UNLV’s medical school welcomes its first students in July with high hopes but much remaining to be done. The inaugural class of 60 is made up mostly of Nevada students or those connected to the state, said Dr. Barbara Atkinson, the medical school’s founding dean.

The Board of Regents approved two measures Friday that should ensure a smooth opening for the UNLV medical school on July 1 — albeit with a healthy dose of conversation and caution.

Friday is poised to be a pivotal moment for the fledgling UNLV School of Medicine. With four months until the school opens, UNLV President Len Jessup will request from the Board of Regents approval of the bylaws and operating agreement for the faculty practice plan, as well as a $19 million line of credit.

With five months remaining until the new UNLV School of Medicine officially welcomes its first class, the university has offered admission to 40 prospective students – half of them women. That shouldn’t come as a surprise, given that women make up nearly half of Nevada’s population. But it’s an anomaly in a state that ranks near the bottom nationally in terms of physician gender diversity.

University, health and city officials gathered for a town hall event Tuesday night looking forward to the development of the UNLV School of Medicine and the medical district surrounding it.

In November, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) School of Medicine began accepting applications and interviewing students who will start their medical school education in summer 2017.

Actress Pia Zadora wants families in the Las Vegas Valley dealing with autism to know that “it’s going to get better.” Zadora is a supporter of the new UNLV Medicine Ackerman Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment Solutions, 630 S. Rancho Drive, Suite A, which opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Oct. 13.

It’s official: UNLV’s burgeoning medical school has been granted preliminary accreditation, allowing the institution to begin recruiting and accepting students for its first class in 2017.