Nevada State College president search moves forward

The Nevada System of Higher Education and Nevada State College held two virtual forums Thursday as the search process begins for the college’s first new president in nearly a decade.

In March, President Bart Patterson — who became interim president in 2011 and took on the position permanently the following year — announced he’s stepping down at the end of June 2021 when his contract ends.

NSHE Chancellor Melody Rose told forum attendees it’s the first presidential search she’ll participate in from the beginning of the process. She started on the job Sept. 1.

“From my perspective, of course, the search for a president is one of the most significant pieces of work that we do,” she said during the morning forum.

NSHE Chief General Counsel Joe Reynolds, Board of Regents Chairman Mark Doubrava and Vice Chairwoman Carol Del Carlo were also among the participants in Thursday’s forums.

Rose said the role of the NSHE officials and Board of Regents during the forums was to listen to feedback about what Nevada State College constituencies are looking for in a new president and whether the preference is to appoint an interim president or conduct a nationwide search.

Rose will prepare a recommendation for regents on how to proceed with the search. NSHE officials didn’t provide a definitive timeline Thursday.

Nevada State College was established in 2002 and has more than 5,000 students at its Henderson campus. Patterson is the college’s longest-serving president and won’t seek a contract renewal, instead pursuing “other opportunities in business, education or nonprofit leadership,” he said in a March letter to the chancellor and regents.

Patterson gave 15 months’ notice of his impending departure, “so we are ahead of the curve, so to speak, in this process,” Reynolds said.

NSHE has already conducted a couple of president searches this year. UNLV’s new president Keith Whitfield started in late August and the new UNR president, former Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, begins on the job Monday. And regents voted last month to appoint interim Desert Research Institute President Kumud Acharya to the position permanently.

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.