University of Nevada, Las Vegas

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University Of Nevada, Las Vegas
Established:	1957
Type:	Public
Endowment:	$112,161,000
President:	David B. Ashley
Faculty:	1,000
Students:	31,000
Undergraduates:	26,000
Postgraduates:	5,000
Location:	Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Campus:	Urban Main Campus: 337 acres (1.36 km²) North Campus: 640 acres (2.6 km²) Shadow Lane Campus: 18.2 acres
Mascot:	Rebels
Colors:	Scarlet and Grey
Website:	unlv.edu

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public, coeducational university located in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, known for its programs in History, Engineering, Environmental Studies, Hotel administration, Fine Arts, and Management Information Systems. The university is ranked in the category of Doctoral/Research Universities–Intensive by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The Atlantic Monthly recognized UNLV's English department as having one of the nation's most innovative MFA programs and one of the top five doctoral programs in creative writing ^[1].

The 337-acre (1.4-km²) UNLV campus is located on Maryland Parkway, a heavily-traveled north-south arterial street, in southeastern Las Vegas about 2.5 km (1.5 mi) east of the Las Vegas Strip. Ground breaking on the original 60 acre site was in April, 1956. UNLV has purchased a 640-acre (2.6 km²) site in North Las Vegas for future expansion. In addition, there is a Shadow Lane Campus, located just east of UMC Medical Center on Charleston and Shadow Lane. A project called Midtown UNLV is examining options of revamping Maryland Parkway to better serve the campus community.

UNLV also houses and manages the National Supercomputing Center for Energy and the Environment, a supercomputer facility sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

Contents 1 History and status 2 Academics 2.1 Colleges and Schools 2.2 Institutes 2.3 Libraries 3 Information Technology 4 Campus 4.1 Housing 4.2 Athletic facilities 4.3 The Performing Arts Center 5 Athletics 6 Notable faculty 7 Notable alumni 7.1 Academics 7.2 Politics 7.3 Athletics 7.4 Business 7.5 Entertainment 8 References 9 External links

[edit] History and status

The first college classes which would eventually become the classes of UNLV were offered as the southern regional extension division of the University of Nevada, Reno, in 1851 in a classroom at Las Vegas High School. UNLV was officially founded by the Nevada Board of Regents as the Southern Division of the University of Nevada in 1957. The first classes were held on the current campus on the now historic post and beam Mid Century Modern Maude Frazier Hall designed by the award winning local architectural firm, Zick and Sharp. Twenty-nine students graduated in the first commencement ceremonies in 1964^[2]. In 1965, the Nevada Legislature named the school Nevada Southern University, and the Board of Regents hired the campus's first president, William Carlson^[3]. In 1968, Nevada Southern was given equal status with its former parent institution in Reno, and the present name was approved by the Regents in January 1969. Today UNLV is becoming one of the nation's leading metropolitan universities. Since its founding, the university has grown rapidly, expanding both its academic programs and campus facilities. UNLV now offers more than 190 undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degree programs.

In 2005, the university received over $95 million in extramural research funding, about a thirty percent increase over the previous year. In addition, a fundraising campaign, "Invent the Future," passed $300 million in money collected in 2005, with the ultimate goal of raising $500 million. A new 135,000-square-foot student union and a new 188,000-square-foot recreation center were both completed in 2007.

In 2006 UNLV opened its first international campus in Singapore. The UNLV Singapore campus is housed on the 10th and 11th floors of the National Library of Singapore, a prestigious building comparable to the United States Library of Congress. The campus offers bachelor’s degree programs in hotel administration and hospitality management. UNLV Singapore is offering the college’s upper division courses, which include Hotel Administration, Hospitality Marketing, Food & Beverage Management and Hotel Law. Students may also earn an executive master’s degree in hospitality.

[edit] Academics

UNLV offers over 200 programs of study in varying fields leading to bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees, which are taught by approximately 850 faculty members.

[edit] Colleges and Schools

• College of Business
• UNLV School of Dental Medicine
• College of Education
• Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering
• College of Fine Arts
• Graduate College
• Division of Health Sciences
• Honors College
• William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration
• William S. Boyd School of Law
• College of Liberal Arts
• School of Nursing
• College of Sciences
• University College
• Greenspun College of Urban Affairs

[edit] Institutes

• The Black Mountain Institute
• [http://iss.unlv.edu/ Institute for Security Studies

[edit] Libraries

• Lied Library (UNLV Libraries Homepage)
• Architecture Studies Library (ASL)
• Curriculum Materials Library
• Music Library
• Wiener-Rogers Law Library

[edit] Information Technology

The UNLV Office of Information Technology is the central unit responsible for meeting the computing needs of UNLV faculty, staff, and students. Its mission is to support and enhance teaching, research, scholarly and creative production, and administration, through the effective management and use of information technology resources.^[4]

[edit] Campus

[edit] Housing

There are 8 housing options at UNLV. Only about 1,500 of UNLV's 25,000 students live on Campus.

• Tonopah Complex For honor students, millennium scholars, and other students; coed. There are two people per suite. Two suites share a restroom.

• Dayton Complex The newest residence facility; houses freshman through senior years.

• Upper Class Complex For students in their sophomore through senior year; coed.

• South Complex For freshmen only; coed.

[edit] Athletic facilities

• Sam Boyd Stadium
• Thomas & Mack Center
• Cox Pavilion

[edit] The Performing Arts Center

The Performing Arts Center includes the following facilities:

• The Judy Bayley Theatre - Opened in 1972, the theatre seats 550 people, and features a raked auditorium, a fully-rigged, proscenium stage, and a thrust-apron that can be used as an orchestra pit.
• The Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall - Opened in 1976, the hall seats 1,832 patrons, and includes a beautifully decorated lobby complete with a gallery wall of fine art.
• The Alta Ham Fine Arts Complex - Opened in 1982.
• Lee and Thomas Beam Music Center - Opened in 2001.
• The Black Box Theatre - A flexible space, it can accommodate 120–175 non-fixed seats in arrangements for small recitals, lectures, dance, and other social events. It was the largest wire grid in North America at the time of its construction.

[edit] Athletics

It has been suggested that this section be split into a new article entitled UNLV Rebels. (Discuss)

See also: UNLV Rebels football and UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball

UNLV's 17 intercollegiate athletic teams are nicknamed the Rebels or Lady Rebels (the men's basketball team is typically referred to as the Runnin' Rebels; the baseball team is typically referred to as the Hustlin' Rebels). The name Rebels is derived from nickname of UNLV's predecessor school, Nevada Southern University. The school's colors are crimson and gray. UNLV is a member of the Mountain West Conference in the NCAA's Division I. UNLV's men's football team plays Nevada for the Fremont Cannon each year in the Battle for Nevada. UNLV's men's soccer team competes in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

In 2007, UNLV advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 by beating the highly favored Wisconsin Badgers by a score of 74-68.

In 1990, UNLV won the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship by beating Duke University by a record setting margin (30 points) of 103-73, becoming the first team to score over 100 in the championship game. Before becoming a basketball powerhouse in the late 70s, 80s and early 90s, UNLV was often referred to as "Tumbleweed Tech" due to its relative obscurity. Led by famed coach Jerry Tarkanian, the Runnin' Rebels were among the most exciting teams in the nation. They consistently were tops in the nation in categories such as points scored, turnovers forced, and most importantly - wins (UNLV is the third-winningest program by percentage (.716) in Division I history -- ranking behind Kentucky and North Carolina) . Tarkanian was suspected of violating numerous NCAA regulations, and was forced out in 1992 by then-president Robert Maxson. On November 26, 2005, for his achievements as coach of the Runnin' Rebels (he was 509-105 in 19 years as head coach), the basketball court at the Thomas & Mack Center was renamed Jerry Tarkanian Court. The turmoil was highly controversial and remains a hot button issue in Las Vegas to this day.

On Saturday, December 9, 2006 the UNLV Runnin' Rebels won a significant road game at University of Nevada 58-49 (ranked #20 in the nation at the time). The victory extended UNLV's all-time series lead over Nevada to 49-19. It was the first time UNLV had won a game on the road vs. a ranked opponent since the #1 Runnin' Rebels won at #12 University of New Mexico 86-74 on Feb. 25, 1991, the year UNLV finished 34-1 under coach Jerry Tarkanian with a loss to Duke University in the NCAA semifinals being their only defeat.

On Saturday, March 10, 2007 the UNLV Runnin' Rebels won the Mountain West Conference Basketball Championship beating BYU Cougars 78-70. The Rebels came back from an eleven point deficit at half time to win. Kevin Kruger was named the tournament MVP. They went on to reach the Sweet Sixteen of the 2007 Men's Division I NCAA Tournament where they lost to Oregon, 76-72. They finished 14th in the polls--their first appearance in a final poll in 14 years. On Saturday, March 15th, 2008 the UNLV Rebls again won the MWC Basketball Tournament for the second year in a row. They beat the BYU Cougars again in the finals 76-61.

They made it to the 2nd Round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, losing to top seeded Kansas 75-56.

UNLV is also well-known for its excellent golf programs. Led by coach Dwaine Knight, the UNLV Golf Program has turned out PGA pro's such as Adam Scott, Chris Riley, and Chad Campbell. At times they have been ranked #1 by one of the three college polls. They won the NCAA National golf team championship in 1998. Ryan Moore. In 2006, he played on the PGA Tour as a regular member and his best outing was a tie for second at the Buick Championship. He has entered the top 100 in the Official World Golf Rankings.

As of March 2007, the Rebel Men's Swimming & Diving Team has won 3 straight Mountain West Conference titles.

The UNLV Debate team was restarted for the 07-08 season under the direction of Dr. Jacob Thompson (PhD. Communication Studies). Assistant coaches include Justin Eckstein (B.A., Denver University) and Joe Battocletti (B.A., Wayne State University). The team was renamed "The Sanford I. Berman Debate forum" in honor of Sanford I. Berman, the donor who made the team possible.

[edit] Notable faculty

• Virko Baley (Distinguished professor of music), composer, conductor, and pianist
• Dave Hickey (English professor), MacArthur Foundation fellow (Oct. 2001), art critic and cultural theorist
• Hans-Hermann Hoppe (Economics professor), notable for an academic freedom controversy concerning remarks about the saving habits of old people, children and gays^[5]
• Lawrence L. Larmore (Computer Science professor), theoretical computer scientist
• Murray Rothbard (Economics professor), Libertarian writer for the Las Vegas Review Journal
• Tom Shires (Director of Trauma Institute), trauma surgeon; pioneered use of saline in shock
• Wole Soyinka (English professor), Nobel laureate, African poet and playwright
• Dina Titus (Political Science professor), Nevada State Senator (D) and Minority Leader of the Senate ^[6]
• Michael Tylo (Film studies professor), soap opera actor (Guiding Light, The Young and the Restless)^[7]
• Douglas A. Unger (English professor), writer and author of four novels, including Leaving the Land, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and winner of the Society of Midland Authors Award
• Darlene H. Unrue (English professor), writer and author of The Life of an Artist (2005) which won the 2005 Eudora Welty Prize for Excellence in Modern Letters see New York Times "Review of Books"
• Clarence Gilyard (Fine Arts - Theater) TV Star, regularly appearing in Walker, Texas Ranger

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] Academics

[edit] Politics

• David Roger - Current District Attorney of Clark County, Nevada

[edit] Athletics

[edit] Business

[edit] Entertainment

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• UNLV homepage
• The Rebel Yell, student newspaper
• Official UNLV athletics site
• MidtownMod, independent site, dedicated to UNLV's university district.

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