2012 Voter Guide: Nevada Board of Regents District 12

Two experienced politicians face off in the race for the Board of Regents in District 12.

Incumbent Andrea Anderson faces a serious challenge from former regent Lonnie Hammargren.

Anderson was appointed to the seat in 2009, then won election in 2010. She also is a former member of the City Council in Boulder City.

Hammargren served a term as a regent from 1988 to 1994, then a term as lieutenant governor.

Anderson said she wants to remain on the board because it seems that the cuts in state funding of the last several years are over and she would like to help improve the higher education system rather than simply manage cuts.

"Finally, we can do some building," she said.

With a flat state budget and increased income to the colleges and universities from a previously adopted tuition and fee increase, she said she wants to restore some cuts to student services. Those include more staffing for financial aid, advising and tutoring.

She also would like to see faculty and staff salaries and benefits restored.

She also wants to emphasize cooperation between the higher education system and the business community. Specifically, she wants the institutions to work closely with the governor's economic development team.

She said she supports a pending rewrite of the legislative formula used to fund higher education in Nevada.

The rewrite, if approved by the Legislature, would allow the institutions to keep the tuition and fees they charge, and would shift some money from rural institutions to those in Clark County. The new formula also would reward graduation rates and other performance measures, rather than simply enrollment numbers.

Hammargren said he is running because he believes he can help improve the state's education system.

"This is where the future is, in education, and I want to be part of it," he said.

He said the funding formula rewrite, which he supports, is the biggest issue in higher education.

He said he also wants the universities, in particular, to seek more private donations. He supports a proposed remaking of the UNLV campus that would include a new, privately funded football stadium.

He also would like to explore the idea of local governments providing funding for the community colleges. Nevada is one of the few states where local governments do not fund the community colleges.

It may be time, he said, to split the Board of Regents or to create a subcommittee that deals only with the community colleges.

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