I recently attended a UNLV Foundation meeting. In addition to the trustees of the foundation, the meeting was attended by many faculty members, along with UNLV President Len Jessup. This meeting represented his last Foundation meeting as president of UNLV, since he’s scheduled to leave soon to assume the presidency of Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California.

We could probably debate for many hours the reasons for President Jessup’s departure: the rights, the wrongs, the positives and negatives. However, we can’t deny the many positive impacts he has made on UNLV and on the community. President Jessup recruited strong faculty members and instilled a sense of pride within the UNLV faculty and his colleagues. Morale is high and the university is growing. The university has a sense of purpose, as well as the confidence to achieve that purpose.

In the community, President Jessup has reinvigorated the fundraising aspect of the presidency, which is critical to the success of any university. To accomplish this, he has spent countless hours in the community with business leaders and donors, establishing a rapport and building a trust that money donated to UNLV would be put to good use.

Lastly, Len Jessup is a genuinely good human being. He treats everyone he meets in the community and on campus as he would like to be treated – something we should all aspire to. It’s with sadness that I say goodbye to President Jessup, and I add to that a heartfelt “Thank you.”     

Regards,

Dallas Haun

Chairman

Nevada State Bank

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