In July, Carol Lucey, president of Western Nevada College, announced that she would be stepping down after serving more than 14 years in the position. She stated at that time that she would leave office sometime between January 2014 and the end of the current academic year. At the time, she stated that state budget cuts of 11 percent over the next two years, coupled with earlier cuts, had made it extremely difficult for her to do her job.
But now President Lucey has issued a statement saying she is stepping down immediately. The community college, which was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Carson City, operates six other campuses and enrolls about 5,000 students.
Dr. Lucey became president in 1999. Previously she was a professor and administrator at Jamestown Community College and Alfred State College of Technology. Both institutions are campuses of the State University of New York system. Dr. Lucey holds bachelor’s and master’s degree from Binghamton University of the SUNY system. She earned a Ph.D. in theoretical high energy physics at Brown University.