Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2006 | 7:30 a.m.
Nevada State College at Henderson officials got a double dose of good news last week: The start-up school received the go-ahead to pursue full accreditation and settled an estate dispute that will net it $1.7 million.
The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities approved the college's request for accreditation candidacy, the first major step in freeing the four-year-old school of its ties with UNR. The college has been operating under UNR's curriculum umbrella, and its students have had to apply for financial aid through UNR.
The stamp of approval from the Northwest Commission allows Nevada State College to offer its own, autonomous financial aid office, saving students the trouble of dealing with both UNR and Nevada State College officials, said Jim LaBuda, vice provost of student experience.
The commission particularly commended the Henderson college's efforts in making sure students are learning what they are supposed to be learning in the classroom. Its only recommendations were to continue to develop the school's policies, faculty and staff to handle the growing student body.
The $1.7 million gift will come in handy toward that end, LaBuda said. His neighbor, James Hanily, left his estate to the college, but after he died, his wife, Penny Freeman, contested the will, arguing that he was not in a right state of mind when he axed her out of it. She has agreed to drop her contention in exchange for Hanily's Lincoln Continental and $100,000 of the money that Hanily, a former Henderson Best Western owner, bequeathed the college.
Nevada System of Higher Education lawyer Bart Patterson said he is still negotiating with Freeman's lawyers over interior furnishings in Hanily's house but that the bulk of the issues have been settled.
Nevada State College opened in 2002 with 177 students. This fall, student enrollment is expected to top 2,000.
University regents are always looking for how to boost the system's prestige.
To that end, Regent Chairman Bret Whipple is floating ideas on how to increase Nevada's output of Rhodes Scholars from, well, zero to something he can brag about.
Each year, 32 U.S. students are selected to study for two years at Oxford University in England. Their costs, including tuition and living expenses, are covered. The award brings prestige to both the student and the school, often paving the way to further success. Think Bill Clinton, for example.
"It has considerable weight in academia," said Tamara Valentine, director of the honors program at UNR. "It carried him (Clinton) a long way."
Neither UNLV nor UNR knows of any homegrown Rhodes Scholars, although students have won Fulbright Scholarships and other awards. Whipple wants to create either a regent committee or a committee at each university to help identify top students who might qualify for such scholarships and to help them through the application process.
Both UNLV and UNR offer help to honors students applying for high-level fellowships, but no one is assigned full time to coordinate efforts. Each university relies on faculty to help identify students who excel in their classes, outside activities and community service.
Several state universities have appointed full-time staff to help promote the scholarships because of the publicity they bring, Valentine said.
University system Chancellor Jim Rogers spent much of his recent Alaskan cruise rewriting his will.
Rogers, owner of KVBC Channel 3 and several other Western television stations, said he wanted to make sure he hadn't given away more than he is worth.
"Sometimes I wake up in a panic thinking I'll have to get a second job at night to cover my commitments," Rogers said.
His pledges to UNLV, University of Arizona and several other Western schools have been estimated at $275 million, or $400,000 a month. Several are contingent on the sale of his stations after his death. Rogers has said he's worth about $300 million.
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