The Board of Regents of the University and Community College System of Nevada recently announced the names of UNLV faculty, staff, and students who received honors for the 2001-02 academic year.
Stefan Karlsson, UNLV assistant professor of music and coordinator of the jazz studies program, is this year's recipient of the $5,000 Creative Activity Award for his work, which draws international attention to the university, the system, and to Nevada as a whole.
Karlsson's distinctions include many international performances in such sites as Scotland, Japan, Sweden, Italy, Australia, Germany, and France.
In the United States, he has performed in jazz festivals and other concert events held in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Washington state. He performs yearly as a featured soloist at the Stanford University Jazz Workshop in Palo Alto, Calif., and he is a past recipient of the College of Fine Arts' Vanda Award for Excellence in Creative Activity.
Additionally, Karlsson performed an on-camera spot on an episode of the television show "Melrose Place," and his original compositions have been heard on such television series as "Wings, "Party of Five," "Melrose Place," and "Homicide." He is professionally associated with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and the Las Vegas Jazz Society. He also is the treasurer of the Nevada chapter of the International Association of Jazz Educators.
Sherri Theriault and Roberta Williams are the recipients of the regents' Academic Advisor Awards. Each received $5,000 stipends in recognition of her efforts.
Theriault, who serves as advising coordinator at the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration's office for student advising, was selected for her work advising the college's undergraduate students. She has held the position since 1999. Theriault is responsible for overseeing the advising of more than 2,000 students, and was recognized for initiating a number of improvements, one of which was the creation of online advising sessions. With this service, new students in the college get advising help without having to physically come to the campus. Theriault said this service has become very popular with the students, especially since approximately 25 percent of the students enrolled in the college come from foreign countries.
Williams was selected for her work advising graduate students. As a faculty member of the College of Sciences' department of biological sciences, she helped to originate the master of art in science program. Since the program's inception in 1995, Williams has been the graduate coordinator and academic advisor for 40 students.
Two UNLV students, undergraduate Kate Martin and graduate student Chiaki Brown, received Regent Scholar Awards. The women, who each received $5,000 scholarships, were recognized for their academic accomplishments, on- and off-campus leadership contributions, and the potential for continued success.
Martin is a biological sciences major with a French minor, who will be graduating summa cum laude in May. A member of the Honors College, she recently completed her senior project, which involved working on a 13-month study of cervical abnormalities in women with HIV who have comprised immune systems. The findings from Martin's study support increased vigilance in screening for cervical cancer in HIV-positive female patients. The study was done in collaboration with the UMC Wellness Center and the Nevada School of Medicine's research division in the department of obstetrics/gynecology.
In addition, Martin is a past recipient of the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and was recognized for her efforts in developing curriculum for a summer science program, funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to promote health and science professions to economically-disadvantaged junior high and high school students in Clark County.
Brown will graduate in May with a microbiology degree from the master of arts in science program in the College of Sciences. As part of her master's thesis, she has been involved in a two-year study to determine how different surface types, such as grass, dirt, and asphalt, affect the amount of fecal pollution that runs off into the Las Vegas Wash. The Las Vegas Wash is a channel for treated wastewater, as well as urban runoff and storm drainage. The wash eventually flows into Lake Mead.
Brown also serves as the science outreach coordinator for the College of Sciences. The college has developed an active outreach program with elementary and secondary educators and students to promote science and math education throughout the Southern Nevada region. Brown is responsible for coordinating many activities throughout the year, including Science and Technology Day, Science Bowl, Jason Project, Summer Scholars, and the INTEL-affiliated Southern Nevada Regional Science and Engineering Fair.
For more information about the awards, call Barbara Cloud, associate provost for academic affairs, at 895-3270.
