Dear CSN Family,
As you will hear in today’s Virtual Town Hall, our team has been hard at work planning for late-summer, on-campus re-engagement and a robust fall semester with face-to-face instruction wherever possible, including online support services that ensure academic continuity for our students and faculty.
All courses will have a significant online component in the event of a new wave of COVID-19 cases. Critically, we will offer as many in-person options as possible for courses that we know are challenging for many students so they have a greater chance to succeed. We will be careful to take special populations into account, such as veterans, international students, students on academic probation, students with disabilities, students who have been unsuccessful in the remote instructional environment in spring 2020 and other disadvantaged student groups. We want all of our students to succeed, no matter how course content is delivered.
Please be sure to attend today’s town hall for full details. You can find a link to join in the right column of this email.
Our students continue to succeed in this remote environment, both in and out of the classroom. Our outstanding Videography & Film Program once again shined this semester, receiving 15 Student Production Emmy Award nominations from the Pacific Southwest National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences over the weekend.
Their 15 nominations were the most of any college chapter in the region, which includes Las Vegas and a host of Southern California colleges and universities. The nominations add to a recent history of great success for CSN’s program, with 88 nominations in the last six years alone. Congratulations to all involved, especially our wonderful students. Award winners will be announced at a ceremony next month.
In addition, CSN’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year colleges, was again named a five-star chapter, the highest level in the organization. During the recent PTK Virtual Spring Convention of the Nevada/California Region, the chapter and its students also won several awards for their work during the 2019 calendar year. Congratulations to PTK and our students.
Finally, I want to congratulate CSN student Krista McFarling-Kelly for being chosen as this year’s Commencement Ceremony Student Speaker. Not only did Krista deliver a wonderful speech to our selection committee, she also has an inspiring story. She embraced CSN, became president of the Black Student Union, helped plan and advocate for many events on our campuses, and won scholarships through her essay writing. She has much more to tell you, and I can’t wait for you all to hear her speak. As you know, our Commencement Committee is working on securing a date and a location for a ceremony this fall.
Thank you all for remaining Vegas strong and CSN proud. Stay safe and God bless.
Federico Zaragoza
President
College of Southern Nevada