Dear Colleagues, 

Yesterday afternoon, I was honored to deliver my fourth annual State of the University address as UNLV’s president.

When I prepare for these events, I like to take a close look at the work happening throughout our university. And each year, I grow even more amazed by and appreciative of the incredible contributions of UNLV’s dedicated staff, faculty, and students. 

During yesterday’s address, I was pleased to share that UNLV welcomed its largest-ever spring class in January. This spring’s enrollment is 5% larger than last year, and nearly 95% of students were retained from the fall. To me, this signals that students – and their parents – value UNLV and the important role we play in helping them to achieve their dreams.

I also shared the following updates (and you can read more in this wrap-up story or watch the address in its entirety): 

• We’re continuing conversations regarding a future UNLV campus on 2,000 acres in North Las Vegas, which could include graduate student housing, an education and leadership training center, and a sports rehabilitation and aquatics facility.
• We have multiple new building priorities for the campus. This includes working to accelerate the existing timeline for a new Lee Business School building, and advancing planning efforts for new buildings for our College of Education and College of Fine Arts. 
• Last month, UNLV was selected by the National Science Foundation to participate in a first-of-its-kind Regional Innovation Engines program to translate high-impact research into tangible innovations. We’ll be working with DRI, Arizona State University, University of Utah, and industry partners on a grant project that could infuse $160 million in federal research dollars into our region over the next decade.

Today also marks three months since the tragic shooting on our campus. As I shared yesterday, we’re not going to forget Dec. 6. It will forever be a part of our history, but we won’t let it define our university or its future.

We continue our Rebel Recovery Program in earnest – which consists of safety and security enhancements, wellness programming and more – and we're nearing a decision on future plans for Beam Hall, which currently remains closed for classes. I am committed to sharing regular updates on all of our efforts in this area, and I invite you to visit our UNLV Strong website for the latest messages, events, and notes of encouragement and gratitude for our community. 

I am incredibly humbled and grateful to have the opportunity to continue leading UNLV. The job is not done, and I am more committed than ever to helping our university move forward. Thank you for your partnership and support for UNLV

Keith E. Whitfield, Ph. D

President