Medical school dean has plans for Southern Nevada research park

Monday, Jan. 10, 2000 | 3:41 a.m.

A month into the job, University of Nevada School of Medicine Dean Robert Miller is focusing on repairing the school internally and moving forward.

Miller has inherited a school with a number of problems over the last several years including en masse faculty departures.

By next year, he expects to have a stronger, more focused team with the goal of selling the Las Vegas community on creating an academic medical center.

To achieve his goal it will take tens or hundreds of millions of dollars in private donations, but Miller predicts the idea will be palatable, if the plan is good enough.

His idea is to have the University of Nevada School of Medicine working alongside UNLV in a research and clinical park, including labs and professional programs in such areas as pharmacy.

The dean intends soon to put together a steering committee to determine what the focus and size of a proposed research park would be.

Miller plans to fly to Reno at least once a week but he will spend the bulk of his time in Southern Nevada.

"When you look at the potential for growth, the future of the medical school is in Las Vegas," Miller said.