Gibbons names Boulder City woman to Regents post

By Jean Reid Norman

Monday, Aug. 31, 2009 | 4:51 p.m.

Andrea Anderson

Former Boulder City Councilwoman Andrea Anderson has been appointed to the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents to fill the unexpired term of Stavros Anthony, who was elected in June to the Las Vegas City Council.

Gov. Jim Gibbons chose Anderson from among “numerous highly qualified people anxious for the position,” said Daniel Burns, the governor’s spokesman. She will have to run to retain the seat in 2010.

In addition to two terms on the City Council, Anderson was an administrator for the College of Southern Nevada for 18 years. She retired from CSN in June at the same time she stepped down from the City Council. She also was a Realtor in Boulder City for years before going into higher education.

That depth of experience along with the many boards she has served on in addition to the council attracted the governor’s attention, Burns said.

“I know the governor feels lucky to get her on the board,” Burns said. “Her experience is hands-on. She will complement the other board members so well with what she brings to the table — everything from the classroom to writing grants to planning careers.

“She’s just what we need right now. She’ll be a great voice for students, business and the people.”

She joins the board at a time when a state budget crisis has required painful cuts. In fact, CSN had planned this year to close the Boulder City Center that she headed as part of those cuts, but a Boulder City philanthropist donated money to keep it open. Anderson also led CSN’s technical preparation program, which allowed high school students to earn college credit for technical coursework.

The budget cuts will continue to be a challenge, she said, but technical training will be a key component of the economic recovery.

“The unemployed are going back to school to improve their skills so they can get jobs,” she said. “One of biggest challenges we face is to get people back to work, and college is the place to train them.”

Anderson began considering the Board of Regents when Anthony decided to run for City Council, she said.

“I thought, ‘That is something I would like to do. Higher education is my passion.’”

Anderson, whose first meeting will be Sept. 17-18 in Elko, will represent a geographically large district that includes part of North Las Vegas, Moapa, Overton, Mesquite and Boulder City.

Because of her experience establishing and leading the Boulder City Center, she said, she understands rural needs.

“I know their problems up there. We’ve talked about them,” she said.

Former Commissioner Bruce Woodbury, who has been friends with Anderson since the early 1970s, recommended her for the post, he said.

In addition to being highly qualified, Woodbury said, “It didn’t hurt that she is a female Republican. The Board of Regents has too much testosterone on it, and the governor might have been looking for someone from his party, so I recommended her.

“She will do everything possible to improve the higher education system in the state,” he said.