The UNLV Foundation will recognize five donors for their cumulative gifts of $1 million or more at an annual gala event on April 17 at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino.

The honorees, including the City of Las Vegas, Monsanto Company, Michael and Sonja Saltman, Sierra Health Services/Health Plan of Nevada, and Sun Microsystems will be inducted as members of the Palladium Society, UNLV's highest recognition level for contributors.

The City of Las Vegas has partnered with UNLV for many years to provide academic, athletic, and cultural programming to the citizens of Southern Nevada. Since 1991, the city has provided financial support to educational programming through UNLV-TV, which serves UNLV students, faculty, staff, and the entire Las Vegas community.

Monsanto Company's cumulative gifts include a 2003 donation of high-end SUN computers. The donation has enabled UNLV scientists and students to accelerate their research in bioinformatics, a relatively new field that integrates mathematics, computer sciences, and biology. In August 2003, Sun Microsystems contributed 11 software licenses to facilitate the research being conducted on the computers.

Michael and Sonja Saltman co-founded the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution at the William S. Boyd School of Law in 2003. They also support academic programs through the President's Inner Circle giving club and a graduation award in the College of Liberal Arts. Michael is a member of the UNLV Foundation board of trustees and Sonja is an alumna.

Sierra Health Services/Health Plan of Nevada, led by president Anthony M. Marlon, M.D., has supported many academic, cultural, and athletic programs at UNLV. In September 2003, the organization made a gift of $1.35 million to help fund the Science, Engineering and Technology Building, which was named as the single-largest public works project in the state of Nevada during this legislative budget.

The awards presentation will take place during a black tie dinner gala at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino on April 17. Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, is the evening's keynote speaker underwritten by Wells Fargo N.A. and Brown & Partners.