Editorial: UNLV vision mustn’t hurt other programs

Friday, Sept. 12, 2003 | 6:07 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION: Sept. 14, 2003

In her annual State of the University speech delivered last week, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, President Carol Harter said state government and private donors should help the campus become a "premier metropolitan research university" by 2010. She envisioned a new building where top academics in the fields of science, technology and engineering would be receiving large grants to work on prestigious research. She talked of a "research park" linking private researchers with university staff. She proposed recruiting a greater number of students who would be working toward doctoral degrees. She foresaw a day when multi- million-dollar fund-raising campaigns would exceed their goals.

We support her vision with one proviso -- that the vision for international acclaim not come at the expense of undergraduate programs. We believe that Nevada's high school graduates in 2010 and beyond should have at least the same opportunities for a university education as exist today. Even as it stands now, resources are strained for undergraduate programs. If Harter's vision can be accomplished without jeopardizing undergraduate programs, and without skimping on the funding for the community colleges and Henderson State College, we're all for it.