Funded by a grant from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, this initiative is providing Native American students with the knowledge, skills, and competencies they need to excel in management roles within tribal gaming and hospitality. Housed within the top-ranked Harrah College of Hospitality, the initiative offers summer camps for secondary school students; degree programs, internships and mentoring in college; and executive education for professionals already working in the field.

UNLV is a partner for Junior Achievement (JA) of Southern Nevada’s new immersive experience for middle and high schools students. The program’s classroom lessons culminate in a visit to JA’s BizTown and Finance Park programs, which include UNLV storefronts. The partnership is the latest in President Whitfield’s initiatives aimed at financial literacy. Last year, UNLV launched the Institute for Financial Literacy & Wellness to equip campus and community members with tools to achieve their financial goals through different life stages.

Researchers at the Nevada Center for Astrophysics are using AI to measure the expansion of the universe, and they’re unlocking clues to how some distant planets form. They’re also inching closer to identifying what drives mysterious deep-space fast radio bursts. NASA’s ‘ultimate’ catalog of planets is also expanding thanks to UNLV astrophysicists who used data from NASA’s famed Kepler space telescope to help discover a seven planet system. 

The UNLV Faculty Opportunity Awards prove that a little startup funding can reap huge returns. The program provides a seed funding for research teambuilding and the costs related to submitting proposals for federal, philanthropic, and industry research funding. In 2021, the program invested about $188,000 in 13 projects that, one year later, brought in $4.7 million in grants. 

What happens when scholars join forces to study solutions to societal issues like addictions, the fast-emerging use of AI, and racial equity and social justice? We’ll make progress faster and on a bigger scale, thanks to the UNLV Interdisciplinary Research Development Areas initiative. With the big-picture in mind, UNLV has begun hiring groups of faculty who can come at topics from different disciplines to collaborate with existing faculty and community leaders toward one common goal: improving the quality of life for all.

Linebacker Jackson Woodard was the first player in team history selected as a First-Team Academic All-American. A transfer from the University of Arkansas, Woodard completed his kinesiology degree in May. This fall, he will pursue both his graduate certificate and opposing quarterbacks — the latter as a team captain and a candidate for multiple national honors including the Butkus Award for the nation’s top linebacker.

The UNLV Athletics Hall of Fame welcomed a diverse class of inductees including athletes Hunkie Cooper (football), Kevin Lofthus (baseball), Christine Parris (softball), and Talance Sawyer (football); the 1991 UNLV softball team; national championship-winning golf coach Dwaine Knight; and beloved equipment manager Paul Pucciarelli. Longtime UNLV athletics supporter Bruce Bayne was inducted as a Distinguished Contributor, while one-time quarterback Steve Stallworth received the Silver Rebel Award.

Lee Business School students are sweeping up awards — and job offers — at national competitions. UNLV teams have won the Institute of Management Accountants Student Case Competition four years in a row while others have brought home trophies for competitions sponsored by marketing, tax advising, mining and other industry associations. Faculty advisors and travel funds help these student groups get to the competition, and once they’re there, they show off how well their UNLV education prepares them for their professions.