Nevada System of Higher Education Chancellor Thom Reilly will recommend UNLV Honors College Dean Marta Meana to serve as acting president of the university as President Len Jessup departs.

The Nevada Board of Regents will consider the recommendation at a special board meeting on June 4. Reilly said that after hosting 11 forums on the topic, he deduced that the majority of attendees preferred an internal candidate to serve as acting president while a national search for a permanent president is underway.

He wrote in a memo that he’s recommending Meana after interviews with four potential internal candidates. She indicated that she’s not interested in the position on a permanent basis, he said.

“Dr. Meana has served the university in campus wide capacities for more than 20 years, including as Senior Advisor to the President,” Reilly wrote in explaining his choice. “Under her tenure as the dean of the UNLV honor’s college she saw enrollment (triple) and students succeed at unprecedented rates.”

Meana was named permanent head of the Honors College in 2014. She joined the school’s psychology department in 1997 and is a researcher in the fields of women’s health and human sexuality.

According to her official biography, Meana earned her Ph.D. in psychology in 1996 from McGill University in Montreal and did a post-doctoral research fellowship in women's health at the University of Toronto. She has been president of the Society for Sex Therapy and Research and held editorial roles for several journals focused on sexuality research.

Jessup, who became president in early 2015, announced in April that he would be leaving UNLV at the end of the school year to be president of Claremont Graduate University. He said “personal and professional” attacks from Reilly and members of the Board of Regents prompted his departure. Reilly acknowledged after the announcement that he had “significant concerns about operational issues” at UNLV.

Updated at 11:58 a.m. on May 24, 2018 to add details about the search process and Meana's recommendation.