Nevada State College President Bart Patterson presented the 2014 State of the Campus Address on Monday, Sept. 15, to an audience of community leaders, supporters, students, faculty and staff at the City of Henderson Event Plaza Amphitheatre.
President Patterson discussed the many accomplishments of our distinguished faculty and outstanding students, including Nevada State Student Alliance (NSSA) President David Cortez-Lopez. Cortez-Lopez was one of the speakers at the event; he outlined NSSA’s plans to remain an active, responsible voice for the student population at NSC.
Included in the State of the Campus Address were the results of NSC’s Year Three Accreditation Review. I am proud to announce that NSC received three commendations, President Patterson said. A commendation for our commitment to serving a diverse student body, a commendation for our dedication to data-based decision making, and a commendation for our commitment to environmental sustainability and collaboration with the City of Henderson.
President Patterson also highlighted the college’s continued growth. He expressed excitement and pride when announcing that first-time freshman enrollment is up twenty percent from last year. In addition to more students, the college is happy to welcome thirteen new faculty members with expertise in the fields of business, nursing, education, the sciences and humanities, psychology, biology, and visual media, just to name a few. And, of course, the entire NSC community is looking forward to the completion of the new buildings on Nevada State Drive. “We are so excited about our new buildings and how they will transform the student experience,” President Patterson said. “Next year this speech will be delivered up on the hill in one of those new buildings.”
Finally, the president introduced NSC’s new Be the Difference campaign, saying, This year the college will try even harder to meet the needs of our students with our Be the Difference campaign, to invest every faculty and staff member in helping our students achieve success.
President Patterson ended the State of the Campus Address by encouraging students, faculty and staff to continue to strive for greatness as NSC embarks on a year that will be truly transformational. We will push ourselves to rise up to meet the challenges of the day as well as the demands of our State for more college-educated Nevadans, he said. We will Be the Difference. We will BE BOLD, BE GREAT, BE STATE.