Academic Picked to Head Gambling Study

Kay James, a university dean with a background in conservative social issues, was appointed to lead a national panel that will study the effects of legalized gambling in America--a selection that drew immediate criticism from the gaming industry. James, dean of the school of government at Regent University in Norfolk, Va., was selected by House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) to pilot the two-year, $5-million study. James was appointed last year to her post at Regent, a university founded by conservative religious broadcaster Pat Robertson. The American Gaming Assn., which had opposed creation of the study panel, predicted James will be pressured by gambling opponents “to use the commission process as an inquisition against legalized gaming.�