State lawmakers heard testimony last week on the new Health & Sciences Building proposed for our Henderson Campus.
During a joint budget subcommittee on March 14, the legislators discussed two other higher education projects, as well: the education building at Nevada State College and overall deferred maintenance within the NSHE system.
During the presentation, College of Southern Nevada President Dr. Federico Zaragoza ensured lawmakers that CSN has raised $6 million in private donations for the building. The state is expected to kick in a total of $70 million in funding, for a total project cost of $76 million.
Some officials expressed reservations over the rising cost of inflation, but none indicated that they wouldn’t support the project.
About 28 percent of the three-story, 73,000 square foot building will be set aside specifically for Nevada State College use, with the rest of the building will be dedicated for CSN, Henderson Provost and CSN Vice President Patty Charlton told the legislators.
Both Charlton and Nevada State College President Bart Patterson were excited about the continued and new partnership opportunities the joint building will bring between the two institutions.
Organizations and individuals who testified in support of the project on March 14 included:
- City of Henderson
- City of Las Vegas
- Dignity Health
- Henderson Chamber of Commerce
- Jonas Peterson of the LVGEA
- Las Vegas Latin Chamber of Commerce
- Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce
- Nevada Faculty Alliance
- Nevada State Bank
- Nevada State College Foundation
- NV Energy
- Southwest Gas
- Workforce Connections of Southern Nevada
This building is expected to strengthen health care education in southern Nevada to help train much needed caregivers. In 2017, for example, more than 1,800 nursing jobs went unfilled in the region, indicating a strong need for more nurses. This building will help CSN and NSC train more nurses and other healthcare workers than ever before. For this reason, the project is ranked as the number one priority not only by CSN, but also by the Southern Nevada Forum.
Lawmakers have not yet acted on this item. We will continue to follow this and other CSN items during the 2019 legislative session and bring you periodic updates.