For the past 48 years, UNLV has grown into its role as the heart and soul of our vibrant community — a great center of learning, research, and service as bright and innovative as Las Vegas itself. Some of our most unique and renowned programs have developed in direct synergy with our community — in pursuit of alternative energy sources, nuclear transmutation strategies, innovative approaches to hotel management, and creative architecture, to name just a few areas. In this centennial year for Las Vegas, the university is at the center of a number of exciting efforts to document and celebrate history, even as we continue to make it right here on campus.

One of the most visible marks of the centennial celebration appeared on campus just recently in the form of a most unusual mural, the “Big V” (see page 6). Designed by a team of student artists, the deceptively simple design, affixed to the front windows of the Flora Dungan Humanities Building, welcomes visitors to campus with the colors of a Las Vegas sunset. Though the “V” itself has many symbolic meanings, designer Sean Russell describes its outstretched stripes as beams of “infinite potential” converging into a single, central point of activity — the university — and uniting the city’s energy with the drive of academia.

This mural depicting the kinship between a great university and its community was among the first dedicated as part of the “City of 100 Murals” public art program of the Las Vegas centennial celebration. A second campus mural will soon be unveiled at the Lied Library.

The university is also involved — as both co-sponsor (with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority) and participant — in an exciting effort to bring the depth and richness of Las Vegas’ history to a national audience. This fall, the prestigious PBS documentary series The American Experience will present an unprecedented historic look at Las Vegas — its beginnings, its lore, and its influence — as well as its modern allure as both a visitor destination and a fast-growing residential community. A number of UNLV experts are among the voices and sources contributing to this extraordinary effort. Thousands of hours of original interviews and source material associated with the production will also become part of the permanent archive in the Lied Library’s special collections for future generations to utilize and enjoy.

This centennial year is also packed with excitement right here on campus. By the time you read this, we will have broken ground on our long-anticipated new student recreation center and student union — and later this month we will also re-dedicate the newly renovated Wright Hall. History is all around us — in fact, this year’s spring commencement — on May 14 — falls precisely on the 100th anniversary of the historic land auction remembered as the birth of Las Vegas. At our commencement ceremony, I will have the pleasure of presenting the President’s Medal to Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman as chair of the city’s Centennial Committee, in recognition of our shared history, and in anticipation of a future of limitless potential. I hope that you will join us in celebrating this truly special occasion.