HENDERSON, Nev. – Nevada State University (Nevada State) is celebrating a milestone with 12 newly promoted and tenured faculty as well as seven faculty promoted to full professor. This marks the largest faculty group receiving promotion or tenure in the institution’s history and emphasizes the University’s commitment to academic excellence through high-quality faculty recruitment and retention.
The group represents a wide range of academic disciplines, bringing innovation and expertise to their respective fields while making lasting impacts on students, research, and the broader Nevada community.
“Each of these individuals have contributed to our campus’s educational mission, led scholarly and academic advancements, and shaped the student experience at Nevada State in numerous ways,” said Dr. DeRionne Pollard, President of Nevada State University. “Their work directly reflects Nevada State’s mission to foster innovation, inclusivity, and academic excellence and I am grateful to their ongoing dedication to this institution and its students. Recruiting and retaining top-level faculty is crucial as we continue the work of building the next great state university.”
Faculty Highlights:
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Sheri Bayley, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of Speech-Language Pathology)
A speech-language pathologist (SLP) specializing in autism support and curriculum design for future SLPs, Dr. Bayley has contributed significantly to student learning and program development through her role as the undergraduate coordinator of speech pathology. She also serves as a committee member of the Council for Academic Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders.
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Rachel Herzl-Betz, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of English)
As the Director of the Nevada State Writing Center, Dr. Herzl-Betz has redefined student and faculty support in academic writing. She has transformed the center into a hub for faculty research advancement and is a recipient of the prestigious Nevada Regents’ Rising Researcher Award.
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El Hachemi Bouali, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of Geosciences)
A leading geophysical researcher studying geomorphology and surface processes, Dr. Bouali frequently takes students into the field for hands-on data collection. Recognized for his expertise, he has been quoted frequently in the Los Angeles Times, making him one of Nevada State’s most widely cited faculty members.
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Amanda Carter, Ph.D. (Full Professor of Teacher Education)
Through her work with the New Educators Support Program (NEST), Dr. Carter has established mentorship circles to support recent graduates in education. Her initiatives are aimed at empowering new teacher success and reducing teacher attrition in Nevada within the first five years of employment.
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Laura Decker, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of English)
Dr. Decker was awarded the prestigious Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) Leadership Fellowship in 2023. Within that role, she spearheaded the launch of the Humanities Scholars Program, which seeks to recruit, mentor, and retain undergraduates through enriching co-curricular activities. Previously, she led efforts at Nevada State to support NSHE’s Corequisite English mandate and served on the statewide task force. She is in her first year as Nevada State’s Humanities Department Chair.
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Nathaniel King, MSLS (Full Professor, Dean of the Library)
A nationally recognized leader in academic librarianship, Dean King has established the University Library at Nevada State as a model of excellence. Nevada State is a recipient of the prestigious Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Excellence in Academic Libraries Award. This award honors academic librarians and staff who work collaboratively to build exceptional libraries that advance and enrich their institution’s educational mission.
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Alena Manjuck, MSLS (Associate Professor, Outreach and Engagement Librarian) In her role, Manjuck supports impactful educational programming such as leading the Common Read program, a unified intellectual activity that engages the entire campus community. She was selected as the inaugural recipient of the 2024 SILS Rising Star Alumni Award from UNC’s School of Information and Library Science. This distinction recognizes alumni who have demonstrated exceptional growth in their profession and achieved early success in the fields of librarianship and information science.
Academic faculty are eligible for tenure after five years of service in recognition of their excellence in teaching, scholarship and service.
To learn more about Nevada State University, please visit nevadastate.edu.
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About Nevada State University:
Nevada State University (Nevada State), a four-year, independently accredited public institution, is a member of the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE). Nevada State places a special emphasis on the advancement of a diverse and largely under-served student population. Located on a developing 500-acre campus in the foothills of Henderson, Nevada, the institution was established in 2002 and has recently adopted ‘University’ in its name. Nevada State emphasizes high-quality instruction, exemplary service, engaging learning experiences, and innovation in support of Nevada’s growing workforce needs. Nevada State offers more than 65 majors and minors and continues to expand its physical campus and reach to students across the state. Committed to fostering a personal learning environment, students are taught by faculty who serve as mentors and guides in classrooms with an average class size under 25 students. Nevada State serves more than 7,200 students and has over 8,500 alumni, each representing a broad array of cultural and economic backgrounds. For more information, visit https://nevadastate.edu.
