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Budget, goals for university among topics of address

Outlining his plans for the upcoming year, newly-appointed UNLV president Neal Smatresk gave his first State of the University address in the Student Union Ballroom on Tuesday.

Smatresk spent most of his time addressing his largest hurdle — concerns on the budget — while stressing the importance of UNLV as a top research university.

“First we are steadfast in our commitment to education,” Smatresk said in his opening remarks. “Secondly, I want to promise all of you that we will never break away from our [research mission.]”

Acknowledging that UNLV has been “cut to the bone and deeper,” Smatresk revealed that the 15.4 percent budget cuts could have been worse.

“In such a great university as this… it is my sincere hope that… we are here to engage in the most noble of all endeavors… education,” said UNLV Faculty Senate Chair John Filler, who also spoke at the event.

Combining the objectives to make UNLV a premier research school, while still focusing on newcomers, Smatresk stressed the importance of creative and innovative solutions that would ensure UNLV does not have to close its doors to incoming students.

“When we stop admitting students, we’re in trouble,” Smatresk said. “There’s no point adding students if we don’t have the [foundation] we need.”

Smatresk outlined possible solutions to some of the university’s problems, including the restoration of the senior adviser position, hiring administrative fellows and other “low-cost, high-return investments.”

Due to the fact that former vice president for Diversity and Inclusion Christine Clark recently resigned, Smatresk was adamant in declaring that he will be filling her position despite the controversy that has surrounded Clark’s departure and questions as to the utility of maintaining the position.

Explaining his vision for the students of UNLV, Smatresk stressed the start of programs that would help undergraduates achieve the fundamental skills they need to succeed in college and beyond.

Diagnosing skill gaps and treating these problems early in students’ academic careers is something Smatresk said he feels is vital to solidifying a strong academic community.

In the introductions to Smatresk’s speech, faculty echoed that sentiment.
“Without an educated populace, there is no hope that a community can achieve its goals,” Filler said.

Smatresk also touched on the idea of making dual enrollment easier so students can make the most of their time and increase transfer flow to the university.

The president went on to highlight the achievements of faculty and students and praised university staff for their dedication during hard times. He explained that as classes are cut and class sizes expand, professors and advisers are doing everything in their power to achieve the goals he outlined for the crowd.

“We’ve lost [more than] 100 faculty positions,” Smatresk said, addressing administrative reorganization. “These are serious cuts… at a time when admissions are going up.”

Smatresk broke down the budget cut into plain terms, explaining that non-academic endeavors took almost double the cuts of academic segments of the budget, losing $16.4 million. The academic budget counts for 75 percent of the overall budget whereas the non-academic sector is allocated 25 percent of the funding.

Despite the higher tuition costs and cut in the budget, Smatresk and Filler’s visualization of UNLV as a research school is an attempt to make UNLV the top research engine of the region.

Smatresk said he hopes students will come to see the opportunities UNLV brings, despite enrolling in a time of economic downfall.

“UNLV should focus on graduate education and high value degrees that will help [this] region move forward,” Smatresk said.

Being careful not to undermine undergraduate students, Smatresk called specific attention to these students, acknowledging what he believes is their great importance to the university.

As Smatresk and journeys further into his tenure as president, his contributions will ultimately have a much farther reach than the roads of Tropicana and Maryland Parkway, according to Filler.

“UNLV,” Filler said, “belongs to Nevada and to the greater Las Vegas.

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