When
I was hired, I remember thinking that if the UNLV presidency was a
good fit, it might be the major career commitment of my life. I also
recall thinking I might need to stay in this job longer than the four
and a half years that is typical for a public university president
because one would need a longer term here to see through to fruition
the kinds of things that needed to be done.
In
the past 10 years, the institution has raised nearly $500 million in
private funds, pledges, and estate and trust expectancies for facilities,
program support, and scholarships. Also during the past decade, other
external dollars have more than tripled with more than $431 million
coming to the university, including more than $276 million for research.
Not many presidents get this kind of rare opportunity.
Increasingly,
states are unwilling or unable to finance higher education at the levels
that create excellence. Many great universities receive only 9 or 10
percent of their total funds from the state. Private philanthropy,
research and other federal dollars, grants and contracts, and, increasingly,
public/private partnerships collectively create the "margin of
excellence" for premier institutions. And we are rapidly increasing
those supplemental and critical sources of funds at UNLV.
The
building of the Lied Library was a major accomplishment for the institution.
It changes the symbolism to have not only a major basketball arena,
but also a major library. The Lied has become the center of campus.
I've
been so impressed just seeing the number of people who use the library
now. I've walked in totally unannounced and have seen the whole basketball
team studying. I know they couldn't have set it up; they had no idea
I was coming.
While
academics must always be our emphasis, I also would like to bring back
greater athletic success — athletic
success with absolute, unquestioned integrity. I have confidence in
the integrity of our athletic director and head coaches and in their
ability to build successful teams.
I
am always mindful of the fact that none of our successes at UNLV would
be possible without the incredible support we receive from both alumni
and from those who are not alums but who understand the value of having
an excellent institution of higher learning in our community.
While
we naturally are hoping that many of these same people will actively
support our upcoming capital campaign, it must be said that our alumni
and supporters also aid the university in many other ways. Some serve
as guest lecturers. Others volunteer to mentor our students. And yet
others simply spread the good word about UNLV. All these efforts contribute
to our success and are appreciated.
One
of my major goals for UNLV's future is to see it reach Research Level
I status. That is the ranking that other top-tier American universities
have, and the one that we must achieve. With such developments as legislative
approval of the new Science, Engineering and Technology Building and
the increase in our research dollars, I believe we are well on our
way to reaching this important designation.
I
want to stress that we are not improving our research status at the
expense of undergraduate education. It is possible to do both simultaneously
and well. That's what we are doing.
Of
course, I have personal plans for the future, too. My husband, Mike,
and I recently celebrated our 44th anniversary. We got married so young — and
had our sons shortly thereafter — that there are many things
we have not yet had the opportunity to do, such as travel. After the
children came, Mike and I earned six college degrees between us. We
borrowed so much money for our educations that we were still paying
back school loans when we began paying college tuition for our oldest
son.
Sean,
our younger son, is an attorney in West Virginia. He loves Las Vegas
and visits us often, but we have not been able to persuade him to relocate.
He finds it hard to think about sitting for another bar exam. Our older
son, Michael, is chair of the social studies department at Sierra Vista
High School here in Las Vegas. He recently married a wonderful woman
with three grandchildren. I skipped over "grandmotherhood" and
went straight to being a step-great-grandmother. It was something of
a shock.
I
didn't always consider Nevada home, but I do now. Mike and I plan to
stay here after retirement. For Christmas we gave each other a golf
cart, though I have played only three or four times in 10 years. I
cannot really say I play golf, but I will eventually. Once I retire,
there may be time for lessons. But I'm not ready for retirement yet.
I'm
not ambitious for ambition's sake. I really want to make a difference
in life. I think too many presidents and others forget why we're here.
The ultimate goal of higher education, in my view, is the advancement
of human beings one at a time, one after the other. The reason for
that is to increase the total quality of human life, and I am an absolute
believer that education is the key to doing that.
