Chancellor plans to wait before naming successor

The state's higher education chancellor said Tuesday it is too soon to name a replacement for Nevada State College President Fred Maryanski, who died Friday after a long illness.

A memorial service is set for 10:30 a.m. today at the Henderson Convention Center for Maryanski, 63. He had served as the college's president since 2005.

Higher education Chancellor Dan Klaich said he has told the college's administration to "keep working exactly as they are."

That would mean Lesley Di Mare, provost and vice president of academic affairs, is nominally in charge.

Klaich said he wanted to give the people at the college and throughout the higher education system time to mourn Maryanski's death.

He said he expected to have an interim president named by the start of the new academic year or shortly thereafter.

Klaich said it was too soon to say whether he would recommend a long- term interim appointment, such as that of Neal Smatresk at UNLV, or the launch of a search for a permanent president.

Maryanski had been ill for years, and then his health declined rapidly. He died in the care of Nathan Adelson Hospice.

He had attended a Board of Regents meeting four weeks ago and made a presentation of the college's master plan.

Maryanski previously had served in positions at the University of Connecticut, where he had been for more than 20 years. He was the university's first head of the computer science and engineering department.

But Nevada State College had become his passion. He frequently called reporters directly to pitch stories or to update them on the goings on at the school.

He brought stability to Nevada State College, too. It had opened 2½ years before Maryanski's arrival in 2005, and he was the college's fifth president.