Barrick Lecture Series becomes UNLV afterthought after donor’s death

After some prodding from me, UNLV officials now say they're sorry they let the Barrick Lecture Series languish for two years, even though the late philanthropist Marjorie Barrick left the university millions to keep it going.

Barrick would be furious. And the public has been shortchanged as well.

Donors who leave huge sums of money for specific purposes should have their wishes honored after their deaths.

What UNLV did in this case is disgraceful and certainly won't encourage others to give. Barrick had a long relationship of generosity with this university, and after her death, officials took the money -- don't they always -- but didn't put it to good use in a timely manner.

The delay left the false impression she didn't endow the lecture series to continue after her death. At least that's what I assumed.

After all, she died in April 29, 2007, and there hasn't been a Barrick Lecture since. When I asked recently, it turned out she had left millions to sustain the lectures. But UNLV officials didn't get off their academic duffs and make it happen.

In 1980, after the death of her husband, Edward, she gave $1 million to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. One-third of the money was to launch the Barrick Lecture Series to bring in A-list speakers to the university and open it up to anyone in the community, without any admission charge.

That original endowment grew to $7.9 million, so one-third of that would be about $2.4 million, although that number might be decreased because of the economic losses on Wall Street.

When Marjorie Barrick died, she left another endowment for the series worth an estimated $8 million to $9 million when her estate is settled, according to UNLV Foundation Executive Director Nancy Sprouse.

So the woman gives UNLV more than $10 million, and the money just sits there? Who's to blame?

University spokesman Dave Tonelli said the administration change in 2006, when David Ashley replaced President Carol Harter, is one of the causes. The failure of a formal process to select speakers is another. But the series is not dead.

The university plans to have two speakers in the spring of 2009 and two more in the fall of that year, Tonelli said. Radio personality Garrison Keillor is the only one confirmed.

Previously, speakers were selected by Marjorie Barrick, the university president and the dean of Fine Arts, who since 1995 has been Jeffrey Koep.

Past speakers included political figures, former heads of state, media types and experts in their fields. They were an eclectic group: Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford, Mikhail Gorbachev, Jane Goodall, Ken Burns, Ben Bradlee and Bob Woodward, and Mary Matalin and James Carville.

Marjorie Barrick was always present at the lecture named in honor of her husband, a casino owner who invested heavily in Las Vegas real estate. I still remember her Queen Elizabeth wave when she was introduced before the lectures.

Harter said she, Marjorie Barrick and Koep would discuss speakers Marjorie Barrick wanted at the start of every year and narrow the choices down. It had to be a date the speaker was available, Marjorie Barrick was available and the UNLV president was available.

"In 11 years, I never missed one," Harter said.

When Marjorie Barrick died, Tonelli said, there was no formal process to continue the series, which usually offered a speaker two or three times a year.

Ashley and Koep deserve some thwacks for not reviving the series sooner. But Tonelli said Koep should be credited for doing the legwork to resurrect the lectures.

With the second endowment, UNLV should be able to afford four speakers a year, Tonelli said. "We're sorry it's been two years."

On Nov. 14, Marjorie Barrick will be honored posthumously at a UNLV Foundation dinner recognizing her and four other donors who have given $1 million-plus.

At the dinner, officials plan to announce a lecture for next spring, two years after her death.

A better way to honor her would have been to keep the Barrick Lecture Series going without this interruption. Marjorie Barrick would not be amused at UNLV dropping the ball.

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0275.