UNLV president on shaky ground

UNLV President David Ashley's job might be in jeopardy.

Higher education leaders said Wednesday that they have received several complaints about Ashley's management style.

"I have enough information from people that it's a great concern to me," said Jim Rogers, the higher education system's chancellor.

He said he had not decided whether to recommend that Ashley's contract be renewed.

Ashley, 58, was out of the country Wednesday and unavailable for comment, a school spokesman said. He was en route to Singapore to participate in the inaugural graduation ceremony for UNLV's campus there.

Mark Alden, a longtime member of the higher education system's governing Board of Regents, said problems with Ashley have been brewing for a long time.

The complaints allege that he is unresponsive and disengaged from campus.

Alden said he himself has had trouble getting Ashley to respond to memos and letters he has written to the president. Alden called that "extremely unusual."

"I've never had this happen in my 14 years on the board," Alden said. "I would think his contract is in jeopardy."

The news seemed to surprise some people on campus.

"Wow. That stopped me in my tracks," said Adam Cronis, the student body president. "It shocks me."

He said he has been generally supportive of Ashley but had one minor complaint: Ashley has allowed the perception to foster that he is disconnected from the campus.

"That's something he acknowledged himself," Cronis said. "But it's a minor fix that can be made."

John Filler, the president of UNLV's faculty senate, said he, too, had heard similar complaints about the president.

"He is a very shy person; that's the kind way of saying it," Filler said.

He said that sometimes, when Ashley has made a decision contrary to what the faculty wanted him to do, he has refused to explain his reasoning.

"He hears, but he has a problem listening," Filler said.

Ashley, an engineer by trade, was hired three years ago as the university's president. It is his first job leading a university.

Ashley makes $416,424 annually, $170,000 of which is privately funded by the UNLV Foundation. He is allotted annually an $18,000 housing allowance, an $8,000 car allowance and a $5,000 hosting account for a total of $447,424 in annual compensation.

He replaced Carol Harter, who was at the helm for 11 years.

Ashley signed a four-year contract in 2006. Typically, the contracts are renewed the year before they expire, often for a term of an additional three years. Within the higher education community, it is not uncommon for top officials to resign before the expiration of their contracts if they think the contracts will not be renewed.

Ashley underwent an evaluation last month and received a generally positive review.

His contract renewal had been scheduled for this month's meeting of the Board of Regents, but board Chairman Michael Wixom has delayed it.

"We had some questions about the evaluation, and we postponed it until the August meeting so we can get those questions answered," he said. He would not detail what the questions are.

Wixom said he would not answer other questions about Ashley's job; he said he generally will not talk about personnel issues.

He said he had decided independent of the current issues surrounding Ashley to delay talk of the contract extension. The June board meeting is too packed with other business, he said, including a possible tuition and fee hike, the likely appointment of Vice Chancellor Dan Klaich as the new chancellor, and the need to come up with a plan on dealing with state budget cuts.

Rogers, the chancellor, said he had some problems with the evaluation and shared his concerns with the evaluator, John Welty, the president of California State University, Fresno.

The chancellor, who is about to retire after five years in the job, said he has counseled Ashley in the past that he needs to be more engaged with the campus and the public.

Rogers said he had a long talk with Ashley on Tuesday about the specific complaints against him.

He said university employees have alleged that Ashley's wife, Bonnie, treats them harshly and that Ashley won't do anything about it.

He said those making the complaints allege that she has "a vile temper."

He said the complainants allege that "David does nothing to rein her in."

But both Cronis, the student body president, and Filler, the faculty senate president, said they have not had any negative experiences with Bonnie Ashley.

"I've always had very positive interactions with her and the president," Cronis said.

Rogers said he told David Ashley in person and his wife via speakerphone about these complaints and others related to Ashley's management style.

"I have no predisposition on what the final result will be," he said of Ashley's proposed contract renewal. "But I'm very concerned."

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