Since UNLV’s 1993 Academic Master Plan was approved by the University and Community College System Board of Regents, dramatic change has occurred at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. New executive-level administrators, rapid program development, increasing student enrollments, a comprehensive institutional planning process, and major academic restructuring have characterized the years between 1993 and 1998. The UNLV Academic Master Plan for 1998-2003 is supported by the institutional strategic plan and UNLV’s new mission statement.

UNLV has ambitious plans to provide additional choices in academic programming. The majority of the projected growth in programs is planned for the graduate level; many proposed programs are collaborative, interdisciplinary offerings. Several exciting new initiatives respond directly to recent developments in Nevada, especially with respect to allied health programming. These ambitious plans for program development, produce an intense need for the hiring of several new faculty, professional staff, and classified staff as well as additional classroom, research, and storage space.

Since UNLV’s 1993 Academic Master Plan was submitted to the Regents for their review and approval, UNLV has hired a new president, a new provost, a new vice president for finance and administration, a new athletic director, a new executive director of the UNLV Foundation, and ten new deans. In addition, as a result of the university’s strategic planning process, several new positions were created; these include a planning and assessment officer, an enrollment management dean, a marketing director, and a diversity initiatives director. In the ensuing years, 28 new programs were proposed and implemented, student FTE enrollment rose from 12,884 (fall, 1993) to 14,447 (fall, 1997), while headcount enrollment rose from 19,682 to 20,272. The university underwent a major academic restructuring in 1996 creating the new College of Urban Affairs in direct response to an expressed institutional commitment to serve the region and enhance the community in which we live by focusing on real urban challenges. In addition, the William S. Boyd School of Law will admit its first class of students in the fall of this year. Dramatic changes thereby mark the period between the submission of academic plans.

UNLV’s 1998 academic master plan resulted from a process far different than did the 1993 plan. The university’s current goals for new programs and faculty hiring emanated directly from an institutional strategic plan and a new mission statement created through broad involvement and comprehensive discussions. Both the institutional planning process and the academic master planning process are described in Section IV of this report.

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas, located in the vibrant and dynamic city of Las Vegas and surrounded by the Mojave Desert, is emerging as a premier urban university. UNLV’s development embraces the traditional values of higher education adapted for the global community of the 21st century. The university increasingly will concentrate its resources on programs that are student centered, demonstrably excellent, and responsive to the needs of the local and regional community.

UNLV promotes an environment that encourages the full personal and professional development of those it serves and of those who serve the university. UNLV assists students in meeting the intellectual and ethical challenges of responsible citizenship and a full and productive life through opportunities to acquire the knowledge and common experiences that enhance critical thinking, leadership skills, aesthetic sensitivity, and social integrity.

The university provides traditional and professional academic programs for a diverse student body and encourages innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to teaching, learning, and scholarship. Recognizing the individuality of each student, UNLV simultaneously engenders collegial relationships and a sense of community among its members. UNLV embraces the interdependence of quality instruction, scholarly pursuits, and substantive involvements in campus and community life.

The university offers artistic, cultural, and technical resources and opportunities to the broadest possible community. It promotes research programs and creative activities by students and faculty that respond to the needs of an urban community in a desert environment.

UNLV is committed to developing a synergy between professional and liberal studies, between undergraduate education and graduate programs, and between superior teaching and meaningful research. UNLV increasingly is a dynamic resource for, and partner with, the community that it serves.

To fulfill the mission of a premier urban university, UNLV will pursue the following goals:

Become More Student Focused - All members of the university community will focus on and be committed to student learning and development; they will place students at the center of what they do and how they think, thereby creating a true learning community within which UNLV’s students can meet their educational objectives.

Hire, Motivate, and Reward Superior Faculty - UNLV will encourage and reward faculty members who best integrate teaching, scholarship, and service in support of student learning and the creation of new knowledge.

Increase Research, Scholarly Activity, and National Recognition - UNLV will be distinguished by the quality and quantity of scholarship produced by its faculty and students; this scholarship will enhance the reputation and visibility of the university while also enhancing the quality of education experienced by UNLV’s students and the quality of life of the citizens of Nevada.

Grow Selectively, Serve the Region, and Achieve Distinction - The university will develop growth and enrollment strategies that attract an increasingly diverse and talented pool of applicants and encourage programs that serve regional needs and achieve national distinction.

Create an Inclusive and Just Campus Environment - UNLV will be characterized by a civil, inclusive campus climate that demonstrates a respect for individual differences and a commitment to equity and free expression.

Develop a Service-Oriented, Responsive, Accountable Administration - UNLV will develop administrative operations and structures that further the university’s goals and provide service-oriented, responsive interactions in support of the academic programs of the institution.

Communicate and Collaborate More Effectively - UNLV will develop effective communication strategies and collaborative endeavors with the surrounding community and external constituents.

1995-96 When Dr. Carol C. Harter was appointed President of UNLV, she addressed the need for institutional planning by inviting more than 100 individuals to participate in a systematic planning process. The first year of that process included two planning retreats, facilitated by the Pew Higher Education Roundtable staff, that involved students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community leaders in discussions about UNLV’s future. President Harter appointed the UNLV Task Force for Planning, a group charged with responsibility for crafting an inclusive planning process, a new mission statement, and an institutional strategic plan. Following an extensive and inclusive process, the UCCSN Board of Regents approved UNLV’s strategic plan in June of 1996.

1996-97 In August of 1996, all university employees and many community leaders received copies of the UNLV strategic planning document. The UNLV Task Force for Planning continued its work with new charges to begin a unit-level planning process, create a permanent planning council, and design a planning awards process. Task Force members worked in sub-committees to draft recommendations for the President about the UNLV Planning Council and the Planning Initiative Awards. Each unit on campus (both academic colleges and support units) was asked to create a planning document that included a mission statement and goals for the unit that were compatible with and supportive of the recently approved UNLV mission and goals. Task Force members worked in response groups to provide feedback on early drafts of each plan. In addition, the campus planning officer provided written feedback to individuals responsible for the plans. Unit plans then were presented to and discussed by the Task Force in February; specific feedback from those discussions was forwarded to unit leaders for inclusion in final drafts of the plans.

The Planning Initiative Awards were designed to complement the strategic planning process. Proposal writers were asked to explain how their project would advance UNLV’s mission and goals. Ninety proposals were submitted, and twenty-one planning initiative awards totaling $350,000 were funded through a competitive, peer-review process.

1997-98 President Harter appointed a permanent Planning Council with 23 voting members and 10 ex-officio members; the voting members were appointed from among constituent nominees, and the ex-officio members included all of the individuals who report directly to the President. The membership was structured to encourage dialogue among individuals about matters of importance to the university. During the fall semester, the Council developed a process for and made recommendations about twenty new faculty position requests. Among its activities during the spring semester, the Council will recommend approval or revision of all division-level planning documents; will make recommendations to the President about this year’s Planning Initiative Awards; and will review new programs in order to ensure that they continue to be supportive of UNLV’s mission and goals.

In addition, the Provost asked all deans to revise their college plans during the fall semester and to include in them a college mission statement and specific plans for new academic programs and outcomes assessment. Revised plans were submitted to the Provost in mid-October and will be presented to the Planning Council during the spring 1998 semester. It is from these college-level plans that an academic master plan was crafted. Specifically, the current academic master plan represents the work of individual faculty at the program level, the efforts of department chairs and faculty synthesizing that work to create department goals and objectives, the collaboration among deans and faculty in determining college-wide goals and priorities, the related planning efforts among academic support units (specifically academic computing, extended education, and research), and the decisions of the Provost about priorities for the entire academic affairs division.

As an urban university in a rapidly growing metropolitan area, UNLV serves a diverse student body. More than 47 percent of enrolled students are part-time, and the average age of admitted students is 29; in combination, these statistics indicate that a large number of our students are balancing school with job and family responsibilities. In fact, nearly 50 percent of this year’s entering freshmen report that they will get a job to help pay for expenses, and 24 percent expect to work full-time. Although the number of part-time students has declined over the past five years, it seems likely that UNLV students will continue to be affected by the demands of work and family, and these competing demands will continue to be reflected in a longer than average time to degree.

The changing demographics of the nation and southern Nevada also are reflected in the student population, with almost a quarter of UNLV’s students representing minority groups. This proportion has increased steadily over the past five years from 17 percent to 22 percent. During the same period, the number of international students enrolling at UNLV increased from 373 to 831 (123%). Underscoring the implications of the changes in the student population for academic programs is the fact that 17 percent of the UNLV respondents to the 1997 Freshman Survey indicated that they are not native speakers of English.

Growth in students has shifted from a largely undergraduate population with most students in their first two years of study to an increasingly upper division and graduate student body. Upper division students increased by 100 percent, and graduate student enrollment increased by 124 percent between the fall of 1987 and the fall of 1997. In comparison, the number of lower division students increased by 6.7 percent during the same period. The entering freshman class is shrinking in proportion to the number of transfer students enrolled at UNLV, and this is happening in spite of the explosive growth in surrounding Clark County.

It is important to note that residents aged 18-24 years make up only 6 percent of the adult population of Clark County, and the college continuation rate in Nevada is one of the two lowest in the nation. Strong growth at Community College of Southern Nevada (CCSN) provides a more positive explanation for this development as does the large number of students co-enrolled at both UNLV and CCSN. The addition of attractive master’s and doctoral programs that address local, state, and regional needs also appears to be a factor in the shift of the level of students attending UNLV.

UNLV’s beautiful 335 acre campus is located in the heart of Las Vegas, a community facing all of the challenges associated with rapid growth. Forty years ago, Maude Frazier Hall, the first permanent campus structure, was constructed. Today, some 20,000 students engage in learning in the more than sixty buildings on campus. Since the 1993 academic master plan, the following buildings have opened, allowing additional classroom, office, and research space: the Classroom Building Complex, the Robert L. Bigelow Physics Building, and the Paul B. Sogg Architecture Building. The Donald W. Reynolds Student Services Complex consolidated many of the student services that support students’ academic experiences into a modern facility. In addition, the Alumni Amphitheater, adjacent to the Moyer Student Union, has become a gathering place for students and faculty alike.

Not unlike other universities located in metropolitan areas, UNLV’s campus is, essentially, land-locked. Prices of land adjacent to the campus, not unexpectedly, are increasing. The campus is bordered on all sides by major traffic arteries; for this and other reasons, previous planning documents as well as recently held focus groups with potential students have suggested that the university explore additional sites. UNLV plans both to purchase additional sites near campus and develop satellite sites, including some that might be pursued in cooperation with other UCCSN institutions.

Anticipated space needs and building projects currently in progress are described in Section VII of this document.

While any university can highlight numerous areas of both strength and weakness, there are several trends at UNLV that can be summarized as follows:

Strengths

• Establishment of strategic goals and a UNLV Planning Council to ensure clear links between planning and budgeting
• Growth in external professional accreditations for individual academic programs
• Increase in number of professional programs, including Law, Architecture, Physical Therapy, and executive-format programs
• Overall strength of new faculty hires
• Increases in the diversity of the student and faculty population
• Establishment of model 2 + 2 programs with Community College of Southern Nevada and increased attention to articulation of programs in all academic areas
• Well established, comprehensive program review process
• Beautiful campus grounds and an attractive and functional physical plant, both of which foster a good learning environment
• Increased standards for tenure and promotion
• Increased access to undergraduate programs through improved enrollment management, especially in teacher education
• Addition of innovative new academic programs at both the baccalaureate and graduate levels
• Rapidly growing outreach activities, particularly in distance education
• Increased attention to faculty development and productivity, particularly in the area of teaching

• Campus-wide dialogue about faculty work and rewards

• Flat operating budgets over several biennia
• Inadequate equipment maintenance funding to keep pace with increased equipment usage due to growing enrollments
• Difficulty keeping pace with needs for new and upgraded technology, both for students and faculty
• Continuing challenges of improving basic infrastructure needs that affect students, faculty, and support staff
• Lack of policy and procedure manuals

Proposed New Programs and/or Initiatives

As an expanding university located in the fastest growing city in the nation, UNLV has ambitious plans to provide the citizens of Southern Nevada with additional choices in academic programming over the next four- to six-year planning period. Given the existing breadth of baccalaureate degrees at the university, the majority of the projected growth in new programs and initiatives is planned for the graduate level. In keeping with the UCCSN Strategic Directions and the University’s Strategic Plan, many of the proposed programs are collaborative, interdisciplinary offerings that will provide students with maximum potential for career advancement in a number of fields important to the economic diversification of the State of Nevada.

Prior to forwarding any of the projected new programs to the Board of Regents, program proposals must be reviewed and approved by each of the following:

Department Curriculum Committee

College Curriculum Committee

UNLV Planning Council

Graduate College Program Evaluation Committee

Faculty Senate Curriculum Committee

Faculty Senate Priority and New Program Review Committee

Provost

President

Listed below are the new programs that may be proposed at UNLV during the next few years, with the estimated target date for program implementation. The target date is based upon an evaluation of the University’s strategic goals, the department’s academic readiness to begin the program, the student market and clientele, and resources required for each new program. Several themes become apparent from perusing the listings:

• The academic colleges at UNLV are actively taking steps to begin joint, interdisciplinary degree programs that benefit students by providing them with degrees that can be tailored to specific career paths.
• At the baccalaureate level, new 2 + 2 and other cooperative programs will be developed with Community College of Southern Nevada and the University of Nevada Medical School.
• New programs are being planned to prepare teachers in new fields in order to satisfy special needs in the public schools.
• In keeping with several of the goals contained in UNLV’s Strategic Plan, much of the new program growth will come at the graduate and professional level. These plans are borne out by recent statistics which demonstrate healthy increases in graduate enrollments in Southern Nevada and statewide economic needs for a workforce educated beyond the baccalaureate level.
• A major emphasis is being placed on strengthening UNLV’s programming in the health sciences and related hard sciences. These plans respond to market conditions in Southern Nevada for qualified health professionals in a variety of disciplines as well as to recent legislative actions that place increased focus on the state’s ability to provide its populace with educational programming in the allied health sciences.
• UNLV will continue to add executive-format programs in select graduate fields to meet the needs of working professionals in the community.

Joint MBA / Master of Hospitality Administration (joint degree between College of Business and College of Hotel Administration)

Bachelor of Science in Education - Early Childhood Education (2+2 program with CCSN)

Post-baccalaureate Alternative Licensure Certification in Teacher Education (Urban Teaching Partnership)

Bachelor of Arts - Senior Adult Theatre

Bachelor of Arts - Art History

Master of Arts - Studio Art

Bachelor of Science - Health Sciences (cooperative program with CCSN)

Bachelor of Science in Chemistry - new concentration in Environmental Chemistry

Doctor of Philosophy - Geoscience

Master of Science - Engineering Management (joint degree between College of Business and College of Engineering)

Executive MBA

Master of Education - Physical Education

Master of Education - Athletic Administration

Master of Science - Health Education

Combined Master of Science - School Psychology/Educational Psychology

Executive Doctor of Education - Educational Leadership

Master of Science - Biomedical Engineering

Business and Technical Writing Certificate

Master of Fine Arts - Screenwriting

Bachelor of Science - Nutritional Sciences

Master of Science - Speech and Hearing Sciences

Master of Science in Nursing - new concentrations in Pediatrics and Gerontology

Master of Science - Occupational Therapy

Bachelor of Science in Hotel Administration - Casino Management

Doctor of Philosophy - Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy - Anthropology

Bachelor of Science - Biochemistry

Master of Science - Biochemistry

Bachelor of Science - Rehabilitation Counseling

Doctor of Philosophy - Special Education

Doctor of Philosophy - Educational Leadership

Master of Science - Construction Management

Library Science Certificate

Women’s Studies Certificate

Bachelor of Fine Arts - Dance

Master of Fine Arts - Directing

Doctor of Musical Arts - Applied Music

Master of Arts - Applied Criminal Justice

Master of Arts - Applied Communication Studies

Joint MBA / Juris Doctorate (joint degree between College of Business and School of Law)

Bachelor of Science in Education - Deaf Studies

Master of Arts - Arts Facility Administration

Master of Science in Nursing - new concentration in Nurse Midwifery

R.D.(registered dietitian) in Dietetics

Bachelor of Science in Hotel Administration - Beverage Management

Doctor of Philosophy - Chemistry/Biochemistry

Doctor of Philosophy - Mathematical Sciences

Joint MBA / M.S. in Nursing / M.S. in Health Sciences (joint degree between College of Business and College of Health Sciences)

Master of Science/Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Engineering

Golf Pro-Shop Management Certificate

Advanced Master of Science in Physical Therapy

Department of Nutritional Sciences

Bachelor of Science in Hotel Administration - Convention Management

Master of Science - Environmental Statistics

Doctor of Philosophy - Social Work

Bachelor of Science in Education - Speech and Language (possible joint program between College of Education and College of Health Sciences)

Doctor of Philosophy - Educational Psychology

Joint Doctor of Philosophy - Computational Science (joint program between College of Engineering and College of Sciences)

Bachelor Science in Health Physics - new concentration in Radiation Therapy

Joint MBA / Advanced M.S. in Physical Therapy (joint program between College of Health Sciences and College of Business)

Master of Science in Health Physics - new concentrations in Medical Physics and Diagnostic Medical Imaging

Bachelor of Science - Club Management/PGA Golf Management

Master of Arts - Teaching of Mathematics (possible joint program between College of Sciences and College of Education)

Although initial discussions concerning new initiatives at UNLV are very tentative, recent developments in the state, especially with respect to allied health programming, will likely impact the University and, thus, must be mentioned in this Academic Master Plan even if these initiatives are not fully realized within the five-year period of this plan.

Dental School/Health Science Initiatives Recently, conversations have begun about the possibility of planning for the establishment of a dental school in the State of Nevada. These plans would be part of a comprehensive initiative to establish UNLV as a major provider of health-related educational programming at both the baccalaureate and graduate levels in Southern Nevada, along with substantial articulation with the University of Nevada Medical School and with the growing number of associates degree programs in the health sciences at CCSN. The general structure of the health sciences initiative may be found in the number of new programs planned for implementation in the next four to five years, as previously listed in this Academic Master Plan. As but one example, the university intends a collaboration with the Medical School to provide a Physicians Assistant program and intends to develop a Bachelor of Health Sciences degree designed as a baccalaureate completion program for students enrolled in CCSN’s allied health associate degree programs.

A concomitant plan to strengthen the related hard sciences at the University also would be required in order to support these various allied health-related initiatives. Thus, new programs in such areas as Biochemistry and Biomedical Engineering are listed among UNLV’s new program plans.

Las Vegas Technology Center The Las Vegas Technology Center is tentatively planned to be a three-institution collaboration between the University of Nevada Medical School, UNLV, and CCSN with a focus on biotechnology and medical technology. The city of Las Vegas has offered land in the booming northwest part of the valley to both UNLV and the Medical School for the establishment of new facilities, and a steering committee is in place to discuss these collaborations. Tentative plans call for the Medical School to offer clinical health programs; UNLV to offer biotechnology, engineering and computer programs; and CCSN to offer health technician programs.

Bachelor of Technology Programs UNLV also will investigate the feasibility and appropriateness of the university offering applied technology baccalaureate degrees to provide completion degrees for community college students in applied fields. Such programs might be designed so that students complete the first two to three years of education at a community college or via distance education from such providers as Western Governors University.

The combination of rapidly increasing enrollments and the advent of new programs to serve student and community needs produces an intense need for the hiring of several new faculty, many of whom will have expertise not currently available on the campus.

Currently, our response to increased enrollment demand has been to increase the number of part-time faculty. While this has enabled the institution to increase the number of class sections, part-time faculty are unable to devote the time and energy necessary to counsel and mentor students that full-time faculty can devote.

Thus, it is imperative that we maximize the number of full-time faculty to ensure the highest level of quality instruction. The university is averaging approximately five percent growth per year in student FTE, which should result in an equivalent increase in full-time faculty positions funded by the legislature.

Highly specialized new programs will require equally specialized faculty hires. Programs such as the Ph.D. in Geoscience will need a professor with expertise in quaternary geochronometry, and, likewise, the M.S. in Arts Facility Management will require a professor whose expertise is in booking, scheduling, and theatre plant management. In addition, the increasing demands for the use of technology will necessitate the hiring of professors and professional staff with advanced computer and programming skills. Further, the opening of the new Lied Library in academic year 1999-2000 will require more than 30 new hires to properly staff all of the various service areas, some of which will be additions to the services currently provided in the Dickinson Library.

Of course, attendant with the professional hires is the need for additional classified positions to serve these new professional hires. In the case of the Lied Library, many of the needed classified positions will provide direct service to students and the general public.

Listed below are the University’s best, conservative estimates for the new faculty positions that will be needed to initiate new programs and to expand existing programs between 1998 and 2003. As with any academic plan, the positions and estimated year of hire are subject to change.

Associate Professor - Product Innovation and Engineering Management

Full Professor - Information Management

Assistant Professor - Elementary Education (Urban Teaching Partnership)

Assistant Professor - Secondary Education (Urban Teaching Partnership)

Clinical Assistant Professor - Elementary Education (Urban Teaching Partnership)

Clinical Assistant Professor - Secondary Education (Urban Teaching Partnership)

Associate or Full Professor - Educational Administration Generalist

Associate Professor - Health Education

Assistant Professor - Structural Engineering

Assistant Professor - Biomedical Engineering

Assistant Professor - Computer Engineering

Assistant Professor - Computer Science Systems

Assistant Professor - Three Dimensional Arts

Assistant Professor - Film Screenwriting

Associate Professor - Biomedical/Rehabilitation

Associate Professor - Assessment and Treatment

Assistant Professor - Ethical Issues/ADA Implications for Care

Assistant Professor - Long Term and Home Care

Assistant Professor - Acute Assessment and Intervention

Associate Professor - Registered Dietitian

Assistant Professor - Pediatrics

Half-time Assistant Professor - Pediatrics

Assistant Professor - Gerontology

Assistant or Associate Professor - Nursing Management

Assistant Professor - History of Spanish-speaking Peoples

Assistant Professor - Sociology/Aging Studies

Assistant Professor - English/Literary Theory

Assistant Professor - Political Science/Comparative Politics-Latin America

Assistant Professor - Psychology/Clinical Neuropsychology

Director/Clinical Assistant or Associate Professor - Cannon Center for Survey Research

Assistant Professor - Anthropology/Museology

Manuscripts Librarian (Rank 2)

Digital Librarian (Rank 3)

Preservation/Conservation Librarian (Rank 3)

Associate or Full Professor - Molecular Biology

Assistant Professor - Analytical Chemistry

Assistant Professor - Physical Inorganic Chemistry

Assistant Professor - Biochemistry

Assistant Professor - Quaternary Geochronometry

Assistant Professor - Applied/Computational Mathematics

Assistant Professor - Applied Statistics

Assistant Professor - Mathematical Sciences

Assistant Professor - Condensed Matter Experimentalist

Chair/Full Professor - Counseling

Assistant Professor - Rehabilitation Counseling

Assistant Professor - Criminal Justice

Associate or Full Professor - Corporate Finance

Assistant or Associate Professor - Deaf Education

Assistant Professor - Construction Management

Assistant Professor - Manufacturing/Materials Engineering

Assistant Professor - Biomedical Engineering

Assistant or Associate Professor - Music Theory and Musicology

Associate Professor - Neurolinguistics/Neurogenic

Associate Professor - Linguistics/Speech Development/Phonologic Development

Associate Professor - Auditory Physiology/Pathology

Associate Professor - Anatomy/Voice Disorders

Assistant Professor - Pediatric Audiology Abnormal

Assistant Professor - Neurologic/CNS

Assistant Professor - Anatomy/Ear Pathology

Assistant Professor - Hearing Aids/Hearing Science/Speech Recognition

Assistant Professor - Speech Motor Control

Assistant Professor - Audiological Rehabilitation

Assistant Professor - Certified Nurse Midwife

Half-time Assistant Professor - Certified Nurse Midwife

Associate Professor -Registered Dietitian

Assistant Professor - Registered Dietitian

Assistant Professor - Registered Dietitian

Assistant Professor - Philosophy/Applied Ethics

Assistant Professor - Chinese

Assistant Professor - Medical Anthropology

Assistant Professor - History/U.S. Constitution

Assistant Professor - Psychology/Infant Development

Assistant Professor - Sociology/Demography/Population Studies

Assistant Professor - Chicano Literature

Reference/Instruction/Bibliographer (Rank 2)

Government Publication/Instruction Librarian (Rank 2)

Maps/Instruction Librarian (Rank 3)

Assistant Professor - Cell Physiology

Assistant Professor - Organic Chemistry

Assistant Professor - Interdisciplinary Chemistry

Assistant Professor - Geophysics

Assistant Professor - Computational Mathematics

Assistant Professor - Environmental Statistics

Assistant Professor - Atomic Molecular Optical Experimentalist

Associate Professor - Communication Studies

Assistant or Associate Professor - Deaf Education

Assistant Professor - Theatre (Arts Management)

Assistant or Associate Professor - Beverage Management

Assistant Professor - Latin and Italian

Assistant Professor - Anthropology/Geographic Information Systems

Assistant Professor - General American Politics

Assistant Professor - Sociology/International Studies/Development

Assistant Professor - Adult Psychotherapy

Assistant Professor - 20th Century European History

Catalog/Database Librarian (Rank 2)

Reference/Instruction/Bibliographer (Rank 2)

Public Services Librarian (Rank 2)

Assistant Professor - Microbiology

Assistant Professor - Interdisciplinary Chemistry

Assistant Professor - Mathematical Sciences

Assistant Professor - Condensed Matter Experimentalist

Associate or Full Professor - Biogeochemistry

Assistant Professor - Speech and Hearing

Assistant Professor - Speech and Hearing

Clinical Assistant Professor - Speech and Hearing

Associate Professor - Orthopedic Specialist

Associate Professor - Neurologic Specialist

Assistant Professor - Spinal Cord Injury/Neurology

Assistant Professor - Pediatric Specialist

Assistant Professor - Geriatric Specialist

Assistant Professor - Sports Medicine Specialist

Assistant Professor - Religious Studies

Assistant Professor - Political History of the American West

Assistant Professor - Old World Archaeology

Assistant Professor - Sociology/Southwest Region/Urban Policy

Assistant Professor - Cognitive Neuroscience

Assistant Professor - Evolutionary Physiologist

Assistant Professor - Interdisciplinary Chemistry

Assistant Professor - Criminal Justice

Assistant Professor -Ultrasound, CT, MRI

Assistant Professor - Ultrasound, CT, MRI

Associate Professor - Radiation Therapy

Assistant Professor - Radiation Therapy

Assistant or Associate Professor - Club Management

Assistant Professor - 20th Century Cultural History

Assistant Professor - History/Third World Development

Assistant Professor - Forensic Psychology

Associate Professor - Social Work

In keeping with Board of Regents policy, UNLV reviews each of its undergraduate and graduate certificate and degree programs within a ten-year period. New programs are evaluated no later than their fifth year of existence. A schedule of future program reviews is outlined below:

1997-98 1998-99

Counseling Accounting

Elementary Education Anthropology

English Chemistry

Interdisciplinary Degree Program Communication Studies

Political Science Educational Psychology/School Counseling

Postsecondary/Adult Education Economics

Secondary Education Finance

Water Resources Management Health Physics

Management

Marketing

MBA Program

Professional Development Degree

1999-2000 2000-2001

Art Architecture

Foreign Languages Computer Science

Hotel Administration Criminal Justice

Kinesiology Engineering

Nursing Master of Arts in Science

Psychology Recreation

Social Work Special Education

Women’s Studies

2001-2002 2002-2003

Construction Management Biological Sciences

Educational Leadership Ethics and Policy Studies

International Business Curriculum and Instruction

Mathematical Sciences Mechanical Engineering

Transportation Public Administration

Film Theatre

Sociology Jazz Studies

2003-2004

Comprehensive Medical Imaging

Creative Writing

Culinary Arts Management

Environmental Sciences

Executive Master of Hospitality Administration

Nuclear Medicine

Physical Education

Physical Therapy

The University carries out a comprehensive process for evaluating its programs which, including follow-up reports, takes two years to complete. The reviews are directed by the Faculty Senate Program Review Committee in close cooperation with the Office of the Provost.

In the first stage of the program review, a department self-study is prepared in accordance with a comprehensive, 23-page self-study questionnaire developed by the Program Review Committee. The self-study addresses the mission, goals, structure, governance, and budget of the department; a description of the degree programs offered; admission; students; curriculum; degree requirements; faculty; facilities; and student assessment and outcomes. The departments work closely with the Office of Institutional Analysis and Planning in reporting data on their programs in the self-study, and the Program Review Committee holds an orientation session to assist departments in completing the study effectively.

In the second stage, a faculty committee selected by the Faculty Senate Program Review Committee performs an internal review using the department's self-study as a guide. The internal review committee is composed of three to four faculty members from other campus departments who have no ties to the department under review. This committee meets several times with the department’s faculty and students to determine the consonance of the department’s programs with the university’s mission. The internal review committee prepares its findings in the form of commendations and recommendations, and the department faculty may respond to the report in writing, if desired.

In the third stage, an external review is performed by two consultants. The external reviewers are selected from institutions with comparable programs, and they must not have ties to the department under review. The consultants meet with appropriate parties on campus over a two-day period and prepare a report containing commendations and recommendations. The external review examines broader issues related to the department's mission and goals including how well these relate to national curricular and professional trends.

Finally, the Faculty Senate Program Review Committee prepares a report on each program review and submits the report to the Provost. Appended to this report are subjective, summary comments about trends noted by the committee. In the year following the review, the Program Review Committee requires each department to complete a follow-up report, in which responses must be provided to each of the recommendations contained in both the internal and external review reports.

UNLV’s objectives for scholarship, research, and creative activity have been developed at several levels: from the individual faculty member, to the department, to the college, and to the university as a whole. These goals frequently are tied to plans for new academic programs and to the development of new facilities and working groups.

Specific details on departmental- and college-level goals, objectives, priorities, and timetables for scholarship and research are contained in the college strategic plans developed in Fall 1997. The following are university-level goals and objectives in scholarship and research, based upon the initiatives and plans of the academic colleges.

• Increase funding available for research by a factor of 2.0 by fiscal year 2000, based upon a datum of fiscal year 1996.
• Achieve parity with national peers in state funding earmarked for research and scholarship.
• Secure 100 percent of indirect costs on grants and contracts.
• Develop collaborative partnerships to attract new sources of funding.
• Provide administrative services to faculty and students to increase their productivity in scholarship and research.
• Increase total external funding by a factor of 2.5 by fiscal year 2005, based upon a datum of fiscal year 1996.
• Continuously develop policies and procedures that promote scholarship, research, and creative activity and that reward faculty and student participation.
• Ensure that research, scholarship, and creative expression are integrated throughout the academic and social experiences of all undergraduate and graduate students.
• Define discipline-specific performance measures and peer institutions that enable benchmarking for the purpose of rewarding faculty and students who are outstanding performers.
• Promote proposal preparation, grant awards, and community partnerships as performance measures for faculty promotion steps and merit awards.
• Develop policies that promote collaborations within and between academic units.
• Develop data on costs and benefits of scholarship, research, and creative activity and convey the value received to external constituencies.
• Ensure that university-level research units are accessible to and supportive of all students, faculty, staff, and the public.
• Develop electronic research administration and associated staff training.
• Confer 50 or more doctoral degrees annually by calendar year 2005.
• Attain the goals set forth in departmental, college, and center strategic plans for scholarship, research, and creative expression and for the development of collaborative partnerships.
• Ensure that each faculty member updates his/her individual plan for research, scholarship, and creative activity on an annual basis.
• Ensure that each academic unit updates its strategic plan for research, scholarship, and creative activity on an annual basis.
• Promote new clusters of scholarship, research, and creative activity between and within academic units.
• Collaborate with governmental agencies and the private sector to leverage university scholarship, research, and creative activity for the benefit of Nevada citizens.
• Continuously improve communication of the value of university scholarship, research, and creative activity to all constituencies.
• Develop procedures for capturing success stories and annual significant accomplishments in scholarship, research, and creative expression as well as community partnerships.
• Ensure that accomplishments are communicated to Regents, to local and state political leaders, to industry and governmental agencies, to the media, and to current and potential sponsors and donors.
• Develop databases and annual reports that enable the calculation of metrics such as return on investment of public dollars in scholarship, research, and creative activity.
• Continuously improve the efficiency and productivity of university-level research units and administrative services.
• Ensure that the Office of the Associate Provost for Research and the Office of Sponsored Programs work closely with the academic deans, department chairs, faculty, students, staff, and UCCSN personnel to promote scholarly research and creative activity according to the objectives set forth in departmental and college strategic plans.
• Ensure that university-level support offices, such as Laboratory Animal Care Services and the National Supercomputing Center for Energy and the Environment, serve the interests and needs of UNLV and the UCCSN.
• Continuously develop the Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies and the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Natural History to serve the interests of UNLV, the UCCSN, and state and national needs.
• Ensure that university policies promote scholarship, research, and creative expression that benefit the citizens of Nevada.

UNLV has had a sustained history of community service initiatives, and we intend to continue in that same vein but in an accelerated way. Briefly, past community service activities have included the following:

America Reads Program

Mojave Desert and Preserve Master Plan

Special Olympics

Inner City Games

Design Charettes with the City of Las Vegas

Honor Band and Chorus

Transportation Studies

Traffic Flow Analyses

City of Henderson Parks and Recreation Master Plan

Future Initiatives

Additional community service initiatives of the sort exemplified above will continue at UNLV. Some specific examples of anticipated service initiatives within the next five-year period include:

Paradise Elementary School

Community Law Clinic

Community Design Center

UNLV has $63,825,500 of capital projects either underway or in the conceptual or design stages of development. These include the recently completed Sogg Architecture Building, the relocation of the intercollegiate track, the Bennett Development Center, the Beam Music Building, the Stan Fulton International Gaming Institute, the UNLV Foundation Building, and the Lied Library. Completion dates for the projects underway range from May, 1998 to December, 1999.

UNLV will need additional space and significant new resources if student enrollments expand to meet demand and/or if UNLV initiates or expands offerings in higher cost disciplines or methodologies (e.g. clinically-based health sciences programs, comprehensive technology-based distance education). While completion of the many current capital projects will fulfill several campus needs, the continued growth of enrollment and the addition of new programs to serve properly our student body will require additional capital investment.

Anticipated needs for funding and facilities include the following:

• Lied Library furnishings, equipment, and computer networking
• Renovation of the Dickinson Library for the School of Law
• Student Services Complex addition and Frazier Hall renovation
• Expansion of space for art, film, and dance programs
• Renovation of Wright Hall and Distance Learning Center
• Science and Engineering expansion and new Geoscience Building
• Addition to Bigelow Health Sciences for allied health initiatives
• Renovation of Ham Concert Hall and completion of Harris Theatre
• Ham Concert Hall stage house and 1000-space parking structure

Currently several time slots (e.g., Tuesday/Thursday, 10:00 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.) in the class schedule require the use of all existing classrooms. Attempts to accommodate increased enrollment demand by opening additional class sections at other hours of the day have met with only limited success. Indications are very strong that a considerable amount of this demand can only be met by offering additional class sections during the hours of peak demand. This will require additional classrooms. Some of the needed space will come with the completion of the capital projects noted above, but not all. The remodeling of several existing buildings, such as the Paul C. McDermott Physical Education Complex, could accommodate additional classrooms if space such as courtyards were filled in.

Research laboratory space can also be created in this manner, and the need for research labs is growing rapidly with the substantial number of hires that are occurring in the sciences, engineering, and the health sciences. While remodeling of existing buildings could provide some of this space, it will require additional funding.

The university also has a keen need to add computer laboratories and computer classrooms to our existing facilities. The following needs have been projected:

• At least one additional open student computer laboratory with 50-60 workstations

• Two computer-based classrooms per year for the next four years to include:

Two English teaching facilities

Business teaching facility

Law School teaching facility and open student laboratory

Statistics teaching facility

Non-dedicated teaching facility open to all departments

Mathematics teaching facility

Computer Science teaching facility

The need for additional office space is rapidly approaching the problems that were encountered in the latter years of the 1980s when trailer villages were a common happenstance on the campus. There is no vacant office space available for the 23 additional professors who will arrive for the Fall 1998 semester, nor for any future new faculty or staff hires.

New office space for these persons can only be provided by converting existing space within buildings or by housing them in trailers. Since we also have a critical shortage of classroom space at peak class hours and there is little other space available in existing buildings that can be remodeled for this purpose, the use of portable trailers is virtually inevitable.

While some of the requested capital projects will help to alleviate this situation, there is a greater demand for office space than will be met by these projects. Additional funds will be needed to "fill in" currently wasted space in facilities such as the Flora Dungan Humanities Building, where the ground-to-roof open spaces on the east and west sides of the building could be used to create additional offices.

Finally, a long-standing need for storage space on the campus continues to be exacerbated further with the growth the university is experiencing, particularly as every available space is used to provide additional offices, classrooms, and research laboratories. A sub-divided storage building, most likely a "Butler" building, is needed for all campus storage needs. This building needs to provide approximately 100,000 square feet of storage space to accommodate all entities that currently are experiencing storage problems.

Concurrent with student growth and the addition of new programs comes the need for increased operating funds. This area is most critical to fulfilling the goals the university has established for the next four to six years. In a major study conducted in 1997 by the Provost’s Office of operating funds at UNLV in comparison to other public post-secondary institutions, the data demonstrated that virtually every academic department at UNLV has an operating budget under the national average. Only two departmental operating budgets meet or exceed the national average, and, in the worst case, one program is funded at only 18 percent of the national average operating budget for that discipline.

During the past five years, UNLV has seen an across-the-board decline in all academic operating budgets totaling 30 percent, not including losses to inflation which easily exceed an additional 15 percent. This amounts to a decrease of nearly 50 percent in buying power at a time when enrollments and faculty hires are on the rise. An increase of no less than $2 million is needed to bring operating budgets up to reasonable levels to support the daily operations of the 60-plus units within the instructional area of the university.

Directly related to the operational needs of the campus is the need for equipment. While the addition of equipment funds to the base budget has helped to ameliorate the past problem of irregularity in equipment funding, it will be critical for this funding to be in the budget for each fiscal year of a biennium, not just for the first year.

Current equipment funding is inadequate to cover both ongoing needs and the large outlays required for the startup of new faculty research laboratories, particularly as the university plans for major initiatives in the health sciences and hard sciences. This problem could be greatly aided by allowing UNLV to retain all of the indirect cost dollars generated by research grants, which then could, and should, be used to provide startup funds to new faculty.

In the process of developing a sound academic plan for the university, it is easy to overlook the need for support staff required to deliver programs properly. In addition to essential faculty and classified staffing, both of which are funded by formula, there is a need for professional, non-teaching staff to provide services that are fundamental to certain programs.

One of the best examples is in the area of computer technicians and programmers. As faculty increase the use of computers in the classroom, and as the university expands its distance education initiatives, professional support staff are needed in such areas as instructional technology, Web design, computer software support, instructional design, computer networks, and user support. Additional staff are needed in selected individual departments. For example, the Physics Department needs a computer systems programmer to oversee the operation of the Keck Computational Laboratory, which provides support for both teaching and research in the department.

In other academic support service areas, Continuing Education and the Professional Development Center need a coordinator of credit programming, and the new Lied Library will require several professional, non-teaching hires to staff new service areas. Unfortunately, all of these positions must be budgeted in Academic Support, which traditionally has not been fully funded by the state legislature. Strong efforts must be made to increase this budget area.

There are several significant projects planned that will involve the reallocation of space. The rectangular portion of the James Dickinson Library will become the permanent home of the Boyd School of Law; the round portion of the Library will be renovated to provide additional office space. Facilities currently leased to the Environmental Protection Agency will be reclaimed by the university and used to accommodate the planned expansion of the sciences programs. The current Paradise Elementary School site will be leased and used as the temporary home for the Boyd School of Law. Once the law school moves into permanent quarters, that space will be available for other UNLV activities or programs.

Student fees previously used to build computer-based facilities are being reallocated to cover operating costs in college-based facilities, and existing classroom and laboratory space throughout the campus is being renovated to accommodate new computer-based teaching facilities and college-based computer laboratories.

Classroom space in the Classroom Building Complex is being converted to incorporate the latest in instructional technology. Shared use agreements are being negotiated with the Supercomputer Center and with System Computing Services for the housing of staff, large computer systems, computer servers requiring 24-hour attention, and open student laboratory space in order to maximize staff and avoid duplication of efforts.

Our growth and relative underfunding require major initiatives supported by the Chancellor, Regents, Governor, and Legislature to provide the resources for our appropriate development into the future. The university will propose programmatic initiatives and capital funding beyond traditional levels to achieve parity with national peers at all levels of institutional support.

As one of only two universities in the state of Nevada--and the one located in the fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States--UNLV requires special advocacy and passionate advocates to achieve the mature status to which it aspires and that it deserves as a major resource to the city, the state, and the nation.