The news came as a shock to many—maybe not to those in the tightly knit circle of education politics, but to a community that has depended on her leadership for 11 years. Carol Harter, president of UNLV, will step down in June.
There are a series of large questions looming for Nevadans, questions that will unfold in the coming months and years: With the president of UNR stepping down, the president of UNLV stepping down, the state's largest school district in recent leaderless flux, is Nevada in an education crisis like never before? Will this state ever offer solid, reputable education across the board? Is this a tipping point moment—and which way will we tip?
For the moment, however, it is the specifics of the planned departure of President Carol Harter that has the community abuzz. The Weekly chatted with pundits, experts, regents and students for some answers:
1. What immediate effect does this have on UNLV?
On campus, it's not a big deal yet, says Peter Goatz, president of Consolidated Students of UNLV. "It's not like she's leaving today," he says. She'll hold her position till June—so the immediate effects may be limited to a sense of shock and a growing curiosity about the school's future.
But regents note that that sense of shock sends ripples throughout the school and draws attention to the state of higher education.
"A lot of people I know in the UNLV community are upset by this resignation, because they believe she is great for the university," says Regent Linda Howard. "And some people—especially people who work with her—are a bit confused right now."
2. What will Harter's legacy be?
First, it will be her success as a fund-raiser—which bodes well for her role as leader of the Black Mountain Institute, a fund-raising organization, which is the position she'll take after stepping down.
"She is seen as being an excellent fund-raiser, and now that she is moving on to the foundation she can continue with that work," says Erin Neff, political columnist for the Review-Journal.
"She argues that her legacy is the Boyd School of Law and the college of education. But, ultimately, people look at a university for its overall success. The university has had no athletic success in recent rears. The university is still filled with part-time students. It's seen as a commuter school, and it's still kind of a school that hasn't grown up.
"You give somebody the reins of an institution for 10 or 11 years and they don't make that much headway in those key areas, she is obviously going to have a mixed legacy."
Regent Linda Howard, however, sees Harter's legacy as broad and more positive: "She developed professional schools—the law school, dental school—and she was certainly strong in increasing the woman population at UNLV."
Additionally, Howard says, Harter instilled a commitment to diversity—"We had some issues that we worked on [in regard to diversity] and in my opinion she's been very responsive in the last few years."
Regent Brett Whipple is even more positive: "No one has cared more about UNLV than Carol Harter. Nobody loves the university like she does. That's her legacy."
3. What does her departure say about Chancellor Jim Rogers' influence?
Perhaps more than anything else, her resignation screams for more attention to be paid to the power and plans of Chancellor Jim Rogers. A lawyer and owner of Sunbelt Broadcasting (parent company of KVBC Channel 3), he's had his hands in a number of political arenas, and it seems he is in the process of turning Nevada's education system upside down.
"He played a key role in her decision," says Neff. "Chancellor Rogers is a very strong personality. He is very powerful and very connected. He didn't like the leaders of either of his two colleges, UNR or UNLV, and that is what you see happening here. You have this clash of personalities, clash over the direction of the institutions, and Harter just saw the writing on the wall and decided to work out a deal so she could get out before he fired her."
Political pundit Hugh Jackson says Rogers' power may not be a good thing: "I do think there is an irony here, because here is a guy who is really well-intentioned, but through an overbearing arrogance, he has meddled to the point to where now the community is beginning to have a palpable backlash against his efforts. You saw it with the school-district superintendent fiasco where his meddling—and he clearly was spearheading that—he drove off the candidate he himself wanted to see in the job [New Yorker Eric Nadelstern]. Now the Regents—after a time of really cowering and not saying much of anything one way or another, trembling in Rogers' shadow—now even they are starting to come out and say that he's running roughshod ...
"I think the Clark County School Board is not really fond of him right now. It's kind of humorous how he united them," says Jackson. "But more than that, I also think it's just people on the street are becoming quite skeptical and curious: Just who is this guy and why is he suddenly in charge of so much? And so, in that respect, there is opposition and the possibility of more opposition just from the ground up."
Whipple says of Harter and Rogers: "Both individuals are strong, single-minded leaders ... he demands more from everybody, presidents included."
Howard is more direct:
"I'm convinced Carol Harter resigned not because she wanted to. She and the chancellor couldn't work out their differences."
4. What does this mean for her community project, Midtown UNLV?
"I know that she wanted to see the Midtown project through, and we were all excited about it, but now it's possible that that could be in jeopardy," says Howard.
But Clark County Manager Thom Reilly, who is involved in planning the UNLV Midtown project, is confident the plans will stay on track.
"Carol has shown tremendous vision and put her finger on what is needed in terms of having an entranceway to UNLV and transforming that whole Maryland Parkway ... I am confident with what we have put in place ..."
Also, Reilly says he's spoken to Rogers about it. "He seems very positive and very enthusiastic about it."
5. Who will succeed her?
The first name circulating is Dick Morgan, dean of the College of Law. But Whipple is putting together a committee for a national search.
Goatz says of Morgan, "He and Jim Rogers are very close; that's why his name popped up so fast ...
"He's a great guy, very capable; but you'll have to see who the other candidates are first ... We want a president who reaches out to the community, builds a lot of connections. We'll just have to wait to see what happens with the national search committee."
Howard says of Morgan, "He's an excellent dean for the law school, but it might not be too wise to take him from that school," considering how apt he is for it, how well he's done in that arena. "It's where he's doing an extraordinary job.
"[The] new president must not give in to corporate interests, must keep it strictly academic."
6. Who wants to put a positive spin on the state of education in Nevada?
Ken Lange, executive director of the Nevada State Education Association, does:
"I believe that president Harter did a good job of moving UNLV further down the line to becoming a top-level research institution. As with all things, there are times for transitions. I think there's a good, solid, strategic plan in place to continue to build the university and build upon Nevada State College to be a place for teacher preparation. This [her resignation] is part of a normal transition phenomenon, both for school districts, university presidents and, I guess, NFL coaches. There is time and space to make a difference, then people move on. I don't think either system, the university system or the K-12 public-education system, is in jeopardy. I think [new Clark County School District superintendent] Walt Rulffes is going to do a great job. A lot of work has gone into creating continuity, and I don't think the quality of education suffered with not having a permanent superintendent."