Feb 12, 2021 In 1965, only one state had no community colleges: Nevada. That soon changed. And 2021 marks the golden anniversary of the College of Southern Nevada and Western Nevada College. It all began when Carson City and Elko residents tried to start their own colleges, and Elko succeeded. The result was what is now Great Basin College. Governor Paul Laxalt took office in 1967 and strongly supported community colleges. He also encountered a benefactor, who lived at the Desert Inn: Howard Hughes. The billionaire gave the state a quarter of a million dollars to help start the Elko campus and study where to put other colleges. The regents hired a community college administrator, Charles Donnelly. He developed a mission and targeted Las Vegas and Carson City. Interestingly, the legislature would wind up debating whether the new community colleges should be separate from the university, with a different governing board than the university regents. Not that there has been ANY controversy since.