Danica G. Hays leads the college’s strategic and operational priorities, with a focus on workforce development, community partnerships, and equitable access to education and mental health services.

Her work centers on strengthening and diversifying the educator and mental health workforce. She is the creator of the Paraprofessional Pathway Project, now part of the Nevada Forward teacher apprenticeship program, which provides high-quality accelerated pathways to teacher licensure for paraprofessionals and school-based professionals across the state. She has also co-developed youth college and career readiness and apprenticeship initiatives designed to address workforce needs and expand equitable access to critical work sectors.

Dean Hays has led efforts to improve student retention, progression, and completion; support faculty affairs and inclusive excellence; and expand the college’s research infrastructure and externally funded initiatives. She has secured, as principal or co-principal investigator, $25+ million in external funding to support educator preparation and workforce development initiatives.

She joined UNLV in 2015 as a professor and executive associate dean and was appointed Dean in 2020. She earned her Ph.D. in counselor education and supervision, with an emphasis in multicultural research, from Georgia State University.

Dean Hays has published more than 130 peer-reviewed articles and more than 20 books, and her scholarship has been cited more than 13,000 times.

Recent books include:

• Introduction to the Helping Professions: Core Concepts in in Social and Human Services Fields (Cognella)
• Assessment in Counseling: Procedures and Practices (7th ed., American Counseling Association)
• Qualitative Research in Education and Social Sciences (2nd ed., Cognella)
• Developing Multicultural Counseling Competency: A Systems Approach (5th ed., Pearson)
• Counseling Theory and Practice (3rd ed., Cognella)
• Mastering the NCE and CPCE (3rd ed., Pearson)

She has served in national leadership roles within the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling (AARC) and the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES), including as AARC president. She is a Fellow of the American Counseling Association and recipient of national awards recognizing her contributions to research, leadership, and advocacy, including the ACES Legacy Award.

Research Areas: Qualitative research methodology, social determinants of mental health, program evaluation, leadership development, assessment and diagnosis, domestic violence prevention, and multicultural and social justice issues in community mental health and counselor preparation.