Dear UNLV Community, 

On Monday, for the first time ever we’ll welcome more than 32,000 students to UNLV for the start of the fall semester! We expect our enrollment this fall will be an all-time high, which is a testament to the hard work of our faculty and staff and to the exceptional quality of our university. 

The start of any new academic term is exciting and – with enrollment on the rise – is certainly a cause for celebration, but I’m mindful that we’re doing so amidst the backdrop of our continuing Rebel Recovery. 

It’s a process that’s been unique for all of us over the past nine months. And for those arriving on campus for the first time this fall – including more than 6,500 first-year and transfer students – your experience with our Rebel Recovery resources and activities may be a bit different than it is for returning students, faculty, and staff. But we’re all Rebels, and we need to continue to look out for one another during the sometimes hectic pace that a new semester brings. 

Safety and Security Enhancements
As many of you know, we reopened Beam Hall (BEH) to the public earlier this month. It’s a decision I didn’t take lightly and was made in consultation with faculty, staff, and students, and with a focus on the physical and emotional needs of everyone who works in or visits the building. 

We replaced more than 130 doors and added surveillance cameras, elevator and stairwell access controls, and enhanced classroom phones with emergency notification capabilities in BEH. We’ll also have security staff on-site whenever the building is open throughout the fall. Roughly 150 classes will be held this semester in BEH – which is about half of what’s normally offered – and all courses offered in the building will also be offered online or elsewhere on campus. 

The improvements we’ve made in BEH are a pilot program that will be tracked throughout the semester to help us determine how best to approach additional security and safety enhancements campuswide. More than $2.5 million has been invested in Rebel Recovery efforts to date, with another $1 million in exterior lighting upgrades approved and in progress.

And that’s just the beginning. Security and safety will be a primary focus for UNLV during the upcoming Nevada Legislative Session, as we’re finalizing a request of roughly $38 million in one-time funding to support related upgrades on campus.

Mental Health and Wellness Resources
As you’re finalizing your schedules for the next few weeks, please include some time to tend to your emotional and physical health. I can’t stress enough how important it is to take care of yourself. UNLV has a talented and dedicated team of mental health professionals to support our university community, and I encourage everyone to familiarize themselves with available on-campus and community resources. Here are just a few of the existing and new resources to support our faculty, staff, and students this fall: 

• Student Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) provides free and confidential counseling and psychiatry services to UNLV students. CAPS can help you manage your feelings so that you can make the most out of your college experience. Their clinicians are trained to help you work through problems commonly experienced by college students of all ages and backgrounds. If you are interested in CAPS services, please call CAPS at 702-895-3627 to schedule an initial consultation appointment. 

• Trauma counselors from CAPS (for students) and the Resiliency & Justice Center (for employees) will be on campus Aug. 26-28 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the BEH atrium. They’ll also be hosting a series of support groups, pop-up events, and related sessions throughout the fall semester. Dates and details are available on the UNLV Strong website. 

• UNLV invited experts from the federal Office for Victims of Crime’s (OVC) Training and Technical Assistance Center to visit the campus on Aug. 28 and 29. The OVC, who are experts in mass violence response and recovery, will be hosting a series of interactive forums in the Student Union both days on topics ranging from Trauma 101 to understanding trauma in the workplace and how supervisors can support team members. Specific times and locations of each session will be added soon to the UNLV Strong events calendar.  

• The deadline for the Rebel Recovery Mental Health Reimbursement Program has been extended from Sept. 1, 2024 to Jan. 1, 2025. The program reimburses employees up to $1,500 for qualifying payments for mental health services, including deductibles, direct payments, co-insurance, and copays. Visit the program webpage for more details and to submit a reimbursement claim. 

• Sonja Rogers joined our Office of Human Resources team this summer as UNLV’s new health and wellness program manager. Sonja has an extensive background in healthcare and health promotion, and she’ll be leading a new “RebelWELL” program that consolidates HR-related wellness initiatives for employees and introduces new programming, initiatives, and resources. I’m so pleased to have Sonja on our team at UNLV. 

Additional Rebel Recovery Updates

• University Police Services (UPD) is offering Active Assailant Safety Training sessions this fall for students, faculty, and staff. The sessions will include an overview of the extensive training our UPD officers undergo, and helpful tips you can use to protect yourself and others in these situations. The next session is planned for 2 p.m. on Sept. 5, and all upcoming events are posted to the UNLV Strong calendar. Campus units can also reach out to UPD directly to schedule small group sessions. 

• Please take a moment to make sure you have the latest version of the RebelSAFE app installed on your phone. The RebelSAFE app allows you to contact university police immediately, request a walk to your car at night, report tips, and many other things. Also, please be sure that you’ve updated your contact information in Workday (for employees) or MyUNLV (for students). It’s a small but important step, and it will ensure that you receive any future emergency notifications from the university. 

When classes resume on Monday, I hope you’ll appreciate – as I do – how far we’ve come as a university community in our recovery. And though our journey isn’t complete, we are making progress, and we’ll continue to prioritize the safety, security, and wellbeing of our entire university community with the understanding that everyone is at a different phase of recovery. And that’s okay. Just make sure if you need help you ask for it. We are strong together and need to lean on each other as we go forward. 

Please be engaged this fall in Rebel Recovery programming, share your thoughts and ideas with me and with our committee representatives, and let’s begin this fall semester UNLV Strong! 

Warm Regards, 

Keith E. Whitfield, Ph.D.
UNLV President