LOOKING IN ON: HIGHER EDUCATION

Saturday, March 10, 2007 | 7:12 a.m.

Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons and Democratic Assemblywoman Bonnie Parnell will meet with the Board of Regents next week when it gathers for two days of discussions about legislative issues, including funding requests, the future of the Millennium Scholarship and the health science system proposal.

Regent Chairman Bret Whipple asked staff and fellow regents on Tuesday to not testify on Senate Joint Resolution 4, a proposed constitutional amendment to have regents appointed rather than elected, until the whole board can decide its position on it. Several regents were annoyed when Chancellor Jim Rogers supported appointing chancellors.

The majority of the board has always favored the status quo of an elected board, but there are enough regents who see the merits of an appointed board that that majority might be slim.

While hosting health fairs at the Salvation Army Day Center in downtown Las Vegas this semester, UNLV nursing students noticed that the center's "Kids' Corner" was in shambles.

So they decided to do something about it.

The area was dirty, in need of new paint and presented a health risk because parents, frustrated that there were no changing tables, were changing dirty diapers on the floor.

Also, there was nowhere for younger children to rest. Students witnessed a toddler napping in a dog bed for lack of a crib, said Nancy Menzel, associate professor for community nursing at UNLV.

Menzel donated the paint and the students volunteered elbow grease, and her classes spent Thursday cleaning and repainting. Now they are seeking donations to refurbish the center with furniture, books, toys and other needs.

"We're trying to make it a bright and cheery place, away from the waiting area for parents," Menzel said.

The class is designed to teach students how to address the health needs of high-risk populations, such as the homeless. Students learn how to assess problems, develop solutions and measure the effect of their efforts.

Nevada's university presidents are asking regents to approve a new policy on handling classified research.

The policy stems from Sun articles in April that raised questions about the work being done by UNLV Research Foundation's Institute for Security Studies. UNLV officials had stalled releasing details on the research work because they said it was classified information.

The new policy affirms that most research at the state's universities should be done with the intent of sharing the knowledge with the public, but provides for greater scrutiny when national security demands confidentiality.

"It protects the integrity of the data while not allowing that to be a shield for protecting all research," UNLV President David Ashley said.

Most of UNLV's Research Foundation staff members learned their expertise on the job and not in the classroom, according to education and employment information released this month to the Sun. And they earn more than their doctoral counterparts on campus.

More than half of the staff had worked for Bechtel Nevada , the records show.

UNLV officials released the information three months after regents deemed it public information. They said they didn't realize that the Sun's request for "employment history" referred to jobs held prior to working at UNLV.