Keith E. Whitfield

President, UNLV
Expertise: Higher education, Psychology of cognition and healthy aging, Stress and aging among African Americans, Health disparities research

Biography

UNLV President Keith E. Whitfield is an experienced university administrator and prolific scholar in the fields of psychology, health, and aging. 

A psychologist and expert on the social, psychological, and cultural factors of cognition and healthy aging, Whitfield’s current research focuses on the relationship between stress and longevity in African American families. Whitfield has authored or co-authored over 200 publications and has earned nearly $20 million in funding from agencies including the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging (NIA), and the National Science Foundation. He’s a member of the NIA’s National Advisory Council on Aging, he sits on the board of directors for the Coalition of Urban-Serving Universities, and he has served on committees for the National Academies of Sciences and Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.  

Whitfield previously served as provost, senior vice president of academic affairs, and professor of psychology at Wayne State University in Michigan. Prior to Wayne State, he was vice provost for academic affairs at Duke University and held appointments as a professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, a research professor in the Department of Geriatric Medicine at Duke University Medical Center, and a senior fellow at the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development. He also was the co-director of the Center on Biobehavioral Health Disparities Research. 

Education

  • Post Doc, University of Colorado-Boulder Institute for Behavioral Genetics, Quantitative Genetics
  • Ph.D. in Life Span Development, Texas Tech University
  • M.A. in Psychology, Texas Tech University
  • B.A. in Psychology, College of Santa Fe

Related Links

Keith E. Whitfield In The News

Las Vegas Sun
A student rushes across the UNLV campus just before lunch with a mail-in ballot in hand, darting past the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art and into the polling site at Lied Library.
Expansion Solutions Magazine
UNLV joins state, local leaders at Intermountain Health event to commemorate planning of first dedicated children’s hospital in Southern Nevada. Intermountain Health unveiled the location for its future stand-alone children’s hospital in Southern Nevada on Tuesday afternoon.
Las Vegas Sun
As children of various ages in uniform walked past Tuesday’s outdoor ceremony on their way home from classes at Amplus Academy, UNLV President Keith Whitfield gestured to them while recalling the community’s support for the UNLV Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine and lauding the contributions of existing hospitals such as University Medical Center.
K.S.N.V. T.V. News 3
ҳ| 鶹ýӳ and tech startup Boxabl are collaborating to gauge interest in the company’s prefabricated, mass-produced houses. In response to rising housing costs, UNLV president Keith Whitfield is exploring the idea of $60,000 studio homes as a possible solution for students.

Articles Featuring Keith E. Whitfield

graphic saying "We Will Ascend Together" with conference logos
Campus News | September 26, 2024

UNLV President Keith E. Whitfield and Director of Athletics Erick Harper announced that Rebel Athletics will extend its contract with the Mountain West from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2032.