Report clears regents of gender discrimination, cites unprofessional behavior

An investigation into allegations of gender discrimination by two ranking members of the Nevada Board of Regents against Chancellor Melody Rose found insufficient proof of legal violations, according to a just-released report.

But the investigation uncovered evidence of unprofessional behavior, including possible ethics violations, the 25-page report delivered Friday to higher-education officials said.

Investigators examining Rose’s complaints said they could not substantiate claims she was subjected to gender discrimination and a hostile work environment by Regents Cathy McAdoo and Patrick Carter, who at the time were the board chairwoman and vice chairman, respectively.

Rose made the allegations in October 2021, saying McAdoo and Carter had undermined her authority, discriminated against her based on gender and engaged in other inappropriate behavior in an attempt to oust her.

The Sun obtained a copy of the report, in which investigators from the Las Vegas law firm Kamer Zucker Abbott said they reached their findings after interviews with Rose and 18 other current or former regents and staffers with the Nevada System of Higher Education.

The investigators said they could not substantiate Rose’s claims of law violations — including gender discrimination and unlawful retaliation — which were described in the report as being largely based on hearsay.

“Many of the chancellor’s comments in the complaint were based on information relayed to her by others, the meaning or intent of which could have been inadvertently modified by others or interpreted by the chancellor without the benefit of context, background, or an understanding as to another’s intent,” the report states.

The investigators said, however, they found examples of “conduct that lacked collegiality” and several instances of violations of the regents’ ethical code of conduct. Those included violations of provisions requiring regents to treat all NSHE employees respectfully and to go “directly to the chancellor if a problem arises concerning the chancellor’s office or staff,” the report says.

One example: In a phone conversation with a member of Rose’s administrative staff in August 2021, McAdoo complained that Rose was being obstructionist on NSHE’s pandemic masking policy and that McAdoo had received advice from God about how to handle the issue.

McAdoo asked the staff member not to disclose the conversation to Rose.

In Nevada, the 13-member, elected Board of Regents oversees the NSHE administration in a way similar to how a public school board oversees the superintendent.

Rose has been NSHE’s chancellor since September 2020.

The investigators acknowledged the relationship between Rose and the two ranking regents was acrimonious.

They attributed that to possible political differences, the regents’ hands-on approach and differences of opinion between Rose and the regents about their respective roles.

“We found that this situation likely created a more challenging work environment than the chancellor expected and may have caused her to conclude that the negative climate from which she seeks relief was based on her sex,” the investigators said in the report.

“We found insufficient evidence to substantiate an actionable sex-based hostile work environment claim, although our investigation revealed that some of the circumstances about which the chancellor complained are reflective of an inappropriate professional environment,” the report said.

In conclusion, the report said that although Rose’s accusations couldn’t be corroborated, “measures can be implemented that may help to minimize the present acrimony, and allow all involved to focus on the important mission of NSHE, in which all have a critical role.”