Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

LOOKING IN ON: HIGHER EDUCATION:

UNLV president’s new assistant opts out

Last-minute decision means candidate search begins anew

UNLV President David Ashley announced Thursday that a close associate from a previous job will not be joining UNLV as a high-ranking administrator.

Nancy Tanaka, an assistant vice chancellor at the University of California, Merced, was scheduled begin work Sept. 15 at UNLV as Ashley’s chief of staff and associate president. Tanaka reported to Ashley when he was executive vice chancellor and provost at Merced.

In an e-mail to the campus community Thursday, Ashley wrote, “It is with regret that I inform the campus that Nancy learned earlier this week of a serious family illness and will not be taking the position here at UNLV. As much as Nancy would have been a valuable asset to our campus, her priorities must remain with her family.”

Tanaka could not be reached for comment.

Her annual salary at UNLV would have topped $175,000. Some faculty members viewed the hire as a questionable expense at a time when the university is buying out longtime employees.

Steve Sisolak, a member of the Board of Regents, which governs higher education, worried that people would see Tanaka’s hiring as cronyism.

Ashley did not conduct an open search for the position, instead considering three people he knew professionally and one who was recommended through a professional contact.

Tanaka would have overseen hiring and budgeting for the president’s office, represented Ashley at select campus meetings and worked with regents. She would also have worked to ensure Ashley heard and responded to faculty and staff members’ concerns.

In his e-mail to UNLV on Thursday, Ashley said he believes the chief of staff position is “critically important.”

“My intention is to fill the position as soon as possible,” he wrote. “We will consider both internal and external candidates. Recommendations and self nominations (including resumes) should be submitted to: [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.”

Ashley said the new hire’s pay will depend on that person’s qualifications.

•••

Democrats flocked to Cashman Field on Wednesday to hear their presidential nominee, Barack Obama, speak.

But at UNLV, some Democratic students passed up the chance to see their candidate so they could attend another political event — a debate pitting UNLV Young Democrats against UNLV College Republicans.

In a one-on-one battle that drew about 75 spectators, College Republicans President Trent Harper took on Elliot Anderson, a political science student and Young Democrats member. Jon Ralston, political pundit and Sun columnist, moderated.

Together, Harper and Anderson tackled issues ranging from energy policy and the Iraq war to the mortgage crisis and their parties’ vice presidential picks.

Harper said he backs free trade, and Anderson said he supports “fair trade” with countries with labor and other standards similar to those of the United States.

Harper said he supports drilling for more oil in America and letting entrepreneurs develop renewable energy projects, and Anderson said he thinks the government’s main focus should be on encouraging the adoption of alternative energy technologies.

Anderson, a junior who wants to go to law school after completing his undergraduate work at UNLV, said participating in a debate “is not as easy as it looks.”

“It’s hard to keep yourself focused ... You can’t respond to everything, and you have to pick and choose what you’re going to respond to. So it was definitely a real learning experience.”

•••

A couple of highlights from Wednesday’s debate:

Harper, responding to Anderson’s contention that Joe Biden is not a creature of Washington largely because the Democratic vice presidential nominee lives in Delaware: “Taking a train home does not make you a noncreature of Washington ... He’s been there for ... 36 years. That is a creature of Washington.”

Anderson, describing how his opinion of John McCain, a politician he’d once admired, had changed: “He’s become such a political opportunist, it’s sickening to me ... It’s like watching your childhood hero die or something.”

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