President Brian Sandoval’s annual State of the University address on Tuesday, Oct. 8, stressed the University’s 150-year history while also citing several modern-day examples of how the future of the institution and the state it serves are “inextricably intertwined.”
“There has been no other time in our history where our land-grant mission has mattered more than now,” Sandoval said to a full Glick Ballrooms audience in the Joe Crowley Student Union. “Our state has undergone incredible growth and transformation, and we are a crucial driver of that growth.”
Sandoval’s address – his fourth since his appointment as the University’s 17th president in fall 2020 – was a reminder of how far the University has come since opening its doors for the first time to seven students in Elko on Oct. 12, 1874.
With the University’s 150th birthday looming on Saturday, Sandoval took the audience back in time to the University’s initial struggle to survive, its relocation to Reno in 1885-86 after statewide haggling in the Nevada Legislature, and how, finally, the state’s original land-grant institution for higher learning finally took lasting root.
“In 1908, anticipating the unveiling of new buildings that came about from donations from the Mackay family, the sidewalks on both sides of what is now today’s Quad were laid in brick, and rows of trees were planted,” he said. “Think about what was planted then. These were the seeds of a University. … And look how far we’ve come.
“Our road has been forged with the optimism and grit of people who helped build our University. … These were the people who the more they were told it couldn’t be done, the more their answer was: ‘Just watch us.’ And make no mistake about it: This is a fearless and bold University.”
His challenge for the future was based on what had already been accomplished and what still needs to be done. “As we celebrate our 150th anniversary, I believe it is our obligation to stake out a claim for the next 150 years, and plant our own seeds and saplings,” he said.
Sandoval credited the accomplishments and achievements of the students, faculty and staff as well as the support of alumni and friends in the community, for positioning the University well for the future.
“On the cusp of our 150th year,” he said, “the state of our University is strong, with much work to do.”
Sandoval’s address touched on improvements and growth in the University’s infrastructure over the past year that has included some of the largest donations ever made to the institution, stronger connections made in partnering with Northern Nevada and communities throughout the state, initiatives that the University is leading to create a modern Nevada economy, record research numbers, promising developments in an institutional goal to become classified as an Hispanic Serving Institution as well as an update on the University’s budget situation and priorities for the 2025 state legislative session.
“We are fortifying and expanding our institution’s foundation as we plan for what comes next,” Sandoval said, citing the ongoing construction of the newly named John Tulloch Business Building, this fall’s groundbreaking for a new State Public Health Laboratory Building on campus, and the possibility of affordable housing for graduate students and early in career faculty and staff members with the recent purchase of 16 parcels close to campus known as “University Village.” “New construction and infrastructure improvements can be seen everywhere.”
Sandoval also expanded on the University’s efforts to land the new Veteran’s Affairs medical center for Northern Nevada.
“Situated at the north end of campus, between McCarran Boulevard, Virginia Street, and Evans Avenue, this medical campus would give veterans of our region the highest medical services in a modern facility,” Sandoval said, noting that the University will learn if the proposed campus site is selected by the Department of Veterans Affairs in the coming months. If chosen, the University site “… will place us among a group of public universities where Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Public Health and Social Work are co-located with a V.A. medical center campus,” Sandoval said.
Sandoval also shared several new developments for the University’s Lake Tahoe campus. They included fortifying the University’s water and near-shore research presence at Lake Tahoe with the addition of two research vessels; locating Foundation Art Professor Peter Goin’s acclaimed Lake Tahoe photography in the Arts Center there; as well as KUNR working in partnership with the Donald W. Reynolds School of Journalism to expand its operations to the Tahoe campus for community news coverage; and the recent news that the University has established a partnership with the NV Energy Foundation to provide funding to the Tahoe campus to provide students with learning and research opportunities around sustainability and wildfire mitigation.
“This is our time, like our founders, to plant the seeds that people 150 years from now will look upon with pride and wonder.”
Sandoval took time to explain the University’s “Tech Hub” designation, which given the University’s founding 150 years ago to help augment Nevada’s existing industries, signals a new effort for “… new industries on the horizon for Nevada, and our University is in the midst of an all-out effort to reach their full potential.”
Out of more nearly 400 applicants nationwide, the Tech Hub designation by the U.S. Economic Development Administration – which includes nearly $30 million in federal and state funding for implementation – makes the State of Nevada one of only 12 such Tech Hubs in the country. The collaborative effort that includes numerous private and public entities throughout the state to position Nevada as the leader in the Lithium-based technology economy will be led on many fronts by the University.
Coming off a record year that saw the University research expenditures reach $188 million, Sandoval said, “It is our opportunity to brand our region as the ‘Lithium Loop’ like ‘Silicon Valley’ did decades ago. World-changing research and innovation is our specialty, and as we’ve demonstrated throughout our 150 years, we are always up for leading challenges like this one.”
Sandoval also presented an enrollment update. He said that enrollment for degree-seeking students is down very slightly from 19,536 last year to 19,511 this fall. However, the student body’s diversity remains high, with nearly half of all enrolled students identifying as students of color and of the University’s incoming fall 2024 class of students, 25.6 percent identifying as Hispanic.
The University’s Strategic Plan, “Wolf Pack Rising,” identifies reaching the federal classification as a “Hispanic Serving Institution” as one of the institution’s top priorities from 2023-2027.
“Our Hispanic student enrollment numbers are promising as we continue toward our goal of achieving classification as a Hispanic Serving Institution,” Sandoval said. “We are now eligible to start the application process, and in January, our HSI Task Force will begin that work.”
In terms of the budget, Sandoval acknowledged that the University is facing a yearly budget shortfall of about $21 million. He said budget reductions implemented across campus have come about due to “less than expected enrollment, massive increases in utilities, unfunded, legislatively approved tuition waivers and the COLA funding gap.”
He added, “We have been able to balance the budget through a series of defensive measures such as budget reductions, reallocation of facilities and administrative funds and vacancy savings associated with several open positions. Units across campus have also been asked to reduce costs, and I must thank each and every one of our faculty and staff who have taken on more responsibilities while continuing to make the University the story that it is today.”
Sandoval said the University must increase its enrollment to help bridge the budget gap in the future: “We will need to do our part to increase enrollment and be good stewards of state support. … We know that for a successful future, we must continue to make our University the compelling choice for Nevada’s students, as a welcoming and diverse campus full of hope, academic achievement and support.”
Sandoval said he is hopeful that the Nevada Legislature will make a “generational” investment in higher education that will include funding future COLA for University employees at 80 percent; recognition that the University’s infrastructure continues to grow and with that increased utility costs; fund future tuition waivers.
In summing up his remarks, Sandoval said that the University has come a long way in 150 years.
“We’ve moved from the uncertainty of the alfalfa fields of Elko to a shining University on a hill full of innovation, creativity and possibility,” he said. “We are a place that honors our heritage and embraces the future. We reflect on who we are now and know that through our important work, we are lifting our state to a greater, more meaningful place.
“This is our time, like our founders, to plant the seeds that people 150 years from now will look upon with pride and wonder.”
