Crowley to leave UNR presidency

By Ed Vogel

June 13, 2000 Web posted at: 6:03 PM EDT (2203 GMT)

RENO, Nevada (Las Vegas Review Journal) -- Concluding the time was right, University of Nevada, Reno President Joe Crowley announced Wednesday he will retire Dec. 31 after more than 22 years at the school's helm.

Crowley headed up Nevada-Reno for 22 years.

At a hastily called news conference, Crowley said he wants to return to work on the political science faculty at UNR and would like to work as a lobbyist for the university system during the 2001 legislative session.

"You don't want to overstay your welcome," said Crowley, who could not hold back tears when he announced his intentions. He turns 67 on July 9 and is the longest-serving president at any major college in the country.

"It's been a great time to be president. The circumstances were right. This is a bigger and better institution."

UNR's enrollment has grown to 12,500, up from 7,830 when he became president. But he will leave the campus in the midst of the biggest financial problem of his administration. UNR's Fire Science Academy is expected to lose $3 million this fiscal year and $7 million total before it is expected to begin making a profit in two years.

Largely because of Crowley, the Fire Science Academy moved last year from its longtime home at Stead, north of Reno, to remote Carlin, 280 miles away in Elko County.

At Stead, the academy had been a consistent money-making venture for the university. Professional firefighters received instruction from experts in how to put out major oil fires.

"We are well on the way to getting that fixed," he said.

Crowley was so proficient at his job that the University of Nevada, Las Vegas has been at a disadvantage in its funding battles with UNR, said Steve Sisolak, a member of the Board of Regents from Las Vegas.

"I mean that as a compliment," said Sisolak, who has fought for funding parity for the two universities. "He is irreplaceable. He is like (former football coach) Vince Lombardi. You can't measure up."

This year, UNR received $3,024 more per student in state assistance than UNLV. Analysts, however, maintain that most of the gap is the result of more professors with long tenure and the number of graduate students at UNR. The real funding inequity between UNR and UNLV has been estimated at $534 per student.

Sisolak said he does not know yet whether UNR's loss ultimately will be UNLV's gain.

"I don't think anybody can develop the political contacts and the acumen for his job that he has," he added.

Jill Derby, chairwoman of the Board of Regents, attended the announcement and praised Crowley.

"I'm feeling sad," she said. "It feels like the end of an era. He has been a real leader."

Derby said she hopes regents can hire Crowley as a legislative lobbyist. Crowley himself said he did not want to lobby exclusively for UNR.

"I would be willing to help in any way I can," he said.

He added that he wants no part in the selection of his successor. But almost immediately, speculation began that retiring U.S. Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., would be a candidate. Bryan is a UNR graduate.

Bryan aides said the senator is in Russia with members of the Senate Intelligence Committee and would not return before next week. Bryan recently withdrew his name from consideration for the chancellorship of the university and community college system.

"He knew I was seriously thinking about leaving this job," Crowley said. "He could apply if he wishes."

Crowley's pending departure comes at a time of transition and turmoil for the University and Community College System of Nevada.

The system -- which serves more than 90,000 full- and part-time students -- has been under temporary leadership for about a year. Other key vacancies exist in the higher education system, including the president's office at the Community College of Southern Nevada.

A Board of Regents committee will meet today to discuss filling the community college post later this year. Another board committee meets Friday for an update on the search for a new chancellor.

Interim Chancellor Tom Anderes, who has led the system since the departure of Richard Jarvis last summer, intends to leave Nevada in July to take a vice chancellor's post in the Oregon university system. Jane Nichols will replace Anderes as interim chancellor.

Gov. Kenny Guinn already has rejected the system's proposed budget for 2001-03 as too bloated for tough times. College presidents and budget planners are working on quick revisions.

Additionally, there are splits on the 11-member Board of Regents over everything from spending priorities and equitable funding between Northern and Southern Nevada institutions to accusations of open-meeting law violations.

Jim Richardson, a UNR professor and lobbyist for the University Faculty Alliance, credited Crowley with legislation in 1987 that set up the current formula for student funding.

"It has brought tens of millions of dollars of extra revenue to the university system, most of it to Southern Nevada where the growth is," Richardson said. "Joe has always lobbied for the system. He just never received credit."

A native of Iowa, Crowley received bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Iowa and Fresno State University, respectively. He earned his doctorate in political science from the University of Washington.

He joined the faculty at UNR in 1966 as a political science teacher earning $3,500 per semester -- Crowley will earn $202,269 this year. Long an advocate of college sports, Crowley served as president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association from 1993 to 1995.

Crowley's four adult children and his wife, Joy, sat at his side when he announced his retirement.

He said leaving the presidency will give him more time for his favorite outside pursuits -- gardening and fishing.

"My sons are going to teach me to fly fish," Crowley said. "I'm a person of the soil. My dad was a farmer."

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