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Dr. Robert Bruce Smith was born in Philadelphia and spent his first two years in New Jersey, but thinks of California as home. His father's calling as a minister had taken them back east, and after his seminary training they returned to Los Angeles, followed by a five year stint in Oregon before returning to Vista, California. After high school graduation, Bob left home to attend Wheaton College in Illinois, a small Protestant school. He met his wife there and after completing his Bachelor's in chemistry they were off to Berkeley, where he completed his PhD in three years. Along the way, Dr. Smith had worked for G.D. Searle in Skokie, Illinois, and at first thought that this was his calling. His semester as a Teaching Assistant, however, convinced him that the academic life was what he wanted. Late in 1961, he learned of a job opening at the Southern Regional Division of the University of Nevada (now UNLV), interviewed with Malcolm Graham who was recruiting in San Francisco, and flew to Las Vegas to see the campus for himself. It consisted of three and a half buildings surrounded by desert. Robert's thesis director encouraged him to take the job at this new, very small college, so he and his wife drove to Las Vegas to find an apartment. They fell in love with the area and he started at UNLV as assistant professor of chemistry. He did work in organic chemistry and served as chair of the Department of Physical Sciences, as it was then called. In 1968 the department was turned into a college, and Bob became the dean of the College of Science and Mathematics. He held this position for 12 years. In 1980, Dr. Smith accepted an offer from Weber State College in Ogden, Utah, and served there as Academic Vice President (later Provost) until his retirement in 1998. He recalls with great clarity the people, changes, and events that he was involved with during the early years at UNLV. Today he and his wife enjoy their retirement in their favorite spot in the San Jacinto Mountains.

Elizabeth Frances, born in Laramie, Wyoming in 1931, was the fourth of nine children. Her father was a plasterer until WWII, when he went to work in the shipyards in Washington State. The family then moved to Salem, Oregon, and Elizabeth attended high school there through her junior year. She actually finished high school in Saratoga, Wyoming, becoming the first of her siblings to graduate. Elizabeth married the same year she graduated (1949) and followed her husband's quest for work to Oregon and California. It was in Santa Rosa that she entered into university course work for her LPN degree. Once they moved to Las Vegas, she entered the LPN program at Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital (now UMC) and graduated in 1965. During her five years in the ER at Memorial Hospital, Elizabeth entered the two year RN program at UNLV, graduating in 1971. She left the hospital to work for Dr. Fink for two years. She shares descriptions, explanations, and anecdotes about her time there, including much of the on-the-job training she received from the doctor. In 1973, Elizabeth was offered the opportunity to teach at the LPN school she had started with, and she also went back to UNLV for her baccalaureate degree (1977). She worked for Workmen's Compensation for four years and details the team components, job requirements, and the new-found respect that the teams garnered from doctors. Elizabeth was called to Sunrise Hospital in 1978 to fill a new position under the education department and worked there for 18 years. Though she has seen many innovations in medicine due to advancing technology, Elizabeth believes that basic nursing skills involving observation and knowledge of the patient are still of primary importance. After retirement, Elizabeth began working full time for the museum in Lorenzi Park. She worked in all areas and was docent for many years. She and other docents created their own program and study, travel, and read to further their art education. Elizabeth paints in oils and watercolors, has held exhibitions, and recently built an art gallery in her own home.

Narrator affiliation: Secretary, Administrative Assistant, Holmes and Narver; U.S. Atomic Energy Commission

Includes meeting minutes.