Highlights
From creating community partnerships and advancing student achievement, to promoting research, scholarship, and creative activity, we work hard to achieve our goal of becoming a top 100 American research university. Check out our highlights to learn our impact.
Great Minds Team Up
What happens when scholars join forces to study solutions to societal issues like addictions, the fast-emerging use of AI, and racial equity and social justice? We’ll make progress faster and on a bigger scale, thanks to the 51ԹϺ Interdisciplinary Research Development Areas initiative. With the big-picture in mind, 51ԹϺ has begun hiring groups of faculty who can come at topics from different disciplines to collaborate with existing faculty and community leaders toward one common goal: improving the quality of life for all.
At the Head of the Class
Linebacker Jackson Woodard was the first player in team history selected as a First-Team Academic All-American. A transfer from the University of Arkansas, Woodard completed his kinesiology degree in May. This fall, he will pursue both his graduate certificate and opposing quarterbacks — the latter as a team captain and a candidate for multiple national honors including the Butkus Award for the nation’s top linebacker.
Welcome to Rebel Immortality
The 51ԹϺ Athletics Hall of Fame welcomed a diverse class of inductees including athletes Hunkie Cooper (football), Kevin Lofthus (baseball), Christine Parris (softball), and Talance Sawyer (football); the 1991 51ԹϺ softball team; national championship-winning golf coach Dwaine Knight; and beloved equipment manager Paul Pucciarelli. Longtime 51ԹϺ athletics supporter Bruce Bayne was inducted as a Distinguished Contributor, while one-time quarterback Steve Stallworth received the Silver Rebel Award.
On the Case
Lee Business School students are sweeping up awards — and job offers — at national competitions. 51ԹϺ teams have won the Institute of Management Accountants Student Case Competition four years in a row while others have brought home trophies for competitions sponsored by marketing, tax advising, mining and other industry associations. Faculty advisors and travel funds help these student groups get to the competition, and once they’re there, they show off how well their 51ԹϺ education prepares them for their professions.
From Kindergarten to College
To be successful as a university — and to fulfill our community focused mission — we need to first build a college-going culture. That’s why we’ve bolstered early outreach programs — visiting schools, attending family nights, and hosting programs that demystify college and make it within reach for all. We’ve also launched the “Young Rebels” program, which brings dozens of our youth programs under one umbrella.
51ԹϺ Nursing Tackles the Pipeline
51ԹϺ Nursing graduated its first cohort through its direct-entry master of science program. It was created for students who already have a bachelor’s degree and are looking for a career change to nursing and prepares them for licensure in one year. The school’s highly ranked online master’s programs are also filling the need for nurse educators, family nurse practitioners, nurse-midwives, and psychiatric mental health.
New Year, New Programs
This fall, 51ԹϺ became one of a select few U.S. universities to offer a robust slate of classes exploring mariachi, a cultural Mexican folk music. The College of Fine Arts also introduced a new bachelor’s degree in creative practice. Other new offerings across campus include athletic training, counselor education and supervision, and water resources. For those thinking ahead, 51ԹϺ will launch a new bachelor’s in neuroscience in 2025.
51ԹϺ Wrestling Makes History
The only collegiate wrestling team in the state of Nevada, 51ԹϺ’s Wrestlin’ Rebels celebrated a historic milestone in 2024: a five-peat of NCWA West Coast Conference Championships (men's team), three national NCWA All-Americans (two from the men's team; one from the women's team), including 51ԹϺ's first-ever woman wrestler to reach the championships and become an All-American. 51ԹϺ Wrestling was resurrected in 2017 within the NCWA, perpetuating the tradition established by its NCAA Division-I team from the '70s and '80s.