Since 2010, the UNLV Food Pantry has helped members of the campus community with food insecurity. Thanks to a new monthly distribution event spearheaded by undergrad CindyRomina Ballesteros-Paniagua, the pantry is extending its reach to our neighbors. In the past year, the pantry tripled the number of clients served, reaching 3,125 people.

Those random teacher in-service days can be a childcare nightmare for parents. UNLV is helping out with its Early Outreach Day Camps, held on the days when the local schools are closed but most parents still have to work. These full-day programs spotlight our academic offerings and give us a chance to show off our campus to future Rebels.

From summer camps to science fairs and dentistry to drama, UNLV offers children of all ages ample opportunities to discover their future careers. A College of Sciences program, for example, pairs grad students with local schoolteachers to develop curriculum and conduct hands-on activities.

When state Sen. Dina Neal approached the Boyd Law School to help residents of Windsor Park, a historically black community built over a geologic fault, its students came up with a unique solution. They teamed up with counterparts in the College of Fine Arts. Their award-winning documentary brought long-overdue attention to the problem, compelled officials and developers to work together, and supported efforts to secure millions in funding for homeowner restitution.
 

The College of Education’s many partnerships with the school district, charter schools, and private schools are addressing the teacher shortage and helping current teachers improve their skills. A new fast-track program, for example, is helping classroom support professionals earn degrees and become licensed, full-time teachers, all while remaining in their jobs.

Two studies offer hope that science is turning a corner in fighting Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Jeffrey Cummings’s annual review of clinical trials reveals important trends in the drug development pipeline. And another study by UNLV’s Nevada Institute of Personalized Medicine shed light on the strong link between certain gut bacteria and the common form of dementia. These interdisciplinary studies demonstrate the immense role research institutions play in advancing human health.

Every great space epic features Rebels, right? At UNLV, work that seems straight from a sci-fi movie is actually happening in real life, with researchers uncovering the mysteries of deep space and unlocking clues to how stars, planets, and entire galaxies form (and fall apart). They’re also helping to chart the course of NASA’s Mars rover and studying risks and stressors associated with space travel – and perhaps engineering a sustainable food source for those brave souls who will one day make the trek among the stars. 

As Las Vegas ups the ante as dynamic professional sport destination, UNLV is right there, bringing insights on the industry to policymakers, studying social media’s influence on gender equality in sports, finding new ways to diagnose brain disorders due to contact sports, and aligning academic programs to feed the growing workforce.