UNR hiring shows lobbyists speak softly, carry big donations

New University of Nevada, Reno President Marc Johnson accepted the job with a rain cloud hovering over his head, a drizzle caused by the heavy-handed action of a major donor to UNR.

The actions of Gerald Smith, manager of the Nell J. Redfield Foundation, left the impression, whether true or false, that the Board of Regents caved to a big money guy's wishes when nine of the 13 voted for Johnson, the interim president and former provost who has been with the university for three years.

By most accounts, Johnson is qualified to be president, although retired journalism professor Jake Highton savaged him in his blog as a "mediocre" choice and called him "a plodder, devoid of the intellect needed by a college president."

But Johnson has many fans who praise his vision and strength of character, and Smith definitely is one of them.

Smith wrote a glowing, two-page letter of support for Johnson on April 5, and if he had left out one sentence, his letter never would have become a story, proving once again that everyone needs an editor.

The one sentence first published in the Las Vegas Sun by columnist J. Patrick Coolican reads like the guttural utterance of Marlon Brando in "The Godfather." You know the one: "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."

Smith wrote: "Should the Regents select a stranger to fill the vacancy, there can be no assurance that current funding discussions will continue or that the projects currently being considered for funding will receive support in the future."

In case the regents had forgotten, Smith opened his letter reminding them that the foundation has contributed about $40 million to UNR since 1983.

Some regents took Smith's missive as a threat; others did not. Smith has said repeatedly his words were misinterpreted and never intended as a threat.

Decide for yourself. But words are my business, and I read them as a threat to pull funding if Johnson didn't get the job.

It's naive to think big donors in the academic world don't express themselves about who they like for president or coach or other high-profile positions. They do.

Most of them have the sense to avoid putting any subtle threats in writing for all to see.

I've been at social events and have seen regents pulled aside and lobbied. That's the nature of the selection process. You get your backers to put in a good word for you.

No threatening letters emerged during two other recent presidential choices by Nevada regents, but a pattern did emerge.

Regents chose Bart Patterson, another interim president, as the new president of Nevada State College. He lacks a doctorate and is not academic. He has a law degree and started with the college in 2001 working in legal affairs.

The regents flipped from wanting an academic when they began an expensive nationwide search to choosing someone popular with students and faculty and with that indefinable quality of vision.

The only outsider to get a nod for a presidency recently was Mark Curtis, chosen president of Great Basin College in Elko. Curtis will come from Michigan, where he is vice president of Alpena Community College. The former interim president didn't go for the job.

Don't delude yourself that major donors don't have louder voices than others. They do. But it also helps to be a known product like Johnson, Patterson and even UNLV President Neal Smatresk.

After a nationwide search, Smatresk was chosen executive vice president and provost in 2007. Two years later, he became president without any such search. The regents knew he was the one.

I don't even want to think of the cost for these nationwide searches that end by choosing candidates already known to the regents.

Meanwhile, Gerald Smith could teach a 101 course in Lobbying Do's and Don't's.

Or maybe take one.

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Email her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call her at (702) 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/Morrison.