Regents make state college official

Jennifer Knight

Friday, April 19, 2002 | 9:14 a.m.

The state Board of Regents delivered the final word on whether a proposed state college in Henderson would continue operations, and the answer was "Yes."

A roomful of Henderson heavyweights looked on Thursday as the regents voted 7-4 in favor of keeping the Nevada State College at Henderson on track for its Sept. 3 opening.

"When I came here today, I told my staff to be prepared and that the decision is in the hands of the regents," Chris Chairsell, interim president of the college, said. "We have our direction now. We will move ahead."

Budgetary concerns and legislators' doubts about the project prompted two regents to schedule Thursday's discussion about the state college's future. Gov. Kenny Guinn's recent announcement of severe state revenue shortfalls also was a factor.

"Those dollars are significant, and it's the ongoing dollars that are of concern to me," Regent Steve Sisolak said. "Unfortunately, I don't think the (budget) cuts are going to be made with a scalpel. They're going to be made with a chainsaw."

Sisolak, along with Regents Linda Howard, Tom Kirkpatrick and Guinn's newly appointed southern regent Laura Lopez Hobbs, voted against keeping the college afloat.

Regents Doug Seastrand, Mark Alden and Chairwoman Thalia Dondero joined four northern counterparts in endorsing the college.

Before Thursday, the board had voted to appoint a president, study the college, choose a location and include the college in funding requests -- but had never voted to establish the college, Kirkpatrick said.

Kirkpatrick gave a rundown of problems that have plagued the college proposal since its inception.

"I call this Crisis Management 101: How not to start a college," Kirkpatrick said.

The college traces its roots to 1999, when the Legislature earmarked $500,000 to study the idea. That funding was used to hire two highly paid administrators.

The project then received money from the 2001 Legislature. The $3.7 million in general funds given to the college cannot be spent until July 1, and another $13.4 million in construction money will be available once $10 million in private donations is raised.

Sisolak argued that funding for the state college will take away from existing institutions in the state. He cited a recent analysis by the university system office that shows where the state college money would have gone, had the project not been approved Thursday.

The University of Nevada, Reno would have received an extra $1.13 million this year, the Community College of Southern Nevada would have received an extra $700,000, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas an additional $1.31 million.

Jane Nichols, chancellor of the University and Community College System of Nevada, said there is no certainty that the money would have been redistributed to the other institutions. She said it may have gone back to the state.

Supporters of the college, including regents Seastrand and Alden, donned pancake-sized buttons reading, "I support NSC."

Most of the state college foundation members who had donated money -- a total of $500,000 -- sat in the audience. Along with them were the Rev. Ceasar Caviglia, state Sen. Jon Porter, R-Henderson, Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson and former state Sen. Hal Smith.

But with the status of the college settled and after a separate vote approving the new curriculum, Chairsell said all systems are go.

A regents' committee on academic affairs voted 4-1 in favor of the proposed curriculum. Kirkpatrick abstained from that vote.

A bachelor's degree in business economics was pulled from the curriculum because it was deemed to be too similar to UNLV's program. That is the area that former state college president Richard Moore was preparing to teach. Nichols said Moore will now have to change his focus in other areas to fill his five-class schedule next semester.

State college administrators also pulled a major in mathematics, a field designed to fill the need for math teachers in Clark County. Chairsell said board members will come back to that issue later.

The state college will, however, offer a bachelor's degree in public administration with a major in law enforcement and bachelor's degrees in biology, environmental science and nursing. There will also be bachelor's degrees offered in English, history, psychology and elementary education.

State college officials also plan to step up recruitment efforts. Bob Johns, the college's interim director of admissions, reported that 70 students have signed up for the college, which is funded to handle 500 full-time students.