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Former regent criticizes Nevada board over resignation

Updated December 1, 2022 - 9:40 pm

The board overseeing Nevada’s higher education institutions was confronted by a former regent Wednesday about the resignation of its chief of staff.

Robert Kilroy, who came on as chief of staff and special counsel for the Board of Regents in August, resigned last month. The board was originally scheduled to meet two weeks ago to consider terminating Kilroy’s contract before the meeting was canceled.

On Wednesday, James Dean Leavitt, a former regent who said he had been representing Kilroy over the last two weeks and negotiated a confidential settlement between Kilroy and the board, called out the board for destroying Kilroy’s “promising career.”

Speaking during public comment, Leavitt attributed Kilroy’s resignation to “a small cabal of miscreants” that he said was led by Regents Byron Brooks, Joseph Arrascada and Laura Perkins and aided by Chair Cathy McAdoo and Vice Chair Amy Carvalho.

“Shame on you for those that didn’t return his phone calls, for those that left him out to hang and dry, for those that offered no corrective action, no mentoring, no education,” he said. “Shame on every one of you. Shame on you.”

Arrascada, Brooks and Perkins were the regents who requested the agenda item to terminate Kilroy’s contract, according to deputy general counsel Tina Russom. Under the regents’ bylaws, an item must appear on an agenda if three or more regents request it.

Brooks attempted to respond to Leavitt’s comments Wednesday but was shut down by McAdoo. Elected officials typically don’t respond to public comments to avoid violating the state’s Open Meeting Law.

Brooks and the other regents named by Leavitt did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Leavitt told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Thursday that Kilroy was “unceremoniously kicked to the curb” after Kilroy had reached out to McAdoo to ask if he could do anything to address some concerns regarding his duties as chief of staff and special counsel.

Leavitt also referenced recent turnover in the system, including the early departure of former Chancellor Melody Rose from the higher education system amid allegations of a hostile work environment, and the controversial departure of former Chief of Staff Dean Gould.

“This is a pattern. This is what they do,” Leavitt said. “This is what they traffic and peddle in: destroying people’s lives.”

Leavitt himself had applied for the job of chief of staff and special counsel for the board but was not included in a pool of finalists, even after he hired an attorney to object. He told the Review-Journal in October that he filed to run for a District Court judgeship as a “Plan B” instead. He lost the general election, however, to appointed Judge Maria Gall, 63 percent to 37 percent.

Last month, Executive Vice Chancellor Crystal Abba declined to respond to a question about whether Kilroy received severance pay, citing confidential personnel records.

Kilroy previously had served as the senior deputy general counsel for the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners.

In a special meeting Wednesday night, the board offered a one-year contract to Keri Nikolajewski – who currently serves as deputy chief of staff – to serve as the board’s interim chief of staff following Kilroy’s resignation, according to acting Chancellor Dale Erquiaga.

Contact Lorraine Longhi at 702-387-5298 or llonghi@reviewjournal.com. Follow her at @lolonghi on Twitter.

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