Abbas Badani says the challenge of a new place and a more urban life brought him to UNLV. But considering he spent the last 14 winters in Pennsylvania, there’s a good chance the lack of snow factored in.

The new senior director of integrated graphic services has been charged with providing strategic direction and a customer-centric perspective to the formerly named reprographics unit. It’s also known colloquially as the print shop, but Badani says the unit is responsible for so much more than course packs.

“We handle anything graphics-related for the university in any medium, including print and special products,” he said.

That can be as small as a UNLV-branded sticky note pad or as big as the billboard off the interstate.

What can people do to make your job easier?

Talk to us. Get us involved as early as possible. We may find solutions to make it more efficient or improve the look or make sure it meets brand identity standards. Often, we also can save you money. Think of us in more of a consulting capacity, not just as a transactional unit. Our employees are very approachable. We try to be customer-focused, responsive to what the needs are.

Someone who gave you good advice when you first arrived

Donna McAleer (director of publications emerita). I worked with her before I even arrived. Donna was very helpful.

Where you are from originally?

India. I miss family — the family dynamics and social connections. We go back pretty often.

Misconceptions you had about Las Vegas before moving here

It is what I thought it would be. I am still exploring and learning, trying to build new connections. There are quite a lot of non-tourism activities that go on here.

We’ve lived in various parts of the country. In addition to Pennsylvania we have lived in Denver, Texas, and upstate New York. We like to explore, try different cuisines, and get involved socially.

Book recommendation?

Anything by Malcolm Gladwell such as The Tipping Point or Blink.

If you could have any three people to dinner from any time in history, who you would choose?

I would choose a philosopher, a scientist, and an educator. It would be philosophy vs. reality with an educator to interpret it.

Best vacation?

Macedonia was a great vacation because it was so off the beaten path. My daughter studied there for a year in high school. When we visited she was proud of the fact she learned a whole new city and could show us her favorite spots. We got to see a lot of a country very few people visit. The oldest lake in Europe is in Macedonia.

We try to go to different parts of the world that are not necessarily the most traveled — anything that takes me to new places. To me, everyplace has its own charm. We visited Turkey, from Istanbul in the East to the southern beaches. We’ve also been to Vietnam where we explored cities, temples, and beaches.

Last meal?

It would have to be an epicurean fantasy. Something that is custom-created — a dish that has never been on any menu.