Chancellor’s letter to regents says UNLV president should be fired

David Ashley

Jim Rogers promised that he would not go away quietly, and he proved it Tuesday. In one of his last acts before retiring as the state’s higher education chancellor, Rogers declared that UNLV’s president, David Ashley, should be fired.

 “I recommend that Dr. Ashley’s contract not be renewed and that you consider immediate termination of the contract as president,” Rogers wrote in a letter sent Tuesday afternoon to the 13-member Board of Regents that governs the higher education system.

The recommendation came after several meetings in which he and others tried to persuade Ashley to quit.

Ashley, 58, who became UNLV president three years ago, vowed to fight the chancellor’s recommendation.

“I believe I’ve done a great job as president and I’d like to see it through,” he said.

Rogers and Ashley have been at each other for weeks, in public and in private, since news broke that Ashley’s job may be on the line.

Rogers and several regents have said they have problems with Ashley’s management style, which they describe as lax. They say he does not respond to complaints, and that he has let his wife, Bonnie, treat university employees harshly.

On top of that, the chancellor and some regents have said they have questions about the evaluation process currently under way. Ashley is undergoing a routine performance evaluation, typical for a university president entering the final year of his contract.

Ashley signed on for four years in 2006. He was expected to sign a three-year extension, through 2013.

But then problems began to surface, including those surrounding Bonnie Ashley. Rogers said some high-level university employees have complained to him about her. He went so far as to say the complainers called her “vicious.”

Bonnie Ashley has apologized, blaming the problem on her “zest and zeal” in performing hostess duties for the university. She vowed to “work on making this right.”

Mark Alden, a longtime regent, said he has had problems with Ashley for going on two years.

An example: Alden said he forwarded to the system’s lawyer copies of seven memos he has sent Ashley over the years.

“He never answered one of them,” Alden said.

Ashley countered much of the criticism by pointing out that parts of the evaluation he has seen — it is not yet finished, so it is not yet public — are positive.

Ashley said he believes the public isn’t getting the whole story through what has been portrayed in the media.

Ashley has been at times reluctant to comment, as have most of the regents. Rogers is not one to keep quiet, however.

“I’m relying on the public process to bring forward the complete record, which I think is pretty strong,” Ashley said.

The debate over whether to renew Ashley’s contract had been scheduled for a regents meeting this week. But board Chairman Michael Wixom postponed it until August, citing a robust June meeting agenda.

Rogers said he expects that a special meeting will be scheduled in July to deal with Ashley’s contract.

Wixom, whose term as chairman ends this month, said such a hearing has not been scheduled.

Rogers said Tuesday the hearing will be public and said he emphasized that in private with Ashley when he was trying to talk him into quitting before things got ugly.

“We started talking about how we might resolve the issues,” he said.

Rogers told Ashley he wanted him to quit. They seemed to have worked out a deal, Rogers said. At least he thought they had. Rogers gave Ashley a deadline of Friday to accept the deal, the details of which Rogers did not reveal.

By Tuesday, it was clear there would be no deal.

“He decided he simply did not want to leave,” Rogers said.

Ashley disputed that the two sides were close to a deal.

“We had several discussions, and we were not close to an agreement,” he said.

Ashley said he welcomed the public hearing. He noted that he already has been roundly criticized in the media, so there is little threat that his reputation would be further damaged.

An engineer by trade, Ashley is paid $416,424 annually: $170,000 privately funded by the UNLV Foundation and a salary of $246,424. He also is allotted an $18,000 annual housing allowance, an $8,000 car allowance and a $5,000 hosting account for a total of $447,424 in annual compensation.

He was hired three years ago after serving as the No. 2 administrator at the University of California, Merced. He had never led a university before.

Ashley's contract stipulates that he was hired with tenure, meaning he could become an engineering professor if he leaves the presidency.

Rogers said he is confident the board will not vote to renew Ashley’s contract.

“And they will immediately terminate him and send him to the faculty,” he said.

Rogers hasn’t polled the board, which would be illegal.

Wixom, the board chairman, said he had not yet made up his mind about the issue.

Likewise, several other regents said it was too early to make that call, including vice chairman Jason Geddes and Ron Knecht, an early Ashley supporter.

“I’m disappointed it’s come to this,” Knecht said. “But I’m going to keep an open mind and make the decision that’s best for UNLV.”

Alden was more certain.

“It’s the height of insanity to pay him beyond June 30,” Alden said. “It’s insanity. He deserves to be terminated.”

Alden, who has been on the board for nearly 15 years, said he believes most of the board will be on his side.

“I can tell you, he’s got no votes,” Alden said. “I haven’t polled the board, but if anybody knows the board, I do. And he hasn’t got the votes.”

Ashley acknowledged that the fight has moved beyond Rogers, who has no say in whether to retain the president.

Ashley said he has had the chance to chat with several regents, but he didn’t want to say who they were.

“I don’t want to speculate on their vote,” he said. “But I made my case.”

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