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UNLV Newsmakers 2022: January

A collection of news stories highlighting the experts and events at UNLV.

Books inside the UNLV Bookstore on August 21, 2017. (R. Marsh Starks / UNLV Creative Services)

January marks the start of a new year, as well as a new semester. And at UNLV, the spring semester ushered in new beginnings for students, faculty, and staff. From the introduction of UNLV’s new athletic director to nursing students jumping into the health care trenches to university experts weighing in on the future of the pandemic, UNLV consistently made news headlines. Read on for just a few examples.

Rah Rah, Rebels!

UNLV President Keith E. Whitfield selected Erick Harper as the university’s newest athletics director, effective Jan. 1. A longtime university athletics administrator who had served as interim UNLV athletics director since August, Harper was selected to continue in the position permanently after a national search. 

ESPN, Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal, Associated Press, KLAS-TV: 8 News Now, KTNV-TV: ABC 13, Las Vegas Sun, Telemundo, LV Sports Biz 

Lowering Textbook Price Tags

UNLV’s Open Educational Resources (OER) Task Force tackled affordability of course materials in first-year seminars by incorporating more open access resources. The partnership among the College of Liberal Arts, Office of Information Technology, Office of Online Education, Faculty Center, University Libraries, and the UNLV Bookstore collectively saved hundreds of students about $36,000 in fees last fall. OER faculty spoke to media about the project’s success and plans to expand the program this spring.

Las Vegas Sun, KNPR, Public News Service

Somewhere Out There

While the COVID-19 pandemic and related mitigation measures have placed much of Americans’ focus on happenings inside the home, UNLV experts were hard at work offering insight into the environment around us. 

  • Research professor Kristen Averyt spoke to the Nevada Independent about the impact of heat mitigation policies on Nevadans at home and work.
  • Antony Chen, director of the School of Public Health’s Urban Air Quality Laboratory, weighed in on Las Vegas’s poor air quality ranking during a Fox 5 Vegas interview.
  • The Associated Press detailed Life Sciences professor Daniel Thompson’s design plans to prevent harm to current and future populations of the endangered Mount Charleston blue butterfly.

Nursing News 

The Las Vegas Valley has suffered hospital staffing shortages as local nurses grappling with the onslaught of COVID-19 cases leave the profession facing burnout. UNLV’s School of Nursing has been there to lend a helping hand. Dean Angela F. Amar spoke to outlets about the surge of interest from new students who aspire to fill the vacant positions, and students highlighted the ways they are answering the call by Gov. Steve Sisolak and health industry insiders to alleviate the overtaxed health care system. The school also partnered with a local nonprofit, Adam’s Place, to offer virtual grief support group sessions.

KCLV Channel 2, KVVU-TV: Fox 5 Vegas (twice), KLAS-TV: 8 News Now (twice)

Detecting COVID-19 Via Wastewater 

Experts are now capable of detecting COVID-19 through wastewater up to a month before the first case is reported. Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine professor Edwin Oh explained to media outlets how his lab’s wastewater surveillance program used  sewage samples to detect the omicron variant about a week before case numbers surged across the Las Vegas Valley.  

Fox News, The Nevada Independent (twice), KNPR, Las Vegas Sun, KTNV: ABC 13, Fox 5 Vegas, Las Vegas Review-Journal, KLAS-TV: 8 News Now

Student Highlights

Great people are the cornerstone of great universities, and UNLV is in large supply. The media highlighted multiple student-focused stories during the first month of the year – showcasing their talents both inside and outside the classroom. UNLV also debuted several new programs and scholarships to help financially support students. 

Pandemic Progress

As the holiday season wrapped up, it made way for a new COVID-19 variant to take hold. Local and national media outlets continued to call upon UNLV experts to make sense of the latest variant almost two years into the pandemic.  

General Expert Roundup

Topics:

newsmakers

Campus Units:

College of Liberal Arts,  University Libraries,  School of Public Health,  College of Sciences,  School of Life Sciences,  School of Nursing,  Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV,  Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering,  Department of Mechanical Engineering,  Graduate College,  Greenspun College of Urban Affairs,  Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies,  Lee Business School,  College of Education,  Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics,  Department of Psychology,  Department of Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Higher Education,  Department of Political Science,  Department of History,  Department of Physics and Astronomy,  Intercollegiate Athletics,  Office of Information Technology,  Online Education,  Office of Faculty Affairs,  Office of Executive Vice President and Provost,  Nevada Institute of Personalized Medicine,  Beverly Rogers, Carol C. Harter Black Mountain Institute,  Lied Center for Real Estate,  Department of Social and Behavioral Health

Related Experts:

David Damore ,  Brad Donohue ,  Michael Green ,  Dr. Marc J. Kahn ,  Brian Labus ,  Nancy Lough ,  Bradley Marianno ,  Edwin Oh ,  Jason Steffen

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