LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The future is bright for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, according to President Keith Whitfield.
During his State of the University address on Thursday, he laid out several proposed plans, which includes campus expansion.
Right now, Whitfield says UNLV has a lot of land with "some pretty empty palettes", which includes:
- Maryland Parkway Campus - 335 acres
- North Las Vegas Campus - 2,085 acres
- Research Park - 120 acres
- Shadow Lane Campus - 25 acres
- Paradise Campus - 10 acres
Some of the things he proposed for the Maryland Parkway Campus is remodeling current buildings, expanding the Early Childhood Education Center, expanding the current student union or adding a second student union on campus, and adding a Freshman Tower Complex.
"What's the benefit of that? The benefit is at many schools, what you try to do with your freshman class is to get them on campus and get them kind of connected to the university, knowing where resources are, knowing where other people are," Whitfield said. "With a campus that really only has about 1,800 beds on our campus, maybe about 4,800 around our campus, people come from other places to our campus. There is only so much time that they actually get to interact with one another versus a residential campus, which is 24/7."
Whitfield said the university has also purchased Rebel Plaza, which is close to the student union.
"I thought we were doing something no one had thought about before. Carol Harter said we've been trying to get that property for over 20 years," Whitfield said. "We had a chance to get it and we have a place to expand across the street. What will we put there? We need to talk about it and think about it."
As far as remodeling, security has been upgraded around campus in the aftermath of the deadly 2023 shooting, which left three professors dead.
"We've been trying to make sure we get 50 new security cameras that will come online sometime this spring, four new Rebel Safe emergency phones by the summertime," Whitfield said. "Technology is incredible. One of the things that's out there now that I know Metro is working on and we're working on is license plate recognition technology. If a bad person does something, if you can pick up that plate, you can start following them everywhere."
He added that UNLV officials want to add automatic lock buttons for inside learning spaces and upgrade wall-mounted telephones to enhance emergency messaging capabilities.
Tech-savvy students will soon be able to take immersive learning to the next level. UNLV officials are currently constructing a 4,000-square-foot space with Dreamscape Learn in the Lied Library.
"There is a huge number of kids that report they are gamers, meaning they live in this metaverse, this university that's been created electronically. I know some people think they're just games but that's where [students] are and will be for awhile," Whitfield said. "Rather than poo-pooing that, we thought we could make it an opportunity to learn."
Students will be able to go into that lab and "without the constraint of physical things, you can do anything."
Right now, Whitfield said five faculty members are developing the content that students will be able to use. The first biology courses with Dreamscape Learn elements are expected to launch this fall.
As for the sprawling North Las Vegas campus, Whitfield has previously said UNLV is focusing on developing 500 acres to start while keeping in mind the needs for educational services for the university's military-affiliated students as well as a sports rehabilitation and aquatic center.
On Thursday, he also re-emphasized the need to look into housing and that his dream includes a tiny home village at the North Las Vegas campus.
"If you get a chance, we have an example of a tiny home on our campus and it gets you the idea that that would be great home ownership," Whitfield said. "I have been thinking specifically for our graduate students because our graduate students are suffering from what a lot of us experience, which is the cost of affordable homes. It's way out of their reach, even for rental properties. It's ridiculous."
With the university continuing to expand and grow, the student body is expected to grow as well.
"I said I think by 2030, we should have 40,000 students at UNLV," Whitfield said. "I was talking with the provost last summer before we got our numbers for enrollment. I said we should grow by 5% every year. The provost said all we have to do to meet your goal is grow by 3.5% every year. ... Sure enough, we grew by nearly 6% this last year."
Whitfield said these blue sky dreams are just some of the ideas the university has on the horizon and they're preparing for the next generation of future Rebels.
"When we think about our future, we have to be doing the things that we're doing for the right reasons," Whitfield said. "This is about the next generation of Rebels. This is about our legacy at UNLV, which continues to evolve."
You can watch President Whitfield's full speech below.
