University of Nevada, Reno faculty, staff and students will have their first opportunity to see the Davidson Academy of Nevada’s new facility in the remodeled Jot Travis Building during an open house, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19.

Seventy-three profoundly gifted students are enrolled for the academy’s third school year on campus and first year at Jot Travis. The first public school of its kind in the nation, the free Davidson Academy serves middle- and high school-level students who score in the 99.9th percentile on IQ tests or at the extreme for their age groups on aptitude tests. It opened at the KNPB Channel 5 Building in August 2006 with a class of 35 students.

“We’re very excited to start the school year in this wonderful new facility,” said Colleen Harsin, Davidson Academy director. “In addition, the new location at the center of campus will allow the students to more actively participate in college activities.”

The new 30,000-square-foot Academy facility, located on the building’s second floor, has 11 classrooms, student study areas, three music practice rooms, an art room, school library, and a sports and activity area. The facility also features security access controls as well as access to wireless Internet and smart classroom technology in all classrooms.

The student body has access to University courses and professors and ranges in age from 9 to 17, with approximately half of the students from northern Nevada and others having moved with their families to Reno.

The Jot Travis Building opened as the University’s Jot Travis Student Union on May 18, 1958. The one-story building with a basement sits on the north side of the campus’ historic Manzanita Lake. It originally housed the campus bookstore, student leadership offices, a snack bar as well as recreation and meeting rooms.

When the Jot Travis Building closed as a student union Nov. 2, 2007, the student body headquarters became the Joe Crowley Student Union, just north of the recently opened Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center.

In 1999, Bob and Jan Davidson founded the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a national non-profit located in Reno that supports the nation’s brightest young people. In 2004, the Davidsons co-authored, with Laura Vanderkam, Genius Denied: How to Stop Wasting Our Brightest Young Minds, published by Simon & Schuster. For more information on the Davidson Institute, or the Davidson Academy, please click on the link.

The Davidsons in 2005 pledged $11 million for the construction of the Davidson Mathematics and Science Center on campus. The $50 million center will be the first new capital project for the natural sciences at Nevada since 1972, and will become the hub for the College of Science. The building is slated to open in fall 2010.

Please RSVP to attend the open house. Email explore@davidsonacademy.unr.edu or call (775) 852-3483, Ext. 425.