Dr. William R. Wells was the first dean of engineering at UNLV. He was born in Winder, Georgia, and graduated from high school there. He attended Georgia Tech and then took a job with NASA in Virginia, where he also received a master's degree from Virginia Tech. He then went to Harvard for an MA degree, and ended up at Virginia Tech, earning a PhD in aerospace engineering. Dr. Wells had an impressive twenty-year work history in Ohio and Illinois before coming to UNLV in 1986. He came in on the ground floor of the newly endowed college of engineering and saw the college through several rounds of accreditation with ABET. He remembers the small student body and how easy it was for faculty members to interact with them. He also recalls that several local and state entities contributed money to the engineering program or hired graduates. As dean of the College of Engineering, Dr. Wells was involved in 'growing' the various departments. He has seen most of them develop masters and PhD programs, and remembers recruiting for new teaching positions. He also recalls moving into the new building in 1988. Accreditation was of major importance in the development of a significant and nationally recognized engineering college at UNLV, and Dr. Wells has his opinions as to its impact on creativity. He does believe that it is a necessary part of developing excellence and accountability to the community, the students and faculty, and the state. Dr. Wells talks about recruiting, faculty turnover, and salaries. He gives his opinions on using UNLV engineers for stage and set designs on the Strip, hiring graduates at local utilities, and helping students with deficient math or science skills. He also talks about attracting minority groups to engineering, diversity among the faculty, and the importance of keeping talent in the United States.
Mike DeJong grew up in Michigan and moved to Las Vegas in 1990 at the age of 21. DeJong attended and graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and entered the casino industry as a pit clerk at The Mirage. He also worked as a floor representative for Club Mirage, the casino’s players club, before going into the MAP program which allowed him to learn about and transition into supervisory roles. DeJong became an assistant shift manager at The Mirage and eventually became shift manager at that property until moving to Bellagio as it was opening to become a slot manager in 1998. DeJong then became director of slot operations at Bellagio and in 2005 went to the New York-New York property as director of slot operations and marketing, which eventually led him into the position of vice president of casino operations and marketing. DeJong currently works at Wynn Las Vegas as vice president of slot operations and marketing. In his interview, DeJong discusses the different aspects of his various positions in Las Vegas Strip casinos, and he talks about the qualities of both good and bad slot managers, specifically in terms of making decisions and interacting with customers. He also describes his philosophy on what makes a good slot floor and how target clientele is considered. DeJong also talks about the transition from coins to ticketing in slot machines and his experience witnessing both resistance and the realization of benefits from that change. He also discusses how the casino industry has changed overall and what he believes the future of the slot floor will look like in ten years. DeJong finalizes the interview by talking about his personal gambling experiences and also by providing advice to young people who want to go into the slot industry.
Includes meeting agenda and minutes, along with additional information about student health fees and health advocate job description. CSUN Session 24 Meeting Minutes and Agendas.