2012 Voter Guide: Nevada Board of Regents District 1

A current board member who runs a marketing and advertising business will face a UNLV graduate in the race for the Board of Regents in District 1.

Cedric Crear was elected to the board in 2006. He is president of Crear Creative Group and received a Bachelor of Science degree from Howard University.

He faces Jeff Eggeman, who owns a retail company that he said sells new clothes, jewelry and kitchen accessories.

Crear said a top priority if he is re-elected will be ensuring students have access to higher education.

He said that although a pending rewrite of the formula used to fund the state's colleges and universities is not perfect, it is "far better than what we had before."

He said implementing the formula rewrite will be a major task of the regents in the coming year.

Maintaining diversity on the campuses also will be a top priority , he said.

He said higher education is becoming even more important as the state faces economic challenges. He wants to be sure that while the system provides "value" to its students, it also keeps up with the changing economic needs.

"Jobs, jobs, jobs," he said.

Colleges and universities should play a large role in diversifying the state's workforce, he said, particularly when it comes to jobs related to new technology.

Eggeman did not return messages seeking comment.

In the past, he has said he is running for a seat on the Board of Regents because he thinks he can make the state's higher education system better.

A top priority, should he win, will be to improve the higher education system's relationship with the business world. Eggeman said he hears too often that businesses won't relocate to Nevada because of its poor education system.

"I would like to change that perception," he said.

On his website, Eggeman says that he will also work to keep education affordable.

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