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School of Public Policy and Leadership News

The School of Public Policy and Leadership employs an interdisciplinary approach to create knowledge and understanding to support effective policy and governance through collaborations of faculty, students, and the greater community. Our programs enable students to master the key principles of public management, research, and public policy so they can spark change, improvement, and resiliency in communities.

Current Public Policy and Leadership News

The Las Vegas strip as seen on Super Bowl weekend (Josh Hawkins/UNLV).
Campus News |

A collection of news stories and highlights featuring UNLV students and faculty.

collage of four people
Business and Community |

As Southern Nevada’s image as a mecca for professional sports continues to grow, so too do employment opportunities for UNLV graduates. 

Graduation surprise
Campus News |

News stories from the summer featuring UNLV students and faculty.

photo illustration of woman next to education and community graphics
People |

UNLV's Tribal Education Initiative gives its new director an outlet for advocacy and Native students the opportunity of a lifetime.

woman in doctoral graduation gown and cap with stoll decorated with Native American and UNLV school symbols
People |

Longtime nurse Lisa Pacheco becomes first Native American to graduate with a doctorate in public policy from UNLV.

women wearing t-shirt that says UNLV Home of the Brave
Campus News |

A collection of news stories highlighting the experts and student changemakers at UNLV.

Public Policy and Leadership In The News

Underground Infrastructure

Elon Musk's Boring Company incurred fines exceeding $112,000 due to safety breaches flagged by the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration during the construction of the Vegas Loop underground tunnel last year, Indianapolis’ WRTV reported.

KTNV-TV: ABC 13

Southwest Gas says natural gas bills will drop in the coming months, but several customers tell Channel 13, after months of massive rate hikes, they're not convinced.

KTNV-TV: ABC 13

Elon Musk's Boring Company has been fined more than $112,000 for safety violations by the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration at the Vegas Loop underground tunnel last summer.

Las Vegas Review Journal

More than 70 percent of Nevadans consider water supply and lowering river levels a serious issue, but only a little more than half believe climate change is, a Colorado College poll released Wednesday shows.

Hill

Combinations of state, local and private-sector efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are more effective in their goal than any of the three on their own, according to research published in the journal Energy Research & Social Science.

Diario AS

This year the Air Force’s Thunderbird flight demonstration team are in charge of the flyover, and they are in home skies.

Public Policy and Leadership Experts

An expert on HR management and development.
An expert on sustainability governance by cities, states, and corporations globally.
An expert in violence prevention programs.
An expert in public policy and governance.
Lee Bernick is a professor with expertise in state and local public policy, survey research, public budgeting, and legislative behavior.
An expert on local government and public policy. 

Recent Public Policy and Leadership Accomplishments

Jacob D. Skousen (Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Higher Education) published a paper titled, "Making Nevada Schools Safer: The State of Empirical Evidence." The policy paper reviews the measures taken to improve school safety. He reports that the evidence shows that overall safety in the nation’s elementary and secondary schools has…
A new study led by professor Ben Leffel (Public Policy and Leadership) has been selected for the inaugural Berkeley Haas Sustainable Business Research Prize as a finalist, which "recognizes research with the greatest potential to spur immediate change in the face of environmental crises". The study, by Leffel and University of Michigan coauthors…
Ph.D. student Aaron Colleta (Public Policy and Leadership) has been honored as a Founders' Fellow by the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) this year. The Founders' Fellows program is designed to support and advance the next generation of public service leaders, providing significant professional development opportunities. Aaron…
Ben Leffel (Public Policy and Leadership) has published a new piece in npj Climate Action (with coauthors Don Grant and Evan Johnson) on what matters for decarbonizing power plants: They show that for the world's power plants, what matters for carbon emissions reductions (2009-2018) is not national-level climate policy, but city-level climate…
Ben Leffel (Public Policy and Leadership) is lead author in a new study published in Cities , titled "Not so polycentric: The stratified structure & national drivers of transnational municipal networks" that has mapped the known universe of cities in these global governance networks. This analysis of over 10,000 cities and their…
Ph.D. candidate Sheetal Survase (Public Affairs) and Elizabeth Johnson (Liberal Arts, Academic Advising Center) published a research article titled, "Serving on the Front Lines of Higher Education: Exploring Advisors' Coping During COVID-19," in the NACADA Journal. This study examines the relationship between advisor work conditions and the…