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Henderson, Nev. – Beginning Feb. 7, the Heritage Center at Nevada State College will present its annual series of films, panel discussions, talks and cultural events to celebrate Black History Month.
All events in the series, which will take place throughout February, are free. All are invited to attend and learn about the rich, complex history of Black Americans.
The Heritage Center is a conduit for creating a vibrant and open campus embodying the principles of respect, openness, tolerance, and mutual understanding among all members of the Nevada State College community. Exhibitions and events furthering the center’s mission of promoting awareness and appreciation for the contributions of all races, cultures, lifestyles, and religions are regularly presented throughout the year.
This year will mark Nevada State’s second year hosting events series to celebrate the rich heritages of the peoples of Southern Nevada through a Heritage Center specifically dedicated to this project.
Events will include:
Black History Month Kick-Off event
Thursday, Feb. 7 3:30 p.m.
Speaker: Walter Mason
Topic: Literature That Lives
Location: Dawson Room 109
1125 Nevada State Drive, Henderson, NV 89002
Inroads Presentation
Wednesday, Feb. 13 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Local and National Internships for African-American Students
Presenter: Myisha Brown, Inroads Recruiter
Location: Great Hall 1125 Nevada State Drive, Henderson, NV 89002
Black Church & Politics Round Table Discussion
Thursday, Feb. 14 3:30 p.m.
Presenters: Local Black Clergy
Location: Dawson Room 109
1125 Nevada State Drive, Henderson, NV 89002
Early Black Films Festival
Wednesday, Feb. 20 3:30 p.m.
Featuring groundbreakers Oscar Micheaux Drama’s Herb Jeffries Early Westerns Film Discussion
Speaker: Dr. Peter La Chapelle, Nevada State College assistant history professor
Location: Dawson Room 109
1125 Nevada State Drive, Henderson, NV 89002
Gospel Fest
Saturday, Feb. 23 6 p.m.
Local Churches Perform traditional and new gospel songs
Location: Black Mountain Recreational Center
599 Greenway Road, Henderson, NV 89015
Nevada State College opened its doors to students in September 2002 after the Nevada Board of Regents and Nevada State Legislature determined the need for enhanced educational opportunities in Southern Nevada in 1997. The college currently enrolls more than 2050 students. NSC’s main campus is located on over 500 acres in the foothills of Henderson and provides progressive bachelors programs in several in-demand fields of study. Nevada State College offers a low student-to-professor ratio and competitive tuition rates.
For more information on Nevada State College, call : 702.990.2000 or visit : nsc.edu.

By Rebecca Zisch
The Nevada State College campus in downtown Henderson sits across the street from the headquarters of the City of Henderson Police Department (HPD). Maybe it’s this geographic proximity that initially inspired NSC to develop a degree in Law Enforcement. But five years later, the success of the program has firmly established it as one the hallmarks of Nevada State College.
In 2003, NSC began its Bachelor in Public Administration in Law Enforcement (BPALE) program. According to Assistant Professor William Whisenhunt, the degree program focuses on theories of public administration, but many of the BPALE students already have real life experience in the law enforcement field.
Whisenhunt himself comes to Nevada State College with over 40 year’s experience in various fields of criminal justice, from police sergeant to assistant district attorney. So, he is able to expertly express to his students the positive effects higher education can have on a career in law enforcement.
Since the program’s inception, almost 8% of NSC graduates have been Law Enforcement majors. For the Spring 2008 semester, over 50 declared Law Enforcement majors are attending NSC and over 100 more are working toward their degrees on an ongoing basis.
One of the program’s most distinguished graduates is Deputy Chief James White of the HPD. White openly admits that he completed his degree at the age of 55. He says he wanted to lead by example with his children and his colleagues and show them that education is an important goal no matter how old you are.
Captain Robert Wamsley of the HPD agrees. Before coming to NSC, Wamsley’s experience in higher education included police academy training 18 years ago, attending college on and off until 1994 and several classes at the FBI Academy at Quantico. But this semester he is taking his last two required upper division courses. He saw completing his degree as an example for my kids of finishing what you start and then I started benefitting from it professionally.
Currently Commander of the Investigations Division, Captain Wamsley knows that earning his baccalaureate degree will impact his future career, and might even lead him back to school, either enrolled in an advanced degree program or as a teacher. In the meantime, he’s encouraging others to go back to school like he did. I hear a lot of people talking about themselves and their education vs. career situation and they have the same story that I did. I always recommend that they go back and finish their degrees in order to move up the ranks.
Deputy Chief White adds, the law enforcement landscape is changing. It’s becoming more necessary for people to have a 4-year degree in order to be promoted.
He regularly encourages others at the HPD to take advantage of NSC’s educational excellence. The Henderson Police Department reimburses 100% of books and tuition, so there’s no good reason not to go to school. And Nevada State has the best of all of the available law enforcement programs in the area… it’s the college that reaches out to the law enforcement community the most.
White has also observed that there is real value in young students attending classes alongside working police officers as their peers. This only helps everyone. And that includes himself. It’s interesting to note that White was actually the Henderson Police Department’s Acting Chief at the same time that he was enrolled in a course in law enforcement management at Nevada State College.
Captain Wamsley praises the real-life applications of the course content at NSC. He says, it’s important to be a good manager, but a better leader. He cites courses in communication and leadership as being especially useful and even fun. As I got involved at Nevada State, I started getting straight as for once in my life, I’m enjoying school.
According to Wishenhunt, the BPALE program is germane for professionals in the field because it focuses on current topics in law enforcement and emphasizes issues that are relevant to the administration of any governmental agency today.
It’s that connection of academic theory and professional practice that Deputy Chief White sees of the significant components of studying Law Enforcement at Nevada State College. He insists, we’re not practicing police procedures in a vacuum you’ve got to bridge the gap between academics and practitioners and that’s what education does. It opens your mind to the way other people think.
For more information on Nevada State College, call: 702.990.2000 or visit: nsc.edu.

Henderson, Nev. – Once again, Nevada is No. 1.
Nevada has surpassed Arizona to again take its place as the fastest growing state in the country, according to statistics released Dec. 27 by the U.S. Census Bureau. And as Nevada’s population (at about 2.57 million as of July 1) continues to grow at a rapid pace a growth rate of 2.9 percent so too does its needs.
While those needs are being addressed in different ways, the objective is the same supply a talented workforce for Nevada.
Nevada State College, which caters its curriculum to support the needs of the state, was born because of the demands caused by the state’s growth.
Since 2002, Nevada State College has been serving Nevada as the second tier in a three-tiered state educational system assisting the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the University of Nevada, Reno as they position themselves to become more research-based, while working closely with the College of Southern Nevada to transition students from a two-year institution to a four-year institution and the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree.
We are both an immediate solution and a long-term solution to some important issues facing us in Nevada, said Nevada State College President Dr. Fred Maryanski, referring to the college’s emphasis on educating nurses and teachers. Our short-term impact on Nevada is our graduation of nurses and teachers, who are immediately entering the workforce. And over time, our numbers and our impact will grow substantially.
Nevada State College, which currently enrolls 2,200 students, opened its doors to students in September 2002 after the Board of Regents and the Nevada State Legislature determined the need for enhanced educational opportunities in Southern Nevada in 1997.
The college offers a low student-to-professor ratio and competitive tuition rates and provides progressive bachelor’s programs in areas such as nursing, teaching and engineering critical areas that will only demand an increased number of quality, trained professionals in the next few years, according to Doug Geinzer, founder and president of Recruiting Nevada.
Working toward the same goal of filling jobs in Nevada’s weakest points of employment with trained professionals but from a recruitment standpoint Recruiting Nevada publishes the state’s largest Nevada-specific employment Web site, RecruitingNevada.com.
Nevada was the country’s fastest growing state for almost 20 years before Arizona took its place, and now Nevada is No. 1 again, said Geinzer, who has been working on the frontline to strengthen Nevada’s economy through socially responsible recruiting since 1993. And with more than 47,000 rooms expected to be added to the Las Vegas Strip within the next five years, our rapid growth won’t slow down any time soon. In fact, it’s estimated that within a hotel/casino, there are 2.5 employees per hotel room, and an additional 1.5 jobs are created outside the hotel/casino to support that growth. Between expected growth both on and off the Strip, we estimate that more than 200,000 jobs will be created in the next five years.
Recruiting Nevada, which has also partnered with several local businesses to market career fairs attracting out-of-state jobseekers and older workers to Nevada jobs, has been credited with helping to increase Nevada’s nurse-to-patient ratio over the last four years from 520 to 547 per every 100,000 a substantial increase, as Nevada has opened more hospitals and hospital expansions than any other state.
But regardless of individual accomplishments, it’s really all about working together, Geinzer said.
Even with all the sponsors in the world, career fairs wouldn’t be successful if businesses didn’t participate through setting up booths, he said. The same is true when looking at the bigger picture. Recruiting and education are just two of the many industries that must continue to work hand in hand to efficiently serve Nevada in the best way possible, and that’s exactly what we intend to do.
For more information on Nevada State College, call : 702.990.2000 or visit : nsc.edu.