Sheriff Jerry Keller and philanthropist Jim Rogers have been named recipients of the top UNLV Alumni Association awards to be presented at the 1999 Homecoming celebration Oct. 22 in the UNLV Richard Tam Alumni Center.

Keller, who graduated from UNLV in 1969 with a bachelor's degree in education, has been named Alumnus of the Year, considered the highest honor awarded to a graduate by the UNLV Alumni Association.

Keller was elected sheriff in 1994 and then re-elected in 1998. He began his career in law enforcement in 1969 when he joined the Clark County Shenff's Of fice. Over the course of the next decades, Keller rose through the ranlcs of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department; he was named deputy chief in charge of the administrative services division in 1993.

A native Las Vegan, Keller is a member of the FBI National Executive Board of Directors, the Nevada Sheriffs and Chiefs Association, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

Keller has responded to the needs of the Alumni Association and the university on numerous occasions. He has given lectures in government and leadership classes and has been a speaker at the Alumni Association's Career Days for the last four years.

A strong supporter of the university, Rogers has received the UNLV Alumni Silver State Award, the highest honor awarded by the Alumni Association to a non-alumnus of the university.

Rogers, a prominent Las Vegas attorney, presented a $28.5 million charitable gift pledge and donation to the new William S. Boyd School of Law in November 1998. He founded Valley Broadcasting Company in 1971 and has served as CEO of KVBC-TV Channel 3 in Las Vegas since 1979. He is also the principal owner of Sunbelt Communications Company, which owns and operates NBC-affiliated television stations in Nevada, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.

Individuals from several of UNLV's colleges have also been recognized by the association as Outstanding Alumni for 1999. They include the following: Kevin Page, College of Business; Ethan Acres, College of Fine Arts; William Clark, College of Sciences; Roger Wagner, William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration; Dario Herrera, College of Liberal Arts; Cynthia Montoya, College of Education; Ramona Denby, College of Urban Affairs; and Carol Rayfield, College of Health Sciences.

UNLV alumni can purchase tickets for the Homecoming celebration in advance for $15. For more information or to make reservations, call 895-3621.