UNLV announced at a press conference today it has received a $3 million commitment from Joyce Mack and the Thomas family to establish the Thomas & Mack Moot Court Complex at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

The Moot Court complex will support the school's appellate advocacy training programs and provide a venue l arge enough and of the quality necessary to serve as a host site for judicial proceedings by state and federal courts, including the Nevada Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

"The Thomas and Mack families have enjoyed a close association with UNLV since its inception, and we are especially pleased with the growth and success of the Boyd School of Law," said Tom Thomas. "Its legal clinics are recognized nationally and provide critical services to members of our community. We applaud Dean Richard Morgan's efforts in attracting such an esteemed and capable group of professors and staff. The next step in the maturation of this law school is the construction of a very special facility: a moot court room where students can learn and practice the skills necessary to effectively operate within our legal system."

The 6,000 square-foot facility is being designed by Rees Associates Inc., one of the nation's leading architectural firms for courtrooms. The complex will include a fixed-bench courtroom and a 180-seat auditorium in which legal education, legal argument simulation activities, and court hearings can occur . Several administrative offices will also be included in the design.

The structure will be built on the east side of the law school and is scheduled to be completed by August 2006.

UNLV President Carol C. Harter thanked Joyce Mack and the Thomas family for their generosity and said the donation would further improve the university's reputation as a great place to study law . "This gift will significantly enhance the legal education our students receive by providing a great venue for our law school's already impressive advocacy training programs," said Harter. "Once again Joyce Mack and the Thomas family have shown their steadfast commitment to the future of this university and its students."

In 2001, Joyce Mack and the Thomas Family made a joint contribution to the law school of $2 million to establish the Thomas and Mack Legal Clinic, which provides free legal services on issues such as child welfare, juvenile justice, immigration, education and capital defense. In these clinics, student attorneys work under faculty supervision with UNLV social work and education students to provide high quality representation to children, youths, and adults in trouble, many of whom would otherwise face the legal system with no lawyer on or by their side.

"The law school is honored to be the recipient once again of the extraordinary generosity of Joyce Mack and the Thomas family," said Richard Morgan, dean of the law school. "Their support has always been and continues to be essential to our success."

Parry Thomas and Joyce Mack were each inducted in 2002 into the university's Palladium Society, which recognizes donors who have made cumulative gifts to UNLV in excess of $1 million or more. Together and individually, Joyce Mack and members of the Thomas family have contributed to a wide variety of programs, including academic scholarships, the Donna Beam Fine Art Gallery the College of Business , to name just a few. Parry Thomas and the late Jerry Mack are often considered founders of UNLV because they helped the university acquire the land on which the campus now sits.

This is the first major gift announcement since UNLV officially launched the public phase of its $500 million comprehensive campaign last month.