UNLV’s hotel college has reversed course on an unpopular decision to lump classes into a single area of study, bringing luster of sorts back to a prominent academic program that had been grappling with low morale.

Nevada’s Board of Regents will gather in Reno on Thursday to consider a wide range of issues facing the state’s public colleges, making decisions that affect everything from class offerings and student tuition to presidential hires and school construction.

Gov. Brian Sandoval said Tuesday he will both endorse and contribute to Republican lawmakers who voted for his ambitious budget and the tax package to pay for it.

Through a chandelier-lit hallway in the Paris Las Vegas, hundreds of men and women shuffled past giant standing letters spelling “UNLV” en route to the university’s William F. Harrah College of Hospitality Management fundraiser, UNLVino, for the Grand Tasting on Saturday night.

To the rest of the world, it looks as if Las Vegas is simply doing what Sin City does best: drink, drink again, then drink some more. But the three days of Champagne, sake and wines serve a worthwhile purpose.

UNLVino has become more than an annually held institution that provides scholarships and experience for University of Nevada, Las Vegas hospitality students. The 42-year old fundraising event emphasizes varietals, vintages and vineyards, and although the focus of the celebration is the grape, UNLVino also attracts some of the finest talent working in the kitchens of one of the world’s cuisine capitals as well as UNLV’s culinary program. That talent in turn attracts thousands of wine connoisseurs with sybaritic appetites year after year.

The University of Nevada Las Vegas has broken ground on a $59 million academic facility for its hotel college.

Look for the hospitality industry to take a greater interest in hackathons in the months ahead.

Construction of a state-of-the-art facility touted as the future of UNLV’s world renowned hotel college is finally underway.

Construction crews this week will start building a new $59 million home for UNLV’s hospitality school, a four-story facility that will boast a high-tech kitchen, a student-run cafe and sweeping views of the glimmering Las Vegas skyline.

UNLV is breaking ground on a $57 million academic building for its hotel administration program.

Guests at the Wednesday afternoon ceremony include members of the Nevada Board of Regents and UNLV President Len Jessup.

Put 25 college students in a room and charge them with solving problems in the hospitality industry, and it’s anyone’s guess what you’ll get.