Amid debate, regents to hear UNLV’s reorganization plan

Debra D. Bass

Tuesday, July 9, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

The autonomy of UNLV's Greenspun School of Communication may be a thing of the past under a reorganization plan proposed by the university president and provost.

While some have resolved to grin and bare it, others are gritting their teeth over the planned changes.

The plan would demote the communication school from a free-standing unit to the equivalent of a department within a newly created College of Urban Affairs.

Regents will consider the proposal at their Academic, Research and Student Affairs Committee meeting Wednesday in Reno. Locals can watch the 10:30 a.m. meeting via satellite on the third floor of UNLV's system computer center. The full board will weigh the committee's recommendations Aug. 8-9 in Reno.

Longtime communications Professor Evan Blythin calls the shuffle "ill-conceived and poorly executed. I just don't think this newly conceived college is a good idea at all."

The College of Urban Affairs would also include the Client Services Center; the criminal justice department; the environmental studies program (to become a department); the department of sport and leisure studies (to be renamed the department of leisure studies); the school of social work; and the department of counseling, consisting of the counseling faculty from the dismantled counseling and educational psychology department.

According to the plan, the new college "is intended to bring together those applied areas of study that best exemplify" the university's mission to establish itself as a "premier urban university."

Blythin called it the "catch-all college," but objected most to the prospect of being "told rather than consulted" on whether communications should be placed there or left alone.

Richard Jensen, a professor with four years vested in the school, was less certain in his sentiments.

"To tell you the truth, I'm totally confused about the whole thing," Jensen said. "At times I think it's a terrible thing and at times I think it's OK. I've really got mixed feelings because UNLV has to change and they have the right idea, but I'm not so sure this is the thing to be done."

He agreed with Blythin that the seemingly odd collection of departments was anything but logical or obvious.

"I don't do any urban affairs teaching or research and some departments that do aren't being included (in the new college)," Jensen said.

Students were less diplomatic.

"It's ludicrous," said communication graduate student Rick Appin. "We have nothing to do with criminal justice or environmental studies."

Tod Story, a senior in communication studies, said he is concerned that the Greenspun school will be lost in the shuffle.

"The new college seems pretty generic and naming it urban affairs doesn't help," Story said. He planned to call the Nevada Student Association and have them lobby the Board of Regents to hold a second meeting on the matter in Las Vegas, after the semester begins.

Provost Douglas Ferraro said the College of Urban Affairs has "extraordinary growth possibility." The prospect hinges on doing things differently -- that means conforming to the urban theme -- and doing it well, he said.

"In Las Vegas terms, there are going to be winners and losers: those who want to be educationally sound and present good arguments (for funding) will be the winners, and those that don't won't," Ferraro said, "I don't want this to sound like I'm being a tough guy, but there has to be emphasis on the merit (and adaptability) of the program."

Gary Kreps, executive director of the communications school, said he was disappointed by the move, "but I'm willing to work to make this the strongest communications program in the country and meet the needs of the university." He added that he was excited about the prospect of working with the other departments in the new school.

Ron Farrell, interim executive director of the school of social work, said, "The way I see it (the reorganization) makes programmatic sense. It may not be an ideal mix, but they have the potential to make a good fit,"

Other proposed changes:

* The College of Architecture will become a department in the fine arts college, but the construction management program will be transferred to the department of civil and environmental engineering.

* The film studies program will also become a department in fine arts.

* The honors program will become a college.

* The English Language Center will move from the Greenspun School to the College of Liberal Arts.

* The College of Human Performance and Development will be disbanded and its departments transferred to other colleges.

An estimated 16 percent of UNLV's faculty will be affected by the academic changes.

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