ELKO — Faculty at Great Basin College recently voted unanimously to reestablish an active advocacy chapter of the Nevada Faculty Alliance (NFA). The state board of the NFA, which represents faculty at all eight colleges and universities of the Nevada System of Higher Education, approved the new chapter and oversaw elections of chapter officers.
The formation of the chapter followed a presentation by the state board of NFA to the GBC Faculty Senate that revealed results of a faculty survey conducted by NFA. The survey results show substantial room for improvement in shared governance between faculty and administrators at GBC and what it NFA calls a serious deterioration in the overall campus climate at GBC over the past three years.
Kent Ervin, statewide Vice President of the NFA, stated that he is optimistic that the formation of the GBC-NFA chapter will help improve the campus climate at GBC by providing an independent voice for faculty concerns and a forum for resolution of issues.
The NFA advises members on issues related to employment, promotion and tenure, and advocates for shared governance of higher education to achieve improved outcomes for students, faculty and administrators. Officers elected to GBC’s NFA chapter are Professor Peter Bagley as president, Professor Norm Whittaker as vice president, and Professor Susanne Bentley as secretary.
