U.N.L.V. Football players entering Allegiant Stadium

UNLV Newsmakers 2022: April

A collection of news stories highlighting the experts and student changemakers at UNLV.

UNLV Football players enter Allegiant Stadium for a game held on April 23, 2022, days before the NFL Draft rolled into town. As Las Vegas transforms into a sports mecca, media outlets in April called on university experts to offer context. (Lucas Peltier/UNLV)

From spring allergies and novel research into mental health management to economic predictions and student innovation, the month of April was hopping with news.

Media outlets close to campus and around the world called on UNLV experts to help explain the impact of Las Vegas’ inaugural hosting of the NFL draft on the city’s legacy, the future of mining, and marriage surname traditions. They highlighted student success as we celebrated a Ph.D. student’s anthropological discovery, an undergraduate who earned a highly coveted academic honor, and a student team whose invention could help change the region’s post-pandemic landscape. Other headlines helped inform the greater public of a campus wide smoking ban and an initiative to help alleviate problem gambling.

Read about these nuggets and others in the latest edition of Newsmakers.

Economic Outlook

Nevada’s economy will continue its recovery and expand through 2022 but it is not so certain for 2023, according to the latest economic outlook report released by UNLV’s Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER).That’s in contrast to the national economy, which currently is experiencing a significant structural adjustment toward a new normal in the midst of COVID-era impacts, the war in Ukraine, and related disruptions to the supply chain and trade. Stephen Miller, director of research for CBER, and Andrew Woods, director of CBER, explained the impact of inflation on the economy during an annual presentation that was keynoted by Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco president Mary Daly.

Bloomberg, Reuters, CNBC, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Las Vegas Sun, Nevada Independent, Nevada Current, Carson Now, KNPR, KSNV-TV: News 3

Good Sport

As Las Vegas continues to evolve into a powerhouse sports town, UNLV experts are frequently called upon to lend context on local, national, and global sports business news. In April, media outlets tapped several university experts to offer insights on women’s place in the sports world, a possible Major League Baseball move to Southern Nevada, and the NFL’s changing relationship with Las Vegas as the draft rolled into town.

UNLV Students Shine

  • An innovative student design for automated and self-watering microgreen gardens took the $25,000 top prize at the inaugural President’s Innovation Challenge. The competition — hosted by UNLV’s Office of the President, Graduate College, Office of Economic Development, Black Fire Innovation, and the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development — called on interdisciplinary student teams to come up with actionable ideas to deliver new business, new industry, or even entirely new sectors to our local economy.

    KTNV: ABC 13, Las Vegas Review Journal, Las Vegas Sun (twice)

  • UNLV junior Kelsey Elizabeth Matthews, a social work major and Honors College student, was one of just 58 students nationwide to be awarded the prestigious Harry S. Truman Scholarship for 2022. Inspired by obstacles during her own childhood, Matthews plans to use the $30,000 award  to pursue a law degree with a joint master’s in either social work or public policy. She hopes to become an attorney and advocate for social justice, legislative change, and public interest, and eventually run for public office.

    KLAS-TV: 8 News Now, KSNV-TV: News 3

  • Diana Simpson, a Ph.D. candidate and part-time instructor in the archaeology department, was called on by multiple media outlets to discuss her findings after analyzing the skull of a prehistoric man with a hole in his forehead. She presented her research at the annual meeting of the American Association of Biological Anthropologists.

    The New York Post, Science News, Extreme Tech, Techno Trenz, Slash Gear, The U.S. Sun, The Guild of Science, Ordo News, Syfy

University Business

General Roundup

Topics:

newsmakers

Campus Units:

Center for Business and Economic Research,  Lee Business School,  College of Education,  Department of Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Higher Education,  College of Liberal Arts,  Department of History,  William F. Harrah College of Hospitality,  Department of Economics,  Office of the President,  Graduate College,  Office of Economic Development,  School of Social Work,  Honors College,  Greenspun College of Urban Affairs,  Department of Anthropology,  School of Public Health,  International Gaming Institute,  Brookings Mountain West,  Department of Geoscience,  College of Sciences,  Department of Political Science,  The Lincy Institute,  Department of Psychology,  International Center for Gaming Regulation,  William S. Boyd School of Law,  Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV,  Troesh Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Related Experts:

Amanda Belarmino ,  Bo Bernhard ,  Deirdre Clemente ,  Alissa Cooley Yonesawa ,  Alyssa Crittenden ,  David Damore ,  Alan Feldman ,  Michael Green ,  Dustin Hines ,  Rochelle Hines ,  Dr. Marc J. Kahn ,  Brian Labus ,  Nancy Lough ,  Leith Martin ,  Stephen Miller ,  Brenna N. Renn ,  Bill Robinson ,  Rachael D. Robnett ,  Stephen Rowland ,  Andrew Woods

You Might Also Like

UNLV Newsmakers 2026: April
springtime bees
Campus News | May 1, 2026

A flowery collection of top headlines featuring UNLV faculty and students.

More about Campus News