UNLV's ten-year-old Valedictorian Scholarship Program has received perpetual funding in excess of $2 million in the form of an endowment, according to interim President Kenny Guinn.

The donation, which came through the UNLV Foundation from the Mary V. Hughes Trust, will create the John P. and Mary V. Hughes Scholarship Endowment in their memory.

Guinn announced the gift Wednesday (March 15) following a regular meeting of the UNLV Foundation Board of Trustees at the Richard Tam Alumni Center. Walter V. Norwood, trustee, and James E. Ordowski, Esq., attorney for the Mary V. Hughes Trust, formally presented the gift to Guinn and UNLV Foundation Chairman Tom Hartley.

"This contribution has the potential of becoming the largest individual scholarship endowment ever received by the UNLV Foundation," Hartley said. "Through the generosity of this gift, UNLV will continue to attract and retain Nevada's finest high school graduates."

Mary "Mitzi" Hughes is the third major benefactor of UNLV's Valedictorian Scholarship Program. The foresight of hotel-casino owner Margaret Elardi's gift of $1 million inspired creation of the Elardi Nevada Scholars Program in 1985. Financial support from that program went to 129 of Nevada's top high school graduates.

The Golden Nugget Corp. and, later, Mirage Resorts, Inc., continued the funding beginning in 1991, and the scholarships were named in honor of Elaine Wynn. More than $1 million has provided Elaine Wynn Valedictorian Scholarships to 181 students.

A total of 310 students have received scholarships under the innovative UNLV program. Of those, three Elardi scholars and 119 Wynn scholars are still enrolled.

This program provides $10,000 UNLV scholarships to high school valedictorians in Nevada. From its inception, the program's ultimate goal was to create a permanent endowment to provide perpetual funding for the scholarships.

The John P. and Mary V. Hughes Scholarship Endowment is the third major gift from John and Mitzi Hughes. They were members of the UNLV Foundation President's Associates, contributing $500,000 in 1991 to support student services at the university. UNLV recognized their gift by naming a campus residence hall the Johnny and Mitzi Hughes Hall in their honor. In 1992, Mitzi Hughes donated $300,000 to create the Mitzi Hughes Honors Endowment.