Our continued support for the UNLV community

December 7, 2023

Dear Wolf Pack Family,

Our hearts are broken for UNLV and all of the communities in the Las Vegas area in the wake of Wednesday’s deadly mass shooting on the UNLV campus. Our deepest thoughts and condolences are with the families of those who lost their lives and were injured and we stand in support of all the UNLV students, faculty and staff of our proud partner in Nevada higher education. Our continued support goes out to all of the UNLV community as it deals with this unimaginable and devastating experience.

Tomorrow, instead of wearing blue on “Wolf Pack Fridays,” let’s show The Wolf Pack Family’s support for our sister university by wearing UNLV’s school colors, scarlet and gray, in honor of a great university that is grieving. This is a time when “We Are All Rebels.” Thank you to our School of Public Health for sharing this idea and leading the effort to support UNLV.

I have offered our full assistance to UNLV President Keith Whitfield, and as our partner, it is very important that we all do what we can to support our friends at UNLV. Dr. Whitfield’s message to the UNLV community provides an update from yesterday’s shootings, and also in very human terms explains that trauma like yesterday doesn’t recede easily, and individuals process their reactions in different ways.

There are many students, faculty and staff on our campus who have friends, family members and colleagues at UNLV and others who grew up in Clark County who know members of the UNLV family. It is an extremely difficult time and it is important to understand, as Dr. Whitfield put it so well in his message yesterday, to “not be okay” and seek help.

Please know that our campus has a number of resources available to you. Counseling Services offer therapy and psychological services for students; the Downing Counseling Clinic (through the College of Education and Human Development) offers therapy services for students, faculty and staff; and the Employee Assistance Program is available for faculty and staff. The University’s LiveWell program is also available to help you prioritize your well-being and navigate campus resources that are available to help you do so.

In addition to showing our support for the UNLV community, we also thank the first responders who were on the scene very quickly yesterday. The emergency operational and communication procedures that were in place yesterday are practiced and tested regularly on all NSHE campuses, including ours. We are grateful for the cooperation and collaboration that is at the heart of the public safety community of Washoe County, Clark County and our entire state. Our University Police Services offers active assailant training year-round to our faculty, staff and students. Active assailant training, along with other valuable safety workshops are available for scheduling for any class or department on campus by calling (775) 784-4013 or by emailing unrpd@police.unr.edu

UNLV is our partner in higher education in Nevada. The Rebels are our friends, neighbors and colleagues. We dream the same dreams on our campuses. We share the same future as institutions of higher learning. And when senseless tragedy like this occurs, we show our unequivocal love and support for UNLV, and for healing, strength and resiliency. Please continue to keep our friends at UNLV in your thoughts and continue to look out for one another here on our campus.

Sincere regards,

Brian Sandoval
President