In an extraordinary 21-page rebuke of the top two members of the Board of Regents, Nevada System of Higher Education Chancellor Melody Rose outlined an alleged pattern of hostility ultimately designed, she said, to force her from her position as the system’s top administrator. 

Nevada System of Higher Education Chancellor Melody Rose accused Board of Regents leaders of persistent hostility and undermining her ability to do the job in a hostile work environment complaint filed Monday, a stunning split between the system’s chief administrator and the governing board that hired her. 

The Board of Regents voted 10-3 on Thursday to approve a wide-reaching higher education employee vaccine mandate, giving more than 5,000 unvaccinated employees until Dec. 1 to either get vaccinated or, barring limited exceptions, have their employment terminated. 

DeRionne Pollard made history earlier this year when the Board of Regents approved her as the next president of Nevada State College — making her the first Black woman ever permanently appointed to head up a Nevada higher education institution.

An open letter sent Wednesday marks the latest tension between faculty and administrators over the implementation of certain COVID mitigation policies.

Wednesday’s numbers represent a nearly 20-point surge from initial system-wide vaccination tallies reported last week of just 56 percent of nearly 24,000 employees.

Dubbed the “Digital Wolf Pack Initiative,” UNR announced a formal partnership with Apple in May that would put an iPad in the hands of every incoming freshman this fall in the name of technological equity and digital literacy. 

The new mandate — which would have to be approved by regents again during a special meeting set for Sept. 30 before taking effect — would encompass any and all employees within the higher education system, “irrespective of job title or tenure status.”

Implementation of the corequisite model this fall follows in the wake of an internal NSHE report that found traditional methods did not work for many of the thousands of incoming college students in remediation every year. 

As rent prices increase, university officials are assessing where to allocate resources to keep attracting and supporting students.

One year after taking the Nevada System of Higher Education’s top job, Chancellor Melody Rose says that “we have to remember that we are still not in normal circumstances.” 

The mandate will set a deadline of Nov. 1 for students enrolling in spring semester courses at any public university, state college or community college to show proof of full COVID vaccination or — barring existing religious or medical exemptions — risk being unable to enroll. 

Today, even as the hope and optimism for an in-person semester that even six months ago was a far-away fantasy have remained, frustration and disappointment have simmered. 

Black Fire Innovation, a gaming research center, is the initial building in the 122-acre UNLV Harry Reid Research and Technology Park, that will focus on fostering economic development in Southern Nevada.

As debates have raged over which state board has the legal authority to mandate vaccines for college students and when that process might actually take place, some institutions have sought to ramp up localized efforts to boost vaccination rates. 

A new legislative study committee aimed at aligning workforce development and community colleges could have far-reaching effects on how those colleges are funded and governed.

The move is the latest public push by the governor to mandate vaccinations under certain conditions and comes as COVID cases and hospitalizations have surged across the state.

For months, the issue of mandating the COVID vaccine for college students in Nevada has hung in limbo, largely amid concerns over legal fine print.

Though the governor's office confirmed Friday that NSHE employees were included in a new policy for state employees requiring vaccination or weekly tests, the status of a possible student mandate remains unknown.