May 12, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Suzanne Ernst (702) 889-8426

Committee Selects Carpenter as CCSN President

LAS VEGAS – A search committee unanimously today selected Dr. Richard G. Carpenter as its top candidate to serve as the next president of the Community College of Southern Nevada.

The Regents' ad hoc CCSN Presidential Search Committee, which is chaired by Dr. Thomas Kirkpatrick, selected Carpenter this afternoon after three candidates completed campus tours yesterday. The committee will present their recommendation to the full Board of Regents on June 3 for approval.

“All three finalists would have made great presidents for CCSN. In the end, we selected Dr. Carpenter and we believe he will bring a vital energy to the college,” said Kirkpatrick. “He has the experience and the strategic vision that we’ve been looking for to lead this remarkable institution.”

Carpenter is currently serving as the president and state director for the Wisconsin Technical College System. The system is comprised of 16 colleges, 440,000 students, 19,000 employees and an annual operating budget of approximately $1 billion. Previously, he held the position of president at Calhoun Community College from 1992 to 2001. He holds a Ph.D. in community college leadership from North Carolina State University.

The 20-member joint committee, which consists of a five-member Regent’s committee and a 13-member institutional advisory committee, met today to discuss the finalists who were presented by Narcisa Polonio, vice president for Board Leadership Services with the Association of Community College Trustees.

In addition to Kirkpatrick, members of the Board committee include Regents Jill Derby, Thalia Dondero, Jack Lund Schofield and Bret Whipple.

For more than 30 years, the Community College of Southern Nevada has educated the work force that is the foundation of the region’s dynamic economic development. Featuring three main campuses and 21 academic centers in four counties, CCSN enrolls more than 35,000 students in 80 career programs.

The Nevada Board of Regents is the elected, 13-member governing body for the University and Community College System of Nevada. Comprising two doctoral-granting universities, a state college, four comprehensive community colleges and one environmental research institute, the UCCSN 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 nearly 98,000 students.