Committee sending Henderson state college proposals to regents

Valerie Miller

Thursday, Nov. 18, 1999 | 10:49 a.m.

Henderson may soon be the place a four-year college calls home -- and if one regent has his way, it also could be the home of a new, consolidated communications school.

A committee studying the issue has unanimously recommended going forward with the proposed Henderson State College and is sending its proposal to the university Board of Regents, who will consider it Dec. 1-2.

First among the recommendations is a plan to locate the college in Henderson.

"Henderson is going to be Nevada's second-largest city and will also soon be surrounded by freeways for easy access," Regent Mark Alden, one of five committee members, said Wednesday.

"There is a demand in Henderson and greater Clark County because Community College of Southern Nevada is a two-year college and UNLV is landlocked on Maryland Parkway."

Alden added that a Henderson State College might consolidate the already existing communications programs in the area, as well as offering teaching and business degrees.

"If approved, the Henderson State College could have a communications school that could bring together the resources of UNLV, CCSN, and Channel 10 in one all-encompassing school of communication," Alden said. "With state funding for higher education capped at 20 percent, this would cut overall costs (for the communications programs) substantially."

Alden said he felt Henderson has a need for a four-year college that was not addressed until last summer, when UNLV began offering classes in Henderson.

"We have not delivered the product to Henderson that we should have started five years ago," he said.

Other chief supporters of starting a four-year college in Henderson include Assemblyman Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, state Sen. Jon Porter, R-Boulder City, and Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson, who also served on the committee.

Other recommendations forwarded to the regents included a plan to formulate a mission statement for the college and to plan the appointment of a founding president. Alden said that he expects the regents to appoint a founding president by the time it meets on Jan. 13-14.

The costs for running a state college also would be less than that of a university, where instructors must devote time to research, Alden added.

"It costs half as much to educate students at a state college because you don't have the research side, so teachers fully devote their time to the classroom," he said.

The advisory panel is slated to meet again Dec. 10 at 9:30 a.m. at UNLV to further discuss developing a mission statement and appointing a founding president, Alden said.