CSN Professor Kevin Raiford Sues State, Says Removal from NV Grow Program Came After Non-Payment Complaint | Local Nevada

A College of Southern Nevada professor has filed a federal lawsuit against the state, alleging that CSN stopped paying him and his staff while running a small business program, then not to the renowned director when he complained about unpaid.

Kevin Raiford, a business professor at CSN, previously told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he was kicked out of the multimillion-dollar tax-funded NV Grow program after he refused to give federal money to ineligible companies that Sen. of state Dina Neal pressured him to give money, including one owned by her friend.

Neal, who did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday, denied Raiford’s claims last year but was investigated by the FBI after the Review-Journal broke the allegations.

Raiford’s lawsuit, filed Thursday, did not name Neal but said that effective Aug. 1, 2022, CSN stopped paying Raiford and other NV Grow employees.

The lawsuit was filed in the state of Nevada. CSN is a public college overseen by the Nevada Board of Regents.

Raiford complained to then-President Federico Zaragoza and Bill Dial, the director of human resources, about what Raiford said was nonpayment. He told Zaragoza that “the payment issue was urgent and required his assistance because it was negatively impacting NV Grow staff, including an employee who was unable to pay his rent because he had not been paid,” according to the lawsuit.

And on Aug. 16, 2022, according to the suit, his attorney wrote to Dial, “stating that CSN’s continued failure to pay NV Grow staff was unlawful” and that he could be forced to take legal action against the college.

Two days later, the college told him in an email that he had not been appointed director of NV Grow, the suit claimed.

“Defendant decided not to renew Plaintiff’s appointment as a director of NV Grow because Plaintiff complained about Defendant’s failure to pay NV Grow personnel any of their salaries in August 2022,” the suit says, and “effectively terminated” Raiford.

CSN spokesman Richard Lake said CSN cannot comment on litigation. Lynda King, a lawyer for the Nevada System of Higher Education, the agency governed by the board of regents, said she was unaware of the lawsuit, declined to comment and hung up on a reporter.

Zaragoza, who recently retired, could not be reached for comment. Dial did not respond to a request for comment. Raiford’s attorney, Michael Arata, also did not respond to a request for comment.

Raiford said Friday that he is about to begin a new school year as chairman of the business administration department.

NV Grow started in 2015. It is a program designed to help local businesses. CSN’s Division of Workforce and Economic Development operates it, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit said Raiford has been a tenured professor at CSN since 2008. He was ranked third on ratemyprofessors.com’s 2011-2012 list of top professors.

Contact Noble Brigham at [email protected]. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.