Monday, Aug. 26, 2019 | 2 a.m.
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Editor’s note: As he does every August, Brian Greenspun is taking some time off and is turning over his Where I Stand column to others. Today’s guest columnist is acting UNLV President Marta Meana.
UNLV is, and should be, valued as a jewel in the crown of this community. We educate future generations of Nevadans, who in turn play a major role in advancing Las Vegas, the state and the country. We engage in scholarship focused on solving some of our thorniest societal dilemmas. We create cultural products that help us all soar above the mundane and bring beauty and depth into our lives.
That is what UNLV does.
UNLV represents an incredible opportunity to elevate the entire western region through the extraordinary efforts that I witness every day from our students, faculty and staff. It is my greatest privilege and my greatest challenge as president to ensure this opportunity is not dissipated but rather bolstered through a shared mission of excellence, achievement and support.
UNLV and Southern Nevada should be interchangeable. We should work hand-in-hand. Every decision we make and every action we take at UNLV needs to have the community in mind, and UNLV needs to be top of mind within that community. For us to reach our full potential and have the greatest outcomes, UNLV needs to have a seat at the table when discussions are taking place that shape the future of Nevada. And it’s on us to make that happen.
Although stakeholders are going to disagree at times on our best paths forward as a university, we must avoid divisions that distract from our mission and consume our energy. We must collectively ask ourselves what each one of us can do to be an integral part in supporting this university. I believe in my heart we all want a strong, vibrant and esteemed UNLV. Consequently, I have made it my singular goal to make decisions that put UNLV in the best possible position to realize its destiny as a change agent for Nevada.
What UNLV has accomplished in a mere 62 years is astounding. Against incredible odds, we have achieved Carnegie R1 status — the gold standard among research institutions — opened a medical school, a school of dental medicine, a school of law and a nursing school, plus we have a host of colleges and schools that do us proud every day with their scholarly accomplishments and workforce development. Just 22 years ago, when I accepted a faculty position at UNLV, many folks back east did not even know there was a university here. If that isn’t remarkable progress, I don’t know what is.
As the nation’s most diverse university, we are uniquely positioned to make a massive impact on the lives of our students and to show the nation how diversity enriches the university’s intellectual output.
This fall, we are undertaking an unprecedented initiative to support and mentor our students to increase graduation rates and close the achievement gap. Graduating our students is the most transformative thing we can do to help the state continue to thrive.
Just consider how many of our legislators and judiciary are Boyd Law School graduates. Look at the membership of the Nevada Psychological Association and where they got their doctorates. Consider the pedigree of our teachers, dentists and nurses. Imagine what the health care provider landscape will look like when we start graduating our School of Medicine students. This has and will continue to be a real and direct impact felt every day in our community.
So we have a choice. The next decade is crucial. Do we all rally behind UNLV to accomplish the unimaginable? The stakes are high. The opportunities are incredible.
Editor's note: This column has been revised. The original version incorrectly listed the year when Meana was named acting president.
Marta Meana has been UNLV’s acting president since July 2018. She came to UNLV in 1997 as a professor of psychology and was named dean of UNLV’s Honors College in 2012, the position she held at the time she was appointed acting president.
