UNR president's letter upsets some grads

RENO, Nev. (AP) -- University of Nevada, Reno President John Lilley has rankled some alumni by suggesting that they pressure legislators to fund the university in exchange for the grads' support next election.

Lilley sent letters and e-mails to about 7,000 alums earlier this month, urging them to ask legislators to provide the university with adequate funding to handle its record enrollment growth.

Lilley said last week the reference to alumni support in the next election is not meant as a threat, but as a promise to stand behind lawmakers who could risk taxpayers' wrath at the ballot box.

Carl Shaff, president of the school's Alumni Association, said he doesn't like the idea of promising his vote to legislators who back UNR's funding hopes.

"I agree the university does need funding to accommodate the growth it's experiencing, but I will not tie my support of the university to how I vote for a candidate," he told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "I think voting is a very personal thing."

Shaff said he could not speak for more than 45,000 members of the association, but several other alumni he contacted agreed that it was unfair to pledge their vote in exchange for financial support.

UNR lobbyist Bob Dickens, who helped write the letter, said he has heard no negative response from lawmakers or alumni.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio said Lilley's attempt to pressure legislators to give more money to education isn't unusual.

"I think a lot of them do this, in writing or orally," said Raggio, R-Reno. "We're getting them from every source, from school teachers and every sector. It comes from all sides. The only people here who don't have a lobbyist are the people."

Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, told the Gazette-Journal she wasn't offended by Lilley's encouraging alumni to get involved in the political process but objects to using the ballot box as a threat.

"When legislators hear that, 'I will vote you in or out' on the basis of one issue, it is often seen as threatening and, thus, counterproductive," she said.