The Las Vegas strip as seen on Super Bowl weekend (Josh Hawkins/UNLV).

UNLV Newsmakers 2024: February

A collection of news stories and highlights featuring UNLV students and faculty.

The Las Vegas Strip as seen on Super Bowl weekend (Josh Hawkins, UNLV).

As we rapidly approach spring, the campus community is pushing forward with a renewed focus on recovery and resilience. With world events continuing to whiz by, UNLV has remained in the headlines for both its efforts to heal and university experts’ insights.

How did Las Vegas do as a Super Bowl host? Have the prolonged rainy skies been enough to get us out of the megadrought? How is the political game stacking up for Nevada, in a year busy with elections? And what are the ethics of blending AI with pornography? 

Keep yourself up-to-date on the latest local and national rumblings in the freshest installment of Newsmakers.

Rebel Recovery

President Keith E. Whitfield’s Rebel Recovery program has been integral to navigating the path forward following the shooting tragedy on campus Dec. 6. A Native American healing ceremony, mental health resources for students and staff, and campus-wide security initiatives are just a few measures that have helped comfort the Rebel family.

  • Mental Health:

Las Vegas Sun, KVVU-TV: Fox 5 (twice), KLAS-TV: News 8 (twice), Telemundo

  • Healing Ceremony:

KVVU-TV: Fox 5, KLAS-TV: News 8, KTNV-TV: ABC 13, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Las Vegas Sun

  • Rebel Recovery/Safety:

KSNV-TV: News 3 (twice) (thrice), KVVU-TV: Fox 5, KTNV-TV: ABC 13 (security; recovery), Las Vegas Review-Journal, KNPR

Tribal Nations healing ceremony at UNLV.
The Tribal Nations healing ceremony (Becca Schwartz, UNLV).

Super Bowl

In a move that would shock the Las Vegas of years past, Super Bowl 58 took over the Strip as the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs battled it out at Allegiant Stadium. More than 350,000 guests celebrated the occasion in the Valley, helping to cement this city’s place as the sports capital of the world. But how did Las Vegas get into this position? And at what cost?

Tackling topics of economics, history, pollution, advertising, air travel, pop culture, sports betting, and so much more, UNLV’s experts were called upon by media all over the country for some of the Big Game’s best stories.

  • History and the ‘how we got here’ featuring Michael Green, Bo Bernhard, Lynn Comella, Steffen Lehmann, Nancy Lough, Brett Abarbanel, Andrew Woods, and Constancio Arnaldo Jr.:

Associated Press (again), The Christian Science Monitor, ESPN, CBS (again), Fox Sports, CNBC, Reuters (again), NBC San Diego, The Athletic, Thrillist, San Francisco Business Times 

  • Media exposure, hospitality, and sports betting with Amanda Belarmino, Nancy Lough, Brett Abarbanel, Gregory Moody, David Vinturella, Shane Kraus, Marla Royne Stafford, and Michael Green: 

Washington Post (again), USA Today, NBC, Fox Sports, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Hearst Media Group, Sirius XM, San Diego Red 

  • Air traffic and pop culture with Benjamin Leffel, Dan Bubb, and Michael Ian Borer:

New York Times, The Hill, NBC (again), Las Vegas Review-Journal, Mix 94.1

Super Bowl on campus.
The Fertitta Football Complex was a practice facility for the San Francisco 49ers ahead of Super Bowl 58 (Josh Hawkins, UNLV).

Politics 

Primaries, caucuses, and presidential elections – oh, my! UNLV’s political science, legal, and psychology experts were heavily featured in stories from outlets near and far. Immigration, voting options, age stigmas, and how Nevada’s preparing for the upcoming presidential election were some of the most eye-grabbing topics.

  • Primaries vs. caucuses with Kenneth Miller, Rebecca Gill, Dan Lee, David Damore:

New York Times, Washington Post (again), USA Today, Courthouse News Service, The Guardian, AFP, U.S. News & World Report, Gray (again), Slate, Telemundo. 

  • Presidential election insight with Dan Lee and David Damore:

New York Times, USA Today, Associated Press, Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 

  • Immigration law with Michael Kagan; also ageism and mental health in politics with Brenna Renn:

Nevada Current, Mother Jones.

Experts Roundup

  • UNLV's College of Engineering held a grand opening ceremony unveiling its new Advanced Engineering Building: Las Vegas Review-Journal, KSNV-TV: News 3, KVVU-TV: Fox 5, KLAS-TV: 8 News Now, Las Vegas Weekly
  • Geoscientist and climate expert Matthew Lachniet covered the impact the rainy weather has had on the Southwest megadrought with ABC News.
  • The Guardian checked in with gender and sexuality professor Lynn Comella about the ethics of AI sexbots.
  • Claytee White (oral history researcher), Michael Green (historian), and David Schwartz (gaming history) were featured in a CNN documentary about the evolution of Las Vegas from the 1930s to present.
  • Economist Stephen Miller gave his thoughts on Nevada’s high unemployment rate with CNN. 
  • Law expert Benjamin Edwards joined MarketWatch’s discussion about Tesla’s apparent exit from Delaware.
  • Geneticist Martin Schiller talked about the cheaper costs of operating his lab in Las Vegas with the New York Times. Schiller also talked about his lab work with Vegas Inc. and the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
  • CBS News covered the Golden Gate Hotel & Casino with the help of gaming historian David Schwartz.
  • Aviation expert Dan Bubb explained the sleeping conditions for pilots with Newsweek.
  • Historian Michael Green shared some of the Tropicana’s most memorable moments in Travel Weekly, ahead of the hotel’s closure in April.
  • The Wall Street Journal featured historian Elizabeth Nelson’s insight on how Valentine’s Day is changing.
  • Space.com asked physicist Michael Pravica what would happen if a human traveled at the speed of light.

Topics:

newsmakers

Campus Units:

Department of History,  College of Liberal Arts,  Lee Business School,  Department of Information Systems,  Office of Economic Development,  Department of Interdisciplinary, Gender, and Ethnic Studies,  College of Fine Arts,  School of Architecture,  School of Public Policy and Leadership,  Greenspun College of Urban Affairs,  Department of Marketing and International Business,  Department of Psychology,  William F. Harrah College of Hospitality,  UNLV Sports Innovation Institute,  Department of Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Higher Education,  College of Education,  Honors College,  Department of Sociology,  Department of Political Science,  Brookings Mountain West,  University Libraries,  Oral History Research Center,  William S. Boyd School of Law,  Office of the President,  Department of Economics,  College of Sciences,  Nevada Institute of Personalized Medicine,  Department of Physics and Astronomy,  Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering

Related Experts:

Brett Abarbanel ,  Amanda Belarmino ,  Bo Bernhard ,  Michael Ian Borer ,  Dan Bubb ,  Lynn Comella ,  David Damore ,  Benjamin Edwards ,  Rebecca Gill ,  Michael Green ,  Michael Kagan ,  Shane W. Kraus ,  Benjamin Leffel ,  Steffen Lehmann ,  Nancy Lough ,  Kenneth Miller ,  Stephen Miller ,  Gregory D. Moody ,  Elizabeth Nelson ,  Michael Pravica ,  Brenna N. Renn ,  Martin Schiller ,  David G. Schwartz ,  Marla Royne Stafford

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