The UNLV Research Foundation emerged just two years ago and has quickly become an important and influential organization on campus and in the community. Created as a branch of the UNLV Foundation, it serves as a major pathway for millions of dollars in federal research grants. UNLV’s research project funding has mushroomed in the last few years, from about $11 million a year in 1996 to more than $31.6 million this year. As one of its more important jobs, the Research Foundation helps the campus find – and then manage – a significant percentage of these funds.

These funds support specific research initiatives, including homeland security, solar technologies, hydrogen fuels, earthquake studies, advanced fuels cycles research, and transportation studies, according to Tom Williams, executive director of the Research Foundation.

The Research Foundation also serves as a resource for faculty members who create new knowledge, techniques, or products that are eligible for patents and other rights. Intellectual property developed at UNLV can be sold or licensed to provide increased venture capital and further support research endeavors. Over time, the Research Foundation also will provide venture capital to UNLV’s research faculty.

“These research dollars will greatly enrich the educational experiences and long-term opportunities of every student and faculty member at UNLV,” says Williams. “There is great potential to attract nationally renowned scientists to engage in these new and innovative scientific activities.”

This year, the Research Foundation takes ownership of 115 acres in southwest Las Vegas near the I-215 Beltway. The Research Foundation will develop the property – which came to UNLV from Clark County largely because of the work of U.S. Sen. Harry Reid – as a research park. The site will house university and private research activities as well as a business incubator.

“There is a wonderful alliance between the university and the Nevada Development Authority in creating a real catalyst for economic development and diversification,” says Don Snyder, this year’s Nevada Development Authority chairman and a member of the UNLV Foundation Board of Trustees. “The UNLV Research Foundation is absolutely at the heart of taking this synergy beyond what we ever envisioned.”

John F. Gallagher is vice president for development and executive director of the UNLV Foundation.

This spring, a wing of the Upper Class Complex residence hall had a new name “stamped” to its side: Margie and Robert Faiman Sr. Residence Hall. The three-story facility, which houses sophomores, juniors, seniors, transfer students, graduate, and nontraditional-aged students, was named to acknowledge an endowment in memory of the 40-year Las Vegas residents.

In late 2003, the Faimans’ daughter, Deborah Shoofey, auctioned her mother’s lifelong hobby – a stamp collection valued at more than $1.1 million – and donated the proceeds to the UNLV Foundation. The resulting endowment provides students financial aid for tuition and room and board.

Friends, family, and colleagues of Dolores Owens, an MGM MIRAGE senior marketing executive who died in November, have raised more than $65,000 to establish a scholarship fund in her memory.

Terri Lanni, CEO of MGM MIRAGE and a member of the UNLV Foundation Board of Trustees, worked with Owens for many years and created the scholarship for students pursuing degrees from the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration.

Owens, one of the highest-ranking female casino executives, was known by many as a pioneer in the gaming industry.

Student callers from the Rebel Ring Phonathon program contacted more than 11,000 alumni this spring during a drive to raise money for individual colleges. Graduates pledged a record $50,000 to fulfill needs that the college deans identified as priorities.

The money is enhancing student programs and funding scholarships, laboratory equipment purchases, and additional graduate student assistantships.

The Rebel Ring Phonathon, now in its ninth year, is an outreach opportunity that allows students to give graduates personal updates about UNLV and to discuss how alumni can invest in the university’s future.

Banfi Vintners Grant Offers Learning Under the Tuscan Sun Banfi Vintners, a New York-based importer of Italian wines, has renewed a $25,000 grant with the Harrah Hotel College to provide a culinary arts tour of Tuscany, Italy, for a small group of students from the college’s food and beverage management department. Professor and chef Jean Hertzman will lead the trip this summer.

Banfi, the nation’s leading wine importer for more than three decades, has sponsored two previous trips to Italy for UNLV students.

Palladium Society honorees Sonja, ’78 MA Psychology, and Michael Saltman visit with keynote speaker Sally Ride, right, the first American woman in space, at the UNLV Foundation’s annual dinner gala.

The UNLV Foundation recently added five names to its 65-member Palladium Society, a recognition level for donors who have given more than $1 million cumulatively to the university. This year’s inductees – the city of Las Vegas, Monsanto Co., Michael and Sonja Saltman, Sierra Health Services/Health Plan of Nevada, and Sun Microsystems – were feted at the Foundation’s annual appreciation event at the Bellagio.

During the event, President Carol C. Harter honored history professor Hal Rothman as the third annual recipient of the Harry Reid Silver State Research Award. The award, funded by the UNLV Foundation, is named in honor of U.S. Sen. Harry Reid for his support of research activities on campus and recognizes faculty engaging in research that is both highly regarded and responsive to the needs of the community and state.

Monica Moradkhan

Monica Moradkhan made UNLV history this spring. No, it wasn’t that she was the first woman to be elected student body president twice – that happened last year. In April, Moradkhan – still six weeks shy of her spring commencement – became the youngest alumna to donate to the President’s Associates annual fund. Her yearly gift of $1,000 provides unrestricted money, some of the most important funds the university raises to support emerging campus needs.

Her awareness of the impact that the UNLV Foundation makes on students’ lives came early in her college career. As a student ambassador, Moravian acted as an emissary of the alumni relations office at campus and community events. Soon, she found herself speaking to prospective donors at special events, telling them about her experiences as a proud Rebel.

“I felt it was important to develop a rapport between our students and our supporters,” Moradkhan says. “I wanted to share my experiences and express to donors the true impact they have on our students.”

In addition to her leadership activities with student government, the Nevada Student Alliance, and Alpha Delta Pi sorority, Moradkhan crusaded for the annual fund during her first year as student body president. She authored a letter urging current and previous university donors to continue their support. Her efforts helped bring in more than $75,000 in unrestricted funds to UNLV.

As her final year in school began last fall, Moradkhan donated one of her presidential paychecks to UNLV. “I knew that money came from our student body and it was right to reinvest it in our student body,” she explains. Her first gift to UNLV helped support the Alumni Association’s scholarship fund.

The recent hotel administration graduate is not shy about her thoughts on alumni leaders’ links to UNLV. “Alumni who have rich leadership experiences through student government, Greek life, or professional associations should lead the cause among their graduating classes by contributing through the UNLV Foundation and the Alumni Association. We should invest in the university that invested in us.”