Colleagues Say Nevins Earned the Job of Chairman
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
Two types of people are on the University System of Maryland Board of Regents: those who sit back and enjoy the post, and those who do the grunt work.
Chairman David H. Nevins won the confidence of the board by doing the heavy lifting, his fellow members said.
"The fact is, David worked very hard," said a former board colleague, lawyer Bruce Marcus. "He put in the time and effort to justify becoming the chairman."
The hard work is only half the story, though, Nevins admirers and detractors agreed. The man who has befriended two governors -- Democrat Parris N. Glendening and Republican Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. -- and scores of lawmakers has shown a rare ability to amiably navigate Maryland's political extremes.
Nevins said he pulls it off by keeping his personal views to himself. "That's the way of the world today," he said in an interview this week. "The fact of the matter is, in terms of my business activities and in terms of my public activities and responsibilities, I frankly try to keep my personal political views private."
Nevins has had a long education in the vagaries of state politics, dating to his days as a student leader at Towson University, driving his Ford Torino to Annapolis to urge lawmakers to create a student seat on the board of regents. When Nevins prevailed in 1975, then-Gov. Marvin Mandel (D) named him the board's first student member.
Nevins never strayed far from politics. In the early 1990s, after being introduced to Glendening, he found a way to intertwine politics with his fledgling business venture, the public relations firm Nevins & Associates.
On his Web site, he describes being approached by "a relatively unknown politician" who wanted to become a household name in the Baltimore area. Glendening, then the Prince George's County executive, had hired Nevins's firm.
"We helped him network, planning events that draw distinguished guests and crowds of people," the Web site says. "We introduced him to area editors, reporters, and civic, business and community leaders. He won the gubernatorial election."
Once Glendening took office, he appointed Nevins as head of Maryland Public Television and then to the board of regents. Under Ehrlich, he was reappointed to the board and made its chairman.
-- Matthew Mosk
