The Sierra Nevada College Board of Trustees announced the appointment of Dr. Robert C. Maxson as president of the 40 year old private, four-year, Liberal Arts College located in Lake Tahoe, NV.  Dr. Maxson will replace Dr. Larry D. Large who has served as interim president of SNC for the last eighteen months.  Dr. Large will continue to work with the college as a consultant.

For Immediate Release
December 14, 2007

The Sierra Nevada College Board of Trustees announced the appointment of Dr. Robert C. Maxson as president of the 40 year old private, four-year, Liberal Arts College located in Lake Tahoe, NV.  Dr. Maxson will replace Dr. Larry D. Large who has served as interim president of SNC for the last eighteen months.  Dr. Large will continue to work with the college as a consultant.

Chairman of the SNC Board of Trustees, Barry Munitz, who made the announcement of Dr. Maxson, added “Our entire board is proud and delighted that one of this country’s most successful educational leaders has agreed to serve as Sierra Nevada College’s next president. After an extensive search, it was clear to all that Bob Maxson has the array of skills and experience to bring our students, faculty, staff and community the great strength and service they deserve.  The fact that he and Sylvia were willing to bring their great talents to this institution constitutes an extraordinary vote of confidence for the learning and teaching future of Sierra Nevada.  Finally, and most emphatically, the Trustees express their gratitude and admiration to Marsha and Larry Large, for the very special and successful care they brought to the presidency at a most challenging moment in the college’s history.”

Dr. Maxson stated, “I am excited about joining the only private liberal arts college in Nevada.  Sierra Nevada College is a fine school, with a very good student body, a wonderful staff, and some of the best professors to be found any place in the country.”  

He continued, “The first time I set foot on the campus I fell in love with it.  It just felt right.  And the more I learn about SNC, the more I knew it was the right decision.  I look forward to working with an intelligent and nurturing Board of Trustees to help this proud, young college reach its full potential.”  

Dr. Large added, “I am gratified that the recent progress at the college has helped us to attract a president of Bob’s caliber and experience.  Moreover, his Nevada connections will allow SNC to elevate its profile as the state’s only private, not-for-profit college.”

Dr. Maxson was formerly senior vice president for academic affairs at the University of Houston.   He became president of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) in 1984, a position he held for ten years.  Dr. Maxson served as president of California State Long Beach from June 1994 to January 2006 and has been Special Assistant to the Chancellor of the California State University System for the past two years.  

Maxson earned his bachelor's degree in education and psychology in 1958 from the University of Arkansas at Monticello. He went on to receive a master's degree in education administration from Florida Atlantic University in 1967 and a doctorate in educational leadership from Mississippi State University in 1970. Dr.  Maxson has written two college textbooks which together have been adopted in approximately 100 universities. He is married to Dr. Sylvia Parrish Maxson. Their son, Todd, is a pediatric surgeon in Austin, and their daughter, Kimberly, is a lawyer in Las Vegas.

Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village, Nevada, is a four-year private liberal arts college with post-baccalaureate teacher certification and Master of Arts in teaching programs in Incline Village, Reno, and Las Vegas. The liberal arts focus at SNC is enhanced by an entrepreneurial spirit throughout the curriculum. The college offers intellectual, educational, and cultural resources to its graduates and the communities of northern Nevada. To learn more about Sierra Nevada College, call 775.831.1314 or visit its website at www.sierranevada.edu.


Contact:  Cynthia McClelland
Executive Director, Institutional Advancement
Sierra Nevada College
775.831.1314 x7521
cmcclelland@sierranevada.edu