CSN leadership left in lurch

By Charlotte Hsu

Friday, Feb. 8, 2008 | 2 a.m.

As a parting gift to the College of Southern Nevada, its president left the school with a number of key vacancies.

Since Richard Carpenter moved to a new job in Houston in summer, three of CSN’s top administrators have followed him to Texas, and a fourth, who had also worked with Carpenter in another state, quit CSN early this year.

Some college employees were glad to see Carpenter and his crew leave town.

But the vacancies are a headache for the administrators left behind. They’re trying to deal with several thorny issues, including budget cuts and student fee increases, while being forced to take on additional duties because of the short staffing. In addition to serving as interim president, Michael Richards is overseeing media relations, for example.

“It is a problem that there are Band-Aids on the administration and that we are stretching these people further because they’re going to burn out on this,” Richards said.

Officials taking on new responsibilities are not receiving more pay, he added.

During his time in charge, Richards will not be filling three of the vacant administrative positions. “That should be a prerogative of the new president,” he said.

Some projects, such as strategic planning, also will remain on hold until CSN has a new chief, Richards said.

The search for the college’s new president, however, is not scheduled to end until May.

The officials who hitched their wagons to Carpenter’s were Executive Director of Public and College Relations Helen Clougherty, Executive Vice President for Planning and Development Rand Key and Chief Information Officer Shah Ardalan.

The only one of their posts that may soon be filled is that of chief information officer. CSN is working with SunGard Higher Education, a private company that oversees the college’s information technology services, to replace Ardalan.

The wait to fill the other jobs doesn’t bother some faculty members, who are just glad that Carpenter and his people are gone.

Key had followed Carpenter from Alabama to Wisconsin and from Wisconsin to Nevada.

Carpenter also brought Jeffery Foshee to CSN. He had worked with Carpenter in Alabama. At CSN, he was vice president of administrative operations until he quit in January.

CSN officials did not know whether Foshee took a job elsewhere. He is not working for the Lone Star College System, a spokesman there said.

Though Carpenter and other higher education leaders saw Foshee and Key as experienced, competent administrators, others at the college considered their hiring cronyism.

“I’m just really relieved that the Carpenter team is gone, and I was opposed to how they were running things for a long time,” said Sherry Rosenthal, an English professor who runs a blog about CSN. Criticism of the former administration is a common theme on the blog.

Rosenthal said she and colleagues thought Carpenter did little to seek faculty members’ input. That aloof management style dampened morale at the college and made employees afraid to oppose their leaders’ opinions, she said.

But Judy Stewart, chairwoman of the faculty Senate, said she thought Carpenter communicated well with his employees.

“You have faculty very sorry to see Dr. Carpenter go, faculty very glad to see Dr. Carpenter go,” Stewart said. “Those who were glad to see him go are glad to see anyone associated with him go.”

Until replacements are hired, Clougherty’s, Foshee’s and Key’s work will be split among six administrators.

Arthur Byrd, vice president of student affairs, will oversee the police department.

Carlos Campo, interim vice president of academic affairs, will take charge of institutional research and the Center for Academic and Professional Excellence.

Patty Charlton Dayar, vice president of finance and budget, will lead auxiliary services.

The school’s two general counsels will take over human resources, marketing, resource development and other areas.