Ashley, Rogers to face off

Halfway through the three years that David Ashley has been the president of UNLV, the higher education system's chancellor praised him effusively.

"You are doing an outstanding job and I remain one of your biggest supporters," Jim Rogers wrote to Ashley as part of the president's performance evaluation for the 2007 calendar year.

A month ago, Rogers, on the verge of retirement, blasted Ashley as an ineffective leader who should be fired by the system's Board of Regents. "I am not happy to make this recommendation to you," he wrote in a memo to the board.

The turnabout happened after word came out that Ashley was about to receive a mostly positive performance evaluation this year, done by an outside evaluator as the regents considered whether to renew his contract.

The president's detractors told higher education officials that their complaints about Ashley were ignored. They complained that Ashley's wife, Bonnie, was rude to employees and that he failed to stop her. They said he did not respond to complaints, and that he had not been visible enough on campus.

Ashley, 58, who took over UNLV in 2006, contends that his performance evaluations have been positive. Last week, he made that point in a one-paragraph memo to board members. He attached his past self-evaluations, as well as those from Rogers.

Ashley has said his wife's behavior should have nothing to do with his job. He puts the blame for trouble he may be in squarely on Rogers' shoulders.

The two men are scheduled to face off today in a hearing before the board that probably will determine what future, if any, Ashley will have with the university.

The meeting is set for 9 a.m. at Desert Research Institute, next to UNLV's campus. Board members have several options. They could renew Ashley's contract and keep him on for another three or four years. They could not renew his contract and let him stay on until his current contract runs out in 2010. They could demote him to the faculty, or they could fire him.

How the vote will go is anyone's guess. Board members won't talk about how they'll vote or say they haven't yet made up their minds.

The system's new chancellor, Dan Klaich, who took over 10 days ago when Rogers retired, wouldn't say what he'll recommend.

What is certain is this: Both Ashley and Rogers will have their say before the board. It is likely both will face questions.

In addition to Ashley and Rogers, John Welty, who conducted Ashley's much-criticized official evaluation, is expected to be on hand to answer questions.

Regents and other higher education officials say the evaluation is incomplete, noting that detractors play a minor role.

Welty is the president of California State University, Fresno. Before taking over at UNLV, Ashley was the executive vice chancellor and provost at the University of California, Merced, about an hour from Fresno. The two men know each other.

Bonnie Ashley is not expected to show up. According to an e-mail that David Ashley wrote to the system's attorney last week, she was unavailable.

"The pressures at the moment are pretty severe and have contributed to her being ill -- she needed a break and privacy," Ashley wrote. He suggested that the attorney, Bart Patterson, who was trying to serve Bonnie Ashley with notice that she might be discussed at today's meeting, try her e-mail.

He did. Bonnie Ashley wrote back this past Sunday:

"I have just now opened your email and was quite surprised that David had actually shared my private email address to be contacted by you, since I had specifically stated that I needed time to rest and recover, and needed privacy to do so.

"I have been treated maliciously by Jim Rogers and others, therefore I will not be signing a waiver to give anyone any other forum to continue this mistreatment."

Contact reporter Richard Lake at rlake @reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0307.