Construction Underway on $51 Million Lied Library

Construction is underway on the $51 million state-of-the-art Lied Library on the UNLV campus.

The new five-floor, 300,000-square-foot facility is scheduled to open in January 2000.

Capable of housing 1.8 million volumes, the new library will be located north of the Classroom Building Complex and west of the Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies and the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Natural History.

A $15 million gift from the Lied Foundation Trust and its trustee, Christina Hixson, served as a catalyst for the building.

"A university's library is, in many ways, its heart," UNLV President Carol C. Harter said. "No other single building is as important to the academic, scholarly endeavor. The Lied Library will be used by faculty and students, as well as by members of the community, to advance their education and conduct research. With the assistance of Christina Hixson and the Lied Foundation Trust and the unprecedented support of the governor and the Nevada Legislature, we are building a library that will help UNLV reach its goal of attaining national recognition for the quality of its research, creative, and scholarly activities."

One of the central components of this facility will be the $1.5 million Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS). This robotic system, which is one of only three such systems in the country, will allow the library to store up to 10 times more material in its stacks than is possible with conventional shelving.

Described as the most technologically advanced library in the country, the Lied Library will be further enhanced by several special features, including a five-story atrium with a skylight over the central reading area; an information commons housing more than 100 microcomputer stations for research; a 24-hour study lounge; interactive, electronic learning centers; networked group-study rooms for collaborative learning; attractive reading rooms overlooking the central atrium; and an exterior courtyard campus entry.

Weiller Named Outstanding Faculty Member

David Weiller, assistant professor of music, has been selected by the UNLV Alumni Association as the recipient of the group's Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year Award for 1998.

Weiller, UNLV's director of choral studies, has taught at UNLV for 15 years. He directs the University Singers, the UNLV Chamber Chorale, and the Varsity Men's Glee Club.

"I'm very honored to receive the award," he said. "I'm honored that my college would nominate me and that the Alumni Association would recognize the work that I do on campus and in the community."

Weiller said one of the unanticipated benefits of receiving the award was learning how he is viewed by his students.

"Several of my former students wrote letters on my behalf about the impact I have had on their careers. That was really a very moving experience," he said.

Weiller, who holds a master's degree in music from the University of Illinois, was honored by the Alumni Association at a luncheon reception last spring. He is the 25th recipient of the award.

Two to Receive 1998 Distinguished Professor Award

UNLV has selected two professors to receive the Distinguished Professor Award this year. In the past, only one has been named each year.

This year's recipients are foreign lan-guages professor Catherine Bellver and English professor Joseph McCullough.

"We are extremely pleased to have two outstanding recipients of this prestigious award this year," said UNLV President Carol C. Harter. "Both of the award recipients have maintained such distinguished records of scholarship, teaching, and service throughout their tenure at UNLV that they are certainly deserving of our highest faculty honor."

Bellver, who joined UNLV's department of foreign languages in 1972, teaches a variety of Spanish classes, including upper-division and graduate- level Spanish language and literature courses.

A prolific writer, Bellver has authored nearly 40 journal articles, more than 80 reviews, and seven book chapters, as well as two critical monographs on Spanish writers Rafael Alberti and Juan Jose Domenchina. She has also presented 40 conference papers.

The recipient of several grants, Bellver received UNLV's Barrick Distinguished Scholar Award in 1989. She was a two-time recipient of the Hispania award for the best essay in pedagogy in 1988 and 1989.

She served as department chair for two years and has served on more than 50 university committees during her tenure at UNLV.

She holds a bachelor's degree from Northwestern University and a master's degree and doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley.

McCullough, who specializes in 19th century American literature and American humor, joined the English department in 1969.

An internationally recognized expert on Mark Twain, McCullough has authored seven books and more than 20 journal articles, mostly on Twain or author Hamlin Garland.

He has appeared on the television show A&E Biography as a featured expert on Twain and is currently conducting research on Twain's maxims.

McCullough was named Barrick Distinguished Scholar in 1996-97. He has also been named outstanding faculty member by the UCCSN Board of Regents, and he received the UNLV Alumni Distinguished Faculty Member of the Year Award in 1993. As a two-time recipient of the Fulbright scholarship, McCullough lectured in Helsinki, Finland, and later in Athens, Greece.

He served as chair of the English department from 1993 to 1997.

He received his bachelor's degree from Gonzaga University and his master's degree and doctorate from Ohio University.

New Facilities for UNLV's Client Services Center Open

New facilities for UNLV's Client Services Center recently opened on campus.

The new state-of-the-art training facility for students in the departments of counseling and psychology is located on the second floor of the Paul McDermott Physical Education Complex.

At the center, graduate students in UNLV's counseling and psychology programs provide high quality, low-cost, client-focused counseling services to the public, according to center director Tom Sexton. The students conducting the counseling are supervised by faculty.

"This is one of the top facilities in the country," Sexton said. "It contains some of the most advanced technologies available, offering student counselors the opportunity to experience how a 'real life' center operates."

The Client Services Center began as a four-room facility on the first floor of the William Carlson Education Building in 1975 and moved into a larger area in the same building two years later. In 1990, the center was remodeled, providing space for a client waiting room, observation areas, and an office.

In 1996 the center became part of the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs, and construction on the new facility began. With 16 interview rooms, two seminar rooms, a client waiting room, offices, and the most current audiovisual and computer equipment, the new 4,780-square-foot Client Services Center is equal to any in the country, according to Sexton.

Two Longtime Members of University Faculty Die

Thomas L. Clark

Veteran UNLV English professor Thomas L. Clark died in February of complications from a bone marrow disorder. He was 58.

Clark, who joined the English department faculty in 1970, was an active lexicographer. He was involved in the publication of five specialized dictionaries, including The Dictionary of Gambling and Gaming and Western Lore and Language: A Dictionary for Enthusiasts of the West. As a consultant, Clark assisted with a variety of projects, including providing editorial evaluations for publishers and assisting law firms with semantic analyses of language in legal documents.

The recipient of numerous grants and honors, Clark was awarded the title of Barrick Research Professor in 1990 and received the William Morris Award for Excellence in Research in 1987.

Dallas J. Reed

Longtime UNLV criminal justice professor Dallas Reed died in April at his home following a long illness. He was 68.

Reed held teaching posts at the University of Montana and Idaho State University before joining the UNLV faculty in 1970.

Reed, who taught sociology and criminal justice at UNLV, became an associate professor and chair of the criminal justice department in 1981. He authored numerous journal articles and was a member of the American Sociology Association, the American Correctional Association, and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.

He retired from UNLV in 1990 but continued teaching as a visiting professor at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Ala. He retired with his wife to Polson, Mont., in 1994.

New Hotel Administration, Liberal Arts Deans Appointed

UNLV has appointed new deans to lead the Colleges of Hotel Administration and Liberal Arts.

The former director of the School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Recreation Management at Penn State University has been appointed dean of the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration.

Stuart H. Mann, who had been at Penn State since 1970 and had served as director of the hotel, restaurant, and recreation management school since 1990, assumed his duties at UNLV in August.

Mann held several positions at Penn State, including assistant dean for research and graduate studies in the College of Human Development and chair of the Intercollege Program in Operations Research. He taught operations research at Penn State and Purdue universities and has authored more than 30 articles and papers in refereed journals.

James Frey, a UNLV sociology professor and the former chair of the sociology department, has been appointed dean of the College of Liberal Arts.

Frey, who served as interim dean of the college for the past year, has been a member of the UNLV faculty since 1974. His appointment as liberal arts dean became effective in July.

He has held a variety of administrative posts within the university while remaining an active researcher in the areas of sports in society, political and social issues, and research methods.

He has authored or coauthored more than 30 refereed journal articles, has edited or authored several books, and has produced numerous reports on surveys.

UNLV Production of Falsettos Performed at Kennedy Center

UNLV's production of the musical Falsettos was performed in Washington, D.C., in May as part of the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival - one of only four university productions across America chosen for the prestigious event.

It was the first time in more than 20 years that a UNLV production has been selected to go the Kennedy Center. In 1975, the play UNLV took to the festival was The House of Bernarda Alba.

Although the festival is not a competition, productions are adjudicated at several levels before the four finalists are selected.

Two UNLV productions - Falsettos and The Father Clock - were chosen to be performed at the regional festival in February.

Following those performances, Falsettos, which was directed by UNLV theatre professor Bob Burgan, was chosen to go to the final level of the festival in Washington, D.C. Additionally, UNLV students Todd Horman and Jim Ballard, the two principal actors in Falsettos, were honored for their performance excellence following their appearance at the regional festival.

Ratigan Elected UNLV Alumni Association President

Jim Ratigan, the former first vice president of the UNLV Alumni Association, has been elected president of the association. He will serve a two-year term.

Ratigan, who received a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1978, has been a member of the association's board of directors for the past seven years, most recently serving as first vice president.

Over the years Ratigan has been instrumental in securing several major donations for the university, according to Carl Cook, assistant director of alumni relations.

Additionally, he has represented the association on several important search committees for new university employees. For the past four years, he has arranged the annual retreat for the association's board of directors.

"One of my goals as president is to increase the exposure of the Alumni Association in the community and within the university," said Ratigan, who is the general managing partner of RCR Associates, a computer network consulting firm.

"I want the association to be recog-nized as the positive, proactive force for helping students that it is," he said.

Cook said Ratigan's character and success in the business world "bring to the leadership of the Alumni Association everything we could ask for."