Great Basin faculty asks for pleas to legislators

To the good citizens of Elko, Humboldt, Lander, Pershing, White Pine, Eureka, Nye, Mineral, Esmeralda and Lincoln counties:

Great Basin College is in trouble and it needs your help.

GBC is a vital part of Nevada’s rural community. Since its founding in 1967, the college has developed exemplary technical and academic programs to serve the nearly 180,000 rural residents of our state.

The mines, health care, education, social work and rural communities have greatly benefited from a well-educated workforce.

The college continues to offer live and interactive video classes and has increased online offerings to meet the needs of rural residents.

Over the years GBC has added several bachelor’s degree programs to the curriculum that have helped prepare students for careers in many areas and/or graduate school.

More bachelor’s degree offerings are in progress. GBC has hired talented faculty, many of whom earned graduate degrees at Nevada universities, and others who come from various parts of the U.S. and the world.

The faculty and staff are committed to increasing the availability of affordable, high quality educational programs and opportunities for rural communities throughout our 86,514-square-mile service area.

GBC has, however, suffered severe budget cuts over the past five years totaling nearly $4 million.

In the past 10 years the budget has literally been slashed in half. In spite of this, we have persevered so that we can carry out our mission—to provide affordable education for our neighbors in rural Nevada. But, the college is approaching a point where more budget cuts threaten our ability to function effectively.

More budget cuts to GBC are planned for the foreseeable future, and a new funding formula created by the Nevada System of Higher Education will do great damage to GBC while benefiting larger colleges and universities in the state, especially in Las Vegas.

Our college may be small compared to UNR, CSN, or UNLV, but our service area is large and we deliver. Our faculty has worked very hard to design classes and programs to fit our unique population. GBC is here for the students. We want students to be successful.

If they encounter a problem we try to fix it. We strive to provide education that works for our population whether you live in Elko, Caliente, Lovelock, or Pahrump.

Here is how you can help. It’s easy. Please contact the elected representatives from your area and tell them to vote for the “bridge funding.” This “bridge” funding will assist GBC in maintaining its operation and staffing needs for the next few years.

Then tell them to fix the “funding formula” so the needs of Great Basin College students can be met permanently.

GBC can continue to be a vital part of rural Nevada if all of us pull together and make it happen.

Sincerely, the social science faculty at Great Basin College