Mulling the Demise of NSHE

SJR7 Sponsors Senator Marilyn Dondero Loop and Assemblyman Tom Roberts

During the BOR quarterly meeting on March 10, when Regent Carol DelCarlo described frustrations (audio: 4:10:30) in trying to address salary issues for higher education professionals with a reticent Nevada Legislature by saying, "we quit asking," she may have unwittingly defined the epitaph for NSHE in its current constitutionally-protected configuration. To her credit, Regent DelCarlo was calling attention to the four-year-old Gallagher Group Study that set the price tag at $80 million to fix the growing inequities created by an ill-conceived salary structure that ended automatic advancement for on-going experience in exchange for merit rewards that never materialized. 

To date, the 2023 Nevada Legislative Session is shaping up to be a disaster for NSHE professionals. The elation over Governor Lombardo's unexpected proposal to give retention bonuses to state employees under the Executive Branch, which includes NSHE, was short-lived. Three weeks into the session, the legislation was amended in the Assembly to exclude NSHE Professionals, taking NSHE leadership completely by surprise. And while Acting Chancellor Dale Erquiaga offered convincing arguments to reinstate professionals during the Senate Finance Committee hearing on March 22, other unconfirmed reports are emerging that it's not clear if NSHE professionals will be included in the proposed cost of living adjustments for state employees. 

Even dismissing the exception of the pandemic-dominated session of 2021, a quick review of NSHE priorities at legislative sessions in the 21st century reveals an appalling lack of concern for the wellbeing, let alone the prosperity of its front-line professionals. While the System always vigorously supported legislation for employee COLA funding, little if anything was done to sway the Legislature to allocate additional funds to mitigate the growing equity crisis. Similarly, if given a choice between passing short-term program enhancements or additional funding to reward merit, it seemed like the favor always fell to enhancements. Similarly, the values and goals enshrined in the NSHE Master Plan make no mention of the worth or welfare of the higher education workforce members that are so critical to meeting the objectives of that plan.

Several of my colleagues know that I define my sentence in senior leadership as my Game of Thrones experience. While my years in middle management, though challenging, were exceptionally rewarding for me, primarily because it was during a time where my position made it possible for me to be involved in the process of diversifying Northern Nevada's economy through new programs at TMCC. Working at the most senior levels of NSHE, on the other hand, was more an experience of territorialism, posturing, and brinksmanship. In this environment, it is no surprise regents and senior leaders are ultimately obsessed with defending their standing and and expanding their influence in the pecking order, and therefore, lose sight of the work being done or the challenges encountered by the rest of us at street level. This was driven home for me when I returned to teaching after years in the wilderness of leadership. 

It doesn't help that, historically, regents have a flawed perception of the authority granted to them by the Nevada Constitution, which has led to years of clashes with legislative leadership from both parties. This was on full display earlier this month in NSHE's neutral (but not neutral) testimony on AB224, stating that statutory collective bargaining rights for professionals, similar to those already enjoyed by NSHE classified, would violate the Board's constitutional authority, provoking a rebuke by the Senior Legal Counsel for the Legislative Counsel Bureau, Kevin Powers, that "NSHE is not the fourth branch of government." 

To be fair, I doubt that most members of the Board had a hand in crafting the neutral (not neutral) NSHE testimony, or the unbelievably inflated fiscal note that followed. It's more likely the submissions to the legislature were developed under the oversight of NSHE and BOR leadership, based on misleading input from the Human Resources Advisory Council (HRAC) and attorneys in the System's General Counsel offices; aka, the NSHE Praetorian Guard, protecting the emperor(s) from the empire (more on that in a future post). Members of the Board probably had only a cursory review of the submissions from NSHE, granting their tacit approval. But silence is complicity at best, and abrogation of their duties at worst. They should worry less about their constitutional authority and more about their constitutional obligations.

Regrettably, the 21st Century for higher education in Nevada has not been memorable to Nevadans for the accomplishments of our students or the success of our programs, but for the scandals among the regents, the revolving door on the office of the Chancellor, and six-figure buyouts of senior staff. From all accounts, disarray and disharmony among the current crop of regents has only grown worse. Given that, we shouldn't be surprised that efforts to dramatically restructure higher education in the Silver State; through legislation, petitions, and ballot questions; have stubbornly refused to die despite multiple electoral defeats. 

The first hearing for the latest incarnation of that effort, SJR7  jointly sponsored by Senator Marilyn Dondero Loop and Assemblyman Tom Roberts, was held on Tuesday, March 21 with predictable results. It is in the interest of all NSHE students and employees to stay informed about its progress through the legislative process. No one can say with any certainty that things would improve under a restructured system. So many bedrock principles of higher education, such as tenure and academic freedom, are under sustained attack across the country, and opening the door to restructuring NSHE could invite similar trouble. 

In reality, these circumstances make the need for AB224 more acute. Establishing collective bargaining in statute would provide stability for higher education professionals, regardless of the ultimate structure of the higher education system. And, given the recent, and not-so-recent, history with leadership at NSHE and the Board of Regents, there's not a high degree of certainty that things will be improving much under the existing structure for faculty work conditions, which are student learning conditions. And that's why it is sensible for the Nevada Faculty Alliance to be neutral on SJR7. It would be wonderful for me to be proven wrong, and I will gladly praise the system for its success if that happens. But to call upon the eloquence of a past POTUS, "fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, well, we won't be fooled again." 

It's not inconceivable "We Quit Asking" will be inscribed on NSHE's tombstone when even its own employees can't find a reason to come to its defense.

Opinions expressed here are the author's alone and do not reflect the opinions of other TMCC-NFA members or officers, officers of the State Board of the NFA, or the official position of any body.