Security studies' layoffs slated:Institute, Research Foundation audited

[NVMojo]

One-third of the staff at the UNLV Research Foundation and its troubled Institute for Security Studies will be terminated when the employees' contracts expire next year, officials said Friday.

The terminations come amid three separate internal audits and one Energy Department investigation, all prompted by a June 18 Sun story that found that the counterterrorism institute, which has received and spent millions of federal dollars with little accountability, has abandoned several key objectives and come up short on others, especially on the academic end.

University officials confirmed Friday that eight employees involved in the administration of federal research grants - seven from the nonprofit Research Foundation and one from the institute - were notified that their contracts will not be renewed beyond the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.

The move is part of a transition, expected to be completed by June, that will give UNLV control over all grant and contract activities of the Research Foundation and the institute.

Nevada System of Higher Education Regent Steve Sisolak, chairman of the regents' audit committee, said he hoped the transition will shine a light on the secretive institute, which has been criticized for not living up to its promise of turning UNLV into a leading academic authority on homeland security.

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http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/sun/2006/jul/08/566623425.html