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Executive summary

 

Messages from our College's leaders

William A. Payne | Dean & Professor

Bill PayneBill Payne

As I look back on the last couple of years, I am truly astounded at all we have accomplished. Although at times it seemed like COVID-19 was the focus of our days, a closer look shows that we were able to navigate the challenges created by COVID-19 while still reaching many of our goals to advance our land-grant missions of teaching, research and engagement.

In our degree-granting programs, our faculty went above and beyond to bring their courses online and make our labs safe during COVID restrictions. Our students persevered admirably, staying on course, and during the 2019-2020 academic year and winter 2020, our College awarded 322 undergraduate degrees and 70 master’s or doctoral degrees.

We also launched our Living Learning Community in the Great Basin Residence Hall, offering incoming freshmen the opportunity to live and work with students who have similar academic goals and interests while also providing individualized mentorship and extracurricular activities. In addition, we filled gaps, hiring new professors, researchers and lecturers to expand our knowledge base for instruction and keep class sizes down. We even developed a new doctoral degree in Natural Resources & Environmental Science, approved by the Board of Regents in late 2020.

On the research and outreach fronts, our Extension and Experiment Station faculty and staff were hard at work, adapting valued workshops and trainings they formerly held in person to online formats or videos to keep the education flowing during COVID. Small businesses, agricultural producers, food handlers, home gardeners, landscapers and many others benefitted from online educational programs. In fact, many of our programs had more participation than ever after going online, something that will likely change the way we will deliver some of our programs long after the pandemic is over.

 

Claus Tittiger | Associate Dean for Academics

Claus TittigerClaus Tittiger

The biggest news for resident instruction this past academic year is, of course, the impact of COVID-19 on teaching, which started half way through the spring 2020 semester and will continue at least through spring 2021. Our College’s instructors responded admirably in the rapid pivot to remote teaching styles. Our Student Center also shifted to remote services and similarly ramped up efforts to help students.

Thanks to the heroic efforts of faculty and staff, and with the help of extra resources our College poured into equipment and staffing, we have been able to maintain high quality content and, importantly, keep students engaged while they are off campus. The dedication, sacrifice and care repeatedly shown by our instructors and student services is inspiring and humbling. I thank all for their hard work and skill.

I also want to recognize the outstanding efforts and fortitude shown by all of our students for adapting and persevering this past year. During the 2019-2020 academic year, we were pleased to welcome 311 new undergraduate students and 79 new graduate students, and during the 2020-2021 academic year thus far, we have welcomed 400 new undergraduate students and 83 new graduate students. In addition, we were very happy to welcome to our College two new teaching assistant professors: Farrah Monibi (Agriculture, Veterinary & Rangeland Sciences) and Marina MacLean (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology), and our newest lecturer, Yvette Gibson (Agriculture, Veterinary & Rangeland Sciences).

I would also like to congratulate:

 

Chris Pritsos | Associate Dean for Research & Experiment Station Director

Chris PritsosChris Pritsos

Each year presents its own unique set of challenges that we must navigate in order to fulfill our Experiment Station land-grant mission. I believe that it is fair to say that there has not been a year quite like 2020, bringing challenges we never could have imagined. I am very proud of our Experiment Station faculty and staff, who rose to the challenge, and despite all of the obstacles, continued to serve our university, communities and state during these challenging times. Let me mention a few of our accomplishments related to the COVID pandemic.

Meat plants closed throughout the country due to COVID outbreaks at their facilities, making it difficult for producers to get their animals to market and thereby creating a meat shortage. Our College’s Wolf Pack Meats, however, instituted strict regulations in the plant early on, and not only remained open, but increased its production by more than 20% in order to help local producers and increase the local meat supply.

The Experiment Station’s Desert Farming Initiative partnered with local food organizations and producers to help get fresh produce to market and to those most in need.

In March, when health care workers were facing a critical shortage of personal protective equipment, faculty and staff from the Experiment Station and entire College rallied together and provided over 36,000 gloves, as well as many masks, face shields and goggles to the University’s Medical School for distribution to health facilities in northern Nevada.

A few other major accomplishments include:

 

Ivory W. Lyles | Associate Dean for Engagement & Extension Director

Ivory W. LylesIvory W. Lyles

I am extremely proud of the impact Extension has made over the past couple of years, even amidst the most challenging of conditions. It’s impossible to capture it all, but you’ll find a handful of examples in this report.

Our faculty and staff quickly responded to the needs of our stakeholders when the pandemic hit, adapting workshops and educational programs formerly delivered in person to online formats. In doing so, we often found that even more people attended and benefitted from the programs than ever before.

One example is our town halls and workshops for small-business owners. In April 2020, our team took the Spanish- and English-language sessions online, with Extension experts and partners such as the Small Business Administration helping business owners navigate assistance programs and adapt their businesses to COVID conditions.

Another major Extension effort supporting community and economic development, the Nevada Economic Assessment Project (NEAP), was launched early in 2019, in partnership with the Nevada Association of Counties and others. This ongoing project will provide each county with information on their demographic, social, economic, land use, fiscal and environmental characteristics to help guide their planning and decision-making.

There are more examples of our Extension’s recent accomplishments in this report, including programs:

 

Our mission

Our College is the foundation of Nevada's Land-Grant university and is committed to

Improving the student experience through strengthening academic programs, encouraging a culture of diversity and international focus on campus, providing significant co-curricular experiences and enhancing the campus environment.

Building on our academic strengths to create new interdisciplinary academic opportunities, support the efforts of our excellent faculty, and improve the national and international visibility of our programs.

Assessing the outcomes of all our activities so that we know our strengths and weaknesses and can take effective steps to improve our performance.

Communicating effectively with our various stakeholders in the state, region and nation so that we can both respond to the needs of our society and tell our story better.

Cultivating support from a variety of sources so that the University can continue to flourish, even in a climate of limited state-appropriated resources.

 

A summary of our finances

Experiment Station's
fiscal year 2021 budget

Total $21.7 million
Source Amount
Research Grants $8.2 million
Sales & Other $7.1 million
State $4.7 million
Federal $1.7 million

Extension's
fiscal year 2021 budget

Total $20.9 million
Source Amount
County $10.4 million
Grants & Other $5.8 million
State $3.4 million
Federal $1.3 million

Experiment Station's
state appropriations

Year Amount
2013 $5.0 million
2014 $5.1 million
2015 $5.0 million
2016 $5.2 million
2017 $5.2 million
2018 $5.4 million
2019 $5.3 million
2020 $5.5 million
2021 $4.7 million

Extension's
state appropriations

Year Amount
2013 $5.3 million
2014 $3.4 million
2015 $3.5 million
2016 $3.8 million
2017 $3.8 million
2018 $3.7 million
2019 $3.9 million
2020 $4.0 million
2021 $3.4 million

Extension's
county appropriations

Year Amount
2013 $7.91 million
2014 $7.90 million
2015 $8.22 million
2016 $8.6 million
2017 $8.44 million
2018 $9.52 million
2019 $9.69 million
2020 $10.30 million
2021 $10.40 million
 

Our expanding digital footprint

Our College recently redesigned three existing and launched one new website to better serve our stakeholders:

In 2020, more than 793,500 College webpages were viewed, including:

51,680+
academics pages

188,527
Experiment Station pages

475,600+
Extension pages

The redesigned Extension website has enjoyed great success:

19% increase
in page views

24% increase
in unique viewers

207
countries reached

381
new publication webpages created

131
program webpages maintained

863
publication webpages maintained

In 2019, our College launched the Growing Nevada email newsletter for our stakeholders. In 2019 and 2020:

12,205
people subscribed

103
campaigns sent

7,462
clicks

73,881
opens

Practical information you can trust

Articles and news on topics you're interested in, delivered.

 

Our expanding physical footprint

We're here for you

Our College's many teaching, research and engagement facilities are located throughout Nevada and into northern California.