University of Nevada, Reno

The University of Nevada, Reno (UNR or simply Nevada) is a university that is located in Reno, Nevada and is known for its programs in agricultural research, animal biotechnology, and mining-related natural sciences. Additionally, Nevada is fast becoming known for its journalism program, which has produced several Pulitzer Prize winners and for its program in seismology, which is one of the most technologically advanced in North America.

The university is also home to the University of Nevada School of Medicine, which was founded in 1969. The medical school specializes in family medicine.

History

The University of Nevada was originally founded in Elko, Nevada in 1874 as a small, makeshift prep school that really could not be considered a true university. In 1887, the fledgling institution was moved, brick by brick, from Elko to its current home in Reno.

After several decades of struggling to implement requirements of federal Morrill land-grant legislation, the university made large strides toward becoming the modern institution it is today with the opening of the Desert Research Institute in 1960 and a medical school in 1967. The University of Nevada, Reno remained the only four-year academic institution in the state of Nevada until 1965, when the current-day University of Nevada, Las Vegas attained university status as Nevada Southern University.

Academics

Bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs are offered through the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology, and Natural Resources; the College of Business Administration; the College of Education; the College of Engineering; the College of Human and Community Sciences; the College of Liberal Arts; the College of Science; the Cooperative Extension Service; the Graduate School; the Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering; the Reynolds School of Journalism; and the School of Medicine.

Nevada is the only university in the western hemisphere with a department of Basque studies, due to the large Basque population in northern Nevada.

The university and surrounding community is served by several campus libraries. Between them, over a million books and bound periodicals are in circulation in addition to government documents, audio-visual matierials, and various databases. The libraries are: Noble H. Getchell (main library), DeLaMare (engineering, computer science, mining, and geology), Life and Health Sciences, Physical Sciences, W. M. Keck Earth Sciences and Mining Reasearch Information Center, Savitt Medical, and the Mary B. Ansari Map Library.

Campus

The University of Nevada, Reno campus is located on top of a large hill north of downtown Reno overlooking Truckee Meadows . Modeled in the style of Thomas Jefferson's "academic village" (most notable for its use at the University of Virginia), the campus is considered one of the prettiest in the western United States. The university's first building, Morrill Hall (completed in 1887), still stands on the historic "quad" at the campus' southern end.

The campus contains a statue of William Mackay (namesake of Nevada's Mackay School of Mines, later renamed the Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering), created by Mount Rushmore designer Gutzon Borglum.

Athletics

The university prefers to be called simply Nevada for athletics purposes; its sports teams are nicknamed the Wolf Pack (two words). They participate in the NCAA's Division I (I-A for football) and in the Western Athletic Conference. In March 2004, the Wolf Pack basketball team made it into the NCAA's March Madness tournament and went all the way to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in the school's history. The university earned its first at-large bid to March Madness in 2004, advancing to the second round, and earned a repeat trip in 2005, beating Texas in the first round before falling to eventual national champion runner-up Illinois.

The Pack's mascot is a wolf named Alphie, who took over the duties of cheering from his uncle, Wolfie, in 1999.

Miscellany

Nevada's student newspaper, the Sagebrush, has been in continuous publication since 1893, making it one of the oldest newspapers still in publication in the state of Nevada.

The University of Nevada's classically-styled campus has served as the setting for many movies, including:

• Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble (1944)
• Apartment for Peggy (1948)
• Mother Is a Freshman (1949)
• Mr. Belvedere Goes to College (1949)

Notable alumni

Pulitzer Prize

• Ron Einstoss , 1955 - Awarded in 1966 for coverage of the Watts Riot
• Susan Forrest , 1982 - Awarded for general news reporting in 1988
• Kristen Go , 1998 - Awarded in 1998 for her coverage of the Columbine High School tragedy
• Warren Lerude , 1961 - Awarded in 1977
• Edward Montgomery , 1934 - Awarded for distinguished local reporting in 1952
• Howard Sheerin , 1931 - Awarded for public service in 1956

Athletics

• Nate Burleson, 2003 - Wide Receiver, Minnesota Vikings
• Brock Marion , 1989-92 - Professional Football Player, Detroit Lions
• Marion Motley, 1940-42 - Professional Football Hall of Famer

Other notables

• William Zamboni , ? - Pioneer in plastic surgery and limb reattachments.

External links

• http://www.unr.edu/ Official university site
• http://basque.unr.edu/ University of Nevada, Reno Center for Basque Studies
• http://www.nevadawolfpack.com/ Official Nevada athletics site
• http://www.unr.edu/quadcam.html See Nevada's "Quad Cam" for a live view of the lower campus