Harter tries to set record straight about Cavagnaro

Addressing the Board of Regents meeting in Reno Thursday, Harter said Cavagnaro was not cleared of wrongdoing last month when she issued a press release regarding the allegations.

"Charles Cavagnaro was not exonerated," Harter said. "I placed a letter of reprimand in his personnel file and he made a public apology for comments that may have inadvertently offended some people.

"I sincerely believe these were responsible and appropriate actions based on the information provided to me by the office of the general counsel."

Harter was referring to her May 27 debriefing with Chancellor Richard Jarvis and assistant general counsel Kwasi Nyamekeye, who had conducted a three-week-long probe into the allegations, interviewing 60 UNLV employees and former employees.

However, despite admitting Cavagnaro had done or said something to warrant disciplinary action, Harter would not say what it was that Cavagnaro actually said or did, citing the incident as a personnel matter.

The question of what constitutes a personnel matter was the center of a heated three-hour dialogue.

Regents and community leaders who addressed the board struggled to understand what was legally permissible to be made public and what had to remain confidential.

In her statement, Harter tried to clarify her actions of May 29.

"I have never condoned and will never condone racist, sexist or homophobic behavior by any employee or student at UNLV," she said. "We have made too many strides forward to permit the positive efforts of our students and faculty to be eroded by any member of the university community.

Gary Peck, executive director of the Nevada chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, was pleased to see a clarification of Harter's earlier statement regarding Cavagnaro.

"I have never suggested that Dr. Harter is a bad person or a bad president," he said. "All I have suggested is that based on what I know, it seems that her administration has badly mishandled the Charlie Cavagnaro affair."

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