Chairman Lalchandani Announces Retirement of SNC Tahoe President

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev., May 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Sierra Nevada College (SNC Tahoe), announced today that after more than 30 years of service and leadership in public higher education, President Alan Walker will retire effective May 26, 2019.  Dr. Ed Zschau has been selected by the Board of Trustees to serve as interim President, effective May 27, 2019.

"During a challenging period for smaller colleges in America, Dr. Walker brought financial stability to SNC Tahoe, growing its circle of friends, partners, and donors," said SNC Tahoe Chairman Atam Lalchandani.  "Dr. Walker's unique history with extension campuses, his commitment and attention to financial integrity, and his enthusiasm for education and college athletics in our glorious outdoor community came at the right time for the college.  We thank Dr. Walker for his service to SNC Tahoe and wish him and his wife Debbie a healthy and rewarding retirement."

President Walker noted, "I have been honored to work with colleagues and students here at SNC Tahoe as well as the generous community members in Northern Nevada, and take pride in what we have achieved together in academics, the arts, student leadership, community service, athletics, student entrepreneurship, and innovation.  I will depart with pride having served here, and with best wishes for continued success for future generations of Eagles, as well as for all SNC Tahoe faculty, staff, and alumni."

During Dr. Walker's four years as president, SNC Tahoe rolled out an innovative SNC Extension program to offer SNC Tahoe degrees on the campuses of Lake Tahoe Community College and Truckee Meadows Community College.  Dr. Walker's financial discipline, along with the joint efforts of faculty, staff, and generous donors, has considerably strengthened SNC Tahoe's balance sheet. 

Chairman Lalchandani added, "SNC Tahoe is extremely fortunate that Dr. Ed Zschau has agreed to volunteer his time as interim president, providing a seamless leadership transition as we search for the next permanent president."  The Board of Trustees agreed to Dr. Zschau's generous offer, to serve until the permanent president takes office.

Dr. Zschau led technology companies for 17 years. He founded System Industries in 1969 (the same year that SNC Tahoe was founded) and as its CEO he led the company to its successful IPO in 1980.  In the 1990s, he served as the General Manager of the IBM Storage Systems Division.    Dr. Zschau has thirty years of university teaching experience in the business schools at Stanford and Harvard and in the engineering schools at Princeton, Caltech, and the University of Nevada, Reno. He represented the Silicon Valley area of California in the US Congress for two terms in the early 1980s.  Dr. Zschau earned an AB in Philosophy at Princeton and MBA, MS, and PhD degrees at Stanford. He and his wife Jo reside in Genoa, Nevada.

Sierra Nevada College is Nevada's only accredited private non-profit four-year university. Sierra Nevada College is committed to fostering a culture of competition, guiding students to think on their feet, communicate persuasively, and acquire the higher-order thinking skills necessary to thrive in the real world.

SOURCE Sierra Nevada College