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COVER STORY "I don't think I would have been able to progress with my idea without UNLV stepping forward and helping me." "I don't think I would have been able to progress with my idea without UNLV stepping forward and helping me," Maksymec said. "They provided help with the actual technology research, the marketing research and just the drive they used to help get this project going. I'm very grateful to them." Maksymec is among untold numbers of Las Vegas Valley business operators getting some much- needed support from UNLV as the area struggles to rouse itself from the ongoing nationwide economic malaise. The Lee Business School at UNLV is reaching out to provide expertise and assistance to local entrepreneurs and businesses. The school is UNLV's largest, with 3,500 undergraduate students, 500 graduate students and 75 faculty members. A $15 million donation from the Ted and Doris Lee family this fall allows the school to help the local business community more than ever. Two-thirds of the donation, $10 million, will fund 10 endowed professor positions to be created over eight years. Half of the remaining $5 million will be used to establish a scholarship program for high-achieving undergraduate and graduate business students. The other $2.5 million will fund a lecture series and visiting professor program. The Lee Thought Leader Lecture Series will bring internationally recognized business innovators to campus two times a year. The Lee Visiting Professor Program will present | 12 DECEMBER 2011 | scholars during weeklong intensive courses for business leaders. Paul Jarley, dean of the business school, says there is unquestionably more of a need for what the school is offering now than even just a few years ago. But even with the donation from the Lee family, the irony is that the same economic torpor that is driving more businesses and entrepreneurs to the Lee School for assistance also inhibits the university's ability to meet that demand fully. "We really don't have the resources to build out, to be quite candid," said Jarley, now in his fifth year as dean. "The same downturn that hit the business community hit us. We've tried to piece together what we can in those situations to help people where we can." The dour economic reality also means UNLV must, of necessity, be less proactive in its approach to outreach than it might like to be, Jarley says. "Because our resources are so limited here, we wait for people to come to us." RESOURCES Despite the business school feeling the economic pinch, it does offer several key resources: • The Center for Entrepreneurship. The center provides support for research and encourages the formation of new businesses. All MBA students at UNLV are required to volunteer in the community, including writing business plans and providing small-business consulting, which includes applying analytical tools and providing recommendations for improving business. • The Nevada Small Business Development Center. A statewide resource for business development services and training, the program provides free, confidential consulting and workshops and low- cost training. In addition, its research and analysis of the economy, environment and demographic data can help businesses, government and other organizations promote economic growth. The center is a partnership between the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Nevada System of Higher Education. • The Center for Business and Economic Research. The center maintains economic and business databases for Las Vegas, the region and the nation. It analyzes economic and demographic effects of events and policy initiatives on Nevada and its local economies. By combining survey, statistical, marketing and research expertise with in-house computer facilities, the center is able to tailor reports to clients' needs. • The Lied Institute for Real Estate Studies. The institute offers real estate professionals mentoring, research, and executive and continuing education, as well as the Certified Graduate Builder series and the Commercial Real Estate Certification program. The institute's annual Real Estate Roundtable is a gathering of industry executives who discuss real estate topics affecting the Southern 17