History of Nevada State University
As the only four-year, comprehensive public college in the state of Nevada, Nevada State University places a special emphasis on the advancement of a diverse and largely underserved student population. In this role, the college emphasizes high-quality instruction, exemplary service, engaging learning experiences, and innovation as a means to more efficient, effective outcomes in all corners of the campus.
NSU has achieved remarkable success in furthering its mission and core-values.
Milestones
Enrollment Growth. Since its inception, NSU’s enrollment has grown from 177 students in 2002 to over 7,600 students today, making it the fastest-growing institution within the Nevada System of Higher Education.
Degree Programs. The college has grown to offer more than 30 majors and 25 minors, including predominant areas of study such as business, biology, psychology, education, criminal justice, and nursing. In addition, Nevada State University offers a Master of Education program in Speech-Language Pathology.
Alumni. May of 2004 marked a momentous occasion for NSU, as the college celebrated its first commencement ceremony with a class of 13 graduates. Since 2004, Nevada State University has graduated over 5,400 students. Over half of NSU’s alumni have graduated with degrees in teaching and nursing.
Campus Growth. NSU’s developing 509-acre campus is located in the southeast corner of the City of Henderson, on the sloping foothills of McCullough mountain range. Opening in 2008, the Liberal Arts & Sciences building was the first structure built on the campus and houses labs, classrooms, the Writing Center, the Nepantla program, along with other academic programs. In 2015, two new buildings, the Kasner Academic Building and a student center and administrative building (the Rogers Student Center) opened their doors. Together, the buildings added approximately 110,000 square-feet of new space to the campus. The Kasner Academic Building houses several anatomy labs, over a dozen classrooms, a large auditorium, faculty and staff offices, and a cutting-edge media center. The Rogers Student Center features the Marydean Martin library, food services, career services, disability services, and the new student lounge. The Raker Student Success Center, opened in 2018, houses essential student support services in a convenient, one-stop location. The Dawson building is the temporary home for the School of Education, classrooms, and other academic programs. The college's first residence halls opened in fall 2020, allowing students to live on campus.
Looking ahead, the Christenson School of Education Building and the Engelstad Health Sciences building (shared at CSN, Henderson), will both be completed by fall 2021. The 65,000-square-foot Christenson Education building will change the face of teacher education in Nevada. It will allow us to create new programs and to accept more students into our program. The building will include a Speech-Language Pathology Lab and an Early Childhood Education Center, both offering our students hands on learning while we also serve the community.
NSU’s Campus Master Plan, which was approved in 2010 by the NSHE Board of Regents and the City of Henderson, provides an innovative framework for the campus. The plan calls for the seamless, sustainable integration of academic and academic-support uses with its surrounding environment. The full campus build-out will accommodate 25,000 – 30,000 students with roughly six million square feet of academic, residential, industry, retail and cultural space.
Diversity. Nevada State University’s campus community – the students, faculty, and staff – is one of the most diverse populations in Nevada. Over 60% of NSU’s students and over 40% of its full-time faculty and staff belong to an ethnic or racial minority group. In 2015, Nevada State became the second four-year Hispanic Serving Institution in Nevada; since then the college has received two U.S. Department of Education Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (DHSI) Title V Program grants, worth $2.7 million and $2.8 million.