Regents’ search for new Nevada chancellor shifts toward academics

The state’s Board of Regents has begun drafting a wishlist for a permanent leader to oversee the Nevada System of Higher Education, a powerful job left vacant after this year’s contentious retirement of former Chancellor Dan Klaich.

On the second and final day of a special meeting held near Lake Tahoe this week, regents said they hope to hire a chancellor with a strong academic background, preferably one who has run a higher education system or served as a college president. Friday’s free-flowing discussion, held in a lakeside campsite, publicly marked the beginning of a search for Klaich’s permanent replacement, a job temporarily held by law professor and former UNLV administrator John Valery White.

“We’ve had these larger-than-life chancellors that have been fabulous in many ways,” Regent Sam Lieberman said. “But they have not been as accountable as we need a CEO or something like that to be. I think we need to go to an academic, and I think we also need to look at how they partner with other elements of the board from committee chairs, to leadership, to individual regents, and regents as a whole.”

Higher education insiders have long complained that Klaich — an attorney — and his predecessor, businessman Jim Rogers, assumed the role despite lacking a professional background in academia.

“I really hope we do a national search for someone with deep roots in the operations of a higher education system,” said Marc Johnson, president of the University of Nevada, Reno.

This week’s two-day meeting focused on how NSHE and its overseeing Board of Regents govern the state’s colleges. The discussion comes as Republican and Democratic lawmakers draft their own proposals to overhaul both bodies.

The role of NSHE’s chancellor was thrust into the public spotlight earlier this year when former Chancellor Dan Klaich resigned in response to protests from lawmakers and the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce. Their cries followed a Review-Journal article examining emails from Klaich, which raised concerns that the ex-chancellor misled the Legislature about a new formula for distributing money among colleges and universities. White took over in May as interim chancellor, assuming the job for up to one year while regents find a permanent replacement.

At Friday’s meeting, regents talked about what kind of successor they want for the post and what duties and powers the chancellor should hold. Regent Mark Doubrava, for instance, suggested rephrasing language in the system’s handbook that appears to give the chancellor autonomous power over key decisions, such as firing a college president. Nevada State College President Bart Patterson also urged the board to take on more lobbying duties to shift the responsibility away from the chancellor.

The group also discussed the job’s compensation, with some saying they want to offer a high salary to attract top candidates and others noting that paying too much would likely draw bad publicity for an elected body already grappling with a bruised public image — the board agreed to let Klaich retire early this year while still collecting full pay and benefits until his contract ends in June 2017. His base annual salary is $303,000, and he also receives $32,000 in automobile and housing allowances.

“We need to be listening to the public and we need to be responsive to the public,” Regent Allison Stephens said. “We need…some perspective.”

Contact Ana Ley at aley@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5512. Follow @la__ley on Twitter.