Six months down, seven to go. If the second half of Jim Rogers' 13-month term as interim chancellor of the state's higher-education system is as colorful as the first, expect more headlines.
In May, Rogers, who owns Sunbelt Communications and KVBC Channel 3 and is worth an estimated $300 million, took over for retiring Chancellor Jane Nichols. He's being paid $1 a year for his efforts.
The Weekly recently sat down with the TV mogul-turned-education hawk (he offered to serve as interim superintendent for the Clark County School District in 2000 for free; Carlos Garcia got the permanent job for $200,000-plus) at his West Flamingo Road offices. In person, Rogers is folksy, charming and quick with a quip.
You're quickly becoming the "memo chancellor," with letters highlighting a wide range of issues. Why all the memos?
Because I think we need a new era of openness. A lot of people in the public are very suspicious about what we're doing in higher education. I think we have a responsibility to be open to the public. I put out all the memos so everyone knows where I stand on things.
In one memo you wrote: "I am now convinced that if your previous chancellors had been given authority, they could have and would have solved all the problems you have had for the last several years, which would have saved everyone a lot of grief." Do you think greater chancellor authority would have allowed the system to manage the exponential growth seen in higher education?
Absolutely. You've got to be able to deal with Monday morning's problems on Monday or Tuesday. You can't wait six weeks (for the next Regents' meeting). A stronger chancellor would able to operate the system faster. You might make a few small mistakes along the way, but it's better than making large mistakes and not being able to immediately address them, and it's better than the biggest mistake of all—inaction.
You've indicated that the Regents board is a bit unwieldy at 13 members, a problem that could be addressed by forming an executive committee to deal with problems. Would you be opposed to reducing the number of Regents to 11 as some have suggested?
I don't care if you have 50. I think you need an executive committee, with the chair [chancellor] and vice chair [vice chancellor] as permanent members and rotating board members for six-month terms. That way you've always got experience. The committee is there mostly for advice. So if a new president has a question about how something was done six months ago, they can go to the committee.
In March, the Weekly called the board the state's kookiest. Do you agree?
I don't agree. In general, I think these people are very smart and very passionate about what they do.
Then why is there so much friction, so many personality conflicts and so much negativity toward board chairman Stavros Anthony?
There's been some personal antagonism, but in my six months, I haven't seen any problems. They work extremely hard and are able to work out disagreements. ... I think Anthony is a first-class chairman and Jill Derby is a wonderful vice chair. I find them easy to work with, and by easy, I don't mean that they always agree with me.
When will the Regents get this open-meeting thing right?
It's a very confusing law. It's deceptively simple on its face. But once you get involved in its application, you're in the middle of a lake with no way to row back.
How important is it to quell the north-south battle for funding, mainly between UNR and UNLV?
It's gotta stop. You need a strong chancellor to say that "this is a system and we're not going to fight among ourselves." This system is maturing, and we need to approach the future from a system perspective.
Regarding Nevada State College: Why should taxpayers foot the bill when the state conditioned $13.75 million in funding upon the school raising $10 million (Nevada State has raised $1 million)?
You can't raise private money for a start-up school. It can't be done. People want to put money into an existing school and into a program that has a chance of success.
Couldn't you bail out Nevada State? (He's donated $200 million to universities throughout the country.)
I could, but I won't. It's the state's obligation, not mine.
How do you get the private sector to contribute now when they've been so unwilling in the past?
They have contributed in the past; we just don't do a good job of publicizing it. We've got nearly $200 million pledged to UNLV. That ain't chicken feed. We expect to have half a billion dollars by next year.
Is it wise to continue the Millennium Scholarship? Nevada still lags in sending high-schoolers to college and lot of Millennium Scholarship recipients need remedial college courses. And what happens when the state's tobacco settlement money runs out (in 2024)?
Heavens yes, we oughta keep it. There may be one thing wrong with it, but 100 things right. [As for the program's future], heck, I don't know. I'm not thinking that far ahead.
Do you favor higher entrance requirements, which some fear could prevent minorities from pursuing high education?
I favor them because of a lot of freshmen we're educating never become sophomores. We pay a hefty amount in remediation for these students.
Could you be chancellor full-time?
I'm finished in June. Look, I'm 66 years old and work 50 hours a week. The things I can get done in 13 months, I'll get done. The things I didn't get done, I probably couldn't have done in 20 years.