university events or fundraisers, or when some regents are invited and others aren't. Adding to the insult: When they are invited, regents are asked to pay for their tickets.

Regent James Dean Leavitt, for example, wants to know why some regents were invited to attend UNLV's grand opening of its new hotel program in Singapore, and why he wasn't. He also wants to know why he received an invitation to a Wolf Pack Governor's dinner for Saturday with a $250-per-person price tag.

Regents have typically covered such meals with their host account funds, but Leavitt scoffs at that idea.

"The president wouldn't pay to attend," Leavitt said.

He has asked the system's executive vice chancellor and chief counsel to look into the matter, and the board as a whole has asked that the other communication issues be put on the agenda for discussion at a special meeting scheduled for Aug. 4.

For the record, UNLV executives who gave up their chance at a four-day Fourth of July weekend by coming to work Monday did get a glimpse of their new boss.

President David Ashley was on the job for most of the day Monday, stealthily whispering to administrators on the seventh floor that he really was there just to meet the furniture truck holding his belongings.

His first official day on the job was Wednesday, which he spent in back-to-back briefing s.

Ashley will have two No. 2s on staff, at least until he can formally hire an executive vice president and provost.

Ashley appointed Michael Bowers, vice provost for academic affairs, and Dawn Neuman, vice provost for academic resources, to share the duties of provost and sit on his Cabinet until he finds a permanent one.

Mark Rudin, associate vice president for research, is also serving as an interim vice president for research and graduate studies.

The holes in Chancellor Jim Rogers' staff are just about plugged. In recent months Jane Nichols, vice chancellor for academic and student affairs, has restructured her staff after several positions opened.

Nichols recruited Penny Amy, former UNLV associate vice provost for campus development and director of the Shadow Lane Campus and Biotechnology programs, to serve as new associate vice chancellor for research and academic development.

Nichols has also filled the positions of associate vice chancellor for financial aid, director of institutional research and, just on Friday, hired a new director for the statewide Management Assistance Program.