Fall 2000
Vol. 9, No. 1
News
Women's Athletic Programs Receive $3 Million in Gifts
UNLV women's athletic programs have received more than $3 million in gifts from four generous Las Vegas donors.
The donors are the Donrey Media Group; James Rogers, president of Sunbelt Communications; Jerry and Sue Lykins; and the Las Vegas Founders Club. The private financial support will provide nearly $1.9 million of a total construction cost of $2.1 million for a new women's softball stadium and a $1 million endowment to establish a new women's golf program, as well as operating support for that program.
"This tremendous support for softball and the new women's golf team is vitally important and will help us move UNLV even closer to true equity between men's and women's athletics programs," said UNLV President Carol C. Harter.
The Donrey Media Group, a subsidiary of the Stephens Group Inc. of Little Rock, Ark., has made the largest gifts for the two programs. Those donations include $1.25 million for the softball stadium and a $1 million charter gift to establish a women's golf endowment.
James E. Rogers and the Rogers family have also provided $500,000 in support of the construction of the softball stadium. The Rogers family has been extremely generous to UNLV and particularly the William S. Boyd School of Law; the Rogers' gifts and pledges of future support to UNLV academic and athletic programs now exceed $29 million.
Jerry and Sue Lykins are longtime donors to UNLV academic scholarships and athletic programs. The Las Vegas Founders Club has provided additional funding to the women's golf program.
The new softball stadium will be located on the northeast corner of Harmon Ave. and Swenson Street on the west side of the UNLV campus. The facility is expected to be completed in time for the 2001 women's softball season. The facility will be built by the UNLV Foundation, to whom these gifts are being made.
Alumni Association's Campus Improvements Under Way
The efforts of the UNLV Alumni Association to beautify and improve the university are visible in several projects currently under way across campus.
A new Alumni Court has been developed on the east-west academic mall near the Thomas T. Beam Engineering Complex. Six picnic tables, a kiosk, and a bulletin board mark the location.
The association also recently purchased 100 clocks to replace those not working in classrooms across campus. The clocks will be computerized and linked to a central university system so that they all will be synchronized.
"This gift to the university is for UNLV students and is a perfect example of how the association is looking not only at major projects, but also at little things it can do to make the university a better place," said Jim Kirkwood, a member of the alumni association board and chairperson of its marketing committee.
Additionally, the association has purchased five new kiosks that will be placed at various locations on the 335-acre campus.
The association is also working with university staff to further enhance the appearance of Alumni Walk, which is located near the softball fields and serves as a primary entrance to campus from the parking lots at the Thomas & Mack Center.
The association can be reached at 895-3621 or via the Internet at www.zunlv.com or www.unlv.edu.
Music Professor Virko Baley Named Distinguished Professor
Virko Baley | UNLV has awarded the title of distinguished professor to longtime music faculty member Virko Baley.
An internationally known conductor and composer, Baley has been a member of the UNLV faculty since 1970. Among his many accomplishments has been the founding of the Nevada Symphony Orchestra.
He was named distinguished professor based on the recommendation of a university committee. The designation of distinguished professor is not made every year; the honor is granted only after very serious consideration of a highly select group of faculty. Nominees must have demonstrated extraordinary qualities both as teachers and scholars and must have achieved national and international recognition in their fields of study.
A native of the Ukraine, Baley founded the Nevada Symphony Orchestra in 1980 and served as its music director until 1995. He also served as the music director and conductor of the Las Vegas Chamber Players and Sound Trek Series from 1974 until 1995. Today, in addition to teaching at UNLV, he is the principal guest conductor of the Kiev Camerata in the Ukraine.
Baley's compositions have included orchestral, instrumental, and vocal works. Additionally, he has composed one opera, titled Hunger.
He has received numerous grants, commissions, and awards over the years.
University Receives Reaffirmation of NASC Accreditation
UNLV has received notification that the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges has reaffirmed accreditation of the entire university, UNLV President Carol C. Harter announced recently.
"This is exciting news for UNLV," Harter said. "It confirms our belief that UNLV is making substantive progress in reaching its goal of becoming a premier urban university. We are delighted about this development and would like to acknowledge all of the hard work the campus has done to make it happen."
Harter said the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges' Commission on Colleges recognized — and was impressed by — UNLV's ability to meet the challenges presented by the university's tremendous growth and its attendant pressures.
She said the commission commended the university for pursuing its goal of "becoming more student-focused, as exemplified in strong interactions with faculty and staff."
"They also praised us for initiating a planning process that emphasizes participation by all campus groups and for being increasingly responsive to the needs of our local and regional communities, and thus contributing to the economic, social, educational, and cultural vitality of the community and the region," Harter said.
She added the commission also noted the university's impressive record of recruiting and retaining an increasingly diverse and highly qualified number of new faculty members who "join a dedicated and engaged faculty and staff, whose adeptness in dealing with the effects of rapid change and inadequate infrastructure is impressive."
Among the recommendations of the commission are that the university should work closely with the Board of Regents of the University and Community College System of Nevada, the governor, and the Legislature in the review of the funding formulas for revisions that take into account new conditions, responsibilities, and aspirations; that the university should continue in its efforts to institutionalize and coordinate planning processes that involve all segments of the campus; and that the university should continue its efforts to evaluate the effectiveness of the institution and its programs.
Every 10 years UNLV, like other universities and colleges, is reviewed for accreditation in what is called a "full-scale visit." In this year's visit, which occurred in late April, a 15-member team of professors and administrators from other institutions across the United States examined all aspects of the university to assess its quality and effectiveness.
William S. Boyd School of Law Receives Provisional Accreditation
UNLV's William S. Boyd School of Law has been granted provisional accreditation by the American Bar Association, UNLV President Carol C. Harter has announced.
Provisional accreditation means that graduates of the school are now permitted to sit for state bar examinations across the country.
"This is exciting news for the law school and the university," Harter said. "In less than two years after opening its doors to the entering class of 1998, the Boyd Law School has achieved provisional accreditation, which means that it substantially complies with the standards of the ABA for the approval of law schools. This is yet another form of recognition for the Boyd School of Law and one that speaks to its credibility and high standards of quality, as well as the dedication of its faculty and administration."
Having achieved provisional accreditation, the Boyd Law School will seek full accreditation at the earliest possible time — two years from now, according to Richard Morgan, dean of the Law School.
"The Boyd School of Law, which is the only law school in Nevada, already enjoys a great deal of support from the state, from the university and university system, from the legal profession, and from the community," Morgan said. "Dr. Harter has been unwavering in her support of the law school from the time she arrived here. Her contributions to the law school's success — her vision, her commitment, and her planning — have had a tremendous impact on our ability to get to this point. This provisional accreditation will now enable us to continue moving forward with our plans to make the Boyd School of Law a great law school and a very important resource for UNLV and Nevada."
The Law School submitted its application for provisional accreditation in the summer of 1999, which was the earliest possible time for it to do so under the ABA rules; the school was visited by a site inspection team from the ABA in November of that year.
The report of that team formed the basis of a positive recommendation from the ABA Accreditation Committee in April 2000, and that recommendation led to a favorable decision on provisional accreditation by the ABA's Council of the Section of Legal Education in June.
The ABA's House of Delegates then concurred with the decision of the council, resulting in the granting of the provisional accreditation.
Bowers Receives Association's Outstanding Faculty Award
UNLV political science professor Michael Bowers has been selected as this year's recipient of the UNLV Alumni Association's Outstanding Faculty Award.
Michael Bowers | "During the 16 years that Michael has been here at UNLV, he has always been very student-focused," said Fred Albrecht, vice president for university and community relations. "He has been exceptionally dedicated to helping and advising students. I'm extremely pleased to have him receive our award."
In addition to authoring numerous scholarly articles, Bowers has written two books on Nevada issues, The Nevada Constitution: A Reference Guide and The Sagebrush State: Nevada's History, Government, and Politics.
Bowers, who served 11 years as the associate dean of UNLV's College of Liberal Arts, has received many honors during his time at the university. Among those have been the William Morris Award for Teaching Excellence in the College of Liberal Arts, two research fellowships from the Nevada Humanities Committee, and the Liberty Bell Award, presented for outstanding contributions to the law by the Clark County Bar Association.
Bowers said he is delighted to have received the award.
"It would be an understatement to say that I was stunned by this very great honor being bestowed upon me. We have many wonderful faculty at the university. To be recognized within such an outstanding and distinguished group is truly a pleasure and provides me with a great sense of accomplishment."
Added Benefits Available to Alumni Assocation Members
Additional benefits are now available to members of the university's Alumni Association.
"We recently have added several new corporate partners to our already extensive list of companies that provide special benefits to UNLV Alumni Association members," said Kevin Page, president of the association.
Corporate partners are companies that affiliate themselves with the Alumni Association and pledge to offer something special, such as discounts, to association members.
"The ever-growing list of corporate sponsors is a tribute to both the support that UNLV has in the community and to the value of a membership in the Alumni Association," said Chip Johnson, the membership committee chairperson for the association. "We not only give everything back to UNLV students that we can, but we also give our members a good value for their $30 annual dues payments."
New corporate partners include wine.com, North American Van Lines, All-American Sport Park, Callaway Golf Center, St. Andrews Golf Shop, Las Vegas Embassy Suites, the Fairfield Inn, and the Wellesley Inn & Suites.
Association membership packets contain additional information on these and other membership benefits.
"Our alums shouldn't forget about our other benefits, such as the Children of Alumni Scholarships and the reduced out-of-state tuition for children of alumni whose biological parents are either lifetime members of the association or have paid their dues annually for at least three years," Page said.
Companies wishing to become corporate partners should call the association at 895-3621.
New State-of-the-Art Lied Library To Open January 2001
Some things are worth waiting for, and the new five-story, $55 million Lied Library is one of them.
Several construction delays have resulted in the postponement of the move into the state-of-the-art facility. It is now set to occur in December and early January to accommodate the lengthy, two-part process of "commissioning" the building into service.
The commissioning of the building — which will involve both physically moving the library collections (some 40,000 boxes of materials), as well as preparing and installing its remarkable electronic infrastructure of computers and other equipment — is expected to require some 370,000 staff hours.
"A physical move at any time other than the summer or winter breaks would seriously undermine the educational experience of UNLV's students and faculty," said Ken Marks, dean of libraries at UNLV. "It would mean that the library would not be available for use for a substantial amount of time."
Marks added that it is the goal of the university to open the facility only when it is 100 percent ready for use by students, faculty, and the community.
"We feel we owe it to the campus and community to open the Lied Library in a time frame that allows us to provide all of our constituents with the sophisticated, high-quality educational facility that the library was designed to be," he said.
This is a new column designed to note a variety of developments in the university community, including promotions, awards, resignations, deaths, and other events pertaining to UNLV faculty, administrators, and staff.
- UNLV has hired Anthony Flores, the former associate vice chancellor for business and finance at University of California, Davis, as the new vice president for finance. Flores had held the associate vice chancellor position at UC-Davis since 1996. Prior to that he was Davis' assistant vice chancellor for finance and director of fiscal operations at California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo.
- UNLV Provost Douglas Ferraro has resigned his position to join the faculty in the psychology department. Ray Alden, dean of the College of Sciences, has been named interim provost while a national search is conducted.
Jose Elique |
- UNLV has hired the former director of public safety at the City University of New York to lead its department of public safety. Jose Elique had been director of public safety at the 200,000-student CUNY since 1991. CUNY's public safety officers number some 800. From 1970 to 1991 he held increasingly responsible positions with the Port Authority Police of New York and New Jersey.
- Vice President for Student Services Robert Ackerman has announced that he is stepping down from his post to take a position as clinical associate professor of educational leadership in UNLV's College of Education. Ackerman came to UNLV in 1986 from Saint Leo College in Florida, where he was vice president for student affairs for 11 years.
Rebecca Mills |
- Rebecca Mills, the former senior advisor to the president at UNLV, has been appointed interim vice president for student life. Mills has been a member of the College of Education faculty since 1987. She was named special assistant to the president in 1995 and senior advisor to the president in 1998.
- UNLV communication studies professor Richard Jensen has been named senior advisor to university President Carol C. Harter. Jensen, who joined the UNLV faculty in 1992, previously taught at the University of New Mexico. He also has taught at Indiana University, California's Humboldt State University, and the University of Oregon.
- Carl Cook, assistant director of Alumni Relations, has accepted the position of executive director of Alumni Affairs at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
- Ronald L. Sack, the former director of the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science at the University of Oklahoma, has been named dean of the Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering.
- Longtime Antarctic researcher Margaret (Peg) Rees has been named UNLV's new associate provost for academic budget. Rees, a professor in the geoscience department, joined the UNLV faculty in 1985.
Carol Kimball | - Four UNLV professors were recently honored for their outstanding efforts in the field of scholarship. Christopher Kearney, associate professor of psychology, and Carol Kimball, professor of music, each received the Barrick Distinguished Scholar Award, which carries with it $5,000. Assistant professor of mathematical sciences Zhonghai Ding and associate professor of philosophy Paul Schollmeier were presented with Barrick Scholar Awards and $2,500 each.
- UNLV English professor John Bowers has been awarded a prestigious fellowship by the Guggenheim Foundation. Bowers, who is an expert on Medieval literature, will use the fellowship to work on his next book while on sabbatical from UNLV during the 2000-01 academic year. The book will explore the early potential development of English literature.
- Deaths: Thomas Cassese, 65, who retired in 1994, died Feb. 26. He began his UNLV career in 1969 in the College of Education and later served as vice president of University College. He also served as a counselor in both the College of Education and the Career Planning and Placement Office. Luther Strange, 74, retired associate professor of building science, died Feb. 5. Strange, who taught at UNLV from 1990 until 1997, died in Still Waters, Ala. P. Diane Turnbough, 56, retired assistant professor of psychology, died Dec. 14, 1999. She taught at the university from 1974 until her retirement in 1999. She had moved to Spokane, Wash.
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