Hannah Fluitt (Architecture) was named student chapter Leader of the Year for 2015 by the American Society of Interior Designers. She is president of UNLV's student chapter.

The UNLV Jazz Program took home several awards at the 2015 Monterey Next Generation Jazz Festival in March. UNLV Jazz Ensemble I, conducted by Dave Loeb and Nathan Tanouye, received second place in the College Big Band Division, competing among some of the finest university jazz ensembles in the nation. The UNLV Latin Jazz Ensemble, directed by…

David Schmoeller (Film) is the 2015 recipient of the Charles Vanda Award for Excellence in the Arts from UNLV's College of Education. Additionally, he has received promotion to full professor, effective July 1, 2015. A feature film he wrote, produced, and directed, 2 Little Monsters, was licensed to the Lifetime Movie Network for three years. Its…

Nicole Thomas (Music) has been accepted to the Houston Grand Opera Young Artist Academy for summer 2015. A mezzo-soprano, she was accepted from a highly completive field of more than 1,000 singers. Singers are chosen by videotaped audition and recommendation only. The first UNLV student to be accepted into this program, she also was Nevada's first…

UNLV Jazz Studies (Music) saw its performing groups invited to compete at the 58th annual Monterey Next Generation Jazz Festival -- the sixth consecutive year that UNLV groups have received an invitation. The festival, which draws top student musicians from around the world, will take place this month in Monterey, Calif. UNLV's students will…

Linda Lister, Stephanie Weiss, Lillian Roberts, Xavier Brown, and Cheyna Alexander (all Music) of UNLV Opera won in two categories at the National Opera Association Collegiate Opera Scenes Competition, which took place at the national convention in Greensboro, N.C. in January. UNLV Opera won in both the graduate and musical theatre divisions.

Anthony LaBounty (Music) made his compositional debut at Carnegie Hall on Nov. 25 with the world premiere of "Psalm 92," an original work for wind symphony commissioned by Travis Pardee, director of the Foothill Wind Symphony.

UNLV Opera was named a finalist in the National Opera Association Collegiate Opera Scenes Competition, which takes place in Greensboro, N.C., in January. UNLV Opera is a finalist in both the graduate and musical theatre divisions.

Aurore Giguet (Marjorie Barrick Museum) recently was elected to the Nevada Museums Association's Board of Directors.

Linda Lister (Music) is the 2014 winner of The American Prize in Directing, for Sancta Susanna and Suor Angelica. She was selected from applications reviewed this summer from across the United States. The American Prize is a series of new, non-profit competitions unique in scope and structure, designed to recognize and reward the best performing…

Jennifer Bellor (Music) wrote a composition, "Noir," which won the 2014 Seattle Women's Jazz Orchestra National Composition contest. It will be performed in Seattle on Nov. 4, featuring Grace Kelly on alto saxophone.

Richard Havey (Dance) took nine students from the bachelor of fine arts (BFA) dance program to perform in Kiel, Germany, at an international dance festival in June. He taught jazz dance workshops and the students performed his choreography and their own student works from April's BFA student concert. He also taught in Frankfurt/Stuttgart and at…