Regents name new presidents for GBC and NSC

The Board of Regents today approved the appointments of Dr. Mark A. Curtis as president of Great Basin College and Bart J. Patterson as president of Nevada State College.
“Each search committee brought forward two outstanding finalists for the consideration of the Board of Regents,” said Jason Geddes, board chair. “We were impressed with their leadership abilities and the overwhelming support they received from their respective regent and advisory committees, as well as the campus communities.”

Dr. Mark A. Curtis
Great Basin College

Dr. Mark A. Curtis, who is currently the vice president of academic and student affairs at Alpena Community College in Alpena, Mich., will assume the presidency on July 1, 2012 with a three-year contract, receiving $180,000 in base pay, plus an annual housing ($12,000), automobile ($8,000), and hosting ($5,000) allowance.

Curtis earned an associate degree in drafting and design technology at Kellogg Community College and later earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in drafting, metalworking, industrial education and leadership at Western Michigan University.

He was on the faculty at Ferris State University from 1981 to 1998 and was named Distinguished Teacher of the Year in 1989. He earned the rank of full professor in 1992 and was named as a Distinguished Faculty in 1993 by the Michigan Association of Governing Boards of State Universities.

In 2004, Curtis was appointed as the director of Purdue University’s College of Technology. In 2007, he became the vice president for instruction at Alpena Community College and was promoted to vice president of academic and student affairs in 2011.

The Great Basin Presidential Search Committee was chaired by Regent Kevin C. Melcher and included regents Robert J. Blakely, Ron Knecht, Dr. Jack Lund Schofield, Rick Trachok and Michael B. Wixom.

The institutional advisory committee included nine representatives from the community and 11 representatives from Great Basin College faculty, staff and students.

Bart J. Patterson
Nevada State College

Bart J. Patterson, who has served as the interim president of Nevada State College since November 2011, will assume the presidency on April 30, 2012 with a three-year contract, receiving $250,000 in base pay, plus an annual housing ($15,000), automobile ($8,000), and hosting ($5,000) allowance.

Patterson earned a B.S. (magna cum laude) in political science from Utah State University and a J.D. (with honors) from the Duke University School of Law.

He was in private practice at several law firms from 1987 through 2001 in Idaho, Arizona and Nevada. He joined the Nevada System of Higher Education in 2001 as an assistant general counsel and was Nevada State College’s first general counsel. He was named chief counsel in 2006 and vice chancellor for administrative and legal affairs in 2009.

Patterson has been an adjunct professor at Nevada State College and guest lecturer on educational leadership at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the University of Nevada, Reno.

The Nevada State College Presidential Search Committee was chaired by Regent Mark Alden and included regents Dr. Andrea Anderson, Cedric Crear, Dr. Mark Doubrava, Ron Knecht and Michael B. Wixom. Regent Jack Lund Schofield also participated on an ad hoc appointment.

The institutional advisory committee included eight representatives from the community and 11 representatives from Nevada State College faculty, staff and students.