Chancellor backs UNLV president in talk of financial emergency

By Cy Ryan

Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2011 | 5:42 p.m.

CARSON CITY – Higher education Chancellor Dan Klaich says declaring a financial exigency for the Nevada System of Higher Education would result in a “terrible black eye” and damage its chances of attracting the best faculty and students.

But he said a statement by UNLV president Neal Smatresk telling faculty to get ready for the worst was “entirely appropriate and entirely reasonable at this time.” Smatresk told the faculty Tuesday that planning has started for reductions in staff, department and programs.

Klaich told a joint hearing of the Senate and Assembly Education Committees Wednesday that the budget recommended by Gov. Brian Sandoval “will have a dramatic impact on the campuses.”

Faculty and programs could be terminated and colleges could be closed if the rules are suspended under a financial exigency declaration.

There has never been an emergency declaration until now but there was talk in the 1980s about imposing one for the Desert Research Institute in Reno. “But it never came close to a declaration,” the chancellor said.

A declaration would have to be made by the Board of Regents on the recommendation of the chancellor, who would listen to suggestions college presidents.

Assemblyman David Bobzien, D-Reno and chairman of the Assembly committee, said he has heard of faculty members shopping around out of state in view of the financial problems hitting Nevada.

The statements by Smatresk may have come as a surprise to some of the members of the committees, but “I am not backing away from those comments,” Klaich said.

The Nevada System of Higher Education says there is a $163 million reduction from the current budget for the system as recommended by the governor. Klaich earlier this month told the budget committees of the Legislature this could result in massive layoffs and limit enrollment.

The budget, as analyzed by the university, would mean layoffs of 1,850 professional and classified staff.

The governor says his budget reduction is 17.6 percent, counting the loss of state money and one-time federal stimulus dollars. The university says the cut is 29.1 percent compared to the current fiscal year.

Greg Brown, state vice president of the Nevada Faculty Alliance, said more professors and staff are being recruited to go to other states.

Writing in the Alliance newspaper, Brown said in the past the system would retain two of every three faculty members who received an offer from an outside school. The retention number, he said, is now one in three.