COMMENTARY: Legislative debate

Like most readers of the Review-Journal, I have closely followed the legislative debate over the past couple of years associated with the expansion of a film tax credit program in Nevada. Of course, as the president of UNLV, I have a vested interest in learning if and how it would directly aid our students, serve to lift up our campus community and contribute to the overall economic health and stability of our workforce.

I write to encourage Gov. Joe Lombardo and the Legislature to greenlight this important legislation in the upcoming special session because, from my perspective, the benefits far outstrip the risks.

Why? Let me draw an instructive parallel.

UNLV has the top-ranked hospitality school in the nation and fourth-best in the world, according to 2025 QS World University Rankings. This remarkable distinction is in part attributable to the fact that our city provides an unmatched hands-on training environment in partnership with our world-class resort hotels. Our students learn on site and upon graduation successfully matriculate into the hospitality industry. It is a highly functional workforce eco-system and a source of deep pride for those of us associated with its excellence.

In a similar way, Summerlin Studios would forge a natural bond between UNLV and the entertainment industry. Howard Hughes Corp., along with Warner Bros. Discovery and Sony Pictures, would build and operate state-of-the-art sound stages that generate year-round TV and film production jobs, and in so doing they will have created a second workforce eco-system for training and employment for thousands of students across Nevada.

Just imagine a scenario where students would not have to leave town to gain world-class on-set training or to find gainful employment in the hundreds of different jobs affiliated with TV and movie productions such as set design, carpentry, costuming, engineering, legal and accounting, to name a few.

We know that the success of notable film schools such as USC and Chapman are clearly tied to their proximity to studio lots and ongoing productions. That type of seamless pipeline could and should happen in Nevada. It makes perfect sense.

Candidly, once Summerlin Studios is fully established and operational, I see no reason why UNLV couldn’t become one of the premier film schools in the country while at the same time every institution in Nevada’s System of Higher Education would play a meaningful role in the growth of a new and compatible Nevada industry.

In particular, an expansion of the film program would be hugely transformative for UNLV’s film department, but also for the College of Southern Nevada’s productive and Emmy-lauded film program. In addition, it would supercharge the development of emerging programs at Nevada State University and UNR, as well as related career and technical programs at the Clark County School District and the public education system throughout the state.

As an anecdote, allow me to share something I learned in working with Warner Bros.: The commitment to education and training that Summerlin Studios partnership is promoting is not an empty promise. This past summer, Warner Bros. provided paid internships to five of our UNLV film students and we saw the immediate positive impact. As our students rotated through various aspects of studio operations, they witnessed the world of opportunities the industry unlocks.

Their experience encompassed everything that happens behind the camera that combines to make for successful productions. Our collective takeaway was that content creation encompasses a wide and diverse swath of skills that students don’t know anything about until they step onto a studio lot. In the words of one of our interns, “There is no class for that at film school.”

It bears repeating — just imagine. Just imagine a scenario in which our students wouldn’t have to leave town to gain world-class training in an industry that is willing to make the substantial investment to set up shop in Las Vegas and actively collaborate with UNLV and the state of Nevada to usher in a new and dynamic dimension to our entertainment industry foundation.

As the president of UNLV, I am excited about the enriching workforce development opportunities we will be able to capitalize on with Summerlin Studios in our backyard.

Chris Heavey is president of UNLV.