Within two years, Project Wellness has grown from an idea of like-minded student leaders into one of the university’s largest student organizations. The initiative, guided by the premise of students helping students, is quickly becoming a national model for student-led mental health programming. The group is collaborating with the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities — UNLV’s institution accrediting agency — to replicate its effectiveness in other universities.

As part of its efforts to address the critical mental health issues in our community, the School of Public Health has partnered with The Defensive Line, a national nonprofit organization focused on suicide prevention. The partnerships aim to educate adults about youth suicide and create safe places for young people to be honest and vulnerable about what they are going through.

UNLV remains a top choice for military veteran students, once again named among the nation’s top 10 “Military Friendly” campuses by Victory and G.I. Jobs Magazine. UNLV was ranked number three overall and was also named a Military Spouse Friendly School for the first time. Through the Military Veteran and Services Center (MVSC), UNLV enrolls more than 1,850 military-affiliated students. 

UNLV Sports Innovation partnered with Syracuse University’s David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics to create the Sports, Entertainment and Innovation Conference (SEICon). A first of its kind conference, SEICon brought global thought leaders, subject matter experts, and industry executives together to explore the latest innovations in sports and entertainment, esports and gaming, sports sociology and diversity, broadcast brands and media, research and development, and more.

UNLV student-athletes continue to excel academically — achieving a record 14th-straight semester with a 3.0 grade point average or higher. 168 UNLV student-athletes earned Dean's Honor List recognition for spring 2024, and the 88% student-athlete graduation rate set a record for the third straight year. 

UNLV has seen record enrollment — contrary to state and national higher education trends — thanks to a restructured financial aid office and implementation of UNLV Rebel EDGE, a program that combines federal, state, and institutional aid to offer low-income full-time students free tuition and fees for up to 15 credits. Spring enrollment for degree-seeking undergraduates at UNLV was up 3%, compared to last year. Enrollment for degree-seeking graduates was even higher, with a recorded a 9% increase in student enrollment.

A UNLV research team led by Zhange Feng and Hanqing Pan, both assistant professors with the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, recently secured a $2.1 million Department of Energy award to create an academic curriculum and training system. The funding will help UNLV to develop the next generation of leaders to address soil and groundwater remediation throughout the Southwest.

UNLV is among the first R1 universities in the nation to partner with Dreamscape Learn Center. The high-tech interactive platform boosts student success by bringing introductory STEM courses to life through innovative story-driven virtual reality (VR) courseware. The Dreamscape Learn Center is expected to debut at the university’s main campus on the second floor of Lied Library in 2025.