Bold approach

Fri, Nov 13, 2009 (3 a.m.)

Southern Nevadans have reason to be proud of UNLV after last week’s announcement the university has exceeded its goal of raising $500 million in cash and pledges to upgrade campus facilities and make it easier for students to obtain scholarships.

It is an amazing achievement for the “Invent the Future” campaign because the fundraising effort, which began in 2002 but ends next month, has had to overcome a battered economy.

As reported by Emily Richmond of the Las Vegas Sun, a sister publication of In Business Las Vegas, UNLV President Neal Smatresk told a UNLV Foundation dinner audience at the Bellagio: “It’s extraordinary that a 50-year-old university would be so audacious to launch a half-billion dollar campaign. But we made it because this community believes in UNLV.”

Las Vegas philanthropist and former higher education system Chancellor Jim Rogers deserves enormous credit for helping to launch the campaign and set such a lofty goal. But fellow business leaders and UNLV alumni who contributed to the campaign are also owed thanks for making a valuable investment in the university.

The valley needs UNLV to be a vibrant institution of higher education to help diversify Southern Nevada’s economy and produce the region’s next generation of leaders. With Gov. Jim Gibbons and other state lawmakers unwilling to adequately fund higher education, the burden falls on generous donors to pick up the slack.

Now that UNLV has turned a big corner with its fundraising efforts, the university should take advantage of that momentum by striving to build world-class academic programs that will attract accomplished educators and bright students. The result could be a greater quality of life for Southern Nevadans.