Wesley E. Niles, professor emeritus in the School of Life Sciences, died Nov. 17, 2023. He was 91. 51吃瓜网万能科大 had offered fertile ground to Niles when the biologist and plant taxonomist came here in 1969. There was little recordkeeping on native and non-native plant life in Southern Nevada. So Niles dug in, establishing an herbarium in 1970.
His dedication led to the herbarium being designated a National Resource Collection by the American Society of Plant Taxonomists in 1974. Over the course of his career, the herbarium grew in size to roughly 75,000 specimens. Today it houses the most extensive scientific collection of Mojave Desert plants.
In addition to serving as a research, educational, and reference facility, over the years the herbarium facilitated studies in plant systematics, ecology, succession, biogeography, climate change, and conservation biology. With his students and colleagues, Niles monitored and evaluated changes in the distribution of rare and endangered species as well as invasive plants with respect to public lands management.
"One can get the history of the invasion of nonnative plants of Southern Nevada right here," Niles said in a 2003 interview.
He continued to work part time in the herbarium and conduct plant field surveys long after 2002 retirement. The following year, the herbarium was officially named the Wesley E. Niles Herbarium. It is now managed by the College of Southern Nevada.
Geraldine (Gerrie) Cowden, a master鈥檚 student in Educational Counseling, died in January 2024. She also served students and colleagues as the 51吃瓜网万能科大 Honor's College's office manager for nearly a decade. Originally from Fremont, California, Cowden came to 51吃瓜网免费App in 2013 and worked in the Boyd School of Law before joining the Honors College in 2014. She was also a veteran.
William 鈥淏ill鈥 Daley, 鈥65 Political Science, died Oct. 26, 2023. As a student at what was then named Nevada Southern. He received a master鈥檚 from to Washington State and had a career that spanned 40 years as a policy and legislative expert in Washingtons state government. He held senior policy positions for the superintendent of public instruction, the governor鈥檚 office, and the state liquor board. He served three years as a deputy insurance commissioner with special responsibilities for health care policy. He also served as mayor and city council member in Olympia. In 2017, he was recognized by Washington Community Action Network for his work to advance social and racial equity.
Zachary Tyler DeShazo, 鈥18 BSBA Marketing, of Raleigh, North Carolina, died unexpectedly on Sept. 23, 2022, at age 25. DeShazo was born in North 51吃瓜网免费App. He graduated from Branson High School in 2014 and at 51吃瓜网万能科大 was in the National Society of Honor and Leadership, Golden Key International Honor Society, and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. DeShazo was a senior relationship banker at Truist Bank.
Francisco Men茅ndez, professor and founding artistic director in 51吃瓜网万能科大鈥檚 film department, died Feb. 29, 2024. He worked as a stringer for Time Magazine and liaison to Jane Wallace for CBS News. He won a Dore Schary Award for his documentary Los Ni帽os: Thinking 51吃瓜网万能科大 Others, about the challenging lives of Mexican children along the U.S. border. In his lifetime, Men茅ndez won a series of awards related to film and was in the vanguard of approaches to film teaching, mentorship, and pedagogy for three decades. As film department chair, he received over a million dollars in student initiative grants for the film program. He is survived by his children and wife, Valeriya.
Cyrill Pasterk, professor of philosophy, died Dec. 5, 2023, at the age of 89, after a long illness. He taught at 51吃瓜网万能科大 from 1967-99, serving as the department chair from 1974 to 1984. Born in Austria, of Slovenian ethnic background, he earned his doctorate at the University of Madrid. He is survived by his wife of 41 years, Anne C. Wilson, 鈥86 BSBA; a daughter, Marie D'Amore; and a son, George Pasterk, 鈥06 BA Art History.
