Status Update On Proposed Local College Will Be Given In Local Meeting

By Vernon Robison

Moapa Valley Progress

The Desert Valley Academy (DVA) Board of Directors has recently undergone a change in leadership. In a recent meeting, DVA Directors named southern Nevada native and long-time higher education advocate, Ray Rawson, as the Chairman of the Board.

Rawson is a well-known veteran in Nevada public service. A former state senator, Rawson served in the Nevada State Legislature from 1984 to 2004.

In January 2009 Gov. Jim Gibbons appointed Rawson as Regent in the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE). Rawson served on the Board of Regents until the end of last year.

A practicing dentist, Rawson has researched, taught, and lectured extensively on public policy, dentistry, anatomy, anesthesia, and specialized criminal justice. He has served nationally on the Education Commission of the States and the Western Interstate Commission of Higher Education. He is a prolific writer of research papers and has been widely published in scientific journals. He is currently a professor at CSN and UNLV.

Previous DVA Chairman, Hilary Robison hailed the appointment of the new DVA Chairman as a great boost to the institution.

“Having worked with our new Chairman on other education-related efforts in the past, I was thrilled when he accepted my invitation to lead the future for Desert Valley College,” Robison said. “With his vast experience and our partnership with Southern Virginia University, we will be able to provide values-based educational opportunities for our young people more quickly and effectively.”

Desert Valley Academy is a private four-year liberal arts college proposed to be built in Moapa Valley, Nevada. Though the college would not be owned by or affiliated with any religious faith, the values and standards of the LDS church would drive its culture.

Efforts to fund and build a local campus have been ongoing for several years now. But, given the realities of the current economy, raising private funding has been slow and difficult for the new college, officials said.

In recent weeks, though, DVA officials have forged a partnership with the Southern Virginia University (SVU) in Buena Vista, Virginia. SVU had long stood as the model for DVA founders on which to fashion the proposed local college. But with a more focused partnership, the emphasis of the DVA board has shifted to recruiting students from southern Nevada to attend the SVU campus back east. It is hoped that this will help to build support, awareness and funding for a future campus in this community.

“As we recruit students from the southern Nevada region, we will be able to build the base of support needed to construct a future campus here in Moapa Valley,” said Robison.

Rawson expressed a sense of urgency in the work of bringing an LDS values-based college to serve the region from Moapa Valley. “This institution will fill a critical role for our young people, and I am very committed to making it happen,” he said. “With the continually growing need, we must not delay.”

DVA officials are sponsoring a set of fireside style meetings to distribute information about the school and its association with SVU to students throughout southern Nevada. The keynote speaker at both meetings will be SVU President Rodney K. Smith who will speak on the topic of “The Genius of Small” an introduction to the principles behind the success of SVU.

A local meeting will be held in the Ron Dalley Theatre at Moapa Valley High School on Tuesday, April 5 at 7:00 p.m.

At this meeting, DVA Board Members will update the public on the status of their efforts to build the college. They will also discuss the mutually beneficial partnership forged with SVU. President Smith will speak at this meeting. And then the floor will be opened to the public for question and answers about the college.

Another meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 3 at the LDS Red Rock Stake Center at Alta and Town Centre in Las Vegas.

All students, parents and other interested members of the public are welcome to attend either, or both, meetings to learn more about the efforts to bring a college campus to Moapa Valley.