Two years ago, Nevada's System of Higher Education was in a state of disarray. Controversy flared repeatedly among openly hostile members of the board of regents as they tried to fire the president as well as an advisor of the Community College of Southern Nevada, the state's largest higher ed institution. Massive funding was needed to keep up with the state's burgeoning growth. And some university presidents were building their own legacies rather than working together to create a cohesive system.
In true Old West fashion, James Rogers stepped forward and volunteered to take the bull by the horns. He vowed to clean things up. In the past 22 months, initially as interim and then as chancellor, he has shaken things up. While he is not without his detractors, most people familiar with higher education in Nevada say he's making a positive difference.
Meanwhile, both University of Nevada presidents have resigned quite recently.
And how would the unassuming, no-nonsense Rogers assess his first two years at the helm?
"If I'm right 80 percent of the time, I'm ahead of the game," he replies. "Looking back, there's probably a lot of things I could have done better, but would I have done them differently? Probably not."
A true study in contrasts, Rogers is a successful lawyer and businessman. He is a member of the boards of numerous universities, banks and businesses. He also owns 16 NBC and FOX affiliated television stations in five western states. He's given away and helped raise billions for various universities and has provided scholarships for young men and women he's never met.
At the same time, he prefers to be called Jim, disdains neckties and always lists his phone number in the local telephone directory. "If you met him for the first time, you would not know you're talking to a man of considerable wealth," says one administrator. "He's almost embarrassed by it. And he's very approachable."
Not a newcomer to Las Vegas
Born in Kentucky, Rogers moved to Las Vegas with his family in 1953 so his father could take a job as manager of the Nevada Test Site where the first atomic bomb was tested. "There were 23,000 people in Las Vegas then," he recalls. "The biggest hotel on the Strip had 250 rooms. In those days, they were little motels with casinos attached."
After graduating from Las Vegas High School in 1956, Rogers earned a bachelor's degree in accounting and a law degree from the University of Arizona. A Master of Law degree from the University of Southern California was next. Returning to Las Vegas to practice law, he made application to acquire the local NBC affiliate in 1971. Seven years later, he purchased the license. He still visits the station nearly every morning before 7 a.m., followed by breakfast with a staff member at eight. He then puts in a full day as chancellor.
"About a fourth of my time is spent dealing with the legislature or planning how to approach them with various issues," says Rogers. "About a fourth of my time is spent trying to raise money for the universities outside of the legislature. And the rest is spent on administrative matters, coordinating the efforts of all eight institutions. Ours has never thought of itself as a system and has never worked very well one division with another. I've pushed as hard as I can to change that, and I see progress."
Citizen and donor first
Rogers became chancellor by a circuitous route. He put his mouth where his money was. After pledging $65 million to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas he became more involved with the state's higher education system. He also grew increasingly "frustrated by system leaders who showed me they were more interested in protecting their territory than they were in developing a statewide higher education system." When then-Chancellor Jane Nichols resigned in 2004 for health reasons, Rogers was appointed in an interim role. Last May, he was appointed chancellor. With restored health, Nichols has returned and serves as vice chancellor for academic affairs.
The state system oversees two universities, four community colleges, one state college and one environmental research institute. Nevada's rapid population growth has created serious inefficiencies in the system. "Twelve years ago, we had 30,000 students," says Rogers. "Now, it's 105,000 students. We've outgrown all of our support systems. We're in the process of catching up now, and I think we're going to be able to do that."
While the Nevada legislature has historically been thrifty with higher education money, the situation is changing. Last year, the system received $1.5 billion, and that's almost 20 percent of the state budget. Just ten years ago the corresponding figures were $604.8 million and 18.6 percent.
The numbers reflect popularity
Bret Whipple, a Las Vegas attorney and chairman of the board of trustees, says Rogers certainly enjoys credibility with politicians, but with business and civic leaders as well. "He's a very strong leader in securing outside sources of revenue, be it donations, grants or government funds. He came back with an extra $200 million this year over what we anticipated for new buildings. He also believes in and insists upon accountability."
Efficiency and productivity are big challenges for Rogers. "I don't care what you are doing, you have to put a value on your time. Academicians generally don't. Meetings that I believe could be finished in an hour last five hours. They don't understand that there is a need to be efficient even in education. They are not results-oriented. They are efforts-oriented. Academicians are more concerned with how hard they work than with what gets done. There is a big distinction there. Efforts don't satisfy the requirement of accountability. Results satisfy the requirement of accountability."
His first day on the job, Rogers interviewed Richard Carpenter for the presidency of the Community College of Southern Nevada. Carpenter recalls, "I liked him, but in the back of my mind, I wondered how this business guy, without a firm footing in academia, was going to handle the chancellor job. I have to say he's the best guy I ever worked for. Perhaps that's because he didn't spend his career working in academia. His critics say he tries to run the higher education system like a business. I disagree. I would say that he tries to run higher education in a more businesslike manner. He has transformed a loose federation of highly independent, highly competitive institutions into a system."
Carpenter acknowledges that Rogers gets mixed reviews among his peers. Some like his fast-track approach while some do not. The chancellor is open to opposing views and opinions, Carpenter says, although he's also known for his rather short attention span. "When I meet with him to discuss an issue, I have about 10 minutes. He's got so much going on, he has to do that." Carpenter adds, however, that he doesn't believe Rogers "has a micro-managing bone in his body" and that he makes time to meet with all of his administrators. He also enjoys meeting with students and faculty, but is careful not to violate protocol.
"I enjoy talking to the students and to the faculty senate," adds Rogers. "I have a theory on the line of authority. I respect the line of authority when it comes to issuing orders. I don't adhere to the line of authority when I'm seeking information. And that makes some people nervous."
Improving standards
Rogers wants to increase admissions standards during the next five years while working with K-12 to ensure that students entering college have the ability to do the work. Nevada high school students who graduate with a 3.0 GPA or better are eligible for a Millennium Scholarship, and that guarantees them a college education. However, 40 percent of all recent high school graduates attending Nevada colleges or universities needed at least one remedial course.
Rogers wants to expand Nevada's medical school by developing an Academic Medical Center. "We currently have about 52 students in each class. We need 150 students in each class in order to be comparable to the medical schools in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. We've lagged behind and we can't afford to do that anymore."
He is fond of saying that Nevada has a first-class economy and a third-class culture. Because of the lucrative gaming industry, many Nevada residents don't feel a need for a college education. Carpenter points up an interesting Las Vegas conundrum. "While his brother with no degree works at the concierge desk at MGM making a six-figure salary, a student enrolled at CCSN may ask, 'Tell me again why I'm here?'"
Rogers wants to make Nevada known as the State of Higher Learning. He would like to create a Regents' Academy to support the professional growth of faculty. He also would like to see private-public partnerships recruiting some of the best minds and talents to the state in order to encourage more sponsored research.
The 13 trustees, are presently elected from the state's various districts, but the Legislature, during the last two legislative sessions, voted in favor of making theirs appointed positions. The issue will be put up for a public vote this fall. Rogers, who is credited with helping the formerly fractious board restore its credibility, says the state will be best served if the trustees remain in place. "We have our differences, but I get along very well with this board. This is a bunch of smart people who understand everything you tell them. I have a great need for immediate decisions. A new board would put us behind the eight ball."
Although he claims he can barely operate a typewriter, last fall under Rogers' direction, they issued an RFP for a statewide enterprise administrative computer system that will serve all eight institutions.
He's easy on the Nevada payroll
Rogers requested a salary of $1 per year. Federal payroll related rules require that he be paid a minimum of $22,000, which he donates to charity. He often travels in his private plane at his own expense and his personal assistant is paid out of his own pocket. Rogers and his wife Beverly enjoy a 50-acre horse ranch in Pocatello, Idaho where they raise Tennessee walking horses. They built the Lone Pine Film Museum in Lone Pine, California. He also owns a collection of more than 240 classic automobiles.
"I have no mechanical ability," he confesses. "But we have 14 people who work on restoring the cars full-time. I love to watch how talented they are and what they can do. In most of life, the hunt is more important than the kill. I spend time most every night talking to somebody, somewhere, trying to either buy a car or trade one."
When Rogers recently switched his political party affiliation from Republican to Independent, it was widely rumored he was planning a run for governor of the state. He dismisses such talk by saying he enjoys what he's doing "and it doesn't need to go any further than that.
"There's lot of other folks out there who are competent and can run for governor. I feel very good about what I've done and what I'm going to do in this job. There isn't one of those people who is running that I can't get along with. Some are more pro-education than others, but they're all pro-education."
How would this man who has accomplished much, and will likely accomplish much more, like to be remembered? "I think I would like to be remembered as a person who treated everybody equally and with respect and who wanted everybody's life to be improved from what it was on that day."