Saturday, February 26, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Boyd chairman makes bigger name for himself at UNLV

Boyd Gaming Chairman Bill Boyd and UNLV President Carol Harter prepare to greet community members after Boyd announced a $25 million donation to UNLV's law school Friday. He made the announcement at a news conference that included a reception at the UNLV Foundation Building. Photo by John Gurzinski.

Boyd Gaming Chairman Bill Boyd bumped up the price tag on the naming rights at UNLV when he announced a donation of $25 million to the institution's law school Friday.

The pledge, which will give $1 million a year to the Boyd School of Law for 25 years, brings Boyd's contributions to the school to more than $30 million. The university named the law school after him when he helped establish the fledgling law institution with a $5 million gift in 1997.

"I thought the law school would do very well, but it has exceeded my expectations," Boyd said.

The school is ranked 82nd in the country out of 179 schools by U.S. News and World Report.

Boyd said he thought the school had hit a plateau and needed an infusion to get it climbing to excellence. He said he hoped his donation would prompt others in the community to do the same.

Higher education officials rejoiced with wine and jazz after Boyd's announcement at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas' Foundation building. Many said Boyd's pledge would help bring some major cash into UNLV's capital campaign, a fund-raising push to gather about $500 million.

"He increased the standard for the naming of a college. We needed that," said interim Chancellor Jim Rogers, who donated $29 million to the law school in 1998.

About $700 million in facilities, faculty and program naming rights are available at UNLV. Its campus on Maryland Parkway, for instance, is waiting for a name worth $300 million. The Shadow Lane campus could be renamed for $75 million.

"Everyone knows there's lots of money in this city," Rogers said. "We have a menu of everything that's for sale."

Now that Boyd's name is on a law school to which he is giving $30 million, that sets the going rate for other donors, he said.

UNLV President Carol Harter was all smiles after Boyd's announcement and said there are eight colleges that have yet to be named.

"Nationally, naming colleges and buildings is normally a $25 million donation. It's even higher at many private colleges," she said.

According to UNLV's menu, the renaming of the Division of Health Sciences is for sale at $35 million. A smaller investment of $10 million is required to rename the Institute of Modern Letters, and a mere $5 million gift would rename the Women's Research Institute of Nevada.

UNLV's status as a young institution means there are significant naming opportunities on campus, which can be an unforgettable moment of history for any family, Harter said.

Smaller donations of $300,000 can create endowed professorships, which subsidize salaries and help attract nationally renowned faculty, she said. A slightly larger gift of $3 million or more can create a chair endowment that would fund an entire professor's position.

Boyd's gift is unrestricted. Law school Dean Richard Morgan said it could be used for scholarships, programs, facilities and faculty positions.

Thanks to private donations, Morgan said, the school was able to move out of the old Paradise Elementary School and onto campus, and climb up the rankings to beat out law schools that have 100-plus-year histories.