Updates from the Office of the Provost

February 1, 20232

Vickie Shields

Welcome to spring semester 2023! Can you believe it?! I look forward to seeing everyone at Professional Development Day on February 10th. The full agenda is available here. Note that it's in the KAB Auditorium this year.

Great News for Dean Gunn

In June 2023 Dean Gunn will attend the prestigious Institute for Management and Leadership in Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Cambridge, MA.

The two-week program is designed for experienced administrators to strengthen the leadership skills and strategies needed to manage change effectively within their higher education institution, as well as address current and emerging strategies that will help them determine how well-positioned their college or university is to meet future challenges and manage the impact of organizational change. The institute takes place in a supportive learning environment that includes Harvard faculty and accomplished higher education leaders from across the country and around the world.

Marydean Martin Library a finalist for Cashman Good Government Award

Academic Affairs supported an application by the Marydean Martin Library recognizing their outstanding work in OER/no-cost textbooks.

This prestigious award was created to recognize superior stewardship of taxpayer dollars by government employees and/or agencies. All non-elected, full-time employees in Nevada state and local governments, including school districts and the Nevada System of Higher Education, are eligible for the award.

This year they received 19 nominations for the 25th Annual Cashman Good Government Award. The members of the Selection Committee met as a panel after individually doing an extensive examination of each of the entries. The winner of the 25th Anniversary Award will be announced on February 23, 2023, at the Nevada Taxpayers Association’s Biennial Legislative Dinner in Carson City.

A Note from Angela M. Brommel, Senior Advisor & Executive Director for the Arts

As part of Nevada State’s 20th anniversary, on February 1 Nevada State’s Office for The Arts will host the opening reception and unveiling of the latest inductees of Obsidian & Neon: Building Black Life and Identity in Las Vegas. The pictorial-essay installation of large-scale black and white photography by award-winning photojournalist Jeff Scheid is accompanied by narrative profiles curated by writer Erica Vital-Lazare. The annual traveling exhibition features Black leaders in culture, business, politics, and community outreach. The exhibition will be on view through June 30, 2023, in the second-floor art gallery within the Glenn and Ande Christenson School of Education Building. The opening reception on February 1st will be from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM.

The 2023 honorees include Shakala Alvaranga, Debbie Conway, Judge Belinda T. Harris, DeRionne Pollard, Gwen Walker, and Natalie Young.

To RSVP or for more information about the exhibition and the 2019-2023 honorees, please visit here.

Tony Scinta

It’s been so long since our last update that when Gregory asked for my newsletter submission I immediately said, with a feeling of eagerness bordering on excitement, “What’s a newsletter?” I made that up, but this is true: so much has happened since our early December update that I can’t possibly cover it in a single update. What follows is a representative – but incomplete – snapshot of some of my favorite things from recent weeks.

Education Philosophy

The presumptive final version of the Education Philosophy is going to Faculty Senate for a “sense of the Senate” vote on Feb. 6.

Enrollment Invigoration

As I will expand upon at the upcoming professional development day, the College has observed a decline in non-dual credit enrollment following the pandemic. I’m working with an array of campus constituents to understand the contributing factors and design and implement new efforts to reinvigorate our growth.

Dual Credit

With an assist from President Pollard, I’ve joined Gregory Robinson and Jennifer Lamoreaux for a series of discussions with critical dual enrollment stakeholders, including our high school partners and top leadership in the Clark County School District. The meetings have allowed us to communicate the successes of the program while also gauging feedback on our work, which has been roundly positive (and a clear testament to the contributions of people across campus).

Workforce Development

Several projects are in development for this division, including a “Scorpion STEAM Academy” that aims to increase interest in STEAM pathways among younger children through engaging, hands-on experiences, and a multi-faceted leadership program that is oriented around the needs of area business and community organizations.

Additional projects that we continue to advance include the AASCU Student Success Equity Intensive, the Scorpion Path, and a new transfer MoU with CSN, all of which will get more space to breathe in future updates.

Gwen Sharp

Interfolio Implementation

Nevada State has purchased a license for Interfolio, a software program that handles faculty promotion, tenure, and review materials and workflows. This will allow us to update our processes to have online workflows for P&T portfolios. Once information is imported or input into the system, it will auto-generate CVs and grant biosketches for faculty.

We will be working on implementation throughout the spring and summer, with plans for a soft launch over summer and fall. I will keep campus updated as the implementation and roll-out progress.

Grants, Publications, and Awards

CCSD awarded SOE a $3 million gift that will support student scholarships, funding for new graduates who enter teaching in CCSD, and retention efforts.
June Eastridge (Dean of Nursing) submitted a subaward proposal for a Department of Labor grant with UNLV and UNR. The Nursing Expansion Grant would provide NSC $177,000 over five years to offer training for nurse educators.
It's INBRE application time, and several PALS faculty applied for pilot grants. All of these projects would support undergraduate researchers.
Lance Hellman (Human Health Sciences) applied for $26,000 to develop a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) for a course.
Bryan Sigel (Biology) requested $26,000 to study microbial communities in spring water.
Kebret Kebede (Biology) applied for $26,000 to look at the effects of extreme heat on workers' health.
Sierra Adare-Tasiwoopa api (CTLE) won Best in Track in Technology and Future Trends at the Accelerate 2022 Conference for her presentation, "Dish Up Some Delight with a Dynamic Synchronous, Fully Facilitated, Virtual Technology Test Kitchen."
Katie Dockweiler (School Psychology) published "Advocating for the ARTERY Pipeline Framework to Address Shortages" in Communiqué, the monthly publication of the National Association of School Psychologists.
Katie also got word that her ARTERY grant has been funded; it will provide $1.2 million over five years to build pipelines for school psychologists.
Jo Meuris (Visual Media) was noted in the New York Times for her animated film Aurora.
Dañelle Sundell (Nursing) co-authored the article "Inequities at the Intersection of Race and Disability: Evidence from Community Colleges," published in Race Ethnicity and Education.
Emily Hoover (English) was nominated by Rinky Dink Press for the Pushcart Prize for her zine of micropoems, Portrait of My Mother Living with Mental Illness. Her flash fiction "How to Vanquish the Demon Raktabija" was nominated by The Disappointed Housewife for the Sonder Press Best Small Fictions Anthology competition.
Jamie Palmer (Sociology) co-authored "Navigating Intersectional Failures: The Role of College Interventionists in Undocumented Student Support," which has been published in the Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice.
Elizabeth Gunn (Dean of LASB) was elected to another two-year term as chair of the NSHE Sexual Misconduct Task Force. The SMTF is charged with reviewing results of a survey administered at NSHE institutions and providing recommendations to the Regents on best practices for addressing sexual misconduct. She has a piece, "An Interview with Southern Lesbian Playwright Gwen Flager: Writing History onto the Stage No Matter How Long It Takes," forthcoming in Sinister Wisdom, and an article, "Anthologizing Gwen Flager's Plays in Southern Lesbian Theater," accepted for publication in Journal of Lesbian Studies.

Summer Scholarship Institute Applications Open

We are now accepting applications for this year's SSI. We have two tracks available this summer -- the normal project development track, and a new data analysis track, to get help on statistical analysis of data in order to complete a project. Read the application document for more details.

Participants receive a $1,000 stipend.

IRB News

I recently attended the virtual conference of Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R), the professional association for folks working in IRB roles. I picked up some useful tips and changes that will help me make sure we're in compliance with federal requirements while also making things as easy for researchers as possible. A few takeaways:

Students shouldn't be used as subjects simply because they're convenient; this violates issues of equity in research participation. The study should have some connection to their status as students.
There has been some relaxing of concerns about undue influence caused by payments or compensation offered to subjects. This allows for somewhat larger payments than has been allowed in the past.
When studying social media, you should still go through the IRB even though posts are public. Best practice is not to quote specific posts, tweets, etc., in presentations or publications, as this makes it very easy to find specific people (and, since people often use the same username across various platforms, you may identify them in other arenas as well).
Given the situation in some states, we need to be very thoughtful when collecting and keeping data on LGBTQ+ individuals and pregnant people in states that have recently passed laws that target those groups.

Seeking Faculty Mentors for TRIO McNair Program

The TRIO McNair program is looking for faculty interested in serving as mentors for undergraduate research. For more information and to fill out the interest survey, check out their flyer.

Gregory Robinson

Foundation Scholarships Available for NS Students

There are available scholarships through the Nevada State Foundation. Please encourage your students to apply.

Social Justice & Media Symposium

Please save March 31st on your calendar for the 4th Annual Social Justice and Media Symposium. For more information, take a look at this flyer or the SJ&M website.

American Sign Language Training on Campus!

The Deaf Studies faculty are offering several sessions to teach employees ASL. The first session is this Friday, February 3rd, at 10am in DAW 109. See this flyer for more information, or RSVP here.

Peer Support Training for Fall

We are already starting to plan for Peer Support Training this fall. It will be the best one yet! If you have student workers, please ask them to save these dates: August 8th and August 10th.

Key Dates

2.1.23 (Tonight!) Obsidian & Neon: Building Black Life and Identity in Las Vegas. CEB Second Floor.

2.3.23 ASL Session for NS Faculty. DAW 109 at 10am.

2.10.23 Professional Development Day. KAB Auditorium.

3.31.23 - Social Justice and Media Symposium

NSC Office of the Provost | 702-992-2663 | http://nsc.edu/provost

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