Detroit administrator backed to lead UNLV
Panel unanimously recommends finalist
A search committee voted unanimously Wednesday to recommend Keith Whitfield, a university administrator in Detroit, as UNLV’S next president.
After suspending the search process this spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a Nevada System of Higher Education committee moved forward with interviewing four finalists during an all-day meeting at UNLV’S Student Union Ballroom.
NSHE’S Board of Regents is slated to consider the search committee’s recommendation and possibly hire a new president during a meeting at 1 p.m. Thursday, which will be held via videoconference only.
Whitfield, who has a doctoral degree in lifespan development, is provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Wayne State University in Detroit. He’s also a research scientist. He was previously vice provost for academic affairs at Duke University in North Carolina.
After the search committee’s vote, Whitfield came back into the room and thanked the committee. “This is an incredible honor,” he said, adding that they’ll do great things together for UNLV.
A search consultant told the committee before Whitfield’s interview there were numerous comments from survey respondents saying Whitfield would be the best choice.
Other finalists for the UNLV president position were Kenneth
Furton, Chris Heavey and Karla Leeper.
Heavey, the only internal finalist, is interim executive vice president and provost at UNLV and has worked at the university since the early ’90s.
Furton is provost, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Florida International University in the Miami area. Leeper is executive vice president for operations at Augusta University/ Augusta University Health System in Georgia.
UNLV has seen frequent presidential turnover — six leaders in 13 years. Acting UNLV President Marta Meana — who has filled the role since June 2018 — announced in February she won’t seek the job permanently. Her contract continues through December after NSHE regents voted this spring to extend it due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The search committee asked each candidate the same set of about a dozen interview questions. Each candidate had a total of one and a half hours.
Questions centered around topics such as how finalists would handle the COVID-19 situation and associated budget cuts; their experience working with a diverse population of students; efforts they’d take around student success; online education; grants and fundraising; and UNLV’S R1 research status by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching for “very high research activity.”
Contact Julie Wootton-greener at jgreener@reviewjournal. com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.