Friends & Colleagues, 

I’m very happy to say that we are less than a year away from the anticipated completion of the first permanent building for the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV. The five-story, 135,000 square foot Medical Education Building will be a centerpiece for the Las Vegas Medical District. Since breaking ground in October of 2020, M.J. Dean Construction has been making great progress with more than 100 workers on the job each day. If you’ve driven by the site on Pinto and Shadow Lanes, you know the building already has a formidable presence and is beginning to take on some of the characteristics that will define its look and feel. Designed with unique architectural elements, the state-of-the-art building will have a stylish patio out front and a large staircase leading to a multi-story community space for public lectures, TED talks, and a donor recognition wall with a tribute to Kirk Kerkorian, the Las Vegas visionary and philanthropist for whom the school is named. While it’s easy to get excited about the building’s design, we are greatly looking forward to the increased space, which will eventually allow us to increase the number of physicians we train. There will be fifteen patient rooms equipped with cameras to monitor the interaction between students and actor patients, and simulation suites where students can practice procedures on mannequins that breathe, cry, sweat, and respond to medications. I could go on about all the things the additional space will allow, but suffice it to say, we can’t wait to get in and get to work. Of course, all of this is made possible by the generous donors who formed the Nevada Health and Bioscience Corp, chiefly responsible for funding and overseeing the construction of the project. Together, we are improving this community and transforming healthcare in Southern Nevada. I look forward to eventually giving you all a tour of the MEB. Until then, here’s a look at some video and photos taken recently at the construction site.