On Sept. 10, the offices of the president, provost, and executive vice provost hosted the annual “All Hands Meeting” for current UNLV faculty and staff. This meeting was designed to update the UNLV community about current campus priorities and updates for the new academic year.
President Keith Whitfield took the stage to start the event, commenting first on the record enrollment numbers at UNLV this fall. “We’re honored to say that we have about 32,500 students enrolled at UNLV this fall,” commented Whitfield. “This is the third year in a row of increased enrollment, and it’s a testament to where we’re going in the future.”
Whitfield also drew attention to new signage up and down South Maryland Parkway to identify UNLV to passersby. Because this year is an election year, Whitfield made sure to remark upon the importance of voting and being an active participant in our democratic nation. “We all need to make sure we vote because it’s one of the best ways to ensure our voices are heard,” Whitfield reflected. “Not only that, but any time we can encourage civil discourse in the environments we are in, we should do so.”
Coming up in 2025, the Nevada legislature will meet again, which means budget and funding requests will be reviewed. Whitfield specifically named new education and fine arts buildings, increased mental health support and more residencies at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine as a few of the top funding priorities.
Before passing the stage to Provost Chris Heavey, Whitfield made note of the 25th anniversary of the William S. Boyd School of Law last year and the 20th anniversary of the School of Public Health this year. The first thing Heavey did when he took the stage was to show the audience a video of Daraboth Rith, a faculty member critically injured in last year’s Dec. 6 shooting. Rith, a professor of economics at UNLV, was shot on Dec. 6 and has spent the last nine months in physical therapy learning to walk again. “Recovery is not just physical healing but also psychological and emotional healing as well,” Rith clarified. “Through the various processes of healing, I learned the power of hope and how to celebrate even the smallest victories.” As of this fall semester, Rith has returned to UNLV as an economics professor. His return is something that happened with the support of various people inside and outside the UNLV community. “I’ve been overwhelmed by the remarkable support of not only the UPD services and UNLV colleagues, but also everyone else who believed in my recovery every step of the way,” Rith reflected. “Now that I’m back, I have a new passion and enthusiasm for what I do.”
Moving forward, Heavey presented some statistics regarding the types of students UNLV has seen an increase in this fall. “We have an 11% increase in graduate students this fall, as well as a whopping 36% increase in our doctoral students,” Heavey mentioned. “We also have a 5% increase in undergraduate students, but the delayed FAFSA rollout might contribute to these numbers not being higher.”
Heavey also announced the Faculty Senate approval of new programs, effective next fall semester. “We have gotten approval to roll out the following programs: B.S. in Cybersecurity, B.A. in Engineering Technology, B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies and M.S. in Athletic Training,” Heavey revealed. “These programs are designed to help lead UNLV into the future.”
Executive Committee Chair of the Faculty Senate Deborah Arteaga then spoke about initiatives within the Faculty Senate. Some of these include expanding parental leave, converting Rebel cards to security cards and increasing safe transport from parking lots and buildings on campus.
To conclude the meeting, UNLV hosted keynote speaker Erwin Chemerisnky, dean of UC Berkeley School of Law. Chemerinsky discussed the concept of the First Amendment and what it legally protects and does not protect. “If something constitutes an imminent likelihood of illegal activity, then it is not protected,” Chemerinsky noted. “However, even though people usually find hate speech offensive, it’s usually still protected under the First Amendment.” Chemerinsky also delineated between ideas and threats, referencing past court cases to elucidate the differences and how these situations are handled in different contexts. Whitfield then took the stage one final time to thank everyone for taking the time out of their day to attend. He reinforced our commitment to the future and that we are stronger together, not apart.
