By Phil Satre, Don Snyder, Kathleen Conaboy and Nancy Brune

On Friday, December 4 the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education approved the University of Nevada Reno’s request to formally locate the Guinn Center on its campus. We believe the Guinn Center’s affiliation with the university will serve our respective entities and the Silver State.

When the founders and brain trust of what is now the Guinn Center assembled more than eight years ago to explore the possibility of establishing a statewide, nonpartisan policy center, there were among us individuals well-versed in the high standards of university life. Included in this accomplished group were former University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) president Dr. Joe Crowley, former University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) President Dr. Carol Harter, UNLV Interim President Don Snyder, former regents, and university administrators.  We then searched nationally and recruited an executive director who had worked on several university campuses and was herself an accomplished researcher.

In the early years, some of us wondered whether it might make sense to move Nevada’s only statewide, nonpartisan research center to a university campus. However, we recognized that we had to first prove that we could successfully operationalize our vision – a vision that had never been attempted in Nevada.  

From the beginning, our board, which reflects the geographic and political diversity of the state, has collectively guided and advised the direction and work of the Guinn Center, ensuring that we stay above politics and provide policy options for local and state officials to consider as they address the challenges that we face. Our donor support from individuals, foundations and corporations is also widely distributed throughout the state; we are grateful to our financial supporters for believing in our vision and supporting our work over the years. Our commitment to produce data-driven, independent research has been served by our strict adherence to the same high-quality standards adopted by academic researchers and institutions such as the RAND Corporation. This means that our work is always “carefully peer-reviewed before its public release” for both accuracy and objectivity.

Locating the Guinn Center at the University of Nevada, Reno serves the university’s interests and long-term goals. The Guinn Center’s broad portfolio of research aligns with the University’s strategic plans to sustain its Carnegie Tier 1 “R1” classification and uphold its commitment to “enhance the quality, value, and range of the University’s research” and “invest in disciplinary and interdisciplinary research areas that build upon existing strength and that are responsive to emerging needs and opportunities.”

In this year alone, the Guinn Center’s lean staff published almost two dozen policy reports, several of which have informed public policy and attracted state and national media attention. Staff have published peer-reviewed articles and secured and managed external grants, reflecting their ability to continue to meet the requirements of university life. The Guinn Center has partnered with University of Nevada, Reno faculty on reports, events, and federal grants. The Guinn Center is also developing the next generation of Nevada’s policy analysts by providing internships and professional development opportunities for UNR undergraduate and graduate students. While the Guinn Center has had permanent staff in Reno (working from home or local coffee shops), the university’s decision to house the Guinn Center on campus will facilitate greater collaboration among Guinn Center researchers, faculty and students, and existing centers of excellence. The Guinn Center staff will continue to divide time between Las Vegas and Reno to ensure our statewide focus.  

The Guinn Center will also support the University’s Carnegie Tier 1 “R1” status by assisting the university’s efforts to “strengthen the social, economic, and environmental wellbeing of Nevada citizens, communities, organizations, and governments through community outreach and reciprocal partnerships.” 

Community engagement has been a core pillar of the Guinn Center’s work. The Center has become the connective tissue across stakeholders in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors throughout Nevada. Recognizing the value of collaboration and the importance of bridging Nevada’s policy and geographical divides, the Guinn Center has built collaborative relationships and partnerships with UNR, UNLV, agencies, and nonprofits, and has provided technical assistance, training, grant writing support, and data analysis to help build capacity and improve outcomes. As part of the University of Nevada, Reno community, the Guinn Center team will continue our work leveraging the knowledge of university faculty and researchers and connecting students to ongoing opportunities. The Guinn Center’s new Southern Nevada home on the College of Southern Nevada North Las Vegas campus will support the university’s ongoing efforts to strengthen community engagement and strategic partnerships with the Silver State’s community colleges.

The Guinn Center will benefit from the affiliation in many ways. First, having a physical home on the university campus will allow the Guinn Center to expand its footprint in Northern Nevada. Second, the physical home and formal affiliation will facilitate greater collaboration with faculty and students on research opportunities, policy development, and grants. While the university is providing office space, the Guinn Center is financially self-sufficient and will continue to pursue external grants and philanthropic support to fund its operations.  

We believe the formal affiliation of the Guinn Center with the University of Nevada, Reno will also serve the state of Nevada. A strong system of higher education is critical to Nevada’s ability to compete in the global marketplace of ideas and assist in our economic recovery. The Guinn Center’s subject-specific, deep policy expertise will assist the university’s broader efforts to marshal and direct creative and intellectual resources to support Nevada’s collaborative, short-term recovery efforts and long-term economic development strategies. The founders of the Guinn Center have long held the aspirational goal that our effort would contribute to the intellectual resources of the Silver State. The decision of the University of Nevada, Reno to house the Guinn Center on its campus, recently affirmed by the Board of Regents, suggests that the crystallization of our idea has become an integral part of the statewide ecosystem of institutions, agencies, and actors that regularly deliberate and inform the design of institutions, policies, and healthy communities.

Gov. Kenny Guinn was a champion for higher education in Nevada. We believe he would be pleased to know that the Guinn Center, which has worked diligently to uphold his values, has found a home at the University. How serendipitous that the decision was finalized under President Brian Sandoval, who worked closely with Governor Guinn when Sandoval was Nevada’s attorney general.  As founding architects of the Guinn Center, we are pleased with this affiliation and look forward to the next chapter of the Center’s journey.  

Phil Satre is the Guinn Center’s founding board chair. Don Snyder is the Guinn Center’s board chair and former UNLV Interim President. Kathleen Conaboy is the Guinn Center’s northern vice-chair and a previous executive administrator at UNR’s School of Medicine.  Nancy Brune is the Guinn Center’s founding executive director.