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IN BUSINESS EDUCATION LATIN CHAMBER: CSN NEGLECTING HISPANICS By Tovin Lapan staff writer T he Latin Chamber of Commerce says the College of Southern Nevada is not doing enough to ensure staff and faculty diversity and has expressed frustration that dating seven years have not led to prog- ress. letter to Jason Geddes, chairman of the board of regents for the Nevada Sys- tem of Higher Education, stating that the chamber since 2005 has repeatedly approached CSN about increasing its number of Hispanic hires to better re- flect the diversity of the student body. "Specifically, it is our contention that CSN has engaged in a continuous pattern of gross employment neglect and possibly outright discrimination against Hispanic persons," the letter states. The letter was signed by Otto Merida, president of the chamber; Javier Tru- jillo, chairman of the chamber's board of directors; Daniel Tafoya, chairman of the chamber's education committee; and Thomas Rodriguez, vice chairman of the chamber's education commit- te ccording to the Nevada System of Higher Education Diversity report, in 2010, 16.8 percent of all full-time em- ployees at CSN were Hispanic. In 2010, Hispanics made up 6 percent of full- time faculty and 16 percent of full-time administrative, executive and manage- rial positions at CSN. e. A Systemwide, according to the report, roughly 10 percent of all full-time em- ployees are Hispanic, and Hispanics make up 4.6 percent of full-time faculty systemwide and 7.4 percent of full-time administrative, executive and manage- rial positions. "Even when you look nationally at the diversity of campuses across the country, you see problems. Nevada is no exception." similar complaints According to CSN's data, Hispanics On June 21, the chamber delivered a made up 21.9 percent of all students in Fall 2011 and 25.1 percent of all stu- dents in Fall 2010. CSN, as the largest institution in the system, serves, by far, the most His- panic students. In 2009 and 2010, more than 10,000 Hispanic students attended CSN, more than double the next largest Hispanic student population: about 4,000 at UNLV. The CSN administration has ex- pressed support for becoming a His- panic Serving Institution, a federal designation often accompanied by in- creased funding for degree-granting, not-for-profit community colleges and undergraduate schools with a full-time student population that is at least 25 percent Hispanic. CSN staff deferred comment on the letter to the Nevada System of Higher Education. Renee Yackira, executive director of government relations with the Nevada System of Higher Education, said Ged- des forwarded the letter to the Nevada System of Higher Education's legal team, which is investigating the claims. Yackira said a report was expected ear- ly next week. Crystal Abba, Nevada System of Higher Education vice chancellor for academic and student affairs, said one reason the system is collecting and dis- tributing the data for its diversity report is because administrators want to hold the campuses accountable and make LEE BUSINESS SCHOOL the information available to the public. "I've been with the Nevada System of Higher Education for 10 years, and this is something that the (cultural diver- sity) committee and board of regents take very seriously, and they hold in- stitutions accountable. When reports come to the board, they ask: 'What have you been doing to make this better?' " Abba said, adding the cultural diver- sity committee would request specific faculty recruitment plans to address diversity. Assemblywoman Lucy Flores, who was on a Hispanic community adviso- ry board for CSN and received a copy of the letter, said she had seen limited progress from committees. "I do believe this is an issue that is pressing for the entire (higher educa- tion) system as a whole," Flores said. "Even when you look nationally at the diversity of campuses across the coun- try, you see problems. Nevada is no ex- ception. I've had personal interaction with the College of Southern Nevada. I was on the advisory council, and to be quite frank, we haven't met for the last year or even two years because it was a series of meetings that didn't result in anything." According to the systemwide diversi- ty report, every school in the system in- creased its percentage of minority fac- ulty between 2000 and 2010 by at least 2 percentage points, except for CSN, where the percentage stayed relatively flat, rising from 21.1 to 21.4 percent. By Cy Ryan staff writer T he unemployment rate rose to 12.1 percent in June in the Las Vegas area with an estimated 119,100 workers jobless or 3,000 more than in May. But it's a better picture than in June 2011, when there were 142,800 jobless in Southern Nevada. The state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation said July 20 that the state's jobless rate held steady in June at 11.6 percent, the same as in May. The number on the job rose to 1,206,800 in June, up 1 percent from May. Nevada's unemployment rate was still higher than the national jobless rate of 8 percent. "This month's employment numbers indicate the economy is continuing to grow at a slow but modest pace," Gov. Brian Sandoval said. "This is the 12th straight month of positive news." Total employment area hit 861,800, up 12,600 workers or 1 percent compared with June 2011. Con- struction employment in the Las Vegas area in June inched up to 36,500, or 1,500 more than in May. Employment in casino hotels and gaming totaled 164,600, down 400 workers from May in the area. Bill Anderson, chief economist for the department, said there has been re- newed job growth in the leisure-hospital- ity industry driven by visitation gains in Southern Nevada. "Since reaching a recessionary low of a seasonally adjusted 304,500 in Novem- ber 2009, nearly 20,000 jobs have been added in this industry," he said. — Lucy Flores, Assemblywoman JOBS UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN STATE HOLDS STEADY AT 11.6 PERCENT in the Las Vegas business.unlv.edu/mba | 30 JULY 2012 | 13 Prepare to Compete Working Professional MBA Program