About UNLV

UNLV Highlights

The information on this page highlights university achievements, community programs, faculty and student milestones, current institutional statistics, and more. This site will continually be updated as new information develops.

University

• UNLV received a $15 million donation — one of the largest individual donations in its history — from the Ted and Doris Lee family to bolster business education. In return, the university renamed its business college the Lee Business School. The gift will fund 10 endowed professorships, a scholarship program, a lecture series, and a visiting professor program.

• U.S. News & World Report placed UNLV at No. 12 in its ranking of most popular national universities by yield — the percentage of applicants accepted by a college who chose to enroll at that institution in the fall. A national university is one that is research-oriented and offers degrees of all levels. The 2010 figures used in the ranking showed that of the 5,222 students who were accepted, a total of 3,115 actually enrolled — a yield of 59.7 percent. The previous year’s ranking had placed UNLV at No. 25.

• The Mendenhall Center, UNLV’s new 38,000-square-foot men’s basketball practice facility, opened during the spring semester. The three-level building includes two basketball courts, an academic area and film room, locker rooms, and athletic training, strength and conditioning, and equipment areas. The facility was built entirely through private donations.

• The university dedicated the UNLV Veterans Memorial honoring Las Vegas and UNLV service members from all wars and conflicts. Organized by the UNLV Student Veterans Organization, the memorial sits near the Alta Ham Fine Arts Building at the base of the stairs leading to Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall and Judy Bayley Theatre.

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Research

• UNLV geoscientist Matthew Lachniet is part of an international group of researchers who linked the rise and fall of ancient Mesoamerican civilizations to changing rainfall. Researchers explored the depths of caves in Southern Mexico in their quest for clues. The team’s findings were published in the journal Geology.

• UNLV astrophysicist Bing Zhang and an international team of scientists discovered the first-ever evidence of a star being swallowed by a supermassive black hole. The discovery opens a new line of investigation into how black holes function in the universe. The team detailed its findings in the journal Nature.

• In fiscal year 2011, UNLV received approximately $87.6 million in external award funding with nearly $40.4 million supporting research, including significant support from the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of the Interior.

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Community Outreach

• Through its Adopt-A-School program, UNLV reaches out annually to nearly 2,000 students attending five local elementary schools whose student population is deemed to be at-risk. UNLV staff and athletes, cheerleaders, band members, and mascot Hey Reb! visit the schools to encourage the youngsters to read, to work hard, and to strive for a college degree.

• National Guard troops and veterans from all branches of the service who meet eligibility requirements receive free dental care from UNLV’s School of Dental Medicine through the Sergeant Clint Ferrin Memorial Clinic. A dental student started the clinic in memory of his brother, who died while serving in Iraq. It has received national recognition from the American Dental Association Foundation.

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Fundraising

• More than 8,000 donors contributed in excess of $30 million in private donations to the university through the UNLV Foundation last year. The largest donor group — 45 percent of the total — was UNLV alumni.

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Students

• UNLV’s 100,000th degree was awarded to senior Emily Tamadonfar at December commencement. A biology major with a perfect GPA, she also was recognized as an outstanding graduate at the ceremony. The Honors College graduate conducted research on a variety of subjects, including stem cell research and axonal outgrowth research. Next, she’s headed to medical school.

• Women’s tennis sophomore Aleksandra Josifoska out-dueled teammate Lucia Batta to give her program its second consecutive singles title at the USTA/ITA Mountain Regional Championships at the Fetitta Tennis Complex. It marked UNLV’s third regional championship and earned Josifoska a trip to the National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships in New York.

• Engineering undergraduate Ariana Alaniz was one of a number of UNLV students to take top honors during a U.S. Department of Energy national student competition focusing on the nuclear fuel cycle. Her paper took first place in its category and subsequently was published in the Journal of Nuclear Materials. Also faring well in the competition were radiochemistry doctoral students Edward Mausolf and Erik Johnstone and nuclear engineering master’s program graduate Gregory Schmidt.

• Football player Brett Boyko was named a second team Freshman All-American after starting all 12 games at left tackle for the Rebels. Boyko, who competed as a quarterback while playing in his home country of Canada, had never lined up on the offensive line before joining head coach Bobby Hauck’s program.

• Forward Salvador Bernal was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Men’s Soccer Newcomer of the Year after leading the Rebels in scoring.