Welcome Speaker
Juanita Fain
An experienced and dedicated leader, Juanita Fain is committed to student learning, professional development, inclusiveness, and diversity, as evidenced through the many university activities, committees, and community organizations with which she is affiliated. During the span of her 39 year professional career, Fain has served in a variety of administrative positions at the University of Tennessee, Ohio University and, since 1996, UNLV. In her current role as vice president for student affairs, Fain is responsible for a division of more than 500 staff members. She is responsible for Enrollment and Student Services; Campus Life; The Center for Academic Enrichment and Outreach; Student Wellness; and, Police Services.
Keynote Speakers
Len Jessup
Len Jessup joined UNLV as its 10th president in January 2015. An accomplished leader in higher education, Jessup brings experience as a university professor, administrator, entrepreneur, and fundraiser. He will lead UNLV on its path to become a high-performing, community-engaged Tier One research university. Among his top priorities is the development of the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV. Like many of UNLV’s students, Jessup was the first in his family to graduate from college. This experience informs his understanding of the crucial role universities play in transforming families and communities, and it has been a motivating factor in his career in higher education leadership.
Prior to UNLV, Jessup served as dean of the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona (2011-2014), where he was also professor of entrepreneurship and innovation and the Halle Chair in Leadership. He led Eller to become a self-sustaining college with higher national rankings that robustly contributes to the state’s economic development. As a founding board member of the University of Arizona Health Network, he also contributed to the rethinking and restructuring of the university’s academic medical center.
A former baseball player in the highly competitive California junior college system, Jessup received his B.A. in information and communication studies in 1983 and his MBA in 1985, both from California State University, Chico. He earned his Ph.D. in organizational behavior and management information systems from the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management in 1989, and was awarded the Outstanding Ph.D. Alumnus in 2004. Jessup resides with his partner Kristi Staab, a former broadcast industry executive who owns and operates a successful leadership and sales training and development business. Jessup has a daughter, Jamie, and a son, David.
Courtney White-Milton
Courtney White-Milton serves as the Regional Manager for Barnes & Noble College, and oversees 32 bookstore locations in three states including UNLV. She holds experience with four-year public, four-year private and community college bookstore management, and she has been with Barnes & Noble College for a little over seven years. She is an expert in operations management, recruitment, sales and store operations, managing clients and staff development. She is engaging and enthusiastic about how bookstores and universities can partner to best serve students during a critical time in their educational development.
White-Milton earned her bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from Texas A&M University, and lives in San Antonio, Texas with her family.