LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — As we celebrate Black History Month, we're highlighting leaders shaping our community. UNLV President Dr. Keith E. Whitfield is the first African-American to lead one of the most diverse institutions in the U.S.
Channel 13 anchor Rachel Moore sits down with the university president and shares why his goal to expand upon the school's diversity is essential to the growth of Southern Nevada.
NOT TRADITIONAL
"I'm just not your traditional president," Whitfield said.
Following tradition wasn't an option for Whitfield. Beginning his tenure at the height of the pandemic, he is sailing UNLV into a future focusing on community connection, diversity, research and athletics.
"We're pointing our ship, that's UNLV, so that somebody looks at our school and says, 'Wow! That's a great school. Oh, and they play good sports,'" Whitfield said.
As the university's first Black captain of that ship, Dr. Whitfield says he serves all of his students and faculty no matter their ethnicity, harboring no worry of sinking under pressure.
"Pressure is a perception. Do I know that that exists as an issue? Yes. Do I let it be a pressure that stops me from making decisions that I think are the right decisions? No," Whitfield said.
WHITFIELD'S PARENTS
Born in Japan to a military airman, Whitfield's father returned to school after serving, earning a degree from the University of Colorado Boulder, the same school where Whitfield would complete his postdoctorate.
Even his mother showing him the power of education. She earned her bachelor's degree while Whitfield was in high school. But he says someone else sparked his love for learning.
"When I graduated from college, did my little walk across stage, one of my grandfathers, he said, 'I'm so proud, my heart is about to burst out of my chest.' And I think I got the gravity of it, but it actually made me feel like what I achieved was really special," Whitfield said.
That achievement steered him to many more. Whitfield served as vice provost at Duke University, then as provost at Wayne State University in Michigan — the first Black man to hold these positions.
"My mother and I had this discussion, where I was just saying, 'Oh my gosh. I wish they'd stop saying I'm the first Black president.' I said, 'I know I am. I don't need you to remind me.' And she said, 'Oh Keith, it means something to people,' And I thought, 'Yeah, I guess you have to keep that in mind,'" Whitfield said.
Especially at one the most diverse universities in the country. UNLV serves 31,000 students, 67% with a minority ethnic background, and nearly half of those students identify as Hispanic. The university reflecting this diverse student body in its faculty, leadership and curriculum.
POSITIVE GROWTH
"That is one of the things that challenges our society today: We don't have enough training and education in understanding another's perspective. And so being at a diverse campus, it provides the opportunity to do that," Whitfield said.
At the helm of UNLV, Whitfield hopes to welcome aboard another 9,000 students from across the country and around the world by the year 2030, contributing to Southern Nevada's workforce and economic growth.
"Companies are going to come in, because they're going to say, 'You got that great university and they pump people out all the time, great people.' So that secures UNLV's footprint, and participating in all of those things because of what a higher institution actually represents," Whitfield said.
