Oral history interview with Carol Harter conducted by Suzanne Becker on April 20, 2007 for the UNLV @ 50 Oral History Project. Harter discusses being president of the State University of New York Geneseo in New York, and accepting the presidency of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1995. She then discusses the construction of the new library, the law school, and dental school during her presidency, as well as facilitating more than 550 million dollars in gifts and pledges to the university.
Nevada Governor Robert List (second from left) preparing for the inauguration of Clark County Community College President Judith Eaton (2nd from right) with two unidentified people.
Marc Ratner moved to Las Vegas when he was in the seventh grade in 1957. His father became owner of a retail beauty supply business. It also was about the time Marc became a bar mitzvah. The Ratner family belonged to Temple Beth Sholom, as did everyone at the time, and a favorite memory he recalls is of sneaking a glimpse of crooner Eddie Fisher and actress Elizabeth Taylor getting married there. While growing up, Marc showed no particular interest in being a star athlete. He played little baseball and participated in track as a long jumper. Nevertheless, on the day of this oral history interview, Marc is sitting in his office surrounded by sports memorabilia. It is all a testimony, a museum highlighting his decades of officiating and regulating sports events. His stories include newsworthy boxing episodes that ranged from the infamous ?Fan Man? parachutist incident in 1963 during the Evander Holyfield vs Riddick Bowe fight at Caesars and the 1997 ?Bite Fight? when Mike Tyson took a bite out of Evander Holyfield?s ear. v In 2016, Marc was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, an extraordinary honor for a nonparticipant. He has long been a fan of the sport and talks about the first fight he ever attended, becoming a ring inspector in 1985 and then starting a new phase of his career in 2006, as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for the Ultimate Fighting Championship [UFC]. In addition, Marc has dedicated much his life blowing the whistle at high school and college sports: he?s officiated on the football field for several conferences, bowl games and mentors would-be officials. He served as Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director for two decades. Among his community involvement is serving on the board of Jewish Family Services Agency. In 1997 he was honored by the National Council of Christians and Jews. Marc Ratner moved to Las Vegas when he was in the seventh grade in 1957. His father became owner of a retail beauty supply business. It also was about the time Marc became a bar mitzvah. The Ratner family belonged to Temple Beth Sholom, as did everyone at the time, and a favorite memory he recalls is of sneaking a glimpse of crooner Eddie Fisher and actress Elizabeth Taylor getting married there. While growing up, Marc showed no particular interest in being a star athlete. He played little baseball and participated in track as a long jumper. Nevertheless, on the day of this oral history interview, Marc is sitting in his office surrounded by sports memorabilia. It is all a testimony, a museum highlighting his decades of officiating and regulating sports events. His stories include newsworthy boxing episodes that ranged from the infamous ?Fan Man? parachutist incident in 1963 during the Evander Holyfield vs Riddick Bowe fight at Caesars and the 1997 ?Bite Fight? when Mike Tyson took a bite out of Evander Holyfield?s ear. v In 2016, Marc was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, an extraordinary honor for a nonparticipant. He has long been a fan of the sport and talks about the first fight he ever attended, becoming a ring inspector in 1985 and then starting a new phase of his career in 2006, as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for the Ultimate Fighting Championship [UFC]. In addition, Marc has dedicated much his life blowing the whistle at high school and college sports: he?s officiated on the football field for several conferences, bowl games and mentors would-be officials. He served as Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director for two decades. Among his community involvement is serving on the board of Jewish Family Services Agency. In 1997 he was honored by the National Council of Christians and Jews. Marc Ratner moved to Las Vegas when he was in the seventh grade in 1957. His father became owner of a retail beauty supply business. It also was about the time Marc became a bar mitzvah. The Ratner family belonged to Temple Beth Sholom, as did everyone at the time, and a favorite memory he recalls is of sneaking a glimpse of crooner Eddie Fisher and actress Elizabeth Taylor getting married there. While growing up, Marc showed no particular interest in being a star athlete. He played little baseball and participated in track as a long jumper. Nevertheless, on the day of this oral history interview, Marc is sitting in his office surrounded by sports memorabilia. It is all a testimony, a museum highlighting his decades of officiating and regulating sports events. His stories include newsworthy boxing episodes that ranged from the infamous ?Fan Man? parachutist incident in 1963 during the Evander Holyfield vs Riddick Bowe fight at Caesars and the 1997 ?Bite Fight? when Mike Tyson took a bite out of Evander Holyfield?s ear. v In 2016, Marc was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, an extraordinary honor for a nonparticipant. He has long been a fan of the sport and talks about the first fight he ever attended, becoming a ring inspector in 1985 and then starting a new phase of his career in 2006, as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for the Ultimate Fighting Championship [UFC]. In addition, Marc has dedicated much his life blowing the whistle at high school and college sports: he?s officiated on the football field for several conferences, bowl games and mentors would-be officials. He served as Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director for two decades. Among his community involvement is serving on the board of Jewish Family Services Agency. In 1997 he was honored by the National Council of Christians and Jews.
Ellen Barre Spiegel grew up in Jericho NY, a predominantly Jewish town in Long Island. Her ancestors had migrated to the United Sates prior to the outbreak of World War II. And for much of life her exposure to cultural diversity was limited. Ellen was born in 1962. She attended Cornell University, located in upstate New York, and graduated in 1984. Though the student population was 30% Jewish, the university expanded her knowledge of the world: her Protestant roommate explained that she had never met a Jew and Ellen replied, I have never met a WASP. Her college studies centered on consumer economics and she was a public policy major. Ellen was an early adopter of technology and her career path included positions at American Express, Prodigy (a joint venture of IBM and Sears), the Weather Channel, and Manufacturers Hanover Trust. Each company used her increasing experience with using technologies to improve connections with consumers. Ellen describes her Jewish identity as conservative and is a member of Midbar Kodesh Temple in Henderson. She talks about her bat mitzvah and her move back to New York to recite the mourner’s Kaddish for the year following the passing of her father. Later, she moved to Santa Monica, where she met Bill, her husband, using a new dating site called Luvitt AOL. After marriage, the couple saw financial advantages to living in Las Vegas and relocated their business and home to the valley in 2001. Soon Ellen noted that there was no active Democratic Club in Henderson and it became her mission to reignite the club. This launched a long list of political and civic accomplishments for Ellen. She has been an assemblyperson in the Nevada legislature (2008, 2013-2017). Her list of accomplishments and affiliations are on pages 46-47.