Chancellor addresses campus community

Stan Carpenter, Nebraska State College System chancellor, outlined the challenges and successes of Chadron State, as well as its sister institutions Peru and Wayne, during his annual State of the System Address today in the Student Center’s Ballroom.

Speaking to a crowd of approximately 150 faculty and staff members, Carpenter began his speech by addressing the system’s challenges, including the NCAA investigation at Chadron State and the information breech into the Nebraska’s student information system (NeSIS).

Carpenter said that the college forwarded the results of its 10-month investigation into possible football fundraising violations to its governing athletic bodies, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and the NCAA, and that the college has not heard back from either organization regarding possible disciplinary measures.

The investigation into the NeSIS breach is continuing, Carpenter said. University of Nebraska-Lincoln Police Chief Owen Yardley said in an interview Monday that “it is taking awhile to complete the forensics on some seized computers,” and that he expects his office to release more information within four weeks.

Carpenter noted positive improvements at CSC by talking about the institution’s capital construction budget, as well as a new funding source that would allow CSC to support students’ athletic and fitness pursuits through the construction and renovation of NSCS sports facilities. The fund grants $250,000 a year in 2013-14, and then doubles to $500,000 in 2015, Carpenter said.

“The core purpose [of the fund] is revitalization of rural communities,” Carpenter said.

Carpenter spent the last portion of his speech focusing on CSC in comparison to the larger national community of higher education.