UNLV, UNR sign medical center pact

Wednesday, June 15, 2005 | 9:58 a.m.

UNLV and the University of Nevada School of Medicine have formally agreed to work together in developing the academic medical center in downtown Las Vegas.

The memorandum of understanding signed by UNLV President Carol Harter and UNR President John Lilley is a major step toward collaboration between the two competitive universities, several regents said. University system Chancellor Jim Rogers instigated the arrangement earlier this year in order to better share resources and facilities.

The UNR-run medical school does most of its residency work in Las Vegas but has rarely cooperated with UNLV in the past, promoting some talk about UNLV wanting to start its own medical school, Rogers has said. Regents recently passed a policy stipulating that there will be just one medical school, one dental school and one law school in state.

The agreement, which regents will review at their meeting next week at UNR, says that the two universities will work together in Las Vegas on academic, research and outreach efforts.

Details will be hammered out in upcoming meetings. Both institutions are working together on a strategic plan for the academic health sciences center.

The proposed agreement does expand the focus of the academic medical center to include all health sciences, UNLV Provost Ray Alden said.

The center would encompass the School of Medicine's and UNR's other health related programs programs with UNLV's School of Dental Medicine and health sciences offered by UNLV, Alden said. There's a chance that UNR might use some of UNLV's space on the Shadow Lane Campus in advance of construction on the academic medical center.

Eventually, the goal would be to pursue joint faculty appointments and joint degrees between the two universities.