Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Guest column:

Column: Regents leaders whiffed on student vaccinations

This week, Nevada’s public colleges and universities are hustling and bustling once again after the last three semesters were moved to online learning because of the global pandemic. College campuses feel vibrant, alive and promising — students are back in their dorms and making new friends, faculty are back in the classroom, and administrators and staff are out and about welcoming students back to campus. The first week of school is always an exciting time.

This semester will still feel different because of continued uncertainty from the coronavirus, the delta variant, and what that all means for the months ahead. That uncertainty is impossible to ignore, but, if we are being honest, it could have been avoided by stronger leadership from the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents’ chair and vice chair.

Nevada’s higher education system is governed by the Nevada Board of Regents and the NSHE chancellor. The chair of the Board of Regents holds agenda-setting powers and can unilaterally decide if an item gets on a board meeting’s list of topics for discussion or possible action. I’m familiar with how powerful this position can be and the internal processes from my time serving on the Board of Regents last year.

Vaccination requirements for COVID-19 never made it on any Board of Regents agenda. Neither Chair Cathy McAdoo nor Vice Chair Patrick Carter ever made their position clear — not to the media, their constituents or the public.

As the pressure mounted from all three groups, the regents waited until the last possible minute to ask NSHE’s general counsel about a vaccination directive and, ultimately, decided their best option was to punt their constitutional authority to somebody else. And then they waited until a week before school started to let everyone else know of their powerless authority. Make no mistake: Students and faculty will be vulnerable because of the chair and vice chair’s unwillingness to be leaders. Let’s hope their cowardice and lack of leadership don’t serve as role models or set an example for Nevada’s students or, worse, result in people dying.

My father was hospitalized in July after catching COVID-19. He was in the hospital for close to a month with pneumonia and needed a ventilator so he could breathe. It was scary. I thought he was going to die. He was surrounded by medical professionals who worked tirelessly providing COVID therapy. He is alive because of them. He was lucky. Not everyone survives, and so many families are carrying the grief of losing someone. This experience made me even more grateful for Nevada’s bipartisan leaders who are doing all that they can to put this pandemic behind us and Nevada on the path to recovery.

Chancellor Melody Rose has been vocal of her support for vaccines and has used her platform to encourage people to get the shot. Some regents have been responsible public stewards, too, and joined her in this effort. College and university presidents have urged students to get vaccinated.

Gov. Steve Sisolak launched a vaccine drawing that awards Nevada’s students with college scholarships. Local officials, like Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft, hosted free vaccination events for young people headlined by celebrities and star athletes. Soon students might even be eligible to receive $100 just for getting the shot.

Nevada’s leaders have reached across the aisle to work together to increase vaccination rates and spread the word about the importance of taking proper precautions, like wearing masks and social distancing, to prioritize safety. At this point, we all carry a mask either in our purse or pocket because it has become part of our routine. If you’re like my mom, you might even have one for every outfit. But, unlike having a mask, not everyone is vaccinated. College students are one of the groups whose vaccination rates are not as high as they should be.

I’ve spent a lot of time on college campuses, whether it was when I was on the Board of Regents or during my undergraduate and graduate studies at UNLV. I can attest that the Board of Regents holds the authority to require vaccines. Every semester I needed to submit my health records documenting immunizations against mumps, measles, rubella, tetanus and diphtheria. This is why it is not surprising that the Board of Health recently issued guidance that for the spring semester students will also need to show proof of receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. This decision will save lives. As a current UNLV doctoral student, this makes me feel safer and I’ll gladly show proof of vaccination to comply.

As I like to say: When higher education succeeds, Nevada succeeds. Nevada needs more young people to get vaccinated because increasing their immunity will strengthen our community. Nevada’s road to recovery runs through higher education. We know that education and jobs are linked, so is economic diversification and workforce development. I hope future Board of Regents meetings put students and faculty safety front and center. There is still more to be done, like testing policies for the fall semester and other measures. Regents have a choice: save lives or don’t. Let’s hope the regents more aggressively wield their authority toward the latter.

If you are passionate about improving Nevada’s higher education system and are interested in getting more involved, consider running for the Board of Regents. Regents are elected to six-year terms. There will be many opportunities this election cycle for fresh faces to run and a growing appetite for new board leadership.

Thank you to Nevada’s leaders who are actively working to implement policies that prioritize safety and recovery. Together, we will get through this.

Lisa Levine was appointed by Gov. Steve Sisolak to the Board of Regents beginning in June 2020 after the death of Regent Sam Lieberman. She served the remainder of Lieberman’s term, which ended in January.