Oral history interview with Dr. Javier A. Rodríguez conducted by Elsa Lopez and Barbara Tabach on December 19, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project.
Dr. Javier Rodríguez, Biology Professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, talks of his personal and educational history that led him to UNLV. He discusses his migration from Puerto Rico to California where he received his PhD from the University of California Berkley and became a biological museum curator for various animal specimens. He later moved to Las Vegas to teach at UNLV where he has now been for nearly two decades; Dr. Rodríguez shares how UNLV has changed since he first started working here, including the university's increased interest in faculty research to become a Top Tier institution. Subjects discussed include: Puerto Rico; University of California Berkley; University funding; Tier 1 research institutions.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Allard Roen conducted by David G. Schwartz on October 31, 2003 for the UNLV University Libraries Oral History Collection. In this interview, Roen talks about the history of the Desert Inn Hotel, the Desert Inn Country Club, and the Desert Inn Golf Course and Tournament of Champions. He shares numerous stories and anecdotes about Las Vegas, Nevada casino-hotel figures, including Cecil Simmons, Morris "Moe" Dalitz, Wilbur Clark, and Howard Hughes. He also talks about the formation of the Nevada Resort Association, property development, and negotiating with labor unions and construction companies, including his 1960 work with the NAACP's James McMillan to eliminate racial segregation at the Desert Inn and Stardust hotels.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Catherine "Caty" Crockett conducted by Claytee D. White on December 3, 2024 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Crockett recalls her parents' history living in Las Vegas, Nevada and starting a guest ranch, Hidden Wells, and later the Crockett/Alamo Airfield airport, and the Lazy Flying C Ranch. Crockett recalls growing up on the airport, riding horses, and interacting with celebrities and entertainers, including Howard Hughes. After graduating from Valley High School, she worked at the Sahara Hotel and Casino, Saks Fifth Avenue, and then at Valley Bank. She describes meeting many leading figures in Las Vegas history through her banking job, including Parry Thomas, the Mack family, Kirk Kerkorian, and others. Crockett describes later jobs, including owning an art gallery, and being one of the first women to join the Rotary Club.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Patricia Iannuzzi conducted by Claytee D. White on March 6, 2018 and November 30, 2022 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In the first interview, Iannuzzi discusses her early interest in library sciences. She talks about her educational experience and becoming a reference librarian. Iannuzzi describes the development of resource repositories, education reform, and the evolution of the internet. Iannuzzi recalls the first online databases, electronic resources, and improving undergraduate education. Lastly, Iannuzzi discusses her employment at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the importance of information literacy. In the second interview, Iannuzzi discusses accomplishments from her time as Dean of UNLV University Libraries, particularly her role in the creation of the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV.
Archival Collection
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The University of Nevada, Las Vegas Phi Kappa Phi Records (approximately 1960-2019) consist of meeting minutes, correspondence, financial documents, member lists, programs, newspaper clippings, and photographic prints pertaining to the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi Chapter 100 at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The collection also includes memorabilia from the organization's fiftieth induction ceremony, as well as a framed copy of its charter.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Geraldine Kirk-Hughes conducted by Larry Sampson on November 28, 2014 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview Kirk-Hughes relates her birth and upbringing in Simmersport, Louisiana, becoming a teen mother, earning a GED and earning her first college degree before marrying and moving to Greece and Dubai. She then explains how she returned to the United States to earn her masters degree before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1978. She discusses her second marriage, her decision to attend law school, and her decision to go into private practice instead of working for a law firm. She talks about cases she worked on, people in the community she knew, and the effects of discrimination on her work and career. She ends by talking about her third marriage and sharing thoughts on how the Las Vegas African American community has lost some of the cohesiveness and unity of earlier decades.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Leonard E. "Pat" Goodall conducted by Patrick Carlton on April 18, 2002 for the Las Vegas Rotary Club Oral History Project. In this interview, Goodall relates his early years in Warrensburg, Missouri and speaks at length about his Rotary Club activities. Next, he gives an overview of his education and subsequent university teaching career before he transitioned to university administration. He tells how he applied and was was hired to become president of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) in 1979. He explains his thoughts and ideas for the institution, and highlights particular projects that he believes greatly benefit the institution, including the construction of the first engineering building, the first business school, and the Thomas & Mack Center. He then describes his career as a university professor after stepping down from the presidency in 1984 and his retirement in 2000.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview With Carolyn Sparks conducted by Claytee D. White on June 7, 2022 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Sparks describes her childhood growing up in Overton, Nevada where her father worked as a mining engineer. Later the family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where her father invested in the El Cortez and Showboat hotels. Sparks received a degree from the University of California, Berkeley before returning to Las Vegas to work at an insurance company, where she met her husband, Kenneth. Sparks discusses their shared adventure insuring many of the businesses on the Las Vegas Strip while simultaneously entering the world of philanthropy. Sparks became area Chairperson of the American Cancer Society, a fundraiser for Junior Mesquite Club, and founded the Nevada Children's Center. Sparks served on the Nevada Board of Regents from 1984 to 1996, on the Board of Directors of the Showboat Hotel & Casino, and as president of the family's International Insurance Services, Ltd.
Archival Collection
Aaron Williams Papers (1965-1981) consist of scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, certificates, newspaper clippings, reports, and programs. Many of the clippings and some of the correspondence contain references that give insight into the role of women in North Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The scrapbooks and newspaper clippings document Williams' career as well as issues he dealt with as councilman and commissioner. These issues include those related to community and infrastructure development, such as airports, sewage treatment plants, senior citizens, health, and urban planning as well as North Las Vegas and Clark county political activities during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Archival Collection