Spring 2000
Vol. 8, No. 2
News
Bennett Donates $5 Million to Build New UNLV Preschool
A $5 million gift from William G. Bennett, owner of the Sahara Hotel and Casino, will build a new preschool on the UNLV campus, President Carol C. Harter announced recently.
The gift came from the Bennett Foundation through the UNLV Foundation and is earmarked for an early childhood center building.
"This new gift will help us build the third phase of a project that began with moving the Paradise Elementary School into a new building on the UNLV campus in 1998," Harter said. "Mr. Bennett's generosity and interest in education also made possible the recently completed William G. Bennett Professional Development Building, which is located adjacent to the Paradise Elementary School. The three facilities will provide a professional practice education program that we believe will become a national model."
Bennett gave $2.7 million in 1998 to support construction of the professional development building that bears his name.
"Mrs. Bennett and I have a tremendous amount of respect for Carol Harter, and we appreciate the fine job she is doing at UNLV," William Bennett said. "We are pleased that the prior gift we made has been used to build the Professional Development Building. We were excited by the opportunity to fund the construction of a new preschool facility adjoining that building. We believe that these two buildings will complement each other, providing the university and the community with a one-of-a-kind complex."
Gene Hall, dean of UNLV's College of Education, said, "We are excited about the opportunity to develop a model space for the educational development of young children. We expect this facility will be excellent for the children who are enrolled in it, and we hope it will become a site that educators around the country will want to visit."
Noting that the first five years of life are critical to the development of young children, Hall said the College of Education will host a national invitational conference of leading practitioners in early childhood education to gather information and ideas for the new preschool.
"We must be thoughtful about what we know and what others know about early childhood education as we build this school," Hall said.
The existing preschool in the College of Education will move into the new facility when it opens, he said. The school will serve the children of UNLV students and faculty, some children from the school district, and some special-needs children. The school currently serves more than 200 children; the new facility could serve as many as double the current enrollment.
Construction Under Way on New Lee & Thomas Beam Music Center
 Construction has begun on UNLV's new Lee and Thomas Beam Music Center, located along Maryland Parkway on the campus' northeast corner.
The $7.3 million privately funded project is another product of the university's longtime partnership with the Beam family, according to UNLV President Carol C. Harter.
"UNLV students are extremely fortunate that the Beam family has supported this very important project for the College of Fine Arts," said Harter. "Like Frank and Estella Beam Hall, the Thomas T. Beam Engineering Complex, and the Donna Beam Fine Art Gallery, this new facility will be a tribute to an outstanding Las Vegas family that really understands the importance of quality higher education. Our music faculty has worked closely with Holmes Sabatini Architects to design a facility that will begin a new era in fine arts education at UNLV."
The 35,000-square-foot structure is being built by Haydon Construction. The building will provide much needed classroom, performance, and office space for the music department.
"The Beam Music Center is sorely needed by the university, the college, and the department of music," said Jeff Koep, dean of the College of Fine Arts. "In the past 20 years, the number of music majors has doubled to nearly 300. We have also doubled the size of the faculty in the same period. New graduate degrees have been added in several music areas in answer to local and national demands. Such growth demands additional space; the Beam family's generosity assists us in dealing with the space problems and helps us move toward the future."
The building will include a music library listening center, a state-of-the-art recording studio, and a 300-seat recital hall.
Geologist Studies Yucca Mountain with $1.4 Million Grant
UNLV geologist Jean Cline has been awarded a $1.4 million federal grant to conduct a study that will help determine the suitability of Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste repository.
The funding, which came from the U.S. Department of Energy, is paying for a two-year study in which Cline and other scientists will try to determine whether hot fluids have seeped into the site that is being considered for the repository and, if so, when that infiltration occurred.
"If water did seep in, it is important to know whether it happened within the past two million years," said Cline, an associate professor of geoscience. "If fluid made its way in more than two million years ago, that would not necessarily make Yucca Mountain a risky site for a repository. However, if the invasion occurred more recently, it could indicate the potential for the same thing to happen again, which could make a repository in that location risky."
In conducting their study, Cline and other scientists will examine small packages of ancient fluid, called "fluid inclusions," that are trapped in the rock at Yucca Mountain.
Part of Cline's mission is to build a consensus based on findings of the study, so that at the conclusion of the project, matters are resolved to the satisfaction of both the state and federal governments.
To that end, scientists from the state, the U.S. Geological Survey, the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board are meeting every three months to discuss project findings.
New UNLV Foundation Building Scheduled for Completion in May
The new UNLV Foundation Building, located in the northeast area of the campus near Maryland Parkway, is scheduled for completion in May. The 23,000-square-foot structure was designed by Tate and Snyder Architects and is being built by Carson Construction at a cost of $3.9 million. UNLV Foundation trustees, who initiated the project, have taken an active role in providing the necessary private funding. The building will provide office space for the Foundation staff who are responsible for generating private financial support for the university.
Rogers and Keller Named Top Alumni Award Recipients
Philanthropist Jim Rogers and Sheriff Jerry Keller have been named recipients of the top UNLV Alumni Association awards.
A strong supporter of the university, Rogers received the UNLV Alumni Silver State Award, the highest honor awarded by the Alumni Association to a non-alumnus of the university.
Rogers, a prominent Las Vegas attorney, presented a $28.5 million charitable gift pledge and donation to the new William S. Boyd School of Law in November 1998. He founded Valley Broadcasting Company in 1971 and has served as CEO of KVBC-TV Channel 3 in Las Vegas since 1979. He is also the principal owner of Sunbelt Communications Company, which owns and operates NBC-affiliated television stations in Nevada, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.
Keller (see page 18 in this issue), who graduated from UNLV in 1969 with a bachelor's degree in education, has been named Alumnus of the Year, considered the highest honor awarded to a graduate by the UNLV Alumni Association.
Keller, a native Las Vegan, was elected sheriff in 1994 and then re-elected in 1998. He began his career in law enforcement in 1969 when he joined the Clark County Sheriff's Office.
Over the course of the next decades, Keller rose through the ranks of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Individuals from several of UNLV's colleges have also been recognized by the association as Outstanding Alumni for 1999. They include the following: Kevin Page, College of Business; Ethan Acres, College of Fine Arts; William Clark, College of Sciences; Roger Wagner, William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration; Dario Herrera, College of Liberal Arts; Cynthia Montoya, College of Education; Ramona Denby (see page 10 in this issue), Greenspun College of Urban Affairs; and Carol Rayfield, College of Health Sciences.
UNLV Alumni Association Offers Free E-mail to Alumni
 Let the UNLV Alumni Association be your door to the world of cyberspace.
The association now has the means to offer free E-mail service to all alumni who want it.
And, all alumni, regardless of where their E-mail accounts are based, are eligible to receive "Alumni Bullets," a series of E-mail messages alerting alums to upcoming events of interest.
Additionally, alumni can do their Internet shopping through the Alumni Association's home page and benefit their alma mater at the same time.
"We're excited to be able to offer all these electronic services to our alumni," said Carl Cook, assistant director of alumni relations. "The alumni themselves can benefit by subscribing to the free E-mail service and then provide a benefit to the university by accessing our home page to do their Internet shopping."
The free lifetime E-mail service, GoRebels.net, is provided by Phutursoft, a company founded by a UNLV alumnus. To sign up for the service, go to GoRebels.net. There you will find the instructions necessary to register.
The "Alumni Bullets" updates are already being sent to all alumni for whom the association has E-mail addresses. If you are not yet receiving this information and would like to, call Cook at 895-3621 or E-mail him at ccook@ccmail.nevada. edu and provide him with your E-mail address.
To do your Internet shopping, go to the Alumni Association's home page at www.unlv.edu/Alumni and click on "zUNLV.com." Then click on "Shop Now." This will link you with a wide variety of vendors. When alumni do their Internet shopping through the Alumni Association, the university's vendor, z-university, will give UNLV a percentage of the sales made. That money will be used to help fund scholarships and programs that benefit students.
"So, while many of the vendors could be reached in other ways, UNLV will benefit if alumni shop through the Alumni Association," Cook said.
Alumni Association Programs Designed to Honor Faculty
The UNLV Alumni Association has instituted two programs designed to recognize and encourage outstanding UNLV faculty members.
The new Student-Centered Awards are given each year to six professors who excel in making the students the focal point of their efforts.
Professors chosen for the 1999-2000 academic year are Warren McNab, professor of health and physical education; Francisco Menendez, chair of the film department; Shashi Nambisan, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering; Carole Rae, professor of dance; Jerry Simich, associate professor of political science; and Wanda Taylor, associate professor of geoscience.
The professors were recognized at the fall student leadership luncheon, along with 70 student leaders who were on hand to receive scholarships.
"It is a fitting tribute to match our student leaders and our best student-focused faculty in one great celebration," said Carl Cook, assistant director of alumni relations. "They have a lot in common, and all make our university a better place. The Alumni Association is proud to acknowledge the hard work of our dedicated faculty and those they teach."
Through another program also intended to reward worthy faculty members, the Alumni Association has pledged to contribute a total of $5,000 annually to one or more student-focused educational programs nominated by faculty members.
In 1998, $5,000 was awarded to the film department to help fund a campus-wide "make-your-own-film" competition designed to promote campus spirit and pride.
In 1999, $4,000 was awarded to the psychology department, while $1,000 went to the math department. The psychology department was given the money for its Achievement Center, a state-of-the-art training program for students. The award to the math department will help the department pay for a mathematics competition to be used in selecting the top three math students at UNLV; those students will then represent the university in a national math competition.
Jim Ratigan, UNLV Alumni Association president, said he is proud of the association's ability to help support those faculty members with the most student-focused goals.
"The Alumni Association supports the university in so many ways, and we are glad to be able to help promote student-centeredness at UNLV. As our membership grows, so will our ability to support worthwhile programs such as these," Ratigan said.
Seven New Degree Programs Available on UNLV Campus
Seven new degree programs — four graduate and three undergraduate — are now available at UNLV.
 A doctoral degree in anthropology.
Students enrolled in the program can choose from one of four subdisciplines — archeology, physical anthropology, cultural anthropology, or linguistic anthropology. Five students are currently enrolled in the program, which concentrates on, but is not limited to, the study of humans in arid lands and how people adapt to harsh environments. For more information, call 895-3912.
 A doctoral degree in psychology. The program offers two separate tracks — one in clinical psychology and one in applied experimental psychology. Currently, a total of 10 students are enrolled in the doctoral program. Students will be added each year, until the number of students reaches approximately 50 to 70. For more information, call 895-3305.
 A master's degree in construction management. The new three-semester, 32-credit construction management master's program will prepare students to become construction site managers. The new program will be a companion to the master's degree in engineering with an emphasis in construction, which is already available at UNLV. For more information, call 895-3701.
A master of education in health promotion. Any individual who wants to help make a person, a family, a company, or a community healthier will be interested in the new master of education in health promotion program. The program was designed to have a multi-disciplinary approach that will allow students to choose one of four concentrations within the health promotion field: education, administration, counseling, or an interdisciplinary track. For more information, call 895-4030.
 A bachelor's degree in nutrition sciences. This new program will prepare students for careers in medical nutritional therapy, community nutrition, consumer nutrition, wellness, food and nutrition management, education, and research, among others. Nutrition sciences will be available to students as a minor as well as a major. For more information, call 895-4328.
 A bachelor's degree in health sciences. This degree program will provide students with a broad knowledge base of general health sciences issues; it will equip them with the core science knowledge they will need should they decide to pursue medical or dental degrees or other graduate degrees in the science field. For more information, call 895-3693.
A bachelor of fine arts degree in dance. Students planning to become professional dancers or who hope to become choreographers may be interested in pursuing UNLV's new BFA in dance. The new program provides equal emphasis on ballet, modern dance, and jazz with the goal of producing well-rounded graduates. As part of the program, each student will be able to stage a concert during his/her senior year. For more information, call 895-3827.
UNLV is also now offering a new graduate-level course of study in public history that will provide students with a background in the practical application of historical research. For more information, call 895-3544.
In Memorium
John Nixon
John Nixon, an emeritus professor of management information systems, died July 2. He was 66.
Nixon, who joined the UNLV faculty in 1974, retired in 1993. Prior to coming to UNLV, he held teaching positions at Arizona State University and California State Univer-sity, Fullerton, and worked in private industry, primarily for Rockwell International, Inc.
He taught a number of courses at UNLV, including accounting, computer programming, industrial management, and decision analysis. His research focused on new applications of quantitative methods in solving business decision problems.
Edward Chance
Edward Chance, a professor of educational leadership, died July 22. He was 52.
Chance, who joined the UNLV faculty in 1995, had previously held teaching posts at the University of Oklahoma and South Dakota State University. He also held administrative and teaching posts at several secondary schools.
He was the author of several books, book chapters, and scholarly articles on the subjects of rural education and educational leadership development. The National Rural Education Association has named its annual dissertation award after him.
Eva Bortman
Eva Bortman, an emeritus professor of education, died Sept. 13. She was 82.
Bortman, who was an elementary education reading specialist, taught at UNLV from 1966 until she retired in 1985. Upon her retirement, she established the Eva C. Bortman Scholarship for education majors, which is still being awarded today.
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