Insurgent at UNLV

Give William Epstein credit for audacity. In the Nov. 14 issue of the Review-Journal, Epstein, a UNLV social work professor, delivered a machine-gun medley of vituperations about the dismal state of higher education in Las Vegas. He spared no one in his disquisition, attacking the university president, fellow faculty members, students and the Board of Regents, not to mention the city and state in general. One gathers Epstein is pretty unhappy about just about everything.

What fascinated me is how he managed to be so definitively right and amazingly wrong in one essay.

On one hand, Epstein's view has merit. It's absolutely true UNLV has been "devastated by the state budget cuts of the past two years." It's true, as a result, "accomplished and promising scholars" are discouraged from coming to UNLV, and some of the university's better faculty have moved on to other "more congenial environs." It's true UNLV ranks poorly in national surveys of premier universities.

This is not new or surprising information but it's worthwhile to reiterate from time to time to counterbalance the happy talk uttered by those who would have the public believe UNLV is on the cusp of becoming a "world-class university."

Epstein's arguments begin to lose their weight when he applies such a wide brush to condemnations of his fellow professors. It's neither fair nor accurate to assert UNLV's faculty "neither teach well nor fulfill their obligations to scholarship," or that all the new faculty are "unpromising." In fact, UNLV has many professors -- veterans and newcomers -- who teach with vigor and skill and who conduct quality research. And they excel in their jobs despite the budget cuts and the chronic shortage of state and community support.

I don't want to overstate this. It's undoubtedly true UNLV's faculty as a whole doesn't stack up to many of its peers in higher education. But UNLV has an incredibly steep and obstacle-laden hill to climb to reach the educational level Epstein envisions.

First of all, UNLV is located in Las Vegas. Most of us living here recognize that outside the surreal resort corridor, Las Vegas is a fairly normal place. But for 10s of millions of people across the continent, Las Vegas is the Strip, the antithesis of seriousness and authenticity. Las Vegas is where you go when you want to put away the books and microscopes and tap into your primitive side. They scoff at the notion Las Vegas could host a top university. This "Tumbleweed Tech" perception doesn't help when recruiting administrators, faculty or students.

Second, the Las Vegas economy doesn't demand a highly educated work force. The bulk of the jobs are in the service industries, requiring skills that can't be acquired in classrooms or laboratories. A big portion of the population, therefore, is not inclined to consider higher education essential to success in life. Surveys show Nevada high school graduates are among the nation's least likely to go on to college, and if they do give college a try, they're among the least likely to earn a degree. Parents here may say they want more for their kids than they've had, but many don't follow through by creating an environment that encourages educational success.

Third, UNLV struggles with the realities of Nevada politics. UNLV came into being in the late 1950s as a small satellite of the University of Nevada in Reno. As Las Vegas grew into Nevada's largest city, its fledgling university grew with it. Yet UNLV continues to play second fiddle in terms of funding. In the minds of everyone except stalwart UNLV faculty and alumni, Reno is Nevada's premier university, and it has no intention to relinquish the title.

This situation is hardly unique to Nevada. It's often the case the older university in the smaller city remains the recognized leader in a particular state. Because of its sheer size, UNLV presumes it should get all the money and attention. But it doesn't, shouldn't and probably won't anytime soon. (It's important to note this is not an issue of UNR being overfunded; it's an issue of UNLV being underfunded.)

Professor Epstein's jeremiad would have benefited from the inclusion of this context. But overall, he deserves a solid B for effort. One of my criticisms of UNLV over the years has been its awful track record of marketing its faculty. UNLV professors should be better known here. The public should be more aware of their research projects, and their expertise should be more widely exhibited. In Reno, the public is constantly hearing about the activities and accomplishments of the local faculty, engendering feelings of pride and respect.

But UNLV's faculty members must share the blame for their relative anonymity. With a few exceptions, UNLV professors seem to lead monastic lives, rarely participating in the political, social or economic life of Las Vegas. What's more, many of them seem to disdain the idea of making Las Vegas or its environs a subject of their academic study. They're more interested in what's happening half a world away.

Epstein deserves credit for descending from the ivory tower to join the battle over what Nevada is and what it should be.

Geoff Schumacher (gschumacher@reviewjournal.com) is the Review-Journal's director of community publications. His column apepars Friday.