Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2004 | 9:41 a.m.
Interim Chancellor Jim Rogers is putting his money where his mouth is by pledging $2 million toward the Nevada State College at Henderson.
Rogers, the millionaire owner of Sunbelt Communications Co., has supported the college since its inception and has made lobbying for its success one of his top priorities during the 2005 Legislature.
But his gift is contingent on lawmakers first approving an additional $9 million toward the college's first liberal arts building, Rogers said.
Only after that building is constructed will the college see the first million, Rogers said in a memo, and the second million will be transferred after the building has been in operation for five years.
"I really believe the state should put up seed money for colleges and universities," Rogers said of the conditions. "I won't put up seed money for it.'
But Rogers said the success of the state college is vital to the health of the entire higher education system in Nevada.
"I think the future of UNLV and UNR depends upon a Nevada State College system," Rogers said, noting that the two universities cannot excel and compete with other universities unless they can limit their enrollment.
To do that, Rogers said, Nevada needs a middle-tier system to handle the state's exponential growth while allowing the universities to become more selective. A state college that focuses on teaching over research is also more cost-effective in delivering bachelor's degrees, Rogers said.
Rogers arguments are bolstered by a recent Legislative report on higher education, in which a trio of consultants came to the same conclusion. Both Rogers and regents said they hoped that report would convince law makers of the need, but Rogers said his donation should also add credibility to the request.
Regent Vice Chairwoman Jill Derby agreed, adding that Rogers conditions are entirely acceptable.
"I'm just thrilled with their generosity," Derby said. "It's a shot in the arm for Nevada State College and should help open doors for other donors to step forward.
"... He's walking the talk in a very powerful and generous way."
Spencer Stewart, spokesman for Nevada State College, said Rogers' gift "sets the tone" for other donors and for state law makers.
"It means that somebody in this high position understands the importance of it (the state college) and is willing to back that commitment with money from his own pocket," Stewart said. "It will certainly send the right message to the Legislature and to the community for fund-raising purposes."
The college has far outpaced its prospected enrollment this semester and is crunched for space, Interim President Patricia Miltenberger told regents at their meeting last week. Although the college was budgeted for 500 full-time equivalent students this fall, there are 754 full-time students and 1,121 total students enrolled.
Naysayers and budget cutters in the state Legislature, however, have repeatedly targeted the state college for elimination. And although the Board of Regents and recently the Public Works Board placed the extra $9 million for the liberal arts building near the top of the state's capital construction needs, its approval is far from certain.
Several state law makers and even some regents have likened the request to a broken promise.
State law makers made a deal with former Nevada State College president Richard Moore to set aside $13 million toward the college's first liberal arts building if Moore could raise the remaining $10 million privately.
Four years and four presidents later, only $1 million has been raised, and the Nevada Board of Regents has asked state law makers to fund the remaining $9 million cost.
Rogers has said the college should never have promised it could raise seed money privately, and that donors have shied away because of the lack of support for the college by lawmakers.
Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, one of the college's main naysayers, called Rogers' pledge generous but said she couldn't say whether she would support the college until she received all of the budget information for the 2005-2007 biennium.
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