Search for next UNLV president raises red flag for one regent

By Brian Nordli

Monday, Oct. 20, 2014 | 7:20 p.m.

The chairman of UNLV’s president search committee raised questions about the selection process after a candidate who had been rejected was resurrected among the final three candidates.

Dan Klaich, chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education, announced the three candidates today. They are Georgia Regents University President Dr. Ricardo Azziz, University of Arizona Eller College of Management Dean Leonard Jessup, and UNLV Executive Vice President and Provost John Valery White.

Klaich and search consultant Jerry Baker, of the consulting firm Baker and Associates, had initially identified four candidates to present to the board, and a meeting was scheduled for Oct. 10 for the announcement. But one candidate dropped out in mid-September, and the second withdrew Oct. 8 — prompting the meeting to be rescheduled for today.

Before Klaich named the finalists, Regent Mark Doubrava raised concerns that a third finalist had been added.

Doubrava felt that only the two candidates selected by both Klaich and the consulting firm should have been named, in accordance with the committee’s direction. Adding a third candidate, who was not selected in the final four but had been in the final pool of 16 candidates, presented a problem to Doubrava.

“Our committee stated that the search consultant brings the candidates back to us, the committee,” Doubrava said. “I took issue with the third candidate.”

A highly placed source who requested anonymity identified the add-on candidate as White, but Doubrava and other regents would not confirm that information. White and the other finalists were not present at the meeting, and an early-evening call to White's office was not returned.

Klaich said his purpose in presenting three finalists was to give the search committee more options.

The search committee did not share Doubrava's concerns.

Several members said they believed proper procedure had been followed.The candidates had not been finalized, and the third candidate had been selected by the consultant in the final group of 16, Klaich said.

“The committee deserved as broad of choices as possible,” Klaich said. “I’m thrilled with them. ... They will find the next president in this group and I think the next president will be superb.”

Now the committee will select among a trio of a UNLV provost, a medical doctor and a business school administrator.

Azziz, Jessup and White are scheduled to be on campus Nov. 10 for a week of forums and interviews with faculty, students, staff, administrators, alumni, the public and community supporters. The committee will then select its new president on Nov. 17 and Nov. 18.

Several committee members and regents said they were thrilled with the candidates' diverse backgrounds, and were confident UNLV’s next president could be found in the group.

Azziz was selected for his extensive background in the medical education field. With UNLV’s bid for a school of medicine, Azziz’s experience running a university with Georgia’s only public academic health center was crucial. He also has over 20 years of experience in education administration, Klaich said.

Jessup stood out for his administrative experience at Washington State University’s and University of Arizona’s business schools. He is known for being innovative and a transformational leader in higher education, according to his candidate bio.

Meanwhile, White has extensive experience at UNLV, where he had previously served as dean of the Boyd School of Law. He is familiar with UNLV’s goals to become a Carnegie Research Very High University and to obtain a medical school.

Regent Ron Knecht said he was happy with the range of experience each of the candidates brought.

“At a casual glance you have three different personality types and different backgrounds. You have a medical doctor, a lawyer and businessman,” Knecht said. “I’m hopeful it will be ... such a close choice people will agonize over who to select.”