Richards CSN’s likely pick, pleasing higher ed chief

By Charlotte Hsu

Thursday, May 1, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Michael Richards wasn’t the “warmest” or “fuzziest” candidate for the College of Southern Nevada’s presidency, in the opinion of university system Chancellor Jim Rogers. Nevertheless, Rogers thought Richards would be the best man for the permanent job — so much so that he encouraged Richards to apply.

It looks as if Rogers will get his wish. The Board of Regents is expected today to appoint Richards, CSN’s interim chief, as permanent president under a four-year contract.

Pending regents’ approval, Richards’ annual take will include a $210,000 salary, a $12,000 housing allowance and an $8,000 car allowance, Rogers said. Richards’ interim job pays $169,917 plus perks.

The deal would make him the highest-paid community college president in Nevada. Maria Sheehan, with a $198,000 salary, would be the next most expensive when she starts at Truckee Meadows Community College in late June.

Still, Richards’ predecessor made quite a bit more than Richards will. Richard Carpenter, who led CSN for three years, earned a salary of $279,072, including a $50,000 supplement paid by the college’s foundation.

Rogers said he will ask the foundation to add up to $50,000 to Richards’ salary in six months, after the chief has spent more time in the top job.

“Carpenter had a lot more experience as a president, and I think we took that into consideration,” Rogers said.

The search is projected to cost between $90,000 and $100,000, according to CSN Vice President of Finance and Budget Patty Charlton Dayar. Rogers and Regents Chairman Michael Wixom view that as a worthwhile expenditure.

“What it (the search) allowed us to do was get in some really good applicants and measure Mike Richards against them,” Rogers said.

In contrast, Regent Mark Alden believes commissioning a consultant to conduct the hunt was “an absolute waste of taxpayer money” because CSN ended up with the president it already had.

Alden said he realizes now that the approach should have been: “Put an interim in and wait a year and decide if you should start a search.”

And though the search consultant said she vetted Richards as much as all other candidates, and though Rogers and other higher education leaders said the search was competitive, some at CSN still feel the fix was in.

Three members of a search advisory committee that voted unanimously to support Richards report directly to him.

His contract as interim president initially stated he did not intend to become a contender for the permanent job. He applied anyway, and regents changed his contract to allow his candidacy.

“I personally was a little bit disappointed that the process got changed,” said Sue Smuskiewicz, president of CSN’s council for classified employees. The search, she said, “didn’t seem very transparent.”

Richards also will have to contend with the fact that many employees view him as one of the last vestiges of Carpenter’s administration. Carpenter, who hired Richards in 2005 to be vice president of academic affairs, was accused of cronyism by some groups at CSN.

Michael Green, a history professor who has been at CSN for about two decades, called Carpenter’s administration the “most morally bankrupt presidency” he has ever seen. And the fact that Richards came in under Carpenter makes him unpopular in some quarters, Green said.

“I don’t think the majority of the faculty hate (Richards),” Green added. “I think most of the faculty want him to do well. If he does well, we’ll do better. That said, that doesn’t mean that they’re thrilled with him. Some have very good reason not to be.”

Math professor Stan VerNooy is among members of the CSN community who said Richards did nothing in nine months at the helm to change the college’s top-heavy culture. Late last year, administrators blocked access to a blog critical of CSN leadership, saying contributors were encouraging violence.

Managers view CSN as a business, obsessing about balancing budgets and starting new programs, VerNooy said.

“I would like to see a president who realizes that his primary goal is to provide the best possible education for his students, and everything else is subsidiary to that,” VerNooy said.

Richards has said repeatedly that his focus is on students. And Green said Richards seems more interested in communicating with faculty than Carpenter was. The interim chief routinely sends e-mails to employees about budget cuts and other issues.

“In the years Carpenter was here,” Green said, “I never had the sense I had the foggiest notion of what might be going on. So in that regard, it’s an improvement.”