The Board of Regents listens during public comment during a September 2021 meeting before voting on a mandate requiring the COVID vaccine for higher ed employees.
Photo: Jeff Scheid / The Nevada Independent
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Board of Regents for Nevada's state universities and colleges has accepted the resignation of Higher Education Chancellor Melody Rose under a severance agreement less than two years into her four-year contract.
The board's 9-4 vote Friday to pay Rose $610,000 in severance follows controversy over a 2021 complaint in which she accused the board and the board's vice chair of gender discrimination, intimidation and retaliation.
Investigators found insufficient evidence to support Rose's legal claims but said the board had engaged in unprofessional behavior, was politically factionalized and had possibly committed ethical violations.
Rose's resignation makes her the third chancellor to depart the higher education system in five years.
Students spoke during the public comment period before the vote, saying they felt "heartbroken" and "disappointed."
"I feel as though the truest advocate for students is leaving us," said Caren Yap, student body president for the undergraduate student government at UNLV.
Regent John Moran III said Rose's departure was a failure by the board, which he said needs to stop meddling and micromanaging.
Under the severance agreement, Rose and regents officials can't disparage each other.
