Regents open purse strings for dental school, salaries

The Board of Regents was in a generous mood at its meeting Thursday and Friday, giving the green light to pursue $12 million in state funds for a dental school and approving pay raises for the UNLV basketball coach, the chancellor, college presidents and other top executives.

UNLV President Carol Harter cited a variety of reasons why the state needs a dental school, including the fact that Nevada is 50th in the nation in its ratio of dentists to population -- 35 per 100,000.

There are 54 dental schools in the United States.

Though seven schools have closed in recent years, Chancellor Richard Jarvis pointed out that all of them were private and did not want to spend the money necessary to keep their dental programs going because they did not see them as an important part of their mission.

The school would need between $12 million and $13 million for the facilities and $5 million to $6 million per year for operations.

The regents also approved a proposal by the UNLV Foundation to build a $5 million, 22,000-square-foot building and then donate it to the university and the board to house all of the university's developmental programs.

In other business, the regents increased Jarvis' annual salary from $195,000 to $205,000; Harter's from $178,798 to $186,924; and CCSN President Richard Moore's from $138,410 to $145,413.

UNLV basketball coach Bill Bayno has been given a new five-year contract, a 5 percent pay increase and other benefits making his total income package worth $293,000.

In addition to the salary increase, which raises his base pay to $136,500, the new contract provides for a bonus of $100,000 if Bayno's basketball program increases attendance by 10,000.

The regents also passed a resolution that ensures products manufactured bearing the logo of any state colleges or universities will be made by companies that follow strict health and safety standards.

Following a national trend, the university will now include a clause in its contracts saying that all licensees must comply with all "applicable labor, product safety and occupational health laws and regulations and that no child (younger than 14 years old) labor or involuntary labor is used, either domestically or abroad, in its manufacturing process, including assembly and packaging."

Regents also passed a resolution allowing honorary degrees to be conferred at any time, not just at commencement ceremonies.

The first person who will benefit from the new policy is Cardinal Edward Idris Cassidy, who will receive an honorary doctorate when he visits the University of Nevada, Reno in November.

Cassidy was awarded a doctorate in Canon Law from the Lateran University, Rome, in 1955.

He will be in Reno for a series of events promoting interfaith relations.

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