Ed Fuentes

Fuentes, ’18 MFA Art, an artist, journalist, and sometimes UNLV art instructor, died Feb. 7. For his blog, “Paint This Desert,” he won a 2013 Creative Capital Warhol Foundation Art Writer’s Grant. Among his areas of expertise were Chicanx and street art. Just last fall he taught a popular art class at UNLV.

Kenneth Hanlon

Hanlon, emeritus professor of music, died Nov. 27. Hanlon, who became chair of the music department two weeks after signing on as an adjunct instructor in 1970, retired in 2017. He chaired the music department for 16 years before becoming an associate provost. He returned to teaching and headed the Arnold Shaw Popular Music Research Center on campus. A trombonist, he received the Nevada Governor’s Arts Award in 1984. For 10 years, he served as a member of the board and president of the International Trombone Association. He was a three-time graduate of the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. Donations in his honor can be made to the Ken Hanlon Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Richard Harp

Harp, professor of English, died March 7. A member of the faculty since 1975, his academic specialties included English Renaissance literature, Irish literature, and the Bible as literature. He had served as director of composition since 2015 and also spent six years as department chair and nine years as director of graduate studies. A prolific scholar, he published seven books and more than 45 articles and was founding co-editor of The Ben Johnson Journal. In 2003, he received the Barrick Distinguished Scholar Award. He also taught abroad as a Fulbright-Hays Lecturer at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden and as a visiting fellow at the University College in Galway, Ireland. Among his survivors is his wife, professor Margaret Harp of the department of world languages and cultures. Donations in his honor may be made to the English department.

Harrie Hess

Hess, emeritus professor of psychology, died Dec. 14. He served as chair of the psychology department as well as president of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association and president of the American Board of Examiners in Professional Psychology. In the 1980s, he took up distance running as a masters runner, winning numerous trophies. He stopped running in his 80s but continued power walking and hiking.

Bruce Layne

Layne, ’69 BS Economics, died March 8. Layne, an insurance executive, was active at UNLV from his time as a star of the baseball team through many years serving on the boards of the UNLV Alumni Association and the UNLV Foundation. For five years, he taught as a guest lecturer in what was then the business department. He was named Alumnus of the Year by the association in 1984 and by the Lee Business School in 2002. He was celebrated as a Trustee Emeritus at the UNLV Foundation annual dinner in 2017. He was a generous donor, supporting athletics, scholarships, and other university programs. Most recently, he gave a major gift to the baseball scoreboard project, resulting in the Bruce Layne Scoreboard at Earl Wilson Stadium. Donations in his honor to can be made to the athletic scholarship funds.

James Selser

Selser, emeritus professor of physics and astronomy, died July 24. He joined UNLV in 1981 and served as chair of the department of physics and astronomy from 1989 to 1992 and again from 2000 to 2007. He served on many university, college, and department committees. He earned his Ph.D. in applied science from the University of California, Davis. He retired in 2017.

Richard Wyman

Wyman, emeritus professor of civil and environmental engineering, died Jan. 29. In 1969, he was hired as one of the university’s first three engineering professors. In 1989, he received the Distinguished Member Award from the Society of Mining Engineers. A veteran of the U.S. Navy, he retired from UNLV in 1992, having served as department chair. His late wife, Anne Wyman, was the first female geology professor at UNLV. Donations in his honor can be made to the Wyman Civil Engineering Scholarship.