Charlotte Farr, UNLV's director of distance education, has been named the 1999 recipient of the Richard Jonsen Award for Service to the Educational Telecommunications Community.

The award is presented annually by the Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications to an individual who has made significant contributions to the educational telecommunications community during his or her career.

"This award is definitely one of the highlights of my career," said Farr. "It is a national award that comes from my colleagues. I am very honored."

Farr, who has been described as an outstanding advocate for distance education, came to UNLV in 1996 from the University of Wyoming.

"Charlotte has been instrumental in encouraging and shepherding the distance education effort at UNLV, including expanding video sites in Southern Nevada and building several studios for faculty use," said Western Cooperative Chair Katrina Meyer. "She has assisted faculty in developing distance courses and programs in hotel and gaming administration, social sciences, nursing, and business administration, to name a few areas. In addition, she has worked with student services personnel to develop Web-based services to serve these distance learning students."

Farr, who has authored numerous book chapters and articles, serves on the Western Cooperative Steering Committee as the Nevada representative of institutional and corporate members.