Las Vegas -- Nevada's Board of Regents recently appointed Suzanne Ernst to serve as interim secretary to the Board of Regents.

During a special meeting of the Board on June 28, Ms. Ernst was named to the post effective July 1 and will retain her current duties as deputy to the chancellor for external relations.

Prior to joining the UCCSN in 1996, she served with the State of Nevada's Division of Aging Services from 1977-1996. During her tenure with Aging Services, she assumed positions of ever-greater administrative responsibility, moving from field representative and office manager to deputy administrator and finally administrator in 1988.

Ms. Ernst was a delegate to the White House Conference on Aging in 1995. From 1974-77, she was employed with Clark County Community College and Catholic Charities.

Other relevant experience includes serving as a Commissioner to the City of Las Vegas Housing Authority and columnist for Senior World, Senior Spectrum, and Senior Life. Ms. Ernst was also the producer and host of the weekly television program "Action Seniors" from 1982 to 1989.

She has been honored as Silver State Mother of the Year (1993) and as a Distinguished Woman of Southern Nevada annually since 1989.

Comprised of two doctoral-granting universities, four comprehensive community colleges and one environmental research institution, the University and Community College System of Nevada serves the educational and job training needs of the nation's fastest growing state. As Nevada's only system of higher education, the UCCSN provides educational opportunities to more than 82,000 students.