Henderson, Nev. Since 2002, Nevada State College has been serving Nevada’s need for enhanced educational opportunities. Supporting that mission is the college’s School of Liberal Arts & Sciences, which offers 9 of the college’s15 available majors to a student body now at more than 2,050 students.
In the past five years, the young School of Liberal Arts & Sciences has already seen much growth, innovation and success. So much so, in fact, that Nevada State College’s first permanent building on its more than 500-acre campus is designed for the School of Liberal Arts & Sciences. The building is nearly finished a year after breaking ground, and staff and faculty will be able to move into the building in July.
The completion of our first permanent building is a landmark event for us, said Nevada State College President Dr. Fred Maryanski. Dr. Erika Beck (the college’s dean of Liberal Arts & Sciences) has been instrumental in the growth and success not just of our School of Liberal Arts & Sciences, but Nevada State College as a whole. We’re looking forward to seeing her take the college to the next level as her college moves into its new building.
The new 42,000-square-foot building will have state-of-the-art equipment, 42 offices, four fully equipped science labs and several classrooms in addition to a functioning seismograph one of only 10 in the state (most of which are located in the north). The LAS building will also enable students to delve even further into the unique research that is already taking place in the college.
For example, Kerwin Sands, a psychology student in the School of Liberal Arts & Sciences, is currently studying the flaws of eye-witness accounts. Meanwhile, Professor Ed Price is developing a class to measure the leakage of Lake Las Vegas as well as a class to measure the slide above the Virgin River, and two other professors have taken students on medical missions in the impoverished countries of Haiti and Kenya. Professor Paul Buck regularly hosts archeological digs for his students at Mt. Trumbull in Arizona.
The School of Liberal Arts & Sciences is characterized by personalized learning experiences rooted in the humanities and the social and physical sciences. The degree programs allow students to apply their knowledge in a variety of contexts and emphasize superior communication skills and critical thinking abilities.
Degrees offered through the School of Liberal Arts & Sciences include biology, English, environmental science, history, mathematics and psychology with the biology program currently the college’s second most popular major. Minors offered through the college include counseling and communications.
The curriculum of Nevada State College is based upon the community’s needs, the needs of business and industry, and the desires and demands of the students.
As the second-tier in a three-tiered state educational system (between universities and community colleges), Nevada State College will assist the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the University of Nevada, Reno as they position themselves to become more research-based. Nevada State College will also work closely with the Community 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.
NSC School of Liberal Arts & Sciences Continues to Grow
