Dr. Cheryl Radeloff was born in Dayton, Ohio, and grew up in Beavercreek, Ohio, in the '60s. She graduated from Beavercreek High School and attended Bowling Green State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in popular culture with a minor in women's studies. Cheryl's early work history included retail, an externship with the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, and a stint as a docent. After that she volunteered for Planned Parenthood of Miami Valley in Dayton, doing information gathering. She was offered a job working as an HIV educator /counselor for the organization, and learned to assist with basic procedures and do blood draws. Ms. Radeloff received her master's degree in sociology from the University of Toledo in 1996, and heard about a research position at UNLV. She contacted Dr. Maralee Mayberry and Dr. Peg Rees of the UNLV sociology department and was hired as a graduate assistant through Promise (Projects for Interdisciplinary and Multi-cultural Study in Education). Cheryl got involved in GSA and served as both a representative and as president (1999-2001) of that organization. She sat on many committees in this capacity and also counseled graduate students and listened to their suggestions and complaints. At the same time she was doing research for her dissertation and teaching classes. Cheryl received her PhD in 2004. The American Sociological Association Job Employment Fair in 2005 provided a forum in which her knowledge and experience as a social and health policy expert could be sought out by prospective institutions.

Professor Douglas Reynolds joined the engineering faculty in 1983. His credentials include a B.S. from Michigan State, M.S in mechanical engineering from Purdue, and a PhD in the same field, also from Purdue. Dr. Reynolds' work experience includes an assistant professorship at University of Texas a Austin (architectural engineering), associate professor in mechanical engineering at University of Pittsburgh, and a stint of industrial experience working for Caterpillar Tractor Company. He also worked as an acoustical consultant in Dallas, Texas. When interviewed at UNLV, Doug sensed that this was an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a new engineering program and really have an impact on its development. He worked on the Engineering Advisory Committee and was given the task to justify the existence and growth of the engineering program at UNLV. He presented a report which documented the size and cost of the engineering building, and that report led to the existence of the building that can be found on campus today. With the building under construction, the engineering program itself needed accreditation with the American Board of Engineering and Technology. Dr Reynolds was responsible for documenting past, present, and future plans for the department courses and degrees. He also had to document a legitimate student graduation in order to apply tor accreditation. All this was accomplished in a short time, and the school received a very high evaluation. Dr. Reynolds' primary specialty is mechanical vibration and acoustics. He teaches machine design, kinematics and dynamics, and courses in mechanical vibration and acoustics. He wrote a textbook in the early 80's, "Engineering Principles of Acoustics." The updated revision will be completed soon, and he is also writing a new text entitled "Engineering Principles of Vibration". Douglas is chief U.S. delegate and chairman of the U.S. technical advisory group for ISO (International Standards Organization). He logs thousands of air miles every year on trips that are basically directed to research, bringing in research dollars, or are related to the standards work he does. His efforts on such a broad scale bring the UNLV engineering school national and worldwide exposure.

From a Montana childhood filled with memories of sub-zero winters to a whirlwind courtship and wedding to her husband of over three decades, Lee Scroggins brought an energy to all her administrative positions at UNLV. Lee and her family moved to Las Vegas in March 1980. Within a couple of months she was working at UNLV and except for a brief hiatus in the late 1980s she remained at the university until her retirement in 2009. She gives an account of her journey through the office staff levels she held. It began with a brief stint in the Education department (you couldn't rise a level until you had six months in one position); took her to the Business and Economics departments; the 1980s. After her hiatus from 1985 to 1988, she returned to UNLV to work in the Psychology department and eventually to the library. Her interview traverses the evolution of the administrative worker from a time without technologies that became the common tools. It was an era without many copy machines, no Xerox, or computers. In addition, Lee touches upon procedural changes that were inevitable as the university grew In retirement, Lee plans to "call her own shots" and enjoy life.

Lawrence Seidman grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended Culver Military Academy the first three years of high school, but graduated from Bay Village High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration, and went on to law school at Case Western Reserve University. Lawrence and his wife moved to Chicago after he finished law school, where he worked in the First National Bank of Chicago doing estate planning and analysis. He wanted to try teaching, so he sent letters to many different schools. Ferris State College in Michigan gave him an interview, and he and his wife moved there for one academic year. The freezing cold winter convinced them that they did not want to stay in the Midwest, so Lawrence began writing letters to schools out west. UNR replied to the letter they received, saying they had no openings, but he might try Nevada Southern University in Las Vegas. The school was in the middle of changing its name to University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). Lawrence flew out, interviewed with future colleagues, and accepted the job. He and his wife have lived in Vegas ever since 1969. Lawrence was the first full-time person hired to teach business law. He restructured the way the courses were developed and presented. A discipline officer was needed after the regents passed a new code of conduct and he was asked to take the position, which he did. Because the administrative or discipline officer reports to the president of the university, he got to know several of them rather well. Eventually, Lawrence became assistant general counsel, and also served as deputy attorney general for a while. His wife Janet pursued her degrees at UNLV, taught for about five years, and then worked at Children's Behavioral Services. Today they are both retired, and are enjoying traveling and working on their home. Lawrence occasionally teaches summer sessions at UNLV.

Dr. Robert Skaggs grew up around the St. Louis area. His father was a teamster with a milk delivery route, tried his hand at the restaurant business, and during WWII worked tor U.S. Cartridge. Several members of Dr. Skaggs's family were teachers, including his grandmother and a couple of aunts. Robert graduated trom Normandy High School and afterwards attended the Missouri School of Mines and majored in metallurgical engineering. He graduated in 1954 and went to work tor DuPont tor two years. He went to graduate school at Iowa State on an Atomic Energy Commission scholarship, and afterwards was hired by Standard Oil of California. During this time he met and married Anna Pedersen (1961) and moved to Minneapolis to work for Honeywell. Around 1966, Bob started teaching at the University of Kentucky. After a couple of years, he got wind of teaching opportunities at the Southern Division of the University of Nevada (now UNLV), and interviewed with Herb Wells. He and his family moved to Boulder City (1969) and he began teaching at what is now UNLV. He was involved in the work bringing accreditation to the engineering department, establishing a chapter for Tau Beta Pi, the Engineering Honor Society, and building a master's and a PhD program. After a heart attack in 1975, Dr. Skaggs took a sabbatical from UNLV and did some team teaching at University of Arizona in Tucson with Ray Sierka. He returned to UNLV on a half time teaching basis, and also worked for the Bureau of Mines. He was again involved in accreditation preparations and stayed to graduate a PhD student in engineering. He looks upon his experiences at UNLV as very positive and delightful.

Dr. Robert Bruce Smith was born in Philadelphia and spent his first two years in New Jersey, but thinks of California as home. His father's calling as a minister had taken them back east, and after his seminary training they returned to Los Angeles, followed by a five year stint in Oregon before returning to Vista, California. After high school graduation, Bob left home to attend Wheaton College in Illinois, a small Protestant school. He met his wife there and after completing his Bachelor's in chemistry they were off to Berkeley, where he completed his PhD in three years. Along the way, Dr. Smith had worked for G.D. Searle in Skokie, Illinois, and at first thought that this was his calling. His semester as a Teaching Assistant, however, convinced him that the academic life was what he wanted. Late in 1961, he learned of a job opening at the Southern Regional Division of the University of Nevada (now UNLV), interviewed with Malcolm Graham who was recruiting in San Francisco, and flew to Las Vegas to see the campus for himself. It consisted of three and a half buildings surrounded by desert. Robert's thesis director encouraged him to take the job at this new, very small college, so he and his wife drove to Las Vegas to find an apartment. They fell in love with the area and he started at UNLV as assistant professor of chemistry. He did work in organic chemistry and served as chair of the Department of Physical Sciences, as it was then called. In 1968 the department was turned into a college, and Bob became the dean of the College of Science and Mathematics. He held this position for 12 years. In 1980, Dr. Smith accepted an offer from Weber State College in Ogden, Utah, and served there as Academic Vice President (later Provost) until his retirement in 1998. He recalls with great clarity the people, changes, and events that he was involved with during the early years at UNLV. Today he and his wife enjoy their retirement in their favorite spot in the San Jacinto Mountains.

John G. Tryon was one of the early leading figures in the Engineering Department at UNLV. He grew up in Washington, D.C., the oldest of three sons. His father worked with the National Bituminous Coal Commission during the Depression and his mother was editor of the American Association of University Women's Publications. John went directly to University of Minnesota after high school graduation and earned a bachelor's in physics. During WWII he served in the Army Signal Corps and then went back to Cornell University to get his doctorate. His post doctoral work experience includes six years at Bell Telephone Laboratories, eleven years at University of Alaska, and six years at Tuskegee Institute. In 1974, Dr. Tryon interviewed at UNLV and was hired. The faculty carefully built up the curriculum, adding classes one at a time. John introduced a senior engineering design course modeled after one that pioneered at Dartmouth. He had also introduced this particular course at University of Alaska and Tuskegee. John was a member of the Academic Standards Committee at UNLV which helped set standards for academic probation and semester length. He has strong opinions on keeping engineering students who show promise and interest, and letting go of students whose academic strengths don't match the program. He believes students need to be matched to opportunity, be given the chance to find a niche that fits, and that they should not be given inflated grades or false hope. Dr. Tryon met his wife-to-be in Ithaca, New York, while attending Cornell University. His wife's mother, who was married to a botany professor, had invited him to Sunday dinner, something she had done for a number of students. John and his wife, who eventually became an English teacher, have two sons who grew to college age while they were in Alaska. Today they enjoy their church community, their family, and their circle of friends.