The CSN Chronicle
I hope you are having a wonderful summer and that this June edition of The CSN Chronicle finds you well. As always, there is much news to share.
System Initiatives
A number of initiatives from Chancellor Klaich and the regents are developing over the summer months:
- Nevada has joined 22 other states in a College Completion America (CCA) initiative to improve our ability to encourage students to complete degrees;
- A study of the Nevada funding formula is underway;
- Attention to developmental education is gathering state and national momentum, and we are examining our program and its effectiveness;
- The Community College Taskforce has started work on ways to strengthen and empower Nevada’s community colleges; and
- Chancellor Klaich and others are exploring a more entrepreneurial model of Nevada higher education is developing to help with the next legislative session and the strategic direction of NSHE.
I’ll discuss these and other issues during the State of the College Address during Convocation on Monday, August 23rd.
Commencement
On May 17th we awarded 2,238 degrees and certificates to our 2,069 graduating students.
Parking
As construction on the fire station/classroom building and the new wing of the Ralph & Betty Engelstad School of Health Sciences comes to a close, we are adding more surface parking for the start of the new school year. With the new parking area at the Henderson campus and the parking improvements on West Charleston, we will be able to accommodate additional student vehicles when fall semester begins..
Food Service
Over the summer months we will transition to a new contract for food services. Through an RFP process during spring semester, a college-wide committee selected Sodexo as our new food service management company. There will be some transition time as the new vendor establishes its presence on our campuses. We extend our thanks to Campus Food Services for its many years of dedicated service to CSN and its students.
| With my support, Bill Kerney, Chair of the Faculty Senate, is launching an ad hoc committee to review CSN policies during fall semester. There are concerns about correlation of policies and their application. We want to ensure the integrity of our policies and how they are applied. |
Fall Convocation
This year, we will begin professional development activities for Convocation on Thursday August 19 with the annual State of the College address taking place on Monday, Aug. 23, at Texas Station in North Las Vegas. More information will be forth coming via e-mail over the next few months so if you are off campus this summer, please check your CSN account sporadically for updates. Also this year, I am proposing a President’s Roundtable, an opportunity for open discussion on any CSN topic. An announcement for the roundtable sessions went to all employees with a request to return a response to kc.brekken@csn.edu by July 16. We’d like to keep the sessions to a manageable size of about 25. If there is enough interest, we’ll add sessions. My hope is that this will be a helpful opportunity for Q&A in a small group setting.
Budget Status
We are implementing our budget for fiscal year 2010-11 in accordance with the budget reductions approved by the Board of Regents. With such resources as we have, we’ll continue to keep student learning and the co-curricular experience as top priorities and do the best we can. Our focus is quickly turning to the 2011 legislative session and the NSHE budget and legislative priorities during the regular session.
| CSN’s new strategic plan is still open for comments and suggestions via our website. We plan to present the final plan at the September meeting of the Board of Regents and discuss its implementation at fall Convocation. We appreciate the countless hours of work the strategic planning committee dedicated to this significant effort. |
Questions from Faculty and Staff Members:
“What changes in CSN’s organizational structure can we expect to see this summer?”
As you may have noticed by some of the announcements this month, CSN will undergo a few administrative changes this summer based on the recommendations of the CSN Organization and Structure Committee to improve efficiencies. Those recommendations can be viewed online at: http://www.csn.edu/pages/3266.asp and efforts to fill those positions permanently will take place during fall and spring semesters.
“Will CSN keep its baseball program?”
What a remarkable baseball season we had this year! Talented players and a 92% graduation rate, national media attention and multiple opportunities beyond CSN for our players and coach—a very good year! We are keeping baseball. We are keeping intercollegiate athletics. We will restructure our program and prepare for next year. Currently, we’re discussing the program with community members and interested coaches, and we’ll have announcements regarding the program in the near future. We will begin the search for a new baseball coach immediately. Dr. Art Byrd will head up the process and we hope to have a new coach selected during the next few weeks in order to begin recruitment for the next season.
–Mike Richards