The view of Frazier Hall from Hulse at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1958. (Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
The campus of UNLV is seen in Las Vegas in August 2020. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
An aerial view of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1959. (Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
Aerial view of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1963. (Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) campus featuring the Student Union, Tonopah Hall, Social Sciences buildings, and library in 1968. (Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
An aerial view of University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus in 1972. (Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
A view of students walking around campus during snowfall at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas on Jan. 31, 1979. (Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
Shots are of UNLV students protesting on Maryland Parkway in an effort to get motorists to slow down on March 14, 1980. A blind student, Debra Anderson was killed while crossing Maryland a day earlier. (Las Vegas Review Journal/File)
Dormitories in Student Residence Complex in the 1980s at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. (Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
Aerial view, looking north, of University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus. Tonopah residence hall is seen in the foreground. Beam Hall and Moyer Student Union are directly behind it. John S. Wright Hall, Dickinson Library, Carlson Education Building, Artemus Ham Concert Hall are behind them. Tall building at right is Dungan Humanities Building. Buildings at left behind grassy field are Barrick Museum and Fong Geoscience Building. (Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
Students walking outside of the William D. Carlson Education Building in 1985 at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. (Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
University worker surveys damage to trees outside the education building where about 25 young trees bent by ice caused by a frozen switch in the sprinkler system in 1985. (Las Vegas Review Journal/File)
An aerial view of the Thomas and Mack Center and the dormitories at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus in the early 1990s. (Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
Students display signs protesting the Los Angeles Police Department during the Rodney King riots in 1992. (Las Vegas Review Journal/File)
An aerial view of the UNLV campus looking northeast in the early 2000s. At the top of the image is a portion of the Thomas & Mack parking lot with the Cox Pavilion at top right. Dorms line the parking lot and large building at bottom is a nearly completed new dormitory. (Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
A color aerial photo of the UNLV campus looking northwest in the early 2000s. Shown at bottom is a partially completed dormitory. Near the top of the image is the Lied Library. (Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
Chuck Hall operates a forklift during construction of Lied Library on the UNLV Campus in May 2000. (Las Vegas Review Journal/File)
Crowded conditions at UNLV on first day of the fall semester on Aug. 28, 2000. (Las Vegas Review Journal/File)
Students walk across campus at UNLV on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Las Vegas Review Journal/File)
Students walk along a sidewalk at UNLV. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas, is unrecognizable today compared to when it first held classes 65 years ago.
In 1957, the university began holding classes in Maude Frazier Hall, a 13,000-square-foot building named after an assemblywoman who helped found the university called Nevada Southern at the time. Today, the building no longer exists, but a wall from it was turned into the UNLV Pioneer Wall in honor of the university’s founders.
The year was the first year classes for the university were held at the campus. Before 1957, classes were held at Las Vegas High School in auditorium dressing rooms.
The university began offering four-year degrees in the 1960s. In 1964, the university held its first graduation ceremony with only 29 students. A year later, the school was renamed to Nevada Southern University.
In 1968, the university, which had originally been an extension program for the University of Nevada, Reno, was finally its own independent university. A year later, UNLV got its current name.
In the 1970s, the university also began offering master’s degrees and Ph.D. programs.
The school reached a population of 30,000 students in 2017, passing UNR in total enrollment. One in three students enrolled at the university are the first in their family to attend college, according to the university’s website.
Correction: A previous version of this story state that UNLV hit the 30,000 student benchmark during the 1977-1978 school year. That benchmark was not hit until 2017.
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