Dr. Steven Parker grew up and went to school in Connecticut. His parents were caterers and taught him a solid work ethic through example. His only sibling was finishing a post doctorate at Yale and had accepted a job at one of the Cal State schools when his life was tragically ended. Steven graduated from Assumption College in Massachusetts with a bachelor's in political science and got a scholarship to State University of New York at Albany. About hallway through his Master of Public Administration degree, the dean encouraged him to go on for his doctorate. He finished his PhD in 1971, and got a job at Western Illinois University which he started on September 15, 1971, the same day his son was born. Alter 8 years (and another child) in Illinois, Steve and his wife were ready to leave. He had attended a public administration conference in Baltimore in the spring of 1975, and was interviewed by Dina Titus and Tom Wright of UNLV. He had several other job offers, but UNLV looked like the best possibility, so he and his family moved to Las Vegas. Dr. Parker's title at UNLV was associate professor and department chair, although Dina Titus actually chaired the department his first semester here. He took over as chair in the spring of 1980. Steven started when Brock Dixon was interim chair, and has served under university presidents Leonard "Pat" Goodall, Bob Maxson, and Carol Harter. Today Dr. Parker teaches American Presidency and American government every semester, Natural Resource Policy and Political Corruption and Political Ethics once or twice a year, and occasionally teaches Urban Government. He also continues as the director of the University Forum Lecture Series, which was initiated by Tom Wright more than 23 years ago.

Dr. Donald Baepler was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in July of 1932. The family moved to Springfield, Illinois in 1936, where his father was president of Concordia Seminary. Donald decided at the age of seven that he wanted to pursue a Ph.D. in ornithology, not an unusual goal in his family. By the time he graduated high school, he knew that he wanted to attend Carlton College in Minnesota to study under Olin Sewall Pettingill. He followed world-famous ornithologist and artist George Sutton to Michigan and then to Oklahoma to complete his doctorate. In 1960, having completed his doctorate, Donald met with a recruiter from Las Vegas. It seemed like an intriguing place, so he took the interview and was offered a job on the spot. Instead, he took a job as professor of biology at Central Washington University, and within four years was vice president for administration and business. He had also been appointed to an accrediting team by the Northwest Association to accredit colleges in the western states, including Nevada Southern University in Las Vegas, and saw the growing town and university for the first time in 1965. Two years later, he was invited to take the job of Academic Vice President at SNU, which he accepted, and he and his family made the move to Las Vegas in 1968. Upon arriving in Las Vegas, Donald discovered that he had been named acting president because of Donald Moyer's abrupt resignation. He simply decided to do both jobs. He was successful in changing the name of the school to University of Nevada Las Vegas so that it would not be confused with a teacher's college. This was wholeheartedly accepted by the regents. Once Roman Zom was appointed president in 1969, Donald went back to the vice president position. In 1973, Dr. Baepler was appointed president of UNLV. He held that position for live years and then turned in his resignation. His intent was to teach, focus on a Museum of Natural History, and start a research center. Instead, he was offered the chancellorship of the university system, and he decided to accept the job By 1981, Donald was ready to return to teaching and research, so he resigned as chancellor and came back full-time as museum director and professor of biology. He built up a high-hazard chemistry lab and got the grant monies to sustain it. Dr. Baepler was also influential in adding the Harry Reid Center to the museum. Today Dr. Baepler is still involved with the bird program and gives advice to graduate students, but he no longer teaches. He stays occupied with a private consulting business.