Article and Photography courtesy of Laura Perkins

A Regent In Nevada is an elected official who governs the eight institutions of higher learning. Those institutions are publicly funded and comprise three universities, four community colleges, and a research institute. The importance of this body is to guide the entire system for the betterment of Nevadans. Let’s start with what a region is charged with doing. Primarily, it’s fiduciary. That’s a five-dollar word that doesn’t mean just money. Maybe it’s easier to say what we don’t do. We do not participate in the day-to-day operations of the institution. So, no, we cannot get your niece’s cousin accepted into the top-ranked hospitality program. Please don’t ask.

Laura Perkins with UNLV Rebels sign

We make policy that governs those institutions. We ensure there is a buffer between politics and education. We are in the Nevada constitution to insulate us and, therefore, protect higher education from the swings of political ideologies. To see how this is important, let’s take a look across the US. In Florida, there is a movement to prohibit what is taught in this space. This effort completely denies academic freedom. Scholarly pursuits are the backbone of a free society. It is stifling and detrimental when you are prevented from critically examining history, politics, and societal ails. Higher education must be free to reach conclusions based on a meeting of the minds, scholarly debates, and honest dialogue.

This is also happening in Idaho, where legislators are dictating what programs are and aren’t going to be offered again based on political ideology. We are lucky right now that the Board of Regents is codified in the Nevada Constitution. Protecting our State, allowing the Regents to promote academic freedom, and protecting the ideals of academia.

There’s a question coming to a public vote, again, to remove the Board of Regents from the Nevada constitution. By the way, it was defeated in 2022. Let’s not Florida our Nevada. I encourage you to keep politics out of higher education.

This article was originally published in the 2023 Holiday Issue of Las Vegas PRIDE Magazine, and can be read in its original format here.