Welcome College of Liberal Arts alumni and friends. We have created this site especially for you so you can catch up with the latest news from the college, join the Alumni Association, make a gift to the college, and more.
The College of Liberal Arts Alumnus of the Year went from being uncertain about the future of his education to being one of the top residential real estate agents in the Las Vegas Valley.
Reagan Pfifer, '09 BA Anthropology and Theatre minor, is currently starring in the upcoming UNLV film project, Riot In Bloom, directed by Brett Levner, and slated to shoot in fall 2022. She is very excited to be part of such an amazing film.
Wendy Wimmer Schuchart
Wendy Wimmer Schuchart, '20 PhD English, has been awarded the 2022 fiction prize by Autumn House Press for her short story collection Entry Level: Stories. The prize was awarded by novelist Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies. Wimmer’s debut short story collection contains a range of characters who are trying to find, assert, or salvage their identities. These 15 stories center around the experience of being underemployed — whether by circumstance, class, gender, race, or other prevailing factors — and the toll this takes on an individual. Wimmer pushes the boundaries of reality, creating stories that are funny, fantastic, and at times terrifying. Her characters undergo feats of endurance, heartbreak, and loneliness, all while trying to succeed in a world that so often undervalues them. From a young marine biologist suffering from imposter syndrome and a haunting to a bingo caller facing another brutal snowstorm and a creature that may or not be an angel, Wimmer’s characters are all confronting an oppressive universe that seemingly operates against them or is, at best, indifferent to them. These stories reflect on the difficulties of modern-day survival and remind us that piecing together a life demands both hope and resilience. At UNLV, she was a 2017-20 Black Mountain Institute PhD fellow. She also is the co-founder of UntitledTown Book and Author Festival as well as the president of The Art Garage, a nonprofit arts, performance, and literary organization. She lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Cheryl Lyons
Cheryl L. Lyons, '93 BA Sociology, earned her Doctor of Education in higher education and student affairs from Ohio State University (OSU) on May 8, 2022. Lyons discovered her passion for working with college students serving as a resident assistant at UNLV during her undergraduate career. She currently serves as the director of disability services at OSU.
Iris Hattersley
Iris Hattersley, '12 BA English and '17 MA English, was one of the first 13 female deputy U.S. marshals hired by the U.S. Marshals Service. She has written a book about her experiences called Lucky Thirteen. Now she is writing a mystery. She retired in 1993, but continued to work as a contract special investigator conducting background investigations for the U.S. office of personnel. Writing, reading, and walking are among her hobbies. She belongs to a memoirs group, the Sun City Anthem Authors, and the Valley Women's Club. She lives in Henderson.
Derek Pollard
Derek Pollard, '15 PhD English, recently saw his latest collection of poems, On the Verge of Something Bright and Good, published by Barrow Street Press. It is his third book and second collection of poems. In 2020, the University of Michigan Press published the critical anthology he edited on the writing of UNLV English department faculty member Donald Revell, Till One Day the Sun Shall Shine More Brightly: The Poetry and Prose of Donald Revell, in the Under Discussion Series. He recently was appointed series editor for the Poets on Poetry Series, also published by the University of Michigan Press. The series was founded in 1977 and has been in continuous publication ever since. He lives in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Diane Ferraro
Diane (Hornsby) Ferraro, ’90 BA English, is the first female CEO of the nonprofit organization Save the Storks in Colorado Springs, Colo., after being a key member of its executive and leadership teams since 2018. Save the Storks partners with pregnancy health clinics across the United States to empower women with choice during pregnancy through mobile medical units known as "The Stork Bus" that are on the road in 30 states. Before joining the nonprofit, Ferraro served in various roles at large corporations, including overseeing marketing and communication efforts at a national retail chain based in Southern California. She had previously founded "The Soulful Experience" marketing and PR consulting agency that served businesses and nonprofits.
Ryan Muir
Ryan Muir, ’14 BA History, is an attorney licensed in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Last spring, he represented a client in a Title 2 SSDI matter before Social Security Administrative Law Judge. His client suffered from chronic migraines for decades that eventually caused her to leave her career, and finding her only migraine relief through steroid treatment. Unfortunately, prolonged steroid treatment led to the development of avascular necrosis in the hip, requiring a hip replacement. She had been denied disability benefits but after a hearing, she was approved and received back pay of over $90,000. He lives in Woodbury, Minn., with his wife, four children, and two dogs. He enjoys playing hockey, fishing, and following Minnesota sports in his free time.
Anthony Guidubaldi and Keith Strausbaugh
Under the banner of Hot Tub Mimosas, Anthony Guidubaldi, ’10 BA English, ’15 MA Writing for Dramatic Media, and Keith Strausbaugh, ’13 MFA Screenwriting, recently wrote, produced, directed, edited, and sold Marathon, a Christopher Guest-style mockumentary about runners, to Gravitas Ventures. The film features Kimia Behpoornia (from NBC sitcom Abby’s) and Las Vegas comedic stars from Cirque du Soleil, Absinthe, Second City, and Blue Man Group. Marathon was released in July 2021 on VOD platforms such as Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, Vudu, and YouTube.
Regina Mitchell
Regina Mitchell, '18 BA Psychology, conducts a Zoom cooking class, teaching others with vision loss what she learned in her own kitchen in what she describes as “descriptive cooking." She was on the fast track in the culinary world as a classically trained chef who had worked with notable chefs, including Emeril Lagasse and Julia Child. Later she provided team-building culinary experiences for Fortune 500 companies as a corporate executive chef and eventually landed a top position in Las Vegas with MGM Properties, providing personalized-services to elite hotel guests. Her life took a detour when she was diagnosed with bilateral panuveitis, a condition which affects the lens, retina, and optic nerve. She paused to contend with the challenges of vision loss and to earn her UNLV degree, which had an emphasis on neuroscience. More recently, she returned to cooking. She serves as an advisor to Hadley, a Illinois-based nonprofit that serves those with vision loss by providing practical help at no cost. She participates in Hadley’s "What’s Cooking?" discussion group series and is helping with the creation of a new Braille series.
Monica Marie Miller
Monica Marie Miller, '96 BSBA Management and '96 BA Psychology, is a property appraiser for the Clark County assessor's office.