In its 52-year history, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), has undergone an amazing transformation, from a dusty outpost on the south edge of town to a thriving urban research institution. Along the way, thanks to its innovative frontier spirit, UNLV has kept pace with one of the country's fastest-growing and most enterprising cities.

The Early Years

On September 10, 1957, the first classes were held on campus in a new 13,000-square-foot building. To serve the growing enrollment, buildings went up in a flurry of construction, including a physical education and health center, a science and technology building, a classroom building and a library.

Gathering Momentum

Over the next several decades, UNLV continued this heady rate of development — erecting more than 100 buildings, developing dozens of graduate programs, creating partnerships with the community, fielding nationally ranked sports teams, founding an alumni association, promoting scholarship, establishing a fundraising foundation, and recruiting diverse and talented students from across the country.

Today

UNLV has come a long way from the high school dressing rooms that once served as its classrooms. Thanks to the dedication of faculty, staff members, students, generous donors, and Las Vegas residents over the past half century, the university has much to celebrate.

Source: UNLV — The University of Nevada, Las Vegas: A History (2007) by professor Eugene P. Moehring.