|
|
|
2019 Women of Distinction Award
I was
honored on Tuesday, May 7th to be awarded the 2019 Southern
Nevada Iconic Women of Distinction Award in the category of
Education. The National Association
of Women Business Owners gives these awards each year
to women “whose excellence and dedication sets them apart in
their fields and inspires success.” Although I’m thrilled to win
the award this year and be given the opportunity to share the
work of NSC with others, the highlight of the event was
celebrating the achievements of other women in leadership roles
who are making meaningful contributions to our community. I was
particularly pleased to share the stage with fellow educator, Dr.
Barbara Atkinson, founding Dean of the UNLV medical school who
won in the category of Medical/Healthcare Services. Thank you all
for your continued support and congratulations. As I told the
crowd - I’ve only been in Nevada for two years, but it truly feels
like home to me.
Strategic Planning Moves Forward
I know
many of my updates involve the progress of our strategic plan,
but I’m passionate about this effort and excited to share our
progress. Last week, our consultant (Jeff Stafford) visited NSC
again to review the plan and work with various stakeholders.
After the writing team made suggestions based on its collective
feedback, Jeff presented the plan to the Strategic Planning
Council and led them through an exercise to help us determine our
priorities. After another round of revisions, I sent the plan to
Faculty Senate, which is now currently reviewing it. Overall, the
plan is still a work in progress, but each round of revisions
brings us closer to a final project. My goal is to have the plan
finalized by the end of June and submit it to the Board of
Regents on August 1st. This has truly been a community effort,
and I am very grateful to everyone who has contributed so far.
|
|
|
Sometimes life gives you lemons . . .
. . . and
you take those lemons, with every ounce of conviction you can
muster, and you completely forget to write your newsletter
update. So, if this newsletter is arriving a little later
than usual, you know where to point the finger, but here are some
recent developments from my world:
· Dean of Students search – no
update yet, but I promise one will be forthcoming very soon;
however, I can assure you that the wheels of the process are
turning.
· Accreditation – the NWCCU is
coming, and I’ve been editing and fine tuning the “robust” (inside
joke) mission fulfillment report that Gwen has done so much work
on (with a helping hand from folks around campus).
· WICHE meeting – I recently
returned from the Western Academic Leadership Forum, where one of
the foremost topics was the importance of strong partnerships
between academic and student affairs; we have work to do in this
regard, but in some ways we are well ahead of the institutions
that discussed their longstanding challenges in this area.
· System-level considerations –
work continues on NSHE-oriented initiatives, from the emerging
policies on mandatory advising and college-level math to the Metro
Momentum Pathways project with Complete College America
|
|
|
|
Sharneé
Walker has accepted the position of Director of the Disability
Resource Center. Sharneé’s career has focused on maximizing
accessible opportunities for students with disabilities. For
over a decade, she has worked with community organizations
and schools to prepare college students for the rigors of college
and self-advocacy, helping them navigate through the college
accommodation process. Her holistic approach to transforming
students’ lives emphasizes ability, skill development, college
readiness, and positive leadership, fostering a culture of
engagement and giving students the tools and confidence to excel.
She also focuses on the vital role of campus inclusion and
engagement, and she prioritizes open communication with faculty
and staff.
Sharneé
earned a BA in Psychology from UNR, and MS in Educational
Psychology and EdS in School Psychology from UNLV. She is also a
Nationally Certified School Psychologist. She comes to us from
CSN, where she has been a manager of their DRC since 2015. Her
experience makes her an expert resource for establishing,
evaluating, and maximizing accessible opportunities for persons
with disabilities. I'm very excited to have her join us later this
month.
We are
planning a going away party for Sandi Patton and will send out
details soon.
|
Undergraduate Research and Creative Works Conference
(URCWC) Award Winners
On April
26th, we held the 4th annual URCWC on campus. The event depended on
efforts from faculty and staff across campus, and I'm extremely
grateful to the planning committee (Aster Sigel, Leila Pazargadi,
Laura Naumann, Laura Rosales Lagarde, Christine Beaudry, Adam
Davis, and Susan Growe) as well as Marketing & Events, ITS (thanks
you, Rodney, for last-minute assistance with technology!), Sita
Sales, Dining Services, Facilities, and everyone who volunteered as
judges.
Over 150
students were listed as authors or co-authors on posters and
presentations this year.
· Physical, Life, and Health
Sciences posters:
· 1st place: Nicole Sweeden, Bre
Tavernini, & Cynthia Perez
· 2nd place: Cynthia Perez
· 3rd place: Natasha Boganski, Derek
Griffith, Taylor Hinson, Grace Hunter, Jocelyn Leal, Kallie
Pancham, Desiree Whytus, & Norelle Williams
· Behavioral and Social Sciences
posters:
· 1st place (tie): Oana Mandrutiu
& Rhea Tagora
· 1st place (tie): David Markarian
& Rae Acero-Baguyo
· 2nd place: Ashley Koontz &
Regina Loudon
· Best Presentations:
· Business: Allie Pauli & Mary
Gasca
· Humanities: Karl Hinkamp
· Physical & Life Sciences: Juan
Torrez Diaz, Amy Ortiz, Mindy Lee, & Mark Feng
· Creative Works: Katherine
Ruvalcaba
· Best Photography: Stephanie
Rolloff
· Best Digital Media:
· Narrative Film: Arnold
Placencia-Flores
· Documentary: Aaron Parpart
· Music Video or Trailer: Shelby
Little
· Experimental Film: Alistair Cooper
· Animation: Stephanie Rolloff
Thank You for Your Food Donations!
A message
from our CARE Team Case Manager, Laura Hinojosa:
"NSC
students, faculty, and staff are stocking the food pantry and
impacting student lives one meal at a time. Not one day goes by
without someone asking\ "What does the food pantry need
most?" Even students who are receiving help from the food pantry
first hand have asked what they can give back. A grand, heartfelt
"thank you" to anyone who has taken the time to read our
flyers, inquired about how you can help, or made a donation. Your
actions are touching the lives of NSC students in need by more than
just providing meals; you're creating a ripple effect of kindness
and gratitude that will continue to pay it forward beyond what we
can see."
|
|
In 2016,
we began having conversations with the graphic design faculty at
TMCC about creating a 3+1 degree where a TMCC student could
complete their NSC BA in Visual Media without leaving the TMCC
campus. Following a model pioneered by Northern Arizona University,
we developed curriculum and a model for hiring instructors. Last
week, a committee led by Dr. Adam Davis completed phone interviews
for a faculty member who will be housed at TMCC and teach the final
year of the program. In addition to our work with this program, the
School of Education is planning for a full-time employee who will
be housed in Northern Nevada in support of our teacher preparation
programs. Both positions are exciting steps toward fulfilling our
statewide mission through innovative partnerships.
· The Writing Center is closed and
will reopen on Monday, May 20th.
· Six writing specialists are
presenting at this fall's joint conference between the
International Writing Center Association (IWCA) and the National
Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing (NCPTW) in Columbus, OH.
· The Writing Center is hosting a
Summer Writing Group, which is open to full-time, part-time, and
administrative faculty interested in working on writing projects.
They will hold two sessions per week: Mondays from 1-4 pm and
Thursdays from 9 am-noon, beginning Monday, May 20th and ending
Thursday, August 8th. Each session will include structured support,
snacks, and encouragement. For more information on the application
process, please write to Rachel.Herzl-Betz@nsc.edu.
The
Gateways Steering Committee works on improving the experience of
our first-year students. We were busy this semester developing some
exciting projects for the fall, including:
· Our first three-course learning
community, where a single cohort of students will take ALS 101
(College Success), ENG 101, and BIOL 189 together. The classes will
be linked by an emphasis in health professions. Myra Infante
Sheridan and Nate Silva are leading this effort;
· Our first learning community
committed to helping undecided students. Students who haven’t
selected a major yet are encouraged to sign up for this learning
community, which links ALS 101 and COM 101. The courses share an
emphasis in selecting a major, finding a purpose, and engaging in
the community. Dawn Butler is leading this initiative;
· An exploration of ways we can
incentivize (or gamify) student participation in college events.
|
|
As our
17th Spring semester concludes, you might be asking: How we are
doing in recruitment, enrollment, student performance, retention,
and graduation? You'll be happy to know that we are up, up, up, up,
and up! Let's take a look at the numbers:
· Based on our current applications
and admissions rate, we are projecting a moderate growth of 7-8% in
new students for Fall 2019.
· For continuing students, our
re-enrollment is about 10% ahead of where we were last May.
· Our 1-year retention for
first-time, full-time students is presently at 71.6% for the Fall
2018 cohort.
· We are expecting our largest
ever graduating class of around 600 students for
2018-2019!
Overall,
things are looking pretty good at NSC.
|
|
Be Bold | Be Great | Be State
|
|
|
|
