Why it matters
The board is composed of 13 elected regents who set policies and approve budgets for Nevada’s entire public system of higher education: four community colleges, one state university, two doctorate-granting research universities and one research institute. The Nevada System of Higher Education serves more than 100,000 students.
The board is also responsible for hiring the system’s chancellor and presidents for the institutions.
Why you should care
As in states across the country, colleges are facing pressure from a Trump administration suspicious of academia and challenges in proving the value of increasingly expensive college degrees.
The board recently faced backlash from students for voting to raise tuition and fees to address a looming budget shortfall attributed to faculty pay raises.
The board is in the process of searching for permanent presidents for Nevada State University and UNLV.
Two regents are running for re-election, and Regent Pete Goicoechea is running for his first full term after being appointed to the board in 2024. Regent Patrick Boylan is facing the most challengers — five. Boylan came under fire in 2024 after controversial comments he made claiming NSHE doesn't support white students as much as it does students of color and opposing transgender female student athletes, referring to them as "men masquerading as women."
Board of Regent, District 2Nonpartisan
Jennifer McGrath
IncumbentMcGrath was appointed to the Board of Regents in March 2025 by Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo. She has been an attorney for over two decades. McGrath is a board member of Hearts Alive Village, an at-cost veterinary clinic charity in Las Vegas.
Patrick Villa
Villa is a math professor for the College of Southern Nevada (CSN). He has previously served CSN’s faculty senate and chair for the college’s math department and the business department.
Hunter Cain
Cain is a former senior staffer for Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV). He’s a decorated, disabled combat veteran. Cain also served in the Nevada National Guard.
Dylan Chambers
Candidate website could not be found.
Board of Regent, District 3Nonpartisan
Byron Brooks
IncumbentBrooks was elected to the board in 2020. He’s a managing partner at Brooks Brothers Bail Bonds. He is a U.S. Army veteran, worked for a private security firm overseas and serves as a mentor for the Veterans Treatment Court Program.
Brian Brill
Candidate website could not be found.
Erik Swendseid
Candidate website could not be found.
Board of Regent, District 5Nonpartisan
Patrick Boylan
IncumbentBoylan was elected in November 2020 to the Board of Regents. He’s a former College of Southern Nevada professor. Boylan founded and was the director of the Center for Strategic Analysis, a nonprofit educational organization training first responders, law enforcement and military personnel.
Moises "Mo" Denis
Denis served in the state Senate from 2016 to 2022 and served in the Assembly from 2004 to 2010. He held leadership roles in the Senate, including the top position of Senate majority leader in 2013. He’s worked as an IT professional, including for the Nevada Public Utilities Commission.
Kathleen Cavalaro
Candidate website could not be found.
Tyler DeLorenzo
Candidate website could not be found.
Ashley Kay Garcia
Candidate website could not be found.
Stephanie Molina
Candidate website could not be found.
Board of Regent, District 8Nonpartisan
Pete Goicoechea
IncumbentGoicoechea was appointed to the Board of Regents by Gov. Joe Lombardo in December 2024. Prior to that, he served in the Legislature for 22 years, first as an assemblymember and later as a state senator, until his term ended in 2024. He is the owner of Goicoechea Ranches and spent 16 years as a Eureka County commissioner.
Lori Lane
Candidate website could not be found.
Karmen La'Shaun Hall Miller
Candidate website could not be found.
Kirk Askia Talib-deen
Candidate website could not be found.
Board of Regent, District 10Nonpartisan
Joseph Arrascada
IncumbentArrascada was elected to the board in 2020. He has previously served as the board’s vice chair and led or served on several committees include the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access Committee and the Academic, Research and Student Affairs Committee
Peter Reed
Reed is the director of the Sanford Center for Aging in the UNR School of Medicine and as professor of community health sciences. He’s a former faculty senate chair, and former chair of the Nevada System of Higher Education’s Council of Senate Chairs.