UNLV Official's records targeted

Assemblyman Wendell Williams, D-Las Vegas, said his proposal stems from the lack of public information on an internal investigation into statements made by UNLV Athletics Director Charles Cavagnaro.

Williams, who asked university regents last month to conduct a new and independent investigation in the case, said Wednesday his bill hopefully will reduce frustration in any similar cases that may arise.

The assemblyman sought the bill draft through the Assembly Education Committee, where he serves as chairman. Any bill would have to pass the 1999 Legislature and be signed by the governor before it could become law.

University regents and Las Vegas community activists have expressed frustration with a process that led to Cavagnaro being disciplined without any explanation of what occurred.

Regents and the activists were told that the results of an investigation into Cavagnaro's conduct were confidential. Only UNLV President Carol Harter, Cavagnaro and two other university system officials were privy to the report.

The controversy over the results of the investigation has come about in part because of a conflict over Cavagnaro's privacy rights and the need for regents to act on what Williams terms a significant issue.

Regents questioned how they could act without seeing the report, and Williams and others were frustrated because no clear statement was ever issued about what Cavagnaro said.

Cavagnaro also was required by Harter to make a public apology as a result of the investigation that found he might have made comments that inadvertently offended some people.

Regents are expected to hear a report on what, if any action they can take regarding the Cavagnaro matter at an Aug. 6-7 meeting in Elko.

Harter asked for an investigation following anonymous allegations in April that Cavagnaro made racist and homophobic comments about student-athletes.

archive