Last spring, the College of Science Strategic Plan Committee finalized the College’s latest strategic plan, spanning from 2025-2030. The committee, co-chaired by Professor Annie Leonard and Teaching Associate Professor Diana Moss, identified four areas of focus, each associated with goals, gaps and solutions to address those gaps and achieve identified goals.

The full strategic plan can be requested in a PDF format through Formstack.

Research

• Goal 1: Contribute to the University’s plan of making progress toward becoming a top 50 National Science Foundation public research and development university.
• Goal 2: Increase the impact of our research.
• Goal 3: Foster an inclusive and diverse research culture.

Education

• Goal 1: Expand inclusive and accessible pathways for STEM education.
• Goal 2: Broaden course offerings and increase classroom space to support accessibility.
• Goal 3: Strengthen corporate partnerships to enhance career readiness and student support.

People and Infrastructure

• Goal 1: Advance research and teaching capacity by investing in resources.
• Goal 2: Invest in our people and engage with our community.
• Goal 3: Recognize excellence among students, faculty and staff to boost recruitment and retention.

Outreach

• Goal 1: Enhance the College of Science’s local impact through collaboration with partners in education, policy and industry and expand the College’s presence as a campus leader in community outreach.
• Goal 2: Increase awareness of public services provided by College of Science units.
• Goal 3: Foster a sense of curiosity and excitement among community members through public-facing College of Science events and museum outreach activities.
• Goal 4: Increase public knowledge of faculty research and its real-world implications in Nevada and beyond.

“The College of Science is committed to reaching these goals designed to benefit students, faculty and staff, the College itself, the University and the broader community,” Dean Louisa Hope-Weeks said. “I also want to thank the committee for their efforts in developing this comprehensive plan.”

Alongside the cochairs, the committee was comprised of Laura Barcelos Nomicos (director of the Global Institute for Behavior Analysis), Kyren Bogolub (network seismologist), Pengbo Chu (Nevada Gold Mines Professor), Valentin Deaconu (associate professor), Ana de Bettencourt-Dias (Susan Magee and Gary Clemons Professor of Chemistry, Foundation Professor and Department of Chemistry chair), Ryan Dotson (College of Science Advisory Council member), Bill Hammond (research professor), Bill Honjas (adjunct research associate), Louisa Hope-Weeks (dean of the College of Science), Rick Kraus (associate professor), Taissa Lytchenko (doctoral student), Paula Noble (professor and Department of Geological Sciences and Engineering chair), Gina Sella (academic advisor), Daniel Shedd (laboratory coordinator) and Mike Webster (director of the COBRE for Integrative Neuroscience, professor).