UNLV will be one of only a few U.S. universities to offer a robust slate of classes exploring mariachi, a cultural Mexican folk music originating in the late 1800s.

The College of Fine Arts and Clark County partnered on a new programming series – Arts in the Center – that features a varied array of music, visual arts, film, and theater events created by members of the College of Fine Arts. The partnership expands the reach of UNLV Arts and offers free quality programming to the community.

The Las Vegas Raiders Foundation kickstarted the Rebel Up, UNLV's Athletics' first comprehensive campaign, with a $1 million donation. Boyd Gaming and the Boyd family are MVPs with a combined $6.5 million — the largest combined family and corporate donation in UNLV Athletics history — to help build an indoor athletic practice facility. And Paragon Gaming got in the action with its $1 million gift for the Diana Bennett Career Development Program for Women's Sports.  

The Student Union is pioneering the county's first Hyphen-run restaurant: orders placed online at Greens to Go-Hyphen are made via robot, hidden under the counter, while staff attend to in-person orders. The robotic makeline can produce 120 meals an hour while eliminating order defects such as missing ingredients and cross-contamination. It's the first of many dining changes coming to the SU this year.

National Science Foundation announced a multi-institutional consortium to confront the climate challenges facing the desert Southwest and spur economic development in the region. Both UNLV and the Desert Research Institute will serve as core academic partners on the project, leading and/or contributing to project management and water innovation, workforce development, and community development teams.

Las Vegas’ continued ascent into a global sports and entertainment powerhouse received a boost with the official launch of the UNLV Sports Innovation Institute (SII). Led by an interdisciplinary team of faculty and staff, SII connects UNLV students from a variety of sport-related academic disciplines with career and internship opportunities, and serves as the conduit for mutually beneficial partnerships between the sports industry and the university to advance sports science, business, and performance.

In response to the community’s outpouring of support after the Dec. 6 shooting at UNLV, in which three faculty members were killed and another injured, the UNLV Foundation has created scholarship funds in honor of the three deceased faculty members. Business professors Dr. Jerry Cha-Jan Chang and Dr. Patricia Navarro Velez lost their lives that day, along with Dr. Naoko Takemaru, an associate professor of Japanese studies within the College of Liberal Arts.

President Whitfield, in collaboration with university leaders, created the campuswide Rebel Recovery Program following the tragic Dec. 6 shooting. The safety, security, and well-being of the UNLV family – employees and students – is the priority. Rebel Recovery will encompass special events, wellness services, training opportunities, security and safety issues, and more.