It is an extraordinary moment in our history together — as a university family, and as a community. As Las Vegas marks its centennial this year, we have paused to contemplate the pioneers, the visionaries, and the creative thinkers who built our oasis in the desert and brought us through our first hundred years, forming this amazingly prosperous boomtown and rewarding those of us who live here with a limitless future. The Las Vegas Valley has grown up fast — and that growth has only accelerated, presenting us with great challenges as well as opportunities.
During this time of growth and excitement, it’s more evident than ever that the future of our great community and our university are intertwined, and in fact inseparable. The dynamic pulse and entrepreneurial spirit of Las Vegas demands an extraordinary university — to explore social and scientific issues, to build business infrastructure, and to educate the next generation of bright and talented professionals and leaders.
At UNLV, we have also grown up quickly — not just in numbers of students, faculty, and degree programs at all levels — but also in the way we reflect and serve the unique needs of our community and our region. We are building the future, defining and dissecting the issues for Southern Nevada’s next hundred years and beyond.
At this extraordinary moment, we can see our future on the horizon. It’s a future filled with amazing scientific discovery, strong economic and social development, and the most accomplished, brightest students seeking out their world-class education right here at UNLV. We are already well on the way to attaining this dream — but the vision to get there extends beyond what state support can provide. Just as university supports community, we need the leadership, involvement, and investment of our community to fully realize UNLV’s potential.
I have personally seen community involvement bring great things to our university — broadening learning opportunities through scholarships and graduate fellowships, bringing world-renowned instructors to campus, establishing one-of-a-kind programs like the International Institute of Modern Letters and outstanding professional schools like the William S. Boyd School of Law. Partnership with community has sparked excellence at every turn and brings the promise of an even brighter future.
This month, we officially launched the public phase of UNLV’s first comprehensive fundraising campaign, with an ambitious goal of raising $500 million to take our university to a new level of excellence and to deepen and strengthen its role as a community resource. Visionary leaders such as campaign chair Don Snyder, honorary campaign co-chairs Joyce Mack and William S. Boyd, UNLV Foundation Board of Trustees chairperson Dan Van Epp, and many others are lending their time and talents to this historic effort — and they have our deepest gratitude for their personal and professional commitment to UNLV.
Whether you are an alumnus, a faculty member, or a current student; whether you have attended a lecture, gone to a performing arts event, cheered one of our Rebel teams, or enrolled in a continuing education program; whether you are a business professional, a social service practitioner, or simply a Southern Nevada resident — you are a part of the UNLV family. We hope that you will take this extraordinary moment in our history as reason to get further involved — or actively engaged for the first time — in the life of your university.
We invite you to join us as, together, we invent the future.
