Dear University Colleague,

The past year has been a time of great change for our University.  We welcomed more students to our campus than ever before, we improved student retention and we have seen more students than ever before graduate. We made a series of difficult decisions in the face of historic budget reductions. We lost a memorable leader and a good man with the passing of University President Milton Glick in April.

With the adjournment of the 76^th Nevada State Legislature, the closing of the state budget on June 6 and the recent Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents meeting on our campus on June 16-17, we have come to another important juncture.

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Dear University Colleagues,

The Nevada State Legislature adjourned early Tuesday morning. While our final budget proposal for fiscal years 2012 and 2013 will be considered at the June 16-17 meeting of the Board of Regents on the University of Nevada, Reno campus, I would like to summarize what you might anticipate for the University community. This summary is based on a proposal put forth by Nevada System of Higher Education Chancellor Dan Klaich, which served as a framework for discussions in the latter weeks of the legislative session and led to the final legislative action. It is important to acknowledge that the magnitude of budget reductions could have been much worse and the consideration of the legislature to prevent more severe reductions is appreciated. Nonetheless, the potential changes ahead are significant and impact all faculty, staff and students. Read the rest of this entry »

Dear Colleague,

Over the past several weeks, our campus has engaged in the curricular review process. The Faculty Senate has made its recommendations and I’ve had the opportunity over the past few days to meet with members of Faculty Senate, as well as members of the Faculty Budget Advisory Committee. These meetings have provided opportunities for additional discussion and have been constructive in nature. Now that the curricular review process has been completed, I am announcing today recommendations that I will present to the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents. These recommendations largely accept those of the Faculty Senate that were made on May 5. Read the rest of this entry »

Dear Colleague,

For more than 130 years, our institution has been on a clear trajectory. With each passing year, we’ve become a stronger institution, serving the state of Nevada in ways far too numerous to list here. Suffice it to say, particularly recently as we have reached key historic institutional milestones, we have made significant strides in providing the citizens of our state with meaningful results that have made a profound difference in their lives.

The compact between our campus and the citizens of our state has been a simple one: We aspire to be a quality institution in order to improve the quality of life in our state. We have kept this compact by graduating quality students, providing K-12 teacher preparation, offering important educational outreach initiatives to Nevada’s communities, supplying applied research focused on solving practical problems, and, through good economic times and bad, serving as a major and reliable economic engine.

Today, however, is a day where I can no longer say with certainty that any of this will continue at the level that our state needs if Nevada is to fully recover from its deep recession. Throughout these many months of budget reductions, the University has attempted to protect student success and the research capabilities of our campus. We continue to place a premium on both of these areas. However, the proposed budget reductions announced today dramatically reduce the quality of the University’s core instructional and research capabilities. The proposed budget reductions that I announce today, in fact, touch every corner of our University. They eliminate or severely curtail key service functions in ways that will impact our student body for years to come. Should the cuts announced today come to fruition, the institution will no longer be able to support our students with a broad range of quality degree programs. Sadly, faculty and staff positions will be lost and the lives of hundreds of individuals on our campus will be painfully impacted. Read the rest of this entry »

The Nevada Legislature will hold committee meetings in Lawlor Events Center on the University of Nevada, Reno campus on March 31. The hearings will provide students and members of the public the opportunity to express input and voice concerns on two important issues: the higher education budget and redistricting.

The Joint Subcommittee on K-12 and Higher Education, a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Finance and the Assembly Committee on Ways and Means, will meet 3 to 5 p.m. to gather input on higher education funding.

The Senate and Assembly Committees on Legislative Operations and Elections will meet at the same location from 5:30 to 7 p.m. to provide area residents the opportunity for input on redrawing the boundaries of Nevada’s congressional, state legislative, Board of Regents, State Board of Education and petition districts.

Public parking will be available on the top floor of the Whalen Parking Complex off N. Virginia Street.

Late Tuesday, March 8, the University retracted its notification to the faculty and staff in the School of Social Work regarding possible closure of their school. I was able to meet personally with many of the School of Social Work’s faculty, staff and students during an afternoon meeting Tuesday to deliver this news. The notification was made following consultation with administration officials at UNLV, which had announced on Tuesday it would be closing its social work program. This action to continue the University of Nevada, Reno’s School of Social Work reflects our commitment in ensuring that Nevada students have an opportunity to obtain a social work degree and that, in addition, there is at least one such program in the state among the Nevada System of Higher Education’s four-year institutions.

There has been much discussion about the next steps in our planning process to narrow the massive budget reduction still facing our campus. The current curricular review proposal and academic planning documents, which were released to the campus on March 7, detail the academic proposals announced Monday and the timeline that will frame our work in the coming days. In addition, as also announced, there will be an assessment of college mergers and other cost saving opportunities though specific proposals and timeline have not yet been determined.

To find out more about curricular review and the academic planning process, please visit: www.unr.edu/curricular-review-2011.

Marc Johnson
Provost

Today, the University notified faculty and staff in programs and departments that are being proposed for closure, reorganization or reduction. The proposals announced represent an annual budget reduction of $26 million and the elimination of 225 positions. Of these positions, 150 are currently filled and the remaining have been held open in anticipation of possible budget cuts. Read the rest of this entry »

University of Nevada, Reno faculty, students and staff are invited to attend a rally to “Save Our Public University” on Wednesday, March 2 on the University Quadrangle beginning at 5 p.m. More information:

http://www.unr.edu/nevadanews/templates/details.aspx?articleid=5698&zoneid=14

The university faculty senate discussed the budget and honored retiring state senator William Raggio at a recent discussion at the university. Read more here:

http://www.unr.edu/nevadanews/templates/details.aspx?articleid=5697&zoneid=14

Dear Colleagues,

In the coming weeks, our campus will face additional budget reductions mandated by the state. While we are committed to remain a quality institution as we face general fund budget cuts that could reach as much as $59 million, the reality remains that such reductions will impact the core mission of the University of Nevada, Reno. Read the rest of this entry »