With one official fearing UNLV could become known as “the university under the overpass,” the school’s president and Nevada System of Higher Education regents aired concerns about how a proposed elevated expressway project could impact the university.

Clark County’s plans to build an elevated roadway to ease traffic between McCarran International Airport and the Strip has drawn the ire of some higher education officials

In the wake of tumult and in times of challenge, UNLV has always found a way to forge ahead — that was the resounding message behind acting President Marta Meana’s first state of the university on Thursday.

Putting the “U” in UNLV is how acting President Marta Meana described those at the university who are helping bring it future successes.

UNLV Acting President Marta Meana gives the annual State of the University address at UNLV Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018.

It wasn’t an easy spring for UNLV. There was the departure of President Len Jessup, anger among donors toward regents about it, and the loss of a major donation that was — controversially — linked to Jessup’s continued employment.

Marta Meana interviewed at a number of universities in the mid-1990s, but none was quite like UNLV.

Marta Meana, UNLV acting president, attends an editorial board meeting at the Las Vegas Sun offices Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018.

On her final day as dean of the Honors College, Dr. Marta Meana received a thank-you card from her students.

Nevada state university regents have named the Honors College dean at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, as acting campus president.

The Nevada Board of Regents has appointed UNLV Honors College Dean Marta Meana, a longtime UNLV professor and award-winning psychology scholar, to serve as acting president of the university and replace departing President Len Jessup.

Marta Meana, a professor and administrator at UNLV since 1997, has been selected by Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) Board of Regents as the school's acting president until the completion of a national search.