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Interview with Sidney D. Drell, July 20, 2004
Date
Archival Collection
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Transcript of interview with Dr. Catherine Bellver by Caryll Batt Dziedziak, November 13, 1995
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Dr. Catherine Bellver is a woman with tenacity. How else could one describe her drive to create the Women's Studies Program spanning fifteen years? As a faculty member in the Department of Foreign Languages, Dr. Bellver first joined the Women's Studies steering committee in 1979. In the following decade, the committee oversaw the formation of the Women's Studies Program, including: procuring administrative and faculty support, creating bylaws and course criteria, critiquing proposed cross-listed courses, and selecting course offerings. During that period she also worked with a volunteer group to create and staff the first Women's Center on campus. In the early Nineties, she played an instrumental role in the presentation of four public colloquia that addressed key issues pertaining to women. Dr. Bellver acted as interim director of the Women's Studies Program while overseeing the search for a permanent director. She continued to remain involved with the Women's Studies program, serving as faculty member on several committees. She has also worked in the Women's Caucus on the regional and national levels of the Modem Languages Association Dr. Bellver is currently Distinguished Professor of Spanish in the Department of Foreign Languages at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her work has appeared in journals such as Anales de la Literature Espanola Contemporanea, Hispanic Review, Hispanofila, Insula, Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Monographic Review/Revista Monografica, Revista de Estudios Modernos, Revista Hispanica Moderna, Romance Notes and Romanic Review. Dr. Bellver's participation in the creation of the Women's Studies Program illustrates how critical institutional and social progress can result from the commitment of a determined group of individuals. Her decades of involvement in creating an academic arena for the study of women and gender issues underscores the significance of women's contributions to the history of Las Vegas. In addition to the history of the Women's Studies Program at the University of Nevada Las Vegas this interview contains information regarding the creation of the first Women's Center on campus.
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Transcript of interview with Michael J. Signorelli by Claytee D. White, Stefani Evans, August 4, 2016
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Michael Signorelli, long-time Las Vegas resident and builder of many local homes, apartments and hotels, describes his upbringing, career, and stellar reputation as part of the “Building Las Vegas” oral history project. Raised in Rhode Island, the only child of an Italian-American father and a Southern Baptist mother, Michael’s early life was influenced by his father’s disability as a World War Two veteran and his non-English speaking paternal grandparents, who owned and ran a grocery store. Talking of his experiences in helping them run the grocery store he says, "I became a businessman at the age of twelve." His military service during the Vietnam War landed him at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas. Once here, Michael furthered his education at UNLV, obtaining both his MEd and PhD degrees. In Las Vegas Michael began his work in the housing arena working for Sun Home Builders and his non-profit work, helping to raise funds for the newly formed Rape Crisis Center. Signorelli went on to work for Howard Hughes's Summa Corporation, where he successfully fought against a discrimination lawsuit brought by twenty-one female dealers. In 1978 Michael started his own company, Nicro Corporation, and began building homes in the Las Vegas valley with land he acquired on a hand-shake and a verbal contract. He continued his non-profit work, which included coordinating Lady Bird Johnson’s Green Thumb project for Nevada and the Pacific Northwest. In the 1980s Signorelli was recruited by the Fitzgerald Group, where he was involved in non-gaming operations for their many hotels, cattle ranch, and an in vitro clinic. In this interview, Signorelli describes his non-Las Vegas building projects in Mesquite and Laughlin. He built the Mesquite Star hotel and casino by overcoming multiple hurdles around water access and money. Despite twice obtaining a loan for one hundred million dollars, he was never able to successfully complete the Laughlin hotel and casino, due to legal issues from his partner’s family trust. Signorelli also shares his idea for a unique hotel and casino called the Nev Star that involved his successful negotiation of a waiver to Senate Bill 208. Signorelli concludes his interview by talking about his ownership of the world-famous Golden Steer Steak House restaurant, which opened in 1958. Under Signorelli’s ownership the Golden Steer has been featured in national publications and claims many legendary fans such as NACAR driver Mario Andretti, who in 2016 celebrated his seventy-six birthday at the Golden Steer. Signorelli’s love of Las Vegas and its many positive traits come forth as he talks about his daughter and her achievements and suggests Vegas promoters should do a better job about what great schools, medical care, and government we have in Las Vegas.
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