We foster community collaborations to transform lives and view challenges as opportunities.
Community Engagement
College Partnerships
The Greenspun College of Urban Affairs prepares undergraduate and graduate students to lead, collaborate, and innovate through research, a cutting-edge curriculum, and public-private partnerships.
Resiliency Initiative
The Las Vegas City Council approved a resolution at its April 3 meeting to establish a community resiliency initiative with the UNLV Greenspun College of Urban Affairs. The local government-higher education partnership will give the city of Las Vegas and UNLV an opportunity to determine and address the shocks and stresses that could impact the entire community and the capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, businesses, and systems within a city to survive, adapt, and grow.
MGM Resorts Public Policy Institute
The institute's mission is to elevate bipartisan policy solutions that can break through partisan gridlock, forge pathways to the middle class and help deliver a sustainable 21st Century workforce across the United States. Read stories about the institute.
Community Engagement Stories
What the world needs now is volunteers. This Urban Affairs program coordinator aims to connect you to the opportunities.
The UNLV Pathways' workshops and networking events help young adults who have experienced the foster system and housing insecurity.
Social work student mentors help veterans transition to campus life and conquer new challenges in the classroom.
Communication studies major Saha Salahi awarded Nevada's first John Lewis Youth Leadership Award.
Brookings Mountain West and Lincy Institute's Caitlin Saladino's work helping fuel undergraduate research earns her UNLV's Top Tier Award.
University's "We Need to Talk" virtual discussion series returns May 27.
After leaving college to enter the hospitality industry, Clay Hartley took advantage of a program through MGM Resorts International to finally earn his degree.
UNLV journalism professor Michael Easter explores how people can experience happier, healthier lives in new book.
HOPE Scholar Theresa Butler earns her bachelor's and dives into public policy based on her experience.
Nontraditional student Vanessa McConnell forging a path to bring diversity to sports broadcasting.
UNLV social media expert Natalie Pennington shares the top 10 takeaways of research on the impact of video chats, email, online gaming, and other communication tech on stress, loneliness, and relationships.
Public Policy professor Jayce Farmer stresses the importance of looking at how and why your local government is spending taxpayer money.
Behavioral and Mental Health Support
School of Social Work
Faculty, staff, and students provided counseling services and resources to MGM Resorts International employees impacted by the Oct. 1. Las Vegas shooting. Social work staff was among the several UNLV counselors who provided emotional support around the Las Vegas Valley.
Nevada Partnership for Training
For more than 10 years, the UNLV School of Social Work has collaborated in the Nevada Partnership for Training, a statewide consortium of family service agencies. In Southern Nevada, UNLV partners with Clark County Department of Family Services to deliver skill-based programs for professionals who work with children and families.
Faculty Research
An interdisciplinary team of urban affairs faculty produced a white paper on the state of youth homelessness in Southern Nevada. Faculty presented their findings at a summit sponsored by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Las Vegas Sands and Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth Nov. 2, 2017. The college is partnering with community groups to help the homeless youth.
Behavioral and Mental Health Support Stories
Class tackles taboos to help future social workers to factually and professionally discuss sex.
Matthews, a social work major and a member of the Honors College, is one of just 58 students nationwide to win the highly coveted award.
Through targeting hiring, the director of the School of Social Work is helping guide UNLV's work to address homelessness, interpersonal violence, and other issues in the region.
Research by UNLV communications expert Natalie Pennington finds that texts, video calls burdened the mental health of working moms during pandemic.
UNLV School of Social Work expert on moving forward after a year of lockdowns and stress.
UNLV expert on emerging media Benjamin Burroughs examines the ethical considerations of child-created content.
Former Marine and College of Urban Affairs Alumnus of the Year has fought to get help for Nevada's veterans seeking educational opportunities.
As the coronavirus pandemic continues, UNLV social work professor Nicholas Barr stresses importance of keeping people housed.
UNLV communication studies professor Natalie Pennington offers tips to preserve your mental health while protecting your physical health.
Las Vegas was a surprise home for Katherine Marcal. Now she’s working to ensure individuals experiencing homelessness have a pathway to a new life.
Mindful of the needs of homeless youth, the social work professor has created a program to help.
A new book by social work professor An-Pyng Sun walks readers through the roots of addiction and treatment.
Safe and Resilient Communities
At this time, in Las Vegas, we need solutions to create safe and resilient cities that welcome and keep residents and tourists safe. We need to be prepared for terrorism and the realities of the 21st century. We need to be able to be able to work with law enforcement, public and private organizations, and the entire community to become more resilient. We need solutions for the media to inform citizens and to create shared meaning throughout Las Vegas. Our students and faculty are creating unique solutions in each of these areas.
Safe and Resilient Communities Stories
U.S. News & World Report’s annual list of top graduate and professional schools ranks 26 UNLV programs within nation’s top 100.
UNLV criminal justice professor Gillian Pinchevsky on the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on victims of intimate partner abuse and how society can help protect them in the future.
As more municipalities weigh the future of their police departments, UNLV professors explain what these movements mean and how they would work.
UNLV alumna Jessica Walters Murrey offers advice to those seeking to be allies in social change.
‘Orange is the New Black’ has mirrored real-life circumstances of women offenders since its debut in 2013.
Inaugural symposium highlights need for collaboration across academia, business, and government to secure a prosperous American workforce.
City resilience framework will focus on health and wellness, economy and society, infrastructure and environment, and leadership and strategy.
Criminal justice professor Gillian Pinchevsky on how you can empower yourself to empower survivors of interpersonal violence.
Criminal justice students gather public opinion on law enforcement use of drones and body-worn cameras before and after the Oct. 1 shooting.
When toxic masculinity is part of a culture, male survivors of childhood abuse may turn to crime as a way to reclaim their masculinity.
Alexis Kennedy wins 2018 Community-Based Research Award for a study that includes the views of survivors.
Criminal justice professor Melissa Rorie digs into the relationship between Nevada's casinos and its gaming regulators.