Meana a deserving leader for UNLV

Editor’s note: In the interest of fostering open conversation about matters involving oversight of UNLV, the Sun is publishing the following guest column from Christopher Hudgins.

In presenting it, however, we believe a couple of points of clarification are in order.

First, the Sun fully stands behind its reporting on this issue. Our news stories and analyses have been an accurate reflection of information that has been gathered by our staff from emails and interviews with numerous members of the UNLV campus community.

Second, readers should know that when Marta Meana accepted her appointment as acting UNLV president, she gave public assurances that she did not want the role on a permanent basis. In February, however, the Nevada Board of Regents waived a rule barring acting presidents from being candidates specifically to allow Meana from entering the search. Meana at that point said she would “most likely” become a candidate.

Third, Hudgins correctly points out, the university has made several significant achievements since Meana became acting president in July 2018. But with the exception of a funding mechanism for a new educational building for the UNLV School of Medicine, foundation for the achievements mentioned here was laid well before she began leading the university.

As a longtime faculty member and administrator at UNLV, arriving in 1976 and retiring two years ago or so, I am appreciative of the attention the Las Vegas Sun has given to UNLV over the years. But I think the Sun’s recent pieces on the ongoing presidential transition are somewhat misleading, or not inclusive enough, with regard to Acting President Marta Meana’s qualifications and to the procedures that resulted in her selection for that role and later to be considered as a candidate in the national search for a long-term president for the institution that I have loved and served for more than 40 years.

I am particularly grateful to the Sun for publishing the fine July 26 guest column from Janis McKay, chair of the faculty senate and esteemed professor of music, on the process leading to Meana’s current appointment, but I think additional context would be helpful to readers.

Many UNLV faculty and concerned members of our communities regard the Sun’s recently published articles and editorials as hit pieces relying on exaggeration, misinformation and unfounded accusations or innuendoes.

Suggestions that Meana was the Board of Regents’ choice for the acting or interim position because she would be more pliable in following dictates from the regents and chancellor are particularly unfounded. Even more disturbing is the glossing over of Meana’s scholarly and administrative record.

Further, the suggestion that her progression to the position was unusual in that she moved from a deanship directly to the president’s role, without “standard” service as a provost or academic vice president, ignores recent history. Such a progression is not unprecedented and is appropriate given Meana’s sterling record as dean of the Honors College, where she vastly enhanced the numbers and diversity of entering students and graduates, expanded the number of faculty and increased philanthropic funding for scholarships. Wonderfully effective in her outreach to our communities, she also oversaw expansion of the Honors College’s facilities.

In addition, the Sun’s pieces ignore Meana’s highly regarded reputation as a scholar. As a professor of psychology, her research and publications have resulted in the highest of national awards. For a Research 1 institution, a triple-threat president — a skillful administrator, a scholar of international reputation and a talented community player — is ideal, perhaps even a prerequisite for continuing institutional progress.

The Sun’s pieces also have largely denigrated or glossed over the process for Meana’s selection as acting president, which was the most thorough I have experienced with regard to the chancellor’s and regents’ efforts to gather faculty opinion. These decision-makers went to great lengths to gather faculty opinion, consulting with a variety of faculty, administrators and students during a series of open, well-publicized meetings, while also welcoming additional written and oral inputs.

Appointing Meana as acting president was overwhelmingly the sentiment garnered from those meetings. Again, in this context, the Sun’s pieces have largely ignored previous instances of an acting administrator’s change in status to allow the appointee to participate in a national search for the position long-term.

For example, Neal Smatresk, one of UNLV’s most effective leaders, agreed to switch from “acting” to “interim” president in order to be considered a candidate. The Sun has characterized Meana’s similar decision negatively as “flip-flopping.”

That ignores the fact that the switch in statuses is not pro-forma but must be earned.

Here, Meana has been exceptional, deciding to consider the long-term position only after she became more familiar with the current challenges of the president’s leadership role as well as her capacity to effect change for the better on many different fronts.

Her conduct since that change in status has been exemplary. While she could have taken credit for UNLV’s ascension to R1 research status, which happened during her watch, she credited those who came before her for this accomplishment — which her own research accomplishments, quite early on, helped to achieve.

Similarly, Meana could have taken credit for the completion of the Rebel football training complex, but chose to give credit to UNLV’s generous donors and those who came before her.

Most recently, Meana’s tireless efforts, political acumen and leadership skills were centrally important in the regents’ approval to bond $100 million to enable the construction of an educational building for the UNLV School of Medicine. Again, she insisted that credit go to her hard-working team rather than grabbing the limelight.

Similarly, in large part due to Meana’s efforts, UNLV will soon see the completion of a new engineering building. Not too bad for a “compliant” acting president in her first year of service as UNLV’s chief administrator.

Thankfully, after some difficult periods — budgetary and administrative — the campus has begun to heal, and a revitalized sense of joint purpose has emerged under Meana’s leadership.

The vast majority of the UNLV faculty, its administrative teams and its diverse student body fully recognize her skilled stewardship and its results.

At great sacrifice to herself, Meana has accepted the challenges of a tremendously complex job, assuming it under difficult conditions, stepping up during what many consider our darkest days.

It is especially comforting that Meana is eligible to be considered a candidate in the upcoming national search. She is not a person who is being led; she is an extremely capable and proven leader. I am grateful that she is at the helm of this beloved institution, which is so central to the continuing success of this community.

Meana may be the best person we could choose as the next president of UNLV.

Christopher Hudgins arrived at UNLV in 1976 as an assistant professor of English after previously teaching at Old Dominion and Emory University. At UNLV, Hudgins served as chair of the English department for 12 years and as dean of the College of Liberal Arts for 10 years.