(Cole Lauterbach) – Nevada taxpayers might be on the hook for a separation agreement between its top higher education official and the state board if it accepts the deal.
The Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents will consider the separation agreement between the state and NHSE Chancellor Melody Rose during an emergency meeting Friday.
Rose claimed in October the board chair and vice chair created a hostile work environment for her. The two temporarily stepped down before being voted back into their positions once an independent investigation found the two acted in a “not collegiate” way rather than confirm Rose’s claims of gender discrimination, according to 8NewsNow.
Hired in June 2020, Rose signed a separation agreement March 27 worth $610,000 plus insurance benefits for her and her family through April.
According to state data, her contract earns her a $437,750 annual base salary over the four years of her tenure. The agreement also contains her conduct and speech requirements regarding the system after the separation.
Before heading HSHE, Rose was president of Marylhurst University in Oregon from 2014 until it closed in 2018, according to a university release.
Severance agreements, though common, have become a controversial topic in higher education. In 2015, the College of DuPage in suburban Chicago garnered attention for paying a school president under controversy $710,000 as part of a separation agreement. Like Rose, the separation package for Robert Breuder was worth more than a year of his salary. The issue led Illinois to cap severance agreements for public university officials at no more than a year of their salary and required new transparency measures.
The Board of Regents will consider accepting Rose’s separation agreement in its emergency meeting at 2 p.m. Friday.
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