Western Nevada College President Chet Burton gave an update Wednesday on graduation and other events at the bi-monthly meeting of Fallon’s Restore our College Campus Committee.
Burton said the college will have a record number of graduates this year. The graduation ceremony is Monday at 10 a.m. at Carson City’s Marv Texieira Pavilion at Mills Park.
“And it’s also interesting we have 27 Jump Start students getting their associate degrees,” Burton added.
The Jump Start students receiving their associate degrees are high-school seniors who enrolled in both college and high-school classes during the school year.
Burton said four of 14 graduates from Storey County High School in Virginia City are also receiving associate degrees because of Jump Start.
“They were one of the schools at the forefront of the Jump Start program, “Burton said.
Sherry Black, director of the WNC Fallon campus, said eight Fallon students completed Jump Start.
Burton said 550 diplomas and 30 certificates will be handed out Monday, and of that number, 42 Fallon students will receive diplomas and two will receive certificates.
Burton also said at the ROCCC meeting that private student housing could be a reality at the Carson City campus within a few years. He said if a survey shows strong interest, he envisions a similar model of housing used at some locations at the University of Nevada, Reno. The housing concept includes a central kitchen with four bedrooms in each unit.
Because of the shortage of rentals in Carson City, Burton said the interest is high for living on campus.
Other items in Burton’s report Wednesday included the following:
The next Board of Regents meeting is June 9-10 at Truckee Meadows Community College. At that time, Burton said WNC will present its annual report to the regents.
Burton also lauded the baseball team for winning the District 18 Tournament, and now the team is in Grand Junction, Colo., for the district tournament. If the Wildcats win the regional tourney, the team moves on to the National Junior College Athletic Association World Series.
Burton said the Wildcats defeated the College of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas in the ninth inning to advance to Colorado.
Black said some money was not used in a grant spearheaded by Great Basin College. She said talk about the additional money is centering on bringing back the rural nursing program to Fallon.
“Fourteen applicants to the Carson City program are Fallon and Fernley students,” she said.
Black said the next step is to raise funds for a Fallon instructor. She told the committee the plan is to obtain four to five individuals or companies each willing to commit $10,000 annually for four to five years.
Burton said WNC is looking for commitments for planning purposes.
“The support seems to be strong,” he said of returning some type of nursing program to Fallon.
“I’m pretty optimistic,“ Black added.
The committee asked Burton about the status of the university system and Board of Regents because of last week’s resignation of Chancellor Dan Klaich.
Although legal counsel did not find any cause for dismissal, Klaich offered his resignation and the regents accepted.
“I believe they accepted the resignation as not to cause a distraction,” Burton said.
Burton said the regents will name an interim chancellor until they can do a national search.
Some discussion also focused on a study conducted by the Lincy Institute, which recommends two separate governing boards, one for the universities and another for the two-year colleges.
Burton said he and the three other two-year college presidents oppose the plan.
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