UNLV students, staff members given awards

Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2000 | 10:25 a.m.

UNLV health professor Charles Regin and Heather Howard, a student adviser at the university's College of Education, have been selected from among 700 other faculty members to receive $2,500 academic adviser awards from the university system Board of Regents.

Two UNLV students, undergraduate Kelli Jones and graduate student Cheryl Radeloff, have been honored by the regents with $5,000 scholarship awards.

UNLV President Carol Harter nominated the faculty members for the awards, picking Jones and Radeloff from among 22,000 students.

Howard, who directs the College of Education Advising Center, was chosen for her innovative work overseeing about 2,800 students. Since becoming director in 1999, Howard has initiated several improvements to technology used to serve students.

She established a student database, streamlined advising forms and updated application processes.

Regin, an assistant professor and chairman of the health and physical education department, was chosen for his work with graduate students. He helped develop the master's degree program in health promotion and now advises 24 of the program's graduate students. He has taught at UNLV since 1987.

Advising professors chose the two students for awards based on their academic accomplishments, leadership on and off the campus and potential for future success.

Jones, a senior majoring in special education, works with preschoolers with learning difficulties. She volunteers at the Andre Agassi Boys and Girls Club.

"Kelli is a leader in the classroom and the community," said Colleen Thoma, a special education professor, in nominating Jones. "She is working on independent research and learning, something that is not often offered to an undergraduate student in this department, and she is already using her knowledge to impact the lives of kids."

Radeloff is a sociology doctoral candidate and president of the Graduate Student Association. She also has presented her research at national conferences.

"Cheryl is the most dedicated, insightful and engaged student that I have worked with in the 12 years I have been at UNLV," said sociology professor Barbara Brents, in nominating Radeloff. "She is a natural intellectual. I have seen few students as immersed in ideas and the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake as her."

The four awards will be formally recognized in March by the Board of Regents of the University and Community College System of Nevada.