Our Goals

We fulfill our mission through the teaching and learning we accomplish together, the scholarship and creativity we pursue as individuals and as a community, and through the collaborative community we create and sustain. To fully live our mission and values we must:

1. Promote rigor and professionalism;
2. Foster innovation; and
3. Collaborate extensively.

Our strategies for accomplishing each of these goals are outlined below. Details, tactics and timelines also underpin each strategy in our implementation plan.

I. Promote Rigor and Professionalism

We immerse our students in the dynamic built and natural environments of Las Vegas and the Mojave Desert to prepare them to become critical and creative thinkers and effective stewards of local and global environments. Our culture enables faculty and staff to engage in impactful scholarly and creative activities which prepare students for life-long professional and personal success. To nurture this environment, we:

1. Celebrate accomplishments in our community;
2. Create a rigorous, collaborative learning environment that leverages diverse teaching approaches and the resources of Las Vegas and our region;
3. Implement an effective and ongoing curriculum assessment process for undergraduate and graduate programs;
4. Expand opportunities for hands-on experience through design studio work, fabrication, internships, and other experiential learning activities;
5. Expand opportunities for students to participate in community service, including developing appropriate supporting infrastructure;
6. Create and implement a physical plan/framework for physical resources (studios, shop/labs, classrooms) to be resourceful with space and to provide a SAFE learning and working environment; and
7. Collect, disseminate and display student work, including in ways suitable for accreditation reports and social media.

II. Foster Innovation

We design a more resilient world by developing new knowledge and innovative perspectives that advance our disciplines and professions through creative and scholarly inquiry disseminated within nationally and internationally recognized venues. Our climate within the SoA cultivates intellectual curiosity, creativity and the pursuit of knowledge for students, faculty and staff by nurturing a reciprocal exchange of impactful ideas. Our innovation is supported by a thriving community that values transparency, collaboration, and engagement where we:

1. Foster a culture of intellectual creativity and experimentation;
2. Lead with rich and diverse recruitment, retention, and promotion of highly qualified faculty and staff;
3. Recruit and retain excellent students from both Clark County and beyond southern Nevada;
4. Support participation in traditional scholarly avenues and information dissemination;
5. Foster innovative perspectives developed through creative work and critical professional practices that lead to the advancement of the disciplines and professions;
6. Provide robust support for research and creative activities within the SoA;
7. Partner with other UNLV colleges and peer academic institutions to leverage respective strengths in ways that enrich and extend our impact;
8. Enhance the quality of our decision-making through an improved, transparent, and participatory planning and budgeting process;
9. Assess the SoA’s technology support needs on a five year horizon, and develop a plan, including funding strategies, to meet identified needs; and
10. Assess the SoA’s future staffing and faculty needs

III. Collaborate Extensively

We create a culture of reciprocal engagement and transparency with all stakeholders. Successful collaborations bring such compelling value to our partners that the SoA becomes their first choice when seeking mutually beneficial solutions to issues affecting our communities. We want all of our stakeholders to become deeply invested in working with us by sharing their time, talent, and treasure. To fully realize this goal we:

1. Build and sustain community partnerships that enhance our ability to improve the human condition;
2. Expand and facilitate opportunities for collaborative teaching learning between design disciplines, across the university, and in the communities that we serve;
3. Build and sustain connections with the professions to create experiential learning opportunities for our students and support successful job placement for interns and alumni;
4. Foster deep connections with the professions to ensure curricular relevance;
5. Partner with schools and community colleges to raise awareness of architecture and design and connect future students with the SoA;
6. Engage alumni with current students and the intellectual life of the SoA.
7. Nurture connections with regulatory boards, communities, and government agencies, to deepen our impact;
8. Create a School of Architecture Alumni and Career Center; and
9. Enhance and deepen our sense of community by streamlining communication and fostering collaborations between faculty, staff, students, and alumni.