EDITORIAL: President Ashley, we’d like to get to know you

June 15, 2009 by Editorial staff 

Just one month ago, a preliminary assessment by a California university president praised UNLV President David B. Ashley as a “quiet, brilliant” man, giving him a generally positive appraisal.

If this is the case, why have reports come up this past week of university and state higher education officials questioning Ashley’s judgment and leadership ability? Why are complaints arising that the president’s wife, Bonnie, has been overly demanding of university employees, despite not holding a position at UNLV herself?

At this point, the UNLV community ought to rise up in support or in criticism of their institution president’s character. But how can we when we hardly know him?

Though we have no definite criticisms of Ashley, we regret that even The Rebel Yell – which should serve the UNLV community as the chief informer on the president’s actions and ideas – has yet been unable to bridge space students seem to perceive between them and their president, as the president’s office has proven unsettlingly unreachable at times.

In the midst of a budget crisis, at a time when Ashley’s voice is needed most, he has been remarkably silent – even with regard to the issue of his own review.

This editorial might have urged readers to rally behind Ashley in this trying time or assessed his flaws in agreement with his critics, but we, like much of the student body, are forced to say that our president hasn’t given us much on which to base our opinion.

Ashley was unavailable for comment for our story on the issues surrounding his review. Though we reserve some judgment, he will not be immune to the negative effects of the marked absence of his personal comments from the press – a condition which only confirms many students’ main criticism of his service. Three little words– “unavailable for comment,” can be even worse than any real response, no matter how bad that response may seem.

We have found it easier to contact and get information from the presidents of other Nevada colleges than from Ashley. It makes sense that the students of those institutions have an easier time of it as well.
University of Nevada, Reno President Milton Glick’s official site provides more insight on the university president than Ashley’s UNLV page. Glick has even periodically updated a blog in which he has conveyed information from his own perspective on the budget situation, administration and student affairs. Glick began his blog in April of 2007 with a statement about the importance of communication, encouraging direct questions.

Given the tools of knowledge, the UNLV student body can raise a powerful voice. We saw it happen in the past year, as Rebels’ cries for a just solution to the budget crisis helped lower the cut to the Nevada System of Higher Education by more than 30 percent.

We should be the ones shouting the loudest about the issue of Ashley continuing his stay at UNLV, but right now we don’t know him well enough to decide which side to cheer for.
President Ashley: We would love to get to know you and we’re pretty sure we’re not the only ones. Why not reach out a little more to the campus community? We can be your most effective critics or your strongest allies.

It doesn’t take a brilliant person to do this, simply an honest one.