Nevada State College has an acting president for 6 weeks

Nevada State College will have an acting president for six weeks this summer, beginning July 1.

The Nevada System of Higher Education’s Board of Regents voted unanimously Thursday to appoint Vickie Shields. She has been at the college since 2017 and is currently provost and executive vice president.

Current college President Bart Patterson’s last day is June 30 and new President DeRionne Pollard starts Aug. 16, “which leaves us with a gap,” NSHE Chancellor Melody Rose told the board.

In a Thursday news release, NSHE board Chairman Dr. Mark Doubrava said he wants to thank Shields for stepping into the acting president job.

“I believe her experience as a trusted leader will serve Nevada State College well this summer,” he said.

Shields said in the release she’s honored to fill the role.

“The opportunity excites me because I will forever be deeply committed to empowering and improving the lives of first-generation and traditionally underserved students through higher education,” she said. “In the four years that I have served as Provost and Executive Vice President, I have come to love this institution — its unique culture, its students, faculty, and staff, and its critical mission within the NSHE System.”

Shields will be paid a $10,426 monthly stipend on a prorated basis, according to a contract posted online. That’s in addition to her current base salary and benefits as provost and executive vice president.

She won’t receive allowances typically associated with the president job, according to the contract.

Shields will be acting president in addition to her continuing duties as provost and executive vice president, Rose said.

“That job doesn’t stop, so I think the service we’re asking of Dr. Shields is considerable,” Rose said.

Summers aren’t quiet for college and university administrators, Rose said, adding that’s particularly true this summer.

Shields will prepare the college’s campus for a full reopening and fulfill other responsibilities such as helping with onboarding an incoming president, Rose said.

After Aug. 16, Shields will return to her role as provost and executive vice president.

In March 2020, Patterson announced he’d step down when his contract ends June 30. He has led the college, which has more than 7,000 students, for a decade.

In April, NSHE regents voted to hire Pollard, who’s currently president of the three-campus Montgomery College in Maryland,as the college’s next president.

During their meeting, regents also:

— Unanimously approved a request from the College of Southern Nevada and the college’s Nevada Faculty Alliance chapter to provide bargaining unit members a 1.75 percent increase in base salary retroactively from July 1, 2020, and a one-time signing incentive equivalent to 0.25 percent of base salary. The base salary increase will cost an estimated $1 million per year, and the signing incentive will cost about $113,000.

— Selected Cathy McAdoo as board chair and Patrick Carter as vice chair. They’ll serve in those roles from July 1 through June 30, 2022.

— Nominated McAdoo for reappointment to the Nevada State Board of Education for a one-year term as a nonvoting member representing NSHE.

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.