Dr. Paul Meacham, CCSN president from 1983-94, was awarded President Emeritus status in 1994 by the Board of Regents. He recently retired as Regents Professor of Education from UNLV.

“Despite funding cutbacks during his decade leading CCSN, Dr. Meacham expanded a small college into three operating campuses with effective student services, new programs and facilities,” said Dr. Richard Carpenter in his nomination to the Board. “The sizeable expansion he guided helped support the college’s continued growth spurt of the 1995-2005 decade that again doubled enrollment, faculty and facility space.”

During his tenure, student enrollment doubled to 7,000 FTE while headcount doubled to over 18,000. To reflect the college’s mission and regional service for two-thirds of the state’s population, Dr. Meacham led the drive to change the name from Clark County Community College, adopting a wider, more diverse vision to start the college’s third decade for student success in 1991. With support from the strong community ties he forged and his influence with Regents and legislators, new construction flourished to grow the three main campuses.

click here to access the continued story on Meacham & Mauler

Master Chef Gustav E. Mauler is a CCSN Foundation Trustee and President and CEO of Gustav International Chartered, a restaurant, hospitality, management and consulting company. His firm specializes in multi-themed designs based in Las Vegas that operates three restaurants, Spiedini, Sazio and BullShrimp, Gustav’s Cigar Bar and a full-service, culturally diverse catering division.

"His international fame brings credibility to the college, our students and Foundation fund raising," said Dr. Carpenter.

As a CCSN Foundation Trustee, Mauler supports the organization’s fund raising efforts that provide student scholarships and contributions that enhance the college’s academic programs and facilities. Among many Foundation projects he supports, he hosted a special CCSN reception that supported the college’s performing arts and raised $10,000 for student scholarships, as well as hosting the Foundation Board Retreat to help strategically plan for future Foundation fund raising.

A native Austrian, Mauler is a graduate of the Innkeeper School in Vienna and earned certification as one of only 54 certified Master Chefs in the United States from the American Culinary Federation. In 1993, he was presented with an Honorary Doctorate of Culinary Arts from Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island. He also earned the 2000 Culinarian of The Year Award from the Food and Beverage Assn., whose previous award recipients include Emeril Lagasse and Wolfgang Puck.

In the News
Planetarium Virtual Reality
Regents Review

College Happenings
Black History "Stand Up"
Classified Honors
Baseball Stadium Naming
Coyote Teams Play
Newcomers Join CCSN
Faculty & Staff Briefs
Diversity Wine Tasting
Desert Garden Sale

Special Events Calendar
The Planetarium
Performing Arts
Fine Arts Gallery
Free Lectures

Potpourri
Ramp Meters Installed
Classified Reg Change
PEBPB online
Black History Month

For readers wishing to print and save NewsWeb, click here to link to a text only PDF

CCSN’s Cheyenne Campus Planetarium, the only combined teaching and public planetarium in Nevada, will undergo a $300,000 internal technology facelift this summer and reopen for the fall semester. Built in 1976 as a state of the art facility, the equipment is now antiquated, obsolete and no longer manufactured. Replacement parts are difficult if not impossible to come by.

“The upgrade approved this month by the Board of Regents will give us the most powerful digital processor in the state,” said Dr. Dale Etheridge, Planetarium director, “and allow us to simulate any virtual reality in The Planetarium theatre on our domed screen. The effect will be similar to the hemispheric motion pictures we did from 1986-1998.”

The improvements will not only benefit the astronomy program’s faculty and students, but the college will also have the ability to locally create more specialized programs and learning modules. These can be used with other courses in the sciences such as biology and for media technologies, animation and graphic design, according to Etheridge.

The Planetarium also enjoys a long history of producing weekly astronomical programs open to the public to support K-12 education and community events. Since its first show in Feb. 1977 through Feb. 5, 2005, The Planetarium has hosted 166,145 students for 3,435 school shows plus 91,243 people at 4,888 public shows for a total of 257,338 attending 8,323 presentations.

CCSN will host its 31st Annual Black History Celebration, free and open to the public Friday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. in the Horn Theatre. Highlighting a theme of "Stand Up...Be Counted" will be keynote speaker Judge Karen Bennett-Haron, a Las Vegas Justice of the Peace, with musical performance by the multi-talented Serena. Serena Henry is a rising star who has frequently entertained with legendary singer Gladys Knight.

In May 2002, Judge Bennet-Haron became the first African American woman ever appointed in the state’s justice system. A graduate of the Thurgood Marshall School of Law, she clerked for the Honorable Thomas Foley and then served as an assistant federal public defender.

From 1991-96, Judge Bennett-Haron engaged in private law practice in criminal defense and municipal finance and housing. In 1993 she began to serve as general counsel to the Las Vegas Housing Authority and associate bond counsel for the Clark County School District on a contractual basis. In 1996, she accepted the full time position of General Counsel for the Las Vegas Housing Authority where she worked until her appointment to the Justice Court bench.

The judge’s professional and civic affiliations include the National Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Southern Nevada Coalition of Concerned Women and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

The Classified Council singled out Peggy Maxwell and Joya Torrey as the college’s outstanding classified employees for January and February respectively. Maxwell is an Administrative Assistant II and secretary for the English Department based at the Charleston Campus, marking her fourth year there this month. She assists English chair Prof. Rose Hawkins, overseeing scheduling of CCSN’s largest academic department, and interacts one-on-one with 19 full-time faculty, more than 50 adjunct instructors and hundreds of students. Peggy is credited with being extremely knowledgeable and motivated, with a positive attitude bent on making students’ first impressions great ones of CCSN. She mentors a high school student in the Learning and Earning program and is a CCSN student as well, working toward a nursing degree. Born and raised in southern Utah, she worked in the construction industry, starting with her family to build houses and then decided to change her career path. Her oldest son is based with the Air Force in Missouri; her youngest is a senior at Community College High School at Charleston where he works part-time in the telemedia services office. Construction still remains a passion while she works on her latest project, rebuilding a home in Utah.

Joya Torrey, an Accounting Assistant II in the Charleston Cashier’s Office, has risen to the second-ranking position there since starting with CCSN seven years ago after graduating high school. In the last four weeks of enrollment before the fall 2004 and spring 2005 semesters, her office processed an amazing $7.25 million in student payments for tuition and fees. She serves as the liaison with Wells Fargo Bank and oversees the major functions of the Charleston Cashier’s Office. She supervises employees, manages collections, runs student bills and refunds, prepares 1098T tax forms and handles SIS issues for her office. She and the Cashier staff literally serve all corners of the college, including faculty and staff. In one of the most hectic and stressful environments, she maintains professionalism, courtesy and service. With the retirement of the previous longterm manager, Joya was called on to step in and take over more upper echelon duties. Her supervisors consistently applaud her integrity, work ethic and decision making. Her professional development includes state training in ten major programs dealing with leadership, supervision, motivation and team building. Her own teamwork extends to support of the Controller’s Office, Admissions and Financial Aid. She shares her life with her husband and two children, and makes time to read as much as she can.

During its first five years, CCSN’s privately funded athletic program has enjoyed the good fortune of major contributions from several generous sources. The Lied Foundation Trust and its executor, Christina Hixson, donated to help build what is known as the Lied Baseball Complex at the Henderson Campus. During the same time, a single donor also contributed major gifts to the nationally ranked baseball program, with two stipulations: that the donor remain anonymous and that the stadium itself be named the William R. Morse Stadium after his death. “Sadly Mr. Morse, a long time Nevada attorney, passed away last December,” said Athletic Director Tim Chambers. “He and his family were ardent and generous supporters of the CCSN baseball program and our student athletes. He is dearly missed but his spirit will be remembered on our playing field.” The UCCSN Board of Regents approved the recognition this month which was supported by the Lied Foundation Trust. The naming ceremony is being planned for Mar. 25 to open a conference home stand against arch rival Dixie State College.

The Coyote men managed to run their season opening streak to 10, winning the first two of three road games last weekend against El Paso (Texas) Community College by scores of 5-2 and 8-4 before closing with a 5-2 loss to go 4-3 lifetime against the Tejanos.

CCSN will look to start a new win streak in a five-game home stand this weekend (Feb. 18-21). Competing against CCSN in the Inaugural Coyote Baseball Invitational will be Moraine Valley C.C. (Illinois) at 1:30 p.m. Friday, followed by a trio of tough California teams starting with Cypress College at 5 p.m. Friday, then Fullerton College Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and Feather River College Sunday at 10 a.m. Play closes Monday at 2 p.m. against Canada’s Prairie Baseball Academy.

Meanwhile, the Coyotes’ fast pitch women’s softball team (0-5) is licking its wounds after rough treatment from some of the toughest teams in the Arizona Athletic Conference last weekend in Yuma. Starting CCSN's second season with a shutout loss to defending national champion Central Arizona, Arizona Western, Eastern Arizona and Pima and Glendale Community Colleges then put the unseasoned Coyotes through the grinder.

Head Coach Ric Grenell felt there would be some gain coming out of the pain when the Coyotes play eight sets of doubleheaders in a long home stand against SWAC teams Feb. 25 to Mar. 19 at the Stephanie Lynn Craig Softball Complex in Henderson. The women play doubleheaders Feb. 25 (1 p.m., 3:30 p.m.) and Feb. 26 (Noon , 2:30 p.m.) against Salt Lake City College, then take on Utah’s Snow College Mar. 4 (1 p.m., 3:30 p.m.) and Mar. 5 (Noon, 2:30 p.m.), followed by Northern Idaho College Mar. 7 (2 p.m., 4:30 p.m.) and Mar. 8 (2 p.m., 4:30 p.m.), and Dixie State College Mar. 18 (1 p.m., 3:30 p.m.) and Mar. 19 (Noon, 2:30 p.m.).

The women may grab some more game experience this weekend if the rain abates in St. George, Utah. They have been invited to play in the Icebreaker Classic hosted by SWAC champion Dixie State.

Welcome to the following new full-time faculty, professonal and classified staffers hired since Jan. 1:

Shankara Babu - Instructor, Environmental Safety & Health
Henry Benitez – Custodial Worker I, Operations & Maintenance
Elva Borsch - Executive Assistant, President's Office
Michael Conlon – Equipment Mechanic II, Automotive Technology
Iluminada Dioquino - Registration/Information Systems Manager, Workforce & Economic Development
Beverly Driskill - Instructor, Nursing
Roosevelt Fobbs - Custodial Worker I, Operations & Maintenance
Cherisha Gaitor - Administrative Assistant I, Recruitment
Ruth Granich - Temporary Full-time Instructor, English
DeShawn Johnston - Computer Lab Assistant, Information Technology
Yonghee Kim - Instructor, Hotel Management
Michael Lauby - Electrician I, Operations & Maintenance
Henry Makekau - Custodial Worker I, Operations & Maintenance
Ed Malin - Temporary Full-time Instructor, Fire Science
Amanda Oliver - Accounting Assistant I, Cashier's Office
Steven Perez-Barba - Custodial Worker I, Operations & Maintenance
Amy Ragnone - Instructor, Nursing
Barbara Raymond - Instructor, Nursing
Stephen Romas - Project Engineer, Site Planning and Construction
Bonnie Sines - Executive Assistant, Information Technology
Daniel Voglund - Custodial Worker I, Operations & Maintenance
Jamille Williams - Administrative Assistant I, Henderson Campus Administration
Siboney Zelaya - Instructor, Nursing
Johnny Zeigler - Custodial Worker I, Operations & Maintenance

Counseling and Psychological Services is pleased to announce that Dr. Shanyn Aysta will be presenting five workshops for students on “Managing Test Anxiety" this month. The campus schedules are:
Henderson: Tuesday, Feb. 22, 11 a.m.-noon, Room C214
Charleston: Tuesday, Feb. 22, 3-4 p.m., Room D221; Monday, Feb. 28, 9:30-10:30 a.m., Room C227
Cheyenne: Wednesday, Feb. 23, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Room 2410; Thursday, Feb. 24, 2-3 p.m., Room 1443

The next Faculty Senate meetings for the spring semester are scheduled for Feb. 25 at 1 p.m. at Henderson, Apr. 1 at Cheyenne and May 6 at Charleston. Senate Secretary Joshua Levin prepares online briefs after each meeting. Access the Jan. 28 meeting brief at http://www.ccsn.nevada.edu/hb/levin//Senate/

Department Chair Elections are scheduled for Mar. 9, using procedures in section 2.3 of the CCSN Professional Staff Handbook. Persons interested in running for Department Chair should submit their name to the President (or designee) and to the Faculty Senate Chair no later than 5 p.m., Feb. 23.
The chair’s job description has been revised by the faculty and administration. Copies of the new description will be made available to anyone interested. An evaluation instrument for Department Chairs is currently being designed.

Seventeen departments are electing new chairs, so it is possible not all elections will be conducted and/or completed on Mar. 9. Actions are underway to make electronic voting available, and specific instructions will be provided for proper use.

On Mar. 9, the election process will be conducted at a time and place established by each voting department in conjunction with Faculty Senate. A Faculty Senate Representative will go to each voting department, hand out ballots and collect the completed ballots. Election results will be announced as soon as all ballots are counted and verified.

Dial H-E-L-P for IT Super Hero. The Computer Hotline (ext. 4555) and Computer Services (ext. 7373) are morphed into one IT super hero. Signal for H-E-L-P by calling ext. 4357! IT Service Center hours are:
                Monday – Thursday 7 am – 11 pm
                Friday 7 am – 9:30 pm
                Saturday 8 am – 5 pm
                Sunday 10 am – 7 pm
The IT Service Center provides total services and is located at the Cheyenne Campus Room 2643. The IT Service Center fax number is ext. 4404. To email: ITServiceCenter@ccsn.edu.

Third annual "Spring in the Desert", Saturday Mar. 26 at 8:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.



Plant Sale and Gardening Event. Rare and unusual desert plants for the landscape will be for sale, free educational workshops will be offered all day and floral will be having a sell of dry and silk flowers, vases, floral containers, and holiday containers. All proceeds from the floral sale are put into a floral scholarship.