Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Faculty Senate rejects postponing UNLV presidential search

Marta Meana

Marta Meana

The UNLV Faculty Senate voted today against sending a referendum to the faculty to support postponing the school’s presidential search for three years.

If the motion had passed, the full faculty would have voted on sending a recommendation to the Board of Regents stating support for postponing the presidential search until the 2021-2022 academic year and keeping acting President Marta Meana in office during that time.

The motion was defeated 31-18, with one abstention.

Janis McKay, the chair of the Faculty Senate, brought forward the motion. She said she had come into the meeting with no expectations but wanted the proposal to be heard openly.

“I think the biggest concern for me was that I was hearing so many different opinions across campus and until you really sit down with the body of the faculty and ask them the question, you’re just going to hear the people that are the loudest,” McKay said.

Arguments for the referendum included the number of personnel searches ongoing at UNLV and the Nevada System of Higher Education and the upcoming potential reshaping of the Board of Regents.

The board could be brought under the control of the state Legislature if a ballot question is approved in 2020.

McKay said she thought it was important to put the issue before the Faculty Senate to gauge where people stood on the issue.

“To me, that was what I wanted. I wanted the open discussion. I wanted to let everybody talk who wanted to speak have a chance to get their opinions out there,” she said. “And then we took the vote, and it was decisive, and now we know.”