The William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration at UNLV has received a donation of 90 software licenses from Applied Computer Technologies, Inc., that will benefit students in UNLV's exposition and convention management program. The donation is valued at $172,000.

The software package, called EXPOCAD, combines the graphic power of a computer-aided drafting program with the information processing power of a database and is used often by trade show professionals to sell, book, reserve, and manage exhibition floor space.

"ExpoCad is the industry standard for designing trade show floor plans and managing exhibitors," said Curtis Love, UNLV assistant professor of tourism and convention administration. "Learning to use this software will greatly increase the skills package of our students and make them more marketable to potential employers. "

The software license donation, which was made through the UNLV Foundation, was provided to cover every computer in the student computer labs located in Frank and Estella Beam Hall. The software program is being used this semester in the class "Trade Show Operations."

The William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration at UNLV is the largest hotel college in the United States with approximately 2,000 undergraduate students, 80 master's students, and 20 doctoral students. It has students from all 50 states and more than 50 countries.