WNC announces new director for Fallon Campus

Courtesy Steve Yingling, Western Nevada College

Having dedicated nearly a decade and a half to higher education in Northern Nevada, new Fallon campus director Jessica Rowe understands the needs of students and the importance of communities and rural areas that Western Nevada College serves.

“I’ve dedicated much of my focus to working in rural communities throughout the region, having engaged in educational program-building through GEAR UP in the Hawthorne, Yerington, Silver Springs, and Schurz communities; taught with WNC in Yerington, Silver Springs, Hawthorne and Fallon; and worked to improve access and success for students from our vast rural community neighbors and partners,” Rowe said. “I’m passionate about making sustainable connections and about growing and stabilizing the communities I live in, care for, and serve.”  

Rowe assumed the role of Fallon campus director earlier this month and is looking forward to the challenges of her new position, which will include something that is very dear to her.

“I’m grateful that during another season that has been complicated by COVID concerns and informed by our experience with last year’s pandemic that President Dr. Vincent Solis is allowing me to retain some opportunities to teach and connect with my students,” Rowe said. “I can continue to advocate for the student experience while building relationships with our community partners. I would have been utterly heartbroken to have given that up entirely.”

The tenured English professor follows Holly O’Toole, who has returned to the classroom to teach biology.

“We are very excited about having Ms. Jessica Rowe leading our efforts in Fallon and our rural service area,” said President Solis. “Ms. Rowe is a longtime educator who is passionate about the success of the students we serve. In addition to all of her teaching background, she also has great relationships in the communities we serve. We are truly lucky to have her onboard in this important role for WNC.”

Besides her passion for teaching English to students, Rowe has advised WNC students in Phi Theta Kappa, a national honor society that recognizes the academic achievement of college students and provides opportunities to help them grow as scholars and leaders.

Prior to working in the Nevada System of Higher Education, Rowe was a Fulbright scholar and lectured at several Romanian universities.

“Romania taught me to do a lot with a little, to make allies and form partnerships, and to find avenues of understanding where there seem to be few connections,” Rowe said. “It also taught me to adapt to rapidly changing situations — or be calm and patient when nothing seemed to be moving — and to count our successes as they come, even if they did not arrive the way that we had expected.

“Small, supportive teams and tiny, scrappy communities can move the needle and make great change despite the challenges and despite chaotic situations. Once you’ve been a part of something like that, it’s hard not to see such great possibilities everywhere around you. Romania was beautiful and difficult. It was exciting and frustrating. I’d go back in a heartbeat. I want opportunities for challenge and change — like the Fulbright was for me — for my own students.”

To contact Rowe, phone her at 775-445-3380 or email her at jessica.rowe@wnc.edu.