UNLV's annual Honors Convocation is set for 10 a.m. April 18 in Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall. Outstanding students and faculty will be recognized for their academic, research, teaching, and service achievements.

Sponsored by President Carol C. Harter and Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society, this year's university awards ceremony marks a number of "firsts," according to Phi Kappa Phi vice president Chris Hudgins of UNLV's English department.

"This will be the first time the celebration of UNLV's outstanding students and faculty is sponsored by President Carol Harter. It will also be the first for Douglas Ferraro, the institution's new provost," Hudgins said. "And for the first time the ceremony will emphasize to a greater and more specific degree the extraordinary achievements in teaching and research of UNLV's outstanding faculty members, who are rapidly increasing their already strong national and international reputations."

State Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, a political science professor at UNLV, will be the featured speaker.

Harter said she is looking forward to her first UNLV Honors Convocation. "This is a wonderful opportunity for the entire UNLV community to pause and recognize the outstanding achievements of both our students and our faculty," she said. "We have among us those who excel in every way, and it is fitting that we honor them."

Ferraro said the Honors Convocation is an important event in the life of the university. "One of the privileges of being a university member is that of having the opportunity to participate in ceremonial functions that are special to higher education. The traditions of university life, dating back hundreds of years, are highly symbolic of the values we collectively hold."

One thousand students will be recognized for their extraordinary achievements this year. A wide variety of faculty will also be lauded for distinguished performance in teaching, research, and service to the community. This year those plaudits will include five new University Distinguished Teaching Awards.

A reception for students, faculty, their guests, and other attendees will follow the ceremony. Phi Kappa Phi will host a banquet for new initiates into the honorary society the following evening.

The Honors Convocation is open to the public and free of charge.

Ham Concert Hall is at the northern edge of the campus off Maryland Parkway. Audience members should plan on arriving on campus by 9:15 a.m. Free parking will be available in the "Y" lot off Cottage Grove Avenue, north of the Judy Bayley Theater; free parking will also be available in the Green Lot near the Thomas and Mack Center off Harmon Avenue. A shuttle service will be provided from that lot.

For additional information on the Honors Convocation, call Hudgins at 895-3088.