Written by: Nolan Lister on September 26, 2011.

Importance of SEB recognized during official ceremony

University President Neal Smatresk spoke to university administrators, faculty and staff, as well as prominent donors, community leaders and state lawmakers for the official dedication of the campus Science and Engineering Building on Sept. 22.

It is, in short, a tangible symbol of our commitment to building a strong and robust economy, Smatresk said at his State of the University Address. I believe it will become the heartbeat in this state for economic diversification.

In his address, Smatresk said that UNLV must understand how to help diversify Nevadas economy and how to support regional private partners.

The SEB accomplishes these goals by transforming UNLV into a constituent of a diversified Las Vegas economy in the future, he said during the dedication.

As it came together, this building, which was designed to foster team research to attract high quality grants to our campus in core areas of science and engineering, is really a place that celebrates the high quality faculty and students that we have here, Smatresk said.

He added that the building serves as a model for why a research university like UNLV matters because of the knowledge generated, the intellectual output, grant income, and the student training in cutting-edge technology.

One of the chief goals that the president talked about today was providing a research experience for all of our students, said Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Michael Bowers. By having this kind of research space and the faculty working in that space, we can bring students into that as well. I actually think that this is not only a good recruitment tool for faculty but also for students.

Follow this link:

President dedicates building