Nevada State College faculty are holding a vote of no confidence for college President Bart Patterson, after he was arrested for driving under the influence last month.

An email sent Tuesday to staff and faculty of Nevada State College, the only 4-year state college in Nevada, states that a majority of the institution's faculty Senate had moved to hold a symbolic “vote of no-confidence” on Patterson, the results of which will be summarized in a public statement sometime after the voting period ends next week.

Patterson, who has been at the college since 2011, was arrested on April 27 after he struck a light pole with the car he was driving and had a blood-alcohol content of 0.214, more than twice the legal limit. The Las Vegas Sun reported Patterson has an arraignment scheduled for June 4.

In a two-page letter sent to faculty, Patterson said he was “disappointed in myself,” and said he was complying with the disciplinary process required by the Nevada System of Higher Education, but had returned to work last week after completing a professional assessment and taking a mandatory leave of absence.

Patterson also said that on the night of the incident, he had attended a fundraising reception at the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute, which came almost a year after his father had passed away from dementia.

“I am telling you this not to seek sympathy, but so you have some understanding of my emotional state that evening and why I may have departed from my typical protocol,” he wrote. “I have been in the Nevada Higher Education System over 17 years and have attended innumerable social events without issue.”

It’s unclear what immediate effect the vote would have on Patterson’s status, but the college president’s current contract expires in June of 2020, and he said in his letter that he will undergo a full evaluation during the upcoming spring semester to “rate my performance and determine whether I am meeting the personal and professional standards you expect.”