Western Nevada College (WNC) has announced the awarding of emeritus status to six retiring faculty members. This honor recognizes their significant contributions and long-term service to the college community.
The recipients, who have collectively dedicated 135 years to WNC, come from diverse academic fields such as nursing, science, foreign language, and mathematics.
Maxine Cirac is recognized for her work in international languages, teaching Spanish and French. Cirac is noted as the third-longest-serving faculty member at WNC and has worked under eight of the college's nine presidents.
Lisa Dunkelberg joined WNC in 2012 as a nursing instructor. She has been instrumental in preparing students for careers in healthcare and emphasized the importance of community service.
Dr. Gary Evett began his tenure at WNC in 1993, teaching chemistry and physics. He played a key role in the Science Lab renovation project in 2022 and led INBRE biomedical research students on the Fallon campus.
Debi Ingraffia-Strong started teaching at WNC in 2005 and was pivotal in developing its nursing program. She served as interim director of Nursing and Allied Health from 2021 to 2024 and received recognition from the Nevada Nurses Foundation with the 2022 People’s Choice Dean of Nursing Award.
Holly O’Toole-Parker is known for her engaging teaching style in biology and anatomy. In 2018, she expanded her role by becoming the Fallon campus and rural outreach director before returning to classroom instruction.
Dr. Gary Schwartz has contributed significantly to mathematics education at WNC. Besides enhancing student understanding of Calculus, he served as interim director of Liberal Arts in 2016.
Emeritus status requires that appointees have served at least ten years with a distinguished history of service to WNC. The honor grants lifetime status as employees, along with certain privileges such as grant-in-aid benefits for themselves and their families, participation in college events like commencement, among other perks.