Higher education leadership coming up Rose

Chancellor hire isn’t ‘ivory tower academic’

Nevada’s higher education system has a new leader to guide it through the challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Melody Rose, who has 25 years of experience in higher education and was previously chancellor of the Oregon university system, took the helm Sept. 1 as chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education.

NSHE’S Board of Regents voted to hire Rose, who most recently worked as an independent consultant to universities, in June following a recommendation by a search committee. Her four-year contract runs through Aug. 31, 2024, at a base salary of $437,750.

In an interview with the Review-journal, Rose said she’s not “an ivory tower academic,” explaining that she grew up in a “pretty disruptive” household with a mother who was a teenage parent and a father who struggled with addiction issues. That “makes me like a lot of our students,” she said.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a strange time to start a new job, Rose acknowledged.

“My focus … has really been getting around to some of our key internal stakeholders,” she said, adding that she did plenty of listening last week during sessions with faculty members, students, campus presidents and Board of Regents officers.

This week, Rose plans to meet with officials in the governor’s office and state legislators.

“I’m really excited to start those conversations,” she said.

Rose is responsible for overseeing eight schools in the state’s public higher education system: UNLV and the University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada State College in Henderson, four community colleges and the Desert Research Institute. Those schools serve more than 100,000 students.

Outgoing NSHE Chancellor Thom Reilly, who was appointed in June 2017, announced his resignation last year. His contract was extended to Dec. 31 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 response

Six months of the pandemic have forced 60 years worth of innovation in higher education, jarring people out of complacency and forcing organizations of all types to think about “serving modern needs of modern students,” Rose said.

COVID-19 is obviously top of mind for everyone these days, Rose said, adding that all NSHE schools have worked tirelessly in their responses and are keeping employee and student safety “at the heart of their thinking.”

Rose said she asked for an update on case counts at campuses and as of Friday, numbers were low.

“Overall, I have to say I was so pleased by what I heard,” she said.

Each school will submit its case counts to NSHE every Friday, and the figures will be posted on the higher education system’s website, Rose said.

“Folks will know how we’re doing,” she added.

As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, NSHE is facing $137.8 million in budget cuts, prompting regents to take several actions since April to stem the financial impact.

Rose said she talked last week with leaders of the regents’ new budget reduction response committee. Updates will be discussed at a public meeting this month, she said.

The committee’s work will be an “open and transparent process with stakeholders at the table,” she vowed.

For NSHE, the goal is always “holding students harmless to the best of our ability,” she said.

In April, however, NSHE’S Board of Regents approved a temporary student surcharge, ranging from $3 to $8 per credit, for this school year. And it came just months after regents approved dozens of fee increases.

Other priorities

My focus … has really been getting around to some of our key internal stakeholders.

Rose said transparency is key for NSHE because policymakers and taxpayers have made significant investments in the state’s colleges and universities. It’s important to look at “how to build trust in a positive, productive way,” she said.

And in addition to keeping a close eye on the COVID-19 situation, NSHE needs to stay laser-focused on student success, Rose said.

It’s predicted that higher education enrollment will be take a major downturn starting in 2026 because the birth rate dropped during the economic recession about a decade ago, Rose said.

“Smaller cohorts will start showing up on campuses nationally,” she said.

Nevada has an advantage because people are moving to the western U.S. and certain populations are increasing their higher education attendance, she said, noting that the Latinx population is a growth area.

“Knowing that, we really have to be thinking deeply and prioritizing inclusion,” Rose said, adding that the higher education system needs to be recruiting “more Black and brown students to our institutions.”

She said that real headway has been made in the past few years but that NSHE needs to keep a close eye on retaining and graduating those students in equal proportion to white students.

Melody Rose Chancellor, Nevada System of Higher Education