Community Transformation: The Role of UNLV

As many of you may know, UNLV is actively pursuing an agenda to become a major research university. Our agenda is not solely aimed at elevating UNLV’s prestige on the national level, although this is a wonderful outcome we also hope to achieve. Rather it is based on UNLV’s goal to become a major flagship university that both transforms and improves its community. To reach this goal, UNLV must produce the finest educated citizens and leaders, help solve many of the community’s problems, strengthen the area’s economic base and health, and produce exceptional creative, cultural, and athletic activities.

Most universities in the country that do these things best are known as Research I or major research universities. Quite simply, we aspire to that status not simply for reputation, but to help the people and the state of Nevada – to raise our state’s fortunes – in every way. Let me give you some examples.

First, major research universities improve student learning in a variety of ways.
UNLV is working to create a student-centered learning environment in which students study with outstanding researchers and teachers. Faculty with active research agendas and programs are usually more knowledgeable and up-to-date about their disciplines – a factor that directly improves teaching. Such faculty stay in close contact with their colleagues around the country, study new developments in their fields, and experiment with new interpretations of older data or methods, leading to new discoveries. One very important byproduct of this faculty activity is that students have access to the most recent information in their disciplines, an outcome that directly improves student learning.

At UNLV, there are many exceptional opportunities for students to work on sophisticated research projects and creative performances in conjunction with faculty members. This experience makes the students’ education more meaningful and teaches them skills that make them more marketable when they seek employment or apply for graduate school.
Second, major research institutions help keep the best and brightest students in the state.

Good students often investigate many institutions before deciding which one they will attend. They ultimately make their choices based on many factors, but certainly one important aspect is the student’s perception of the opportunities available to them at a particular university. Many of the best students are attracted to a university because of the opportunity to participate in the active intellectual life of the faculty. Outstanding research programs, those that give the most to the community and to students, help attract great students. If UNLV does not have these programs, Nevada’s best students will search for them outside the state. When this happens, it is a tragedy for Nevada because these bright people often do not return to live and work here, but instead stay in the state where they studied.

A prime example here at UNLV is the fact that students from all over the world want to attend our William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration – recently ranked by the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Education as the top hotel school in the country in overall quality. Nevada students with an interest in the hospitality industry stay here to study; they choose UNLV because of the opportunities that a great faculty and a great city offer. But they also stay because the faculty members are active researchers in their industry and students therefore learn the newest systems, techniques, expectations, and perspectives.

But a great university is not built on only one outstanding program. Like other excellent universities, UNLV has many highly regarded programs, including those in biology, mechanical engineering, business, law, physical therapy, creative writing, history, film, special education, and community counseling, to name a few.

Third, major research universities improve the quality of life in the community.
Universities with active faculty and research agendas are hotbeds of ideas. Many of the most significant discoveries that improve the lives of individuals have occurred on university campuses. These discoveries are sometimes global in that they affect people throughout the world; they are sometimes local, aimed at helping people in the immediate community.
Let me offer some examples of UNLV research projects with very practical and beneficial goals: Researchers in the science and engineering colleges are conducting fascinating studies on the effects of increased carbon dioxide levels on plant ecology in a desert environment, on pollution estimation and detection, and on medical imaging to improve diagnostic techniques. They are also examining alternative modes of transportation for the city, developing systems to improve pedestrian safety, and exploring alternative sources of energy.

UNLV researchers are also pursuing answers to some of the most challenging questions in health care, an area that can have a powerful impact on all our lives. At UNLV, faculty members and students in the Cancer Institute and the School of Dental Medicine are doing sophisticated cancer research. Additionally, faculty members in health sciences are conducting research on stress reduction to help us more successfully deal with the pressures of everyday life. Also, a forensics laboratory is being designed that will assist our whole community in dealing with crime and terrorism.

And the list goes on and on. With more than 800 faculty members and more than 25,000 students, we are a remarkable resource, offering careful examination of the many problems we all face. Life for our entire community will be improved because of the programs we create, the services we perform, and the research we conduct at UNLV.

Fourth, major research universities have a direct and positive effect on a community’s economic development and diversification.
University research creates knowledge that can lead to new technologies, commercial products, and jobs that have a significant impact on the economy. Some of the most important discoveries in recent decades have come from university research, including many agricultural advances, developments in fiber optics and lasers, and advancements in DNA research.

I should note that the planned Science, Engineering and Technology Building will contribute significantly to the university’s ability to continue producing sophisticated research and promoting the unencumbered exchange of thoughts, ideas,
and opinions among faculty and students of diverse disciplines. The facility represents a major step in increasing momentum for Nevada’s economic diversification efforts as well. The building will showcase a breadth of compelling programs and will attract students into high-demand fields such as computer science, environmental science, and electrical engineering. More importantly, UNLV faculty and student researchers will be able to increase their levels of collaboration with local industry and create the academic environment sought by technology-based companies.

But universities affect the local economy in other ways. Research parks have created knowledge clusters that lead to new industries and new jobs. UNLV’s recently approved research and technology park will be such a location. We hope to attract businesses that will help diversify the Nevada economy; I predict you will hear more about the successes of this research and technology park in the years to come.

And finally, major research universities are in fact recognized as more prestigious.
As the quality of education improves at UNLV, our academic reputation continues to grow; we witness this in a number of ways, but it is perhaps most evident in the rise in our ranking among major universities in recent years. I would like to illustrate the dramatic increase in UNLV’s reputation by talking about where UNLV was, where it is, and where it aspires to be.

When I came to UNLV in 1995, the Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Teaching ranked the institution in the Master’s College and Universities category, which included more than 600 institutions. In 2000, UNLV was elevated to the Doctoral/Research Universities category that includes 261 institutions. This category is broken into two groups: Doctoral/Research Universities-Intensive and Doctoral/Research Universities-Extensive.

UNLV is currently ranked in the Intensive category, which includes 110 institutions. These institutions typically offer a wide range of baccalaureate programs, and they are committed to graduate education through the doctorate. There are some excellent institutions in this group: Northern Arizona University, University of Northern Colorado, Idaho State University, Montana State University, University of Montana, and the University of Central Florida.

But the category of Doctoral/Research Universities-Extensive, which includes 151 institutions, is the most transformational in terms of its effect on the community. It is also the most prestigious of the categories, and UNLV hopes to achieve this ranking by 2010. Many excellent institutions in this region are in this category, and you know them well: the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, Brigham Young University, University of New Mexico, University of Colorado, University of Idaho, University of Nevada, Reno, and University of Utah. On a national scale, institutions in this category include Columbia University, Indiana University, Texas A&M University, UCLA, University of Washington, USC, and the University of California-Berkeley.

We aspire to join these great institutions because providing high-quality academic programs and research activities that directly benefit Nevadans is our paramount concern. We aspire to be a great university because of the rewards that will be reaped by our community and region; we believe we have the capacity to transform our community and, quite possibly, even our nation. And as we work toward that high ideal, we want to ensure that our alumni, donors, and friends fully understand our goals and, perhaps more importantly, share in the sense of pride we feel as we achieve them. After all, our accomplishments will certainly be shared by all who support us – and the noble endeavor we pursue.