Premier | Metropolitan | Research | University

PREMIER

By promoting quality as a central value, UNLV will become a premier metropolitan research university. UNLV has demonstrated its commitment to quality by recruiting and retaining excellent students; offering first-rate academic programs, continuing professional education and co-curricular programs; hiring and retaining talented professional and classified staff who embody the institution's goals; and recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty who demonstrate excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service. The creation and dissemination of new knowledge by faculty and students will enhance the university's reputation while at the same time improving the lives of the citizens of Nevada and the nation. While stressing quality in all areas, fiscal realities dictate that UNLV will give priority to carefully selected initiatives drawn from many, often competing, options. Because quality is an elusive concept, UNLV's decision to become a "premier" institution will require carefully crafted assessment tools that establish benchmarks for measuring progress toward the attainment of excellence in all endeavors.

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METROPOLITAN

In the most literal sense, UNLV is an urban university existing in a rapidly growing metropolitan area whose population now exceeds 1.5 million; it is an integral part of the Las Vegas community. In addition to its educational offerings, the university plays a vital role in the economic development of the community and assumes a major role in identifying and solving many of the region's social and environmental problems. The university offers stimulating intellectual activities, diverse cultural and arts experiences, and exciting athletic competition, all of which invite community participation.

As an urban university, UNLV must blend its aspirations with the dynamic metropolitan area in which it exists. As a member of The Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities, UNLV illustrates how the creation, interpretation, dissemination, and application of knowledge are at the core of the institution; accepts responsibility for applying that knowledge to help identify and solve problems in the Las Vegas metropolitan region; and commits itself to being responsive to the needs of the community by seeking new ways of providing leadership in addressing problems through teaching, research, and service.

UNLV will advance its mission by acknowledging and responding to the nature and needs of its students, promoting programs, scholarship, and service that address local, state, and regional needs; meeting state and regional higher education and workforce needs in direct and demonstrable ways; and developing synergistic, collaborative relationships with individuals and entities from the surrounding community.

Rapid growth, a desert, and an urban environment, and the gaming industry bring with them both significant rewards and daunting challenges. Those challenges include meeting the needs for more classroom teachers, water resource managers, architects, and health care professionals while continuing to educate hotel administrators, gaming managers, and transportation engineers. In response, the university's programs will address carefully identified community needs, and UNLV's faculty and students will engage in research and service that focus on enhancing the quality of life of the residents of the state and improving the economy of the state, region, and nation.

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RESEARCH

UNLV will continue to advance as a research institution by increasing the number of nationally known academic programs, focusing the skills of the current faculty and hiring additional faculty in areas selected for research emphasis, responding to opportunities and needs, and undertaking research that will serve the community, the state, and the nation. Much of that research will be interdisciplinary in nature. UNLV will encourage faculty and staff to seek external funding and will create a research infrastructure that will support that effort, including a research foundation under the auspices of the UNLV Foundation. The UNLV Research Foundation will contribute to economic development and diversification by applying faculty and student creative work in partnerships with various entities in the public and private sectors.

The institution recognizes that the type of scholarship and research expectations will vary from discipline to discipline. That difference must be recognized by the university reward structure, in faculty assignments, and in support for excellent programs across all colleges in the institution.

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UNIVERSITY

A university is an intellectual community in which a diverse student body, faculty, and staff engage in thoughtful debate and rigorous scholarship; it includes multiple entities unified by a shared purpose: the search for knowledge. UNLV provides educational experiences grounded in the liberal and fine arts and the sciences that encourage students to meet intellectual and ethical challenges and to lead full and productive lives.

UNLV attempts to enhance student lives and learning in many areas. The university offers excellent programs in athletics and other extracurricular activities for men and women that complement the institution's academic mission. In athletics, UNLV will offer competitive programs in all sponsored sports while modeling the positive values of the NCAA and the Mountain West Athletic Conference.

As a public university and a member of the Nevada System of Higher Education, UNLV will advance its mission by adopting policies and procedures that encourage the participation of Nevada's citizens in higher education and invite involvement in campus life through public events, cultural opportunities, and collaborative endeavors.

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