The inside scoop on the people and projects that support UNLV

In this issue:

• A Note from Casey Wyman
• Congratulations, Mike Ellison
• Open Enrollment Reminder
• Global Accessibility Awareness Day Recap
• Business Affairs Spring 2024 Graduates
• Spotlight on Service
• Upgrading Your Digital Literacy
• Dates to Remember

A Note from Casey Wyman

Hello colleagues,

The spring semester officially came to an end last week when 3,700 new graduates crossed the commencement stage. The majority (88%) were Nevada residents. They ranged in age from 19-76 and 66% reported coming from ethnically diverse backgrounds. These are the Rebels making it happen! 

This milestone underscores the significance of our daily efforts in Business Affairs. Whether we maintain indoor and outdoor campus environments, provide budget guidance to colleges and schools, help departments procure essential items, deliver those items, and everything in between, we help future generations achieve their goals. Thank you for your unwavering commitment to supporting this mission. 

While much of the campus transitions to “summer mode,” I recognize that this is a busy time for many of our teams. Financial Services departments are working diligently to close out year-end transactions and our Facilities and Planning & Construction teams are ramping up their Rebel Recovery repair efforts. I am grateful for everyone’s continued work to prepare for the fall semester. 

Even through this busy time, I hope you can find moments to spend with family and friends and enjoy the summer months. On a personal note, I’m preparing for my first Las Vegas summer and welcome any survival tips! 

Thank you for all you do. 

Sincerely,

Congratulations, Mike Ellison!

Congratulations to Mike Ellison, director of business intelligence in Financial Services, for having a crossword puzzle he created featured in the New York Times (NYT). A member of the UNLV community since 1996, Mike began working with crossword puzzles to remember his mother, a big crossword fan, who passed away in 2019. He also wanted to tackle the programming challenge of building a crossword fill engine.

“I have a software engineering background and was intrigued with the idea of building a computer program that would create a puzzle fill - taking an empty grid, a list of words, and filling it as part of an algorithm,” said Mike. “I built my fill engine, then needed to test it. That’s how I started designing crosswords.”

Solving crosswords regularly, he also designs them from time to time. His NYT puzzle, “The Sounds of Music,” draws inspiration from his undergraduate degree in music.

“I’m thrilled about it. It’s been a blast to read message boards and subreddit comments from folks who liked the puzzle – and maybe even more of a blast to read comments from those who didn’t,” said Mike.

Mike counts it an honor to have his puzzle chosen, given the NYT's reputation for publishing the very best crossword puzzles. They have a somewhat rigorous submission process, with technical requirements, including specific format instructions, which Mike has attempted about a dozen times.

“The process begins by formulating a theme, building a puzzle, formatting a document with the puzzle to their specs, and uploading the file to their web page. After that, it's a waiting game. Once accepted, there’s an additional collaboration with NYT editors toward a final draft,” said Mike.

The crossword was published on April 28. The NYT offers a games subscription allowing users access to their word games and logic puzzles online. According to Mike, the publication also licenses games to other outlets and his crossword may be available without a subscription in the future through different publications.

“For those that do the puzzle, I’m hopeful you have fun with it. It was fun to put together, and I hope it’s fun to solve. I’m also happy to give hints,” said Mike.

Mike created a special UNLV/spring 2024 graduation crossword puzzle for this edition of the Business Affairs Bulletin. Check it out and feel free to contact Mike for hints!

The Public Employees Benefits Program (PEBP) and Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) voluntary benefits open enrollment is happening now through May 31. During this period, you can change your PEBP healthcare plan to Consumer Driven High Deductible Plan – PPO, HMO, copay PPO (formerly the Low Deductible plan), and more. 

Visit the open enrollment website for more information.

On May 16, representatives from Business Affairs and Human Resources participated in a half-day accessibility training to honor Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). GAAD is a 24-hour period focused on digital access and inclusion for the more than one billion people living with disabilities or impairments. Representatives from the Office of Accessibility Resources (OAR) and UNLV’s web accessibility specialist led sessions for approximately 30 attendees on how to find and fix accessibility issues and create accessible documents. 

Thank you to everyone who attended and to UNLV’s accessibility ambassador program for championing the university’s effort to provide accessible digital content for everyone.

Business Affairs Spring 2024 Graduates

Congratulations to the following Business Affairs team members who graduated from UNLV in spring 2024:

• Julia Subick, Rebel Recycling
• Bachelor of arts, film
• Nicholas Dudgeon, Facilities Management 
• Bachelor of science, business administration, accounting
• Cade Aihara, Risk Management & Safety
• Bachelor of science, computer science

Spotlight on Service

UNLV’s Radiation Safety Program was recently inspected by the federal government’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). This inspection allowed UNLV to review current practices against one of the most significant regulatory agencies in the country. The program received no violations or items of concern. 

Thank you to Brian Rowsell, Kennedy Alila, Michael Schmidt, Brandon Williams, Tyler Kawada, the Radiation Safety Committee, and Planning & Construction - (special shout out to Julie Bertoia) - for their professionalism, expertise, and efforts to keep UNLV safe. They made the inspection a success.

Upgrading Your Digital Literacy

There are many ways to improve your digital skills, which include using computers, digital communication, online applications, and other digital devices. This Coursera article provides tips for expanding your digital literacy and incorporating learning opportunities into your professional life.

Dates to Remember

• May 20: Summer Session I Begins
• May 27: Memorial Day