Welcome back to campus
January 21, 2026
Faculty,
Welcome back to campus and to the start of the spring semester. I want to begin by acknowledging the importance of the (agenda item 5). While we all recognize the real impact that any fee increase has on students and their families, these fees are critical to sustaining the academic mission of the University and protecting the quality of education we provide. The can be found in this report. Without approval of these fee increases, the campus will face serious and lasting consequences, including:
- Reductions of up to 81 faculty and student-facing staff positions, limiting course availability and our capacity to teach, mentor, and support students.
- Elimination of an estimated seven academic programs through curricular review, weakening opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and potentially disrupting students’ degree pathways and time to graduation.
- Fewer faculty to submit and manage grant applications, threatening graduate student funding, research productivity, and our R1 status.
Faculty who wish to do so are encouraged to provide (agenda item 5) to the Board of Regents in advance, or to offer in-person public comment at the Friday, January 23rd meeting at the NSHE office on the north end of campus (2601 Enterprise Road, please arrive prior to the 9:30 start time to sign in). Your voices as faculty members and partners in the academic mission are both important and impactful. I would be glad to answer any questions or provide additional information as needed.
This spring, I also look forward to gathering with many of you at a range of Faculty Senate–sponsored and campus-wide events (invites forthcoming). These will include discussions on AI in research and AI in research administration (March 16 and April 13), programming for early-career faculty, and opportunities for open dialogue with President Sandoval, Provost Thompson, and university leadership at our Spring Campus Conversation (April 28). These conversations are essential as we navigate a rapidly changing higher education landscape together, and I hope you will join me whenever your schedule allows.
Most of the work of Faculty Senate happens in our ten standing committees that address specific aspects of the faculty experience on campus (learn about our committees, and to let us know you’re interested). Our Academic Standards Committee has been working on a revised course evaluation for the past several years – the new student experience questionnaire (SEQ) is going to be rolling out campus-wide this year. Thank you to those of you in units who pilot tested the new version last year - we were able to modify the survey based on feedback! The UAM policy on academic integrity (6502) was also revised by a Senate committee, and if you have thoughts on the implementation this fall please reach out to the chair of the Academic Standards Committee, Brittany Avila.
Finally, we are entering the season for annual evaluations and tenure and promotion decisions. The Faculty Senate Office is here to support faculty who have questions about their outcomes or about the formal processes for appeal, including rejoinders, requests for reconsideration, and grievances. Because these processes involve strict timelines, we strongly encourage reaching out as early as possible. To schedule a confidential appointment for more information, please contact Faculty Senate Manager Heather Kemmelmeier at mailto:hkemmelmeier@unr.eduhkemmelmeier@unr.edu.
As we begin this semester, I want to thank you for your dedication to our students, to each other, and to the mission of the University. The work you do every day shapes not only the lives and futures of our students, but also the economic, social, and civic well-being of the state of Nevada. In these complex and often challenging times, your work, integrity, and commitment to shared governance matter deeply. I am thankful for the opportunity to serve alongside you and look forward to supporting our faculty community in the months ahead.
Jennifer McClendon, MSW, Ph.D.
Chair, 2025-2026 University Faculty Senate Associate Professor & HDFS Program Coordinator
Human Development, Family Sciences, and Counseling
College of Education and Human Development
Pronouns: she/her