Ex-general to command anti-terror institute

Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2006 | 7:20 a.m.

In a move seen as bringing more accountability to the secretive Institute for Security Studies, UNLV President David Ashley has hired a new executive director from outside Nevada to run the troubled anti-terrorism organization.

Scott B. Smith, a retired Army major general with extensive experience in engineering and security-related matters, next Monday takes the reins of the institute, which has come under fire for failing to make good on a promise to turn UNLV into a leading academic authority on homeland security.

At the same time, Interim Executive Director Tom Williams, who has been faulted for allowing the federally funded institute to stray from its academic mission, has been given new duties unrelated to overseeing the institute.

Ashley was unavailable for comment Monday. And Mark Rudin, the interim vice president for Research and Graduate College dean, refused to be interviewed by the Sun on the personnel changes.

But UNLV spokesman Dave Tonelli confirmed that Williams will no longer be involved with the institute.

"He's now been completely removed from having any role in the daily operations of the institute," Tonelli said.

In a memo distributed within the Graduate College, Rudin suggested that Williams' new duties will be confined to dealing with federal agencies that hand out grants for research.

"He will work to support research through federal government agency relations, including updating agencies on progress of research activities and establishing research partnerships with these entities," Rudin wrote.

Like Williams, Smith will report directly to Rudin.

Smith, according to a biography supplied by UNLV, once served as a deputy assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration, where he specialized in nuclear safety and security training. He leaves a job as chief executive of the Western Research Institute, a private organization that does energy and environmental research and is associated with the University of Wyoming.

The personnel changes at UNLV are part of an effort to bring the institute under the direct control of UNLV, where it was supposed to be three years ago when university system regents approved the plan to create the institute.

Regent Steve Sisolak, one of the institute's leading critics, said he was encouraged by the latest developments, which follow a series of Sun stories disclosing the institute's failings.

"You've got to give Dr. Ashley a lot of credit," Sisolak said. "He's obviously recognized the deficiencies and weaknesses that existed in the program, and he's taking some quick and strong steps to remedy it.

"I support him totally in his effort to move the institute forward."

Sisolak said he was told that an internal UNLV audit of the institute was expected to be completed by the end of the week, but that a separate university system audit would not be finished in time to be presented to the regents at their Oct. 12 meeting.

Last month, at a stormy special meeting, the regents decided against seeking an independent audit of the institute requested by Nevada System of Higher Education Chancellor Jim Rogers until they saw the results of the internal inquiries.

Ashley, who had just taken over the reins of UNLV, had asked for time to take "constructive" measures to improve oversight of the institute.

The Sun first reported in June that the institute, which had received $8.9 million, mostly in federal funding, had fallen short of several of its key goals .

Its executive master's program in crisis and emergency management was put on hold last year after graduating only one pilot class of 17 students. And despite promises to the contrary three years ago, the institute was never placed under the direction of the Graduate College. Instead it was made part of the UNLV Research Foundation, a private offshoot of the UNLV Foundation, the university's chief fundraising arm.

Officials confirmed Monday that earlier this month the university took steps to revive the master's program by hiring Christine Springer as its director.

The program is directly under the control of UNLV's department of public administration, headed by Lee Bernick, who said he hopes the next graduate class will begin in January.

Just what role the institute will play in the program is unclear.

"We're committed to reaching out to the community here and also the professional community around the country," Springer said. "We believe Las Vegas is a place that has a lot to say about emergency and crisis management."