Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2007 | 7:01 a.m.
University system Chancellor Jim Rogers on Tuesday defended the UNLV Research Foundation's six-figure move to a new office, as regents continued to wait for legal guidance on whether they should have been informed about the move.
"I don't have any reason to believe that there's something wrong with what (the foundation) did," Rogers said. "I'm not in the business of second-guessing whether they want walnut furniture or mahogany furniture."
But Rogers added: "I think it's good that the regents are mindful about it. I'm proud of the fact that they're watching it."
Rogers said he talked to UNLV President David Ashley, who sits on the nonprofit foundation's 11-member board, which also includes several prominent businesspeople, and is "comfortable" that he, too, is monitoring the organization's dealings.
But Regents Steve Sisolak and Mark Alden, who have raised questions about the office move, voiced frustration Tuesday that the Nevada System of Higher Education's chief legal counsel, Bart Patterson, has not yet helped them to define their oversight role.
"There's a definite lack of knowledge out there right now," Sisolak said. "I don't know how we got into this position. We need to get this resolved once and for all as to what the reporting lines are."
Alden added: "It's like being stuck in the mud. We don't know how we got in the mud and we don't know how to get out."
Both Sisolak and Alden said Patterson told them Tuesday he hopes to have some definitive answers by the end of the week.
The Research Foundation's primary goal is to develop for UNLV the Harry Reid Research and Technology Park, which sits on 115 acres on West Sunset Road near Durango Drive. The land is estimated to be worth $30 million to $40 million.
In a Sun story on Sunday, Sisolak questioned whether the foundation, which receives federal funding, should be spending nearly $165,000 on furnishings and taking out a $125,000 loan to pay for the move without approval from the Board of Regents.
Sisolak described some of the furnishings as "a little lavish." The items, records show, include a $4,500 58-inch plasma television, a $5,660 11-foot-high glass mosaic, a $12,344 custom-made conference table, $9,100 in limestone tile and $15,600 in vinyl and rare wood wall coverings.
Despite the controversy, the Research Foundation on Tuesday began moving into the new 2,700-square-foot office, which is on the second floor of a commercial building across the street from the Reid Research and Technology Park.
Although the foundation's $125,000 loan has been approved by Wells Fargo Equipment Financing Inc., the foundation has not yet secured permission to proceed from its own board.
The move, for the moment, is being financed with cash on hand at the foundation, UNLV officials said.
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