In the 1970s, three Las Vegas architects made what they knew were big plans. These men ¡V Julio Lucchesi, George Tate, and Robert Fielden, '76 M.Ed. ¡V drew from their own kind of magic to stir up support on campus and across the state for an architecture program.

"In the late 1970s, Nevada was one of two states in the nation without an architecture school," Lucchesi's son, Ray, says. "The community of architects in Las Vegas rolled up their sleeves and made the program viable."

According to program pioneer Fielden, local architects were so dedicated to the fledgling program that they taught its first classes as volunteers. As the curriculum began to set by August 1981, the younger Lucchesi and fellow local architects Tom Schoeman and Steve Swisher rounded out the staff. Within a year, the program stoked enough attention to justify a half-time director. Ray Lucchesi took the job and for three years ran the program from the office of the family firm.

In 1985, the program received full funding and began offering a bachelor's degree. Students attended classes at Houssels House ¡V a historic Las Vegas home on UNLV's campus. Lucchesi and other faculty added programming to create a master's degree, and in 1987 Assemblyman Marvin Sedway lobbied for a dedicated architecture studies facility. The 76,000-square-foot Paul B. Sogg building was dedicated in late 1997.

"The School of Architecture would not exist if it were not for the tremendous support from the local architecture community," says Jeff Koep, College of Fine Arts dean. "The school has benefited not only from the substantial gifts made to the programs, but also from the personal investment of professionals who stepped forward as adjunct faculty."

Program approval by the National Architecture Accrediting Board in the mid-1990s marked a milestone. By then, more than 50 architects had taught at UNLV and the program had received more than $4 million in private support.

"The seeds of this program's development came from local architects," says Michael Kroelinger, the school's director. "Today, they continue to engage with the school on many levels: they participate on design juries, they teach as part-time faculty, and they financially support our programs."

Community involvement has brought a practical complement to the program's academic rigor, Koep says. "Professionals provide insights generally not available to students, especially at the undergraduate level," he says. "Further, these same individuals have, through their firms, provided internships for advanced students ¡V a partnership that benefits both the local architecture community and the School of Architecture."

Bill Snyder, a local architect and a UNLV Foundation Board of Trustees member, says that the professionalstudent mentor relationships are reciprocal. "Usually when an architect is hired, it is for one specific segment of a project," he says. "Students have an opportunity to explore, to skip traditional parameters. It's always refreshing for me to walk the halls and see what they're working on."

Snyder believes architects must be responsible for guiding their profession's development as advocates for and liaisons to the university. "We are a large community, and we need a resource for the future of our profession. That's why we support UNLV," he says.