LOOKING IN ON: HIGHER EDUCATION

Saturday, Nov. 3, 2007 | 7:27 a.m.

UNLV's plan to tear down Maude Frazier Hall, its oldest building, has angered preservationists who say the structure is a historical gem. The school wants to replace Frazier Hall with a gateway to the campus.

Renovating Frazier Hall, UNLV estimates, would cost $15 million. Rob Thewes, an assistant shift manager at The Mirage, wanted to know why. So he wrote UNLV's senior vice president for finance and business asking about the cost of renovation.

The e-mail exchange between finance whiz Gerry Bomotti and Thewes, whose daughter attends UNLV, might be of interest to others.

From Thewes to Bomotti at 7:14 p.m. Oct. 25:

Dear Mr. Bomotti,

(The Sun) quotes you as saying it would cost about $15 million to fix Frazier Hall. This seems a bit high for a 16,600 -square-foot building. Even with today's sky-high costs for construction materials and labor, one could build a castle much larger than that for that kind of money.

I am not against progress. If the building has outlived its usefulness, then perhaps it's time for a change. I just feel journalists should be given accurate information, or they should at least question information that sounds inaccurate or unbelievable.

And Bomotti's response, that night at 9:44 :

Hello

We believe this level of estimate is accurate. I have dealt with many very old facilities and it is not unusual to have renovation costs much higher than new construction since you often have to rebuild parts of the building (meaning you need to stabilize it, take it apart, and then put it back together). In this case we need to remove asbestos in the building without destroying it if we are going to renovate it. Your point is correct - one often can build something new for cheaper since you don't have to take out the old and put in something new to replace all building systems. This specific building was never constructed as a long -term building, so even structural issues need to be addressed.

Thanks

Like UNLV, other public universities nationwide have become fundraising machines.

"$3 billion. 225,000 donors. 6,000 volunteers. One astonishing accomplishment," a UCLA Web site brags about a decade long campaign that ended in 2005.

"Invent the Future," Virginia Tech urges. "Private philanthropy plays a critical role in Virginia Tech's future. Learn more about the campaign."

The University of Michigan asks donors to consider "THE MICHIGAN DIFFERENCE," a $2.5 billion campaign.

"Really great institutions can't exist without private support," said Bill Boldt, UNLV's vice president for university advancement.

Boldt said that, as he recalls, public universities began really paying attention to fundraising in the 1980s. It wasn't until the 1990s that most public universities in the West launched major campaigns, he said.

As competition for money has heated up, donors have become savv ier. Many big givers are businesspeople who want to see results from their investments.

Today's donors specify which programs and facilities they want their money to support, Boldt said. The biggest gifts are tied to detailed agreements between schools and givers outlining how money is to be used.

A week after Gov. Jim Gibbons got a letter from higher education Chancellor Jim Rogers rejecting Gibbons' request to plan for 5 percent budget cuts, some regents got into the act.

Regents Bret Whipple and Stavros Anthony sent a message Oct. 29 telling Gibbons they "were unaware of - and disappointed by - the tone and content" of Rogers' letter.

Rogers' four-page, single-spaced message ended in a conciliatory manner. But he used strong language, saying a cut "is a clear indication that the state will not support the system."

Anthony, who's planning to run for Las Vegas City Council, said he didn't have enough information to give an opinion on Gibbons' suggestion. He said the point of his and Whipple's letter "wasn't to slam anybody," but to ensure state and higher education leaders continued communicating.

Regent Steve Sisolak said although Anthony and Whipple are entitled to an opinion, "I disagree with them very strongly. I think the chancellor presented a well -thought -out, pointed, direct letter to the governor."

Regents Chairman Michael Wixom said no one has asked the board to prepare for cuts. Gibbons' request was to Rogers, so Rogers responded, Wixom said.

"No one has come to the board and said, 'What is your position?' " Wixom said. "And before the board can take a position and before I can take a position the board has to participate."