Dear Wolf Pack Family,

Every action by the University of Nevada creates an impact that goes far beyond any single partnership or project. Our 151-year history is quite clear on this: As we focus the collective talents of our University on the challenges of our time, we effect positive change, making differences that transform lives and elevate the state of Nevada and its people.

Just one example is our growing enrollment. In August, we welcomed a freshman class that is up about 8 percent over last year. This includes a record number of first-year students from Nevada (about 2,900) as well as a record number of Hispanic students (up 15 percent from last year and numbering about 1,000). What is important about these figures is that they represent individual dreams and aspirations for the future. Our growing student enrolment is an embodiment of the hopes of Nevada families — and our institution’s promise that we are meeting the challenges of our time by producing the leaders of our future.

This issue of Nevada Silver & Blue celebrates the powerful and far-reaching impacts that our University has. It is a spirit that permeates our entire campus. This is the place where our students come to realize who they wish to be and what they hope to do; where discovery is made and shared so the state and the world can benefit; where our communities know we are the engagement escalator needed to bring us all together in the upward trajectory of shared vision and purpose.

As this issue’s cover story notes, we are living in a time of urgency and possibility. A recent study indicated that our institution, in addition to being a place of learning and discovery, is an uncommonly effective driver of economic growth. We generate more than $2.2 billion in economic activity and support more than 23,000 Nevada jobs each year. Like our enrollment, these figures are defying many national trends in that they continue to grow and speak to the importance of our role in all aspects of Nevada life.

Our land-grant foundation, throughout the notable accomplishments and milestone achievements of our rich history, has passed this important responsibility onto all of us. With the finest faculty in the nation, a staff that creates an environment where success thrives, a student body that will transform their communities once they have graduated, and our friends and alumni whose capacity for service betters all those around them, we are a University with an enduring ability to create significant change.

We are a University that is both timeless and timely, remarkable in how we are building Nevada’s future.

Go Pack!

Brian Sandoval ’86
President