A special Board of Regents meeting took place that elected regent Carol Del Carlo and regent Amy Carvalho to serve as chair & vice-chair pro tempore while a workplace investigation is set to be conducted.
This special meeting comes after an initial meeting was supposed to be held on Oct. 15, but was canceled to be later postponed to Oct. 22.
The primary goal of this meeting was to focus on the internal system administration of the committee and elect a temporary chair and vice-chair in place of regent Cathy McAdoo and Patrick Carter. This resignation comes after growing public criticism from former Nevada System of Higher Education leadership, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, and other officials in the state of Nevada.
Regent Jason Geddes at the start of the meeting issued a statement saying that while he would be following Robert’s Rules of order and chairing the meeting since he is the most senior member of the board, he would not be in consideration for nomination of any of the positions available.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank chair Cathy McAddo for her many years of selfless service benefitting many students and all of the state of Nevada,” said John Tierney, chair of Great Basin College’s advisory council in a public comment. “She has demonstrated her dedication and passion to clear the way to success.”
Following the comment from Tierney, a supportive public comment endorsing McAdoo’s service came in writing from Stacy Smith. After this, public comment in Las Vegas reflected a differing opinion on the governance of the board.
“It has long been the main objective of the Vegas Chamber to support NSHE in their mission to prepare students for employment opportunities upon graduation. However, we believe that ongoing challenges are negatively affecting this focus and mission,” said David Dazilch, director of government affairs for the Las Vegas Chamber. “The reality is that our higher education system is too important to the future of our state to be subjected to these continuing systemic issues. These issues are impacting students, faculty, and staff and are a distraction to student success and achievement. While it is imperative that we change the current chair and vice-chair, the Board of Regents need to adopt a new and transparent approach towards governance. NSHE cannot continue to endure the same business as usual approach. The Chamber believes that the existing board’s leadership must be replaced with a chair and vice-chair that have previously not held these positions. This will ensure a fresh start of the board and allow for an unbiased investigation.”
This comment from the chamber comes after a recent intervention from the organization issuing a statement towards the regents stating that the board leaders should “resign immediately” if Chancellor Melody Rose’s accusations are upheld. In its statement, the chamber said it believes it would be prudent for McAdoo and Carter to step aside while an independent third-party investigation that they announced on Oct. 15 is being conducted.
Halfway through the meeting, a troubled McAdoo made a public announcement from Elko per guidance from her lawyers. “I want it to be known that I received an email at 10:08 p.m. last night from system legal counsel advising me to disclose and abstain from the vote. Out of an abundance of caution, I am going to do that.” Following this McAdoo delivered her public statement and disclosure.
The next Quarterly Board of Regents meeting will be held on Dec. 2-3 at UNLV.
