Higher Education:

At UNLV, change at top would have costs

Regents must weigh consequences of firing against discontent with Ashley

Monday, June 29, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Tiffany Brown

UNLV President David Ashley, who has a year to go on his contract, could face a decision on his fate by the Board of Regents on July 10. If he’s fired, UNLV will have to start an expensive and time-consuming search for a new leader.

If fired, Ashley could stay on faculty, might find new presidency

Regents to discuss future of UNLV president at July meeting (6-22-2009)
Rogers calls for Ashley’s ouster (6-17-2009)
Rogers: UNLV President Ashley should be fired (6-16-09)
Decision on Ashley wanted soon (6-9-2009)
UNLV Singapore campus graduates first class (6-6-2009)
Wife of UNLV president sends apology note to Rogers, regents (6-6-2009)
At UNLV, president's wife raises eyebrows (6-4-2009)
Editorial: Performance on the job (5-12-2009)
UNLV president recommended his own grader -- but hey, it's SOP (5-11-2009)

Letter from Rogers to the Board of Regents

David Ashley could lose his job July 10 after only three years when the regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education meet to evaluate his performance as president of UNLV.

Ashley is not accused of the sort of financial shenanigans or inappropriate behavior that have buried the careers of other university heads across the country.

The worst that’s been said about Ashley is that he’s a not a stellar communicator and that his wife can be rude.

But when your budget has been slashed by the state and the golden gala brigade is tightening the purse strings, smart and nice just might not be enough.

“Obviously you have to have a president that has intelligence, integrity and leadership skills, but personality makes a big difference in the job,” Regent Cedric Crear said. “You have to be more than just smart in that position. You have to be extremely personable and be all things to all people.”

There are those who say nothing less than a hero will suffice in the president’s office. Some regents have their doubts about whether Ashley has the requisite red tights and cape or whether he can even see the bat signal from his Lake Las Vegas hideaway.

The president has only a year left on his contract and the regents must decide whether, at a time of unprecedented economic hardship, the university should take a chance on a newcomer or stick with the imperfect man who has led UNLV for three years.

“We have to be very careful in this process to keep in mind that what we’re dealing with here is the good of UNLV,” said Dan Klaich, the executive vice chancellor who becomes system boss next month with the retirement of Jim Rogers. “Ultimately this is not about people. Although we always talk about people, we’re always making decisions about the good of UNLV.”

Replacing a president is not a swift process and if Ashley were let go, either at the end of next school year or next month, UNLV would have to devote manpower to the search for a new one.

Whenever a new president is sought, a committee including faculty and staff is assembled. Members attend several meetings to develop search criteria, slog through the applications and choose finalists to present to regents. They often do this with the help of professional recruiters or consultants.

It usually takes a year and costs about $100,000, Klaich said.

“If there were a vacancy in a presidential office, we’d move carefully because I don’t see a need to immediately rush into a search process,” he said. “You want to put it together properly.”

Any number of things could be affected by a disruption in the top office at UNLV.

To start with, all goal-setting would be stalled for at least a year while the committee seeks out a new president. And it would be a challenge for most interim leaders, or a toothless president, to move the university in the new direction dictated by its growth and the budget cuts.

“Especially at this point in time, with this economy, it’s very difficult to stay at an equilibrium, so that interim would have to keep along the previous path,” said Claire Van Ummersen, vice president of the Center for Effective Leadership for the American Council on Education. “You have to take active direction.”

The university is also near the end of an ambitious campaign to raise $500 million. The campaign has been extended once and the economy has left donation negotiations in a fragile state. Disruption in UNLV’s top spot could chill potential donors.

“Donors are very sensitive to institutional leadership when they entrust their money to the university,” Klaich said. “If the board does decide to let Dr. Ashley go, we have to be very careful about the selection of an interim with respect to the capital campaign and the foundation in general.”

Executive Headhunter Stephanie Rosenthal-Shirit said there are several likely candidates for an interim president, should one be needed. Former President Carol Harter and Dick Morgan, dean emeritus of the Boyd School of Law, were the first to jump out at her. But it’s equally likely that Provost Neal Smatresk or a college dean would be called on.

Students are waiting to see how all this falls out. UNLV Student Body President Adam Cronis said one major student concern before Ashley’s continued employment came under question was the worth of the degrees they would receive. This latest conflict just compounds the worry, he said.

“They’re putting a lot of money into this and they want to make sure it’s worth something when they depart,” Cronis said. “They want to ensure that the university doesn’t backslide.”

Discussion: 9 comments so far…

By Daisyduke

6/29/09 at 6:16 a.m.

Suggest removal

Ashley needs to go. He manages by remote control. Harter would be a joy to have back. At least her actual and real spouse was nice to the faculty.
By Teaser

6/29/09 at 6:28 a.m.

Suggest removal

CSN went through more than 10 presidents in less than 10 years. It's still doing fine and appears to have found someone who might finally be able to stay at the helm. I'm sure UNLV will survive if Ashley goes.
By nevadaappleslices

6/29/09 at 7:24 a.m.

Suggest removal

I like Ashley. I just wish that he cared more about what in my opinion is a problem, clean out the professors that don't contribute and break up the old boys network.
By bill777

6/29/09 at 7:54 a.m.

Suggest removal

Harter was the worst president ever. Did nothing for 12 years, doesn't like students, doesn't like faculty.

Ashley knows what needs to be done, he just needs to do it.

The problem isn't the bad professors or old boys network. Its the bureaucracy which doesn't care about students. Its the bureaucracy that Harter more than tripled in size while the number of faculty stagnated (faculty lines given by the legislature were turned into adminsitrators), and students doubled.
By neiman1

6/29/09 at 9 a.m.

Suggest removal

Bad management costs much more than can be added on an expense sheet. If this guys is wrong for the University he should be fired. Headlines like this indicate the fix is in and the Regents are going to allow the bull that has been at the top of the University to continue.

How much does his persona and his wife's rantings cost in time and money each day they are allowed to play King and Queen at taxpayer's and student's expense.
By williamtomany1

6/29/09 at 9:57 a.m.

Suggest removal

Fire Ashley and move on
By UNLV_Fan

6/29/09 at 10:23 a.m.

Suggest removal

This is Sad, in the midst of a budget crisis our fearless leaders are about to waste $450,000 taxpayer dollars on a guy who will be paid to do nothing, which may be more taxing than his current job as president. I have been in the UNLV family for 20 years and quite frankly they have had only one adminstrator who has gotten the job done Douglas Ferro. Everyone else just sits in their office and comes out every once in while for a ribbon cutting ceremony when we build a new building. Enough already with these show pony's.
By reg373

6/29/09 at 10:45 a.m.

Suggest removal

**in the midst of a budget crisis our fearless leaders are about to waste $450,000 taxpayer dollars on a guy who will be paid to do nothing,**

It would seem there are many top jobs staffed by incompetents these days. Meanwhile millions of hard workers in regular jobs, are laid off...
-- found a cool site; Balkingpoints ; incredible satellite view of earth
By morgen

6/29/09 at 11:40 a.m.

Suggest removal

NevadaAppleSlices: he can't do that himself, the problem lies at the dean/director/chair level. The administration has been godfathering a clan of unproductive faculty who receive big salaries and care only about collecting their paychecks and nothing else. I have been citing examples: the 100K-a-year who hasn't published a single article for the past decade, the 120K-a-year who is rarely seen on campus--and there are many more. Students have complained that some of their professors assign papers but never read them, and the list goes on... I'm sure it happens everywhere, but, at UNLV, this situation seems to be worse than elsewhere. It's like the mob here.