There are a number of reasons why the University of Nevada, Reno holds such great value to the economic future of our community and our state. In letters of support about our University written to our state’s leaders by several notable individuals and organizations who have long partnered with our campus, one can see the impact of real-world examples, from our collective research and academic expertise helping to fuel a “re-birth of American capitalism” to key outreach to the area’s small businesses. Here is text of these letters.

March 6, 2009

James Rogers
Chancellor
Nevada System of Higher Education

Dear Chancellor Rogers:

There are over 27 million small businesses in the U.S. which is 99.7% of all employer firms. Around 600,000 close per year, probably higher in this economic downturn. But the ultimate question is: What makes a success versus a failure? The answer is preparation, and a significant part of that preparation is education. As the Northern Nevada Chapter of SCORE, ‘Counselors to America’s Small Business,’ we have mentored hundreds of small businesses over the years, both start ups and existing. A constant thread of advice is to become educated in business principles, marketing and accounting, to name a few. This key to success is available through the educational system, and the University of Nevada, Reno provides one of the best.

Our office is in the University’s Ansari Business Building, home of the College of Business, where we share space with the Small Business Development Center. The college has always emphasized outreach and provides access to needed information, mentors and future learning opportunities to small business owners so key to Nevada’s economic future. This shared space has given SCORE the added view of a highly effective college, with talented faculty and students, so important to Northern Nevada.

Recently, SCORE had the opportunity to partner with College of Business Dean Greg Mosier and Jim McClenahan of Extended Studies to produce a very successful Survival Workshop directed towards the small businesses in our community. The University’s role in supporting and facilitating these workshops as well as other important services and resources ultimately benefits the Nevada small business community as a whole. I can not stress enough the role of higher education in contributing to the success of our region’s small business.

Thank you for your continued support and thee opportunity to express my opinion.

Sincerely,
Judy Haar
Chair, Chapter 415
SCORE

January 28, 2009

Mr. James Rogers
Chancellor
Nevada System of Higher Education

Dear Jim,

I don’t know if you’ll remember my visits with you when I served Sierra Nevada College as Chairman of the Board of Trustees, during some very challengning times. I’m pleased to tell you that our partnership with KULG/Cardean has proven successful, resulting in the survival of Nevada’s only private four year accredited liberal arts college.

First, I wanted to thank you for your years of service to our great State of Nevada, as Chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education.

Next, I wanted to offer some thoughts about my experience, for the past decade, with Nevada’s higher education system. Specifically, I have had an opportunity to work with UNR, and their excellent faculty and administration for almost a decade, rounding out my entrepreneurial and academic careers spanning more than a half century. Nevada is uniquely positioned as an ‘entrepreneur friendly’ state except for the resourcing of our colleges and universities. And this plays out with the difficulty of finding qualified employees in my own start-ups in Reno.

When I taught entrepreneurship at Miami University, Babson College, and now at Berkeley, the model I used was built around “team, resources and opportunity” to convey to my students a successful venn diagram for starting their own businesses. If we extrapolate the model to Nevada Higher Ed, it seems that the ‘resourcing’ component has been elusive over the years and, now abandoned in the budget proposal put forth recently by the Governor.

With very low tuition rates, state support that seems to be less than adequate in the current and perhaps future economic climate, and philanthropic assets seriously compromised, we are in an ever increasing downward cycle towards mediocrity. Nevada deserves more. My opinion is that, even in these difficult times, we need to raise our state support to remain effective. Tuition should be increased as well, although at a much more reasonable rate than what the proposed budget would require. Covering the proposed funding gap through increased tuition alone would mean a 250% increase. This would essentially shut the door to a college education for many students who are prepared and ready to pursue their degree and contribute to the transformation of Nevada’s economy. Beyond this, an extraordinary tuition level along these lines would be well beyond the point at which demand is inelastic, thus total revenue generated would be less than present levels.

While we have recently added UNR to our list of recipients from our small charitable foundation, we remain committed to the singular most important component in the ‘re-birth of American capitalism’, named a well educated citizenry. I urge you, in your closing moments, to charge all of the citizens of Nevada to re-think how important higher education is to our long term competitive positioning, and the key role our colleges and universities play in this regard.

Wishing you good health in the years ahead,

Sincerely,
John W. Altman
Chairman
John W. Altman Charitable Foundation

December 26, 2008

Mr. James Rogers
Chancellor
Nevada System of Higher Education

Dear Chancellor Rogers,

On behalf of the Nevada Alumni Council, I am writing to express our continued support — as alumni and business people — for the University of Nevada, Reno.

We certainly acknowledge the economic challenges facing our state. Nonetheless, we encourage a continued level of funding that allows the University to remain a vibrant and important contributor to our region’s economy and quality of life.

It has been shown that earning a degree can contribute $1 million to one’s career earning potential. This statistic demonstrates the power of a college or university degree, and it has important long-term implications for our economy. At a time when our state needs economic solutions, scaling back our educational system is not the answer.

We encourage you to continue to work with elected officials and other business and educational leaders across our state to explore solutions that will allow higher education funding to be sustained.

Sincerely,
Mike Dillon
President
Nevada Alumni Council

December 18, 2008

James Rogers
Chancellor
Nevada System of Higher Education

Dear Chancellor Rogers,

In 2003, the Nevada State Legislature wisely looked ahead to address the state’s growing shortage of registered nurses. Across the Nevada System of Higher Education, nursing programs stepped up to meet the resulting mandated challenge to double their student enrollment. The Orvis School of Nursing at the University of Nevada, Reno doubled its enrollment int he 2004-05 academic year.

Despite these gains, meeting the future healthcare needs of Nevada’s growing and aging population remains a daunting challenge. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources Service Administration (HRSA) estimates the demand for nurses will increase at almost twice the rate of all occupations by 2010. HRSA further projects that, by the year 2020, the number of registered nurses in Nevada will fall 27.5 percent below the state’s actual need.

Throughout 2008, Saint Mary’s has been celebrating 100 years of serving northern Nevada. As we look back on our wonderful history, we are even more focused on the future of our organization and improving the quality of Nevada’s healthcare. We see this same spirit and commitment exemplified by the University and the Orvis School of Nursing. Last year the University brought together the schools of nursing, medicine, public health and social work, as well as other health-related programs, under and expanded Division of Health Sciences. This collaborative approach to learning sets the stage for optimal healthcare delivery, which demands that these disciplines and specialties be fully integrated to meet the needs of patients.

As the State of Nevada seeks to balance its budget in the face of revenue shortfalls, strong consideration should be given to the role of our institutions of higher education in enhancing Nevada’s economy and our quality of life. In particular, reductions to programs that are preparing our future healthcare professionals would be devastating and have long-term, damaging implications.

Sincerely,
Michael J. Uboldi
President and CEO
Saint Mary’s

No Comments »