UNLV’s first-year president touts successes — VIDEO

University of Nevada, Las Vegas president Len Jessup delivered his first State of the University address Thursday afternoon, focusing on the progress of the budding medical school and the goal of becoming a top-tier university.

Jessup, who started as UNLV's 10th president on Jan. 5, also touted a near-record breaking year of private fundraising.

With $74.9 million raised, 2014-2015 school year was the school's most lucrative in five years for "new gifts and pledges" private donations, and the second-highest, 12-month fundraising period in school history, Jessup said.

Development of a medical school and continued community involvement will be key in taking UNLV to first-tier status, Jessup said. A Tier 1 ranking from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching would place UNLV among the best research universities in the nation.

"The Las Vegas Valley needs UNLV to be a top-tier university more than ever," Jessup said to the crowd gathered at the campus's Judy Bayley Theatre. "With everything that's happening in the valley we live in, we are irreversibly linked."

The university's medical school will receive a total of $27 million in funding from the Nevada State Legislature and is scheduled to open in fall 2017.

To attract "top-level" students, the university will use a $10 million donation from the Engelstad Family Foundation to offer 25 four-year scholarships to its inaugural class of 60 students. Twenty-five more will be offered for each of the next three classes.

"The students are taking a chance on us," Jessup said. "We're not yet accredited when these students enroll and begin, so they're taking a little bit of a risk."

He added, "But yet the accreditation is largely based on the quality of that incoming class of students, so you have to have good students."

Rhonda Montgomery, immediate past chairwoman of the Faculty Senate, introduced Jessup at Thursday's speech. Montgomery, a 21-year UNLV employee, ranked Thursday's speech as one of the best she's heard.

"I think he did an outstanding job," Montgomery said.

Jessup also spoke of UNLV's and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority's bid to host a presidential debate in 2016. He estimated that more than $50 million in national and international publicity is generated for universities that host such debates.

"This is just an example of us swinging for the fences," he said. "It will be huge for the campus."

Montgomery echoed the university president's enthusiasm.

"It's incredibly exciting," she said. "I support the president wholeheartedly and his efforts."

Jessup said the university expects to know "within a few weeks," if UNLV is chosen to host the debate.

The president closed his speech by mentioning the importance of having successful sports teams, especially in football.

Sports help the community connect with the school, Jessup said, and is often the measuring stick used by many Las Vegans for UNLV's overall success.

"It's the way many people not only interact with the university, but how they shape their perceptions of us, and how they form their perceptions of the brand of the university," Jessup said.

Contact reporter Chris Kudialis at ckudialis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283. Find him on Twitter:@kudialisrj.