Sierra Nevada University

Last updated
Sierra Nevada University
Sierra Nevada University seal.png
Former name
Sierra Nevada College 1969-2020
MottoWisdom, Responsibility, Freedom
Type Private university
Active1969–2022
President Rob Valli [1]
Administrative staff
24 full time faculty,
50 part time faculty
Location, ,
United States

39°14′40″N119°56′20″W / 39.2444°N 119.9388°W / 39.2444; -119.9388
CampusMountain Community
Colors Royal Blue and White [2]
   
Nickname Eagles
Sporting affiliations
NAIA
MascotEli (an American Eagle)
Website www.sierranevada.edu
SNU-Two-Line-Gotham-2020.png

Prim Library, opened on September 9, 2004 Prim Library.jpg
Prim Library, opened on September 9, 2004

Sierra Nevada University (SNU) was a private university in Incline Village, Nevada, in the Sierras. In 2022, it was announced that the school would no longer be independent and would be merged into the University of Nevada, Reno system.

Contents

History

Founded in 1969, Sierra Nevada College was accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Prior to 2020, the institution was known as Sierra Nevada College. [3] In the summer of 2019, Dr. Ed Zschau became the interim president of Sierra Nevada University and, among other initiatives, spearheaded the change in the institution's name. [4] It was announced in July 2021 that the Sierra Nevada University is being merged into the University of Nevada, Reno over a period of years. Certain programs, courses and professors of Sierra Nevada University would be kept by the University of Nevada Reno. [5] On July 21, 2022, the university formally ceased operations and became the Wayne L. Prim Campus at the University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe.

Academics

The Departments of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Business, and Science and Technology offered traditional majors as well as Interdisciplinary Studies programs. The Business department at SNU also offered Ski Business and Resort Management as a four-year degree. The teacher education program lead to Master of Arts in Teaching, Master of Arts in Administration and Masters in Education degrees as well as to teacher licensure in Nevada. The college also operated two low-residency, Masters of Fine Arts programs. Creative Writing and Interdisciplinary Arts MFA's used a low-residency format and individual mentoring to prepare artists and writers for professional and artistic success.

The MFA-IA program focused on site-specific and community practice, with a large part of each residency taking place off site at partner locations such as the Sagehen Creek Field Station. [6] [7]

SNU, in collaboration with UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC), housed the Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences, a facility conducting research on Lake Tahoe.

From 2016 to 2019, as part of an initiative to expand access to four-year degrees, SNU also operated extension centers on community college campuses. There were SNU Extension centers on the campus of Lake Tahoe Community College in South Lake Tahoe, Truckee Meadows Community College's Dandini Campus in Reno, Nevada. Each Extension Center offered degrees specific to demand on the campus where they are located, and included B.A. in Psychology, B.A. or B.S. in General Studies, a B.S. in Business Administration (B.S.B.A) in Entrepreneurship or Global Business Management. [8]

Summer visiting artist workshops

Sierra Nevada University hosted an extensive program of Summer Visiting Artist Workshops which featured well-known artists from multiple disciplines. Artists such as printmaker Sean Starwars, and visual artist and experimental filmmaker Tim Guthrie were regular workshop leaders. [9]

Athletics

The Sierra Nevada athletic teams were called the Eagles. The university was a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the California Pacific Conference (CalPac) from 2015 to 2016 (when the school joined the NAIA) to 2021–22.

Sierra Nevada competed in 13 intercollegiate athletic teams: Men's sports included alpine skiing, cross country, freeskiing, golf, lacrosse, snowboarding and soccer; while women's sports included alpine skiing, cross country, freeskiing, golf, snowboarding and soccer.

Skiing

The Eagles won many United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association national championships in both men's and women's events. [10]

Notable faculty, past and present

Notable alumni

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reno, Nevada</span> City in Nevada, United States

Reno is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, in the Truckee River valley, on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada, it is about 23 miles (37 km) northeast of Lake Tahoe. Known as "The Biggest Little City in the World", it is the 80th most populous city in the United States, the fourth most populous city in Nevada, and the most populous in Nevada outside the Las Vegas Valley. The city had a population of 264,165 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Incline Village, Nevada</span> Census-designated place in Nevada, United States

Incline Village is an upscale census-designated place (CDP) on the north shore of Lake Tahoe in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The population was 8,777 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Reno−Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Until the 2010 census, the CDP Crystal Bay, Nevada was counted jointly with Incline Village.

A Master of Fine Arts is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts administration. It is a graduate degree that typically requires two to three years of postgraduate study after a bachelor's degree, though the term of study varies by country or university. Coursework is primarily of an applied or performing nature, with the program often culminating in a thesis exhibition or performance. The first university to admit students to the degree of Master of Fine Arts was the University of Iowa in 1940.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Northwest College of Art</span> Art school at Willamette University

The Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) is an art school of Willamette University and is located in Portland, Oregon. Established in 1909, the art school grants Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees and graduate degrees including the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) and Master of Arts (MA) degrees. It has an enrollment of about 500 students. The college merged with Willamette University in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olympic Valley, California</span> Unincorporated community in California, United States

Olympic Valley is an unincorporated community located in Placer County, California northwest of Tahoe City along California State Highway 89 on the banks of the Truckee River near Lake Tahoe. It is home to Palisades Tahoe, the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics. Olympic Valley is the smallest resort area to host the Olympic Winter Games.

A low-residency program is a form of education, normally at the university level, which involves some amount of distance education and brief on-campus or specific-site residencies—residencies may be one weekend or several weeks. These programs are most frequently offered by colleges and universities that also teach standard full-time courses on campus. There are numerous master's degree programs in a wide range of content areas; one of the most popular limited residency degree programs is the Master of Fine Arts in creative writing. The first such program was developed by Evalyn Bates and launched in 1963 at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patricia Smith (poet)</span> American poet (born 1955)

Patricia Smith is an American poet, spoken-word performer, playwright, author, writing teacher, and former journalist. She has published poems in literary magazines and journals including TriQuarterly, Poetry, The Paris Review, Tin House, and in anthologies including American Voices and The Oxford Anthology of African-American Poetry. She is on the faculties of the Stonecoast MFA Program in Creative Writing and the Low-Residency MFA Program in Creative Writing at Sierra Nevada University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lasell University</span> Private university in Newton, Massachusetts, US

Lasell University (LU) is a private university in Newton, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1851 as a women's seminary. It became a college in 1932, a four-year institution in 1989, coeducational in 1997, and a university proper in 2019. The campus spans 54 acres and is located in the village of Auburndale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sierra-at-Tahoe</span> Ski area in California, United States

Sierra-at-Tahoe is a ski and snowboard resort in Twin Bridges, California south of Lake Tahoe. Sierra-at-Tahoe is approximately 16 miles (26 km) south of Stateline, Nevada and 12 miles south of South Lake Tahoe on U.S. Route 50 and is contained within the Eldorado National Forest. Sierra-at-Tahoe is a medium-sized ski area in the Lake Tahoe region, and is well known for being a more family oriented resort and also having a high annual snowfall. Sierra-at-Tahoe's terrain is 25 percent beginner, 50 percent Intermediate, and 25 percent advanced.

The Collegiate Nationals was a multisport event for college students across the United States. The events aired annually on CBS College Sports Network from 2006 through 2012. In 2009 the name was changed to "The Alt Games."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival</span> Theatre festival in Lake Tahoe

The Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival (LTSF) is a not-for-profit, community-based arts enrichment program in Nevada that produces classical and contemporary stage productions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nevada State Route 431</span> Highway in Nevada

State Route 431, commonly known as the Mount Rose Highway, is a 24.413-mile-long (39.289 km) highway in Washoe County, Nevada, that connects Incline Village at Lake Tahoe with Reno. The highway, a Nevada Scenic Byway, takes its name from Mount Rose, which lies just off the highway. Prior to 1976, the highway existed as State Route 27.

Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts is a graduate program associated with Bard College that grants Master of Fine Arts degrees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Rose (Nevada)</span> Mountain in the United States

Mount Rose is the highest mountain in Washoe County, within the Carson Range of Nevada, United States. It ranks thirty-seventh among the most topographically prominent peaks in the state. It is also both the highest and most topographically prominent peak of the greater Sierra Nevada range within the state of Nevada, and the third most topographically prominent peak in the Sierra Nevada overall. It is located in the Mount Rose Wilderness of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. An extinct volcano, the mountain is in between Lake Tahoe and Reno. State Route 431 traverses Mount Rose Summit southeast of Mount Rose. Due to the high elevation, most of the precipitation that falls on the mountain is snow. The view from Mount Rose facing east is the Truckee Meadows, the second largest population center in Nevada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vermont College of Fine Arts</span> Fine arts college in Montpelier, Vermont

Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) is a private graduate-level art school in Montpelier, Vermont. It offers Master's degrees in a low-residency format. Its faculty includes Pulitzer Prize finalists, National Book Award winners, Newbery Medal honorees, Guggenheim Fellowship and Fulbright Program fellows, and Ford Foundation grant recipients. The literary magazine Hunger Mountain is operated by VCFA writing faculty and students.

Peter Goin is an American photographer best known for his work within the altered landscape, specifically his photographs published in the book Nuclear Landscapes. His work has been shown in over fifty museums nationally and internationally and he is the recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships. Goin is currently a Foundation Professor of Art in Photography and Videography at the University of Nevada, Reno. He has also done extensive rephotography work in the Lake Tahoe region.

Suzanne Roberts is an American poet, travel writer, and photographer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Wirth</span> American businessman and philanthropist

Andrew "Andy" Wirth is an American businessman and philanthropist who works in the mountain resort and hotel industry. He was most recently the president and CEO of Squaw Valley Ski Holdings, the parent company of Palisades Tahoe and Alpine Meadows ski resorts in Olympic Valley, CA until 2018. He is also the grandson of former US National Park Service Director Conrad Wirth and the great grandson of Theodore Wirth.

The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine is an academic division of the University of Nevada, Reno and grants the Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree. The School of Medicine was founded on March 25, 1969, as the first medical school in the state of Nevada. More than 2,600 MDs have graduated from the School of Medicine. The pre-clinical campus is located in Reno, but the third and fourth years can be spent in hospitals and clinics throughout Nevada. Residencies associated with the School of Medicine are located in Reno. Students may earn the MD-MPH, MD-MBA or MD–PhD degrees as well.

The Northwest Institute of Literary Arts (NILA) was a non-profit Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing low-residency program founded by the Whidbey Island Writers Association. It was in operation for twelve years, from 2005 to 2016. Beginning with an enrollment of nine students, the NILA MFA program grew to a peak enrollment of 62 students in 2014. Each semester began with intensive in-person residencies offering morning classes in craft, workshop, and directed reading, and afternoon sessions on the profession of writing. The three hours of afternoon classes were taught by guest faculty. At the end of residency, students returned home to complete the rest of the semester via online class forums.

References

  1. "A New President for Sierra Nevada University". Sierra Nevada University (Press release). September 1, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  2. "SNU Brand Book 2020" (PDF). Sierra Nevada University. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  3. "Announcing Sierra Nevada University" . Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  4. "Face the State - KTVN Reno" . Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  5. Higher Ed Dive: September 16, 2021: How many colleges and universities have closed since 2016
  6. "MFA-IA Website" . Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  7. "MFA-IA Website". Sierra Nevada College Low-Residency Mfa in Interdisciplinary Arts [Mfa-Ia]. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  8. "Extension Center Majors". Sierra Nevada College. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
  9. Fine Arts Department at Sierra Nevada University. "Summer Workshop Schedule 2016". Sierra Nevada University. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  10. "Eagles win 14th National title in a row". Tahoe Daily Tribune. March 11, 2004. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  11. "artist's website" . Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  12. "Matea Ferk" . Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  13. "Assemblyman Philip P.K. O'Neill". Nevada Legislature. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  14. "Tea PALIC - Olympic Alpine Skiing | Croatia". International Olympic Committee. June 26, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  15. "PALIC Tea - Biographie". data.fis-ski.com. Retrieved October 29, 2017.