June 20, 1997 -- -- Reno, Nevada

The University and Community College System of Nevada (UCCSN) Board of Regents elected new officers at its regular meeting of June 20, 1997 in Reno, Nevada. Dr. Jill Derby of Gardnerville was elected Chair of the Board, and Ms. Shelley Berkley of Las Vegas was elected Vice Chair.

Dr. Jill Derby, a native of Lovelock , Nevada, has served as a member of the Board of Regents since 1989. In this capacity, she has served as Chair of the Academic Affairs Committee and the Search Committee that selected Carol Harter as the President of University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She has also served for many years as Chair of the Status of Women and Campus Environment Committees. Dr. Derby is trained as a Cultural Anthropologist with an M.A. and Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of California, Davis and her B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She has worked as a consultant, lecturer and as a faculty member of three colleges, Lake Tahoe, Sierra Nevada and Western Nevada Community College.

Dr. Derby commented, "Higher education is the gateway to the American dream, and I am looking forward to leading the Board at a time when postsecondary education is more critical than ever to individual quality of life. I also believe that, as an industry, higher education must stretch and change if we are to successfully help students meet the technological challenges of the information-age. I hope to provide forward-thinking, creative leadership to Nevada's public higher education system in these final years of the twentieth-century"

Shelley Berkley, a long-time resident of Las Vegas, was first appointed to the Board of Regents in 1990 by Governor Bob Miller. She was elected in 1990 and subsequently reelected to a six-year term in 1992. Regent Berkley has served the Board as Chair of the Legislative Liaison and the Academic, Student and Research Affairs Committees, and as a member of the UNLV Presidential Search Committee and the Chancellor Selection and Evaluation Committees. Ms. Berkley is trained as an attorney with her Juris Doctorate Degree from the University of San Diego Law School and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She served as a member of the Nevada State Assembly from 1982-1984. Ms. Berkley has held a variety of professional positions, working as Deputy Director for the Nevada State Department of Commerce, as in-house legal counsel for Southwest Gas and as Vice President of Government and Legal Affairs for the Sands Hotel and Casino. Currently, Ms. Berkley is of counsel to the Las Vegas law firm of Berkley and Gordon.

Shelley Berkley commented, " I am honored to have been selected to serve as Vice Chair of the Board of Regents. I shall continue to strive to provide the highest quality educational opportunities for all Nevadans at the lowest possible cost."

Officers of the University and Community College System of Nevada Board of Regents are elected by their fellow Regents to one-year terms. The eleven elected members of the Board of Regents are the governing board for the UCCSN.