[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 7037]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, LAS VEGAS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the 
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, UNLV. In 1957, UNLV was born as an 
extension of the University of Nevada, Reno, to accommodate the rapidly 
growing population of Las Vegas.
  The first classes were held in the dressing rooms of Las Vegas High 
School's auditorium. There were only 28 students. When the Nevada Board 
of Regents founded the Southern Nevada Division of the University of 
Nevada, students led the charge to become their own independent 
institution. They adopted the Rebel as their mascot to signify their 
desire to break free of the Reno campus. With pressure from students 
and the Las Vegas community, an 80-acre parcel along a two-lane dirt 
road was selected as the location for the campus. On September 10, 
1957, the first classes were held on the new campus. And in 1968, UNLV 
began its journey as an independent institution.
  Over the past 50 years, Las Vegas has grown and become the 
entertainment capital of the world, and just like the city that it 
calls home, UNLV, too, has had its fair share of celebrity. In 1964 
Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret danced in the gym in the famous scene 
from the film ``Viva Las Vegas''. Frank Sinatra and Wayne Newton served 
on the UNLV Foundation's board in the 1980s and Anthony Zuiker, the 
creator and producer of the hit show ``CSI'', is an alumni.
  Today, UNLV is a thriving urban research institution with more than 
28,000 students and more than 220 undergraduate, master's, and doctoral 
degree programs. The campus--now 350 acres--boasts over 100 buildings 
with state-of-the-art technology and research facilities. Two of the 
most recent additions have been a new student union and a student 
recreation and wellness facility all paid for by the students. In 1998, 
UNLV opened the Boyd School of Law, which quickly gained accreditation 
from the American Bar Association and is now nationally ranked for its 
quality legal education. This year, UNLV also welcomed its eighth 
president, David Ashley.
  Many outside of Nevada know of UNLV for its athletic teams. The 
Rebels participate in 17 intercollegiate sports. In 1990, the Runnin' 
Rebels won the NCAA Men's Division I tournament, beating Duke 103 to 
73, the largest margin of victory ever in the championship game. While 
the Runnin' Rebels have continued to be a perennial player in the NCAA 
tournament, in recent years, UNLV athletics have also achieved success 
in golf, swimming and diving, boxing, track and field, and soccer.
  In its first 50 years, UNLV has grown from a satellite outpost of 
higher learning to a major player in the fields of gaming and hotel 
management, environmental and experimental science, engineering, 
English, and law. UNLV has blossomed with the city around it, and as 
UNLV enters its next 50 years, I am confident that it will continue to 
prosper and strengthen the city it calls home.

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