Henderson College's day will come

Nevada's Henderson College survived the Senate Finance Committee on Monday, despite questions from lawmakers about its effectiveness.

Enrollment at the college, which opened Sept. 1, came in at one-third of what was expected. While college officials were hoping to have 500 students enroll at the Southern Nevada four-year school, only 146 showed up.

With $7.8 million proposed to fund the college, the next two years will be critical to its survival.

According to the college's Web site, it has 11 professors and is offering fewer than 200 courses. The students may pursue one of 19 bachelor's degrees.

It would be an easy matter to divide the number of students by the funding and let the righteous indignation flow.

After all, members of the University and Community College System of Nevada regents and Southern Nevada's education community have pointed at Henderson College as a drain on other institutions.

Financial support to start the college fell well short of promises, and with such a small student body, it would be easy to say the college is dead and move on.

However, similar things may have been said in the early 1950s, when another Nevada institution of higher learning was first starting out.

Now it's UNLV, but in 1951, it was one professor and 12 students taking classes in a spare room at Las Vegas High School.

According to UNLV's Web site, 29 students took degrees at the first commencement ceremonies in 1964. The next year, the Legislature finally gave the little college in Las Vegas a name, Nevada Southern University.

Today, UNLV serves more than 22,000 students and offers a lesson about higher education.

It takes more than money to build a college; it takes time.