Oral history interview with Kirk Silvernail conducted by Claytee D. White and Stefani Evans on January 22, 2025 for the UNLV Remembers: an Oral History of the 6 December 2023 Shootings project. In this interview, Assistant Professor-in-Residence, Lee Business School Kirk Silvernail, recalls the events of the day and about other traumas he experienced leading up to December 6, including the unexpected death of his mother in May 2023 as she sought to complete the Camino de Santiago trail in Spain. He recalls December 6--his birthday--beginning with a student presentation, and hearing an odd sound when another student opened the door, alerting them to the shooter. He recalls his colleague and friend, Jerry Chang, and speaks of economics professor Daraboth “Bot” Rith, who was shot multiple times. He describes leading students out the back door of the building to the parking lot, seeing police enter Beam Hall, and hearing a volley of gunshots. After a few hours, his wife picked him up, he went home and played catch with his older son, a friend delivered cookies, and the family quietly celebrated his birthday. A few hours after he fell asleep, he awakened with the realization that he and his students were fellow survivors of a mass shooting. In the aftermath of the shooting, he changed some habits, like always carrying his car keys on his person and never teaching in a room that cannot lock and unlock from the inside. He also changed the day he celebrates his birthday. Digital audio available; no transcript available.

Oral history interview with George Tarkanian conducted by Stefani Evans and Claytee D. White on May 27, 2025 for the Game On! An Oral History of Las Vegas Sports project. In this interview, Tarkanian first describes his childhood in Southern California, the youngest of four children to Lois and Jerry Tarkanian. In the fourth grade, he relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada with his family so his father, Jerry Tarkanian, could begin his career at UNLV coaching the Runnin' Rebels basketball team. He remembers having a hard time adjusting to the desert, but soon making friends playing basketball at Bishop Gorman High School, and first attending UNLV then Mt. San Antonio College. He recalls assisting his father off the court, and remembers all the work his father did to help mentor players. Tarkanian also talks about when his father was nearly recruited by the Lakers in 1977 and 1979, but later turned the offer down due to the tragic loss of his friend and agent, Vic Weiss.

Tarkanian then describes his own career, as both a political science professor and a basketball coach. He started coaching at JP Catholic University in 1983, and moved to different colleges in California to continue teaching and coaching. Eventually he began working at College of the Sequoias when he received an offer to come to College of Southern Nevada (CSN) and help start the men’s basketball program. Unsure of whether he should take the leap of faith, he secured a contract as both a political science professor and basketball coach and he decided to take the opportunity. After dealing with back-to-back losses on the team, he decided to help his brother Danny create the Tarkanian Basketball Academy. He continued both teaching and coaching at CSN, but eventually decided to focus on being a professor. Digital audio available; no transcript available.