Jose L. Melendrez

Executive Director, Office of Community Partnerships, School of Community Health Sciences
Expertise: Diversity Initiatives, Multicultural Programming, Latino and Other Diverse Populations, Social Justice and Community Organizing, Immigration/DREAM Act, Title III & V Minority Serving Institution Programming, Student and Parental Engagement

Biography

Jose L. Melendrez has expertise in youth and parental empowerment in education, leadership development and alternative choices for at-risk youth. He is also an expert in social justice advocacy for diverse and multicultural populations, diverse perspectives in community engagement and empowerment, community organizing, and student and organizational development in education.

For UNLV's School of Community Health Sciences, Melendrez is responsible for coordinating and building partnerships with community-based organizations that provide internships for students and real-world experience.  He also develops recruitment strategies to increase the diversity of students in the school, which includes programmatic support for the Nevada Minority Health and Equity Coalition and service with the Nevada System of Higher Education's Hispanic Serving Institutional task force.

Melendrez has served as a field instructor for the UNLV Schools of Social Work and Community Health Sciences, where he works with undergraduate and graduate students to help them achieve their academic and professional goals. For the university, he has led the development of the Title III and Title V Minority Serving Institution Leadership initiative, the Vice Presidential Diversity Commission, the Institute on Diversity and Social Justice, and as director of the UNLV Multicultural Center. 

Education

  • B.A., Political Science, Ê×Ò³| Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­
  • M.S.W., University of Michigan

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social issues

Jose L. Melendrez In The News

Las Vegas Sun
Early in the COVID-19 vaccination drive, socioeconomic barriers — access to health care providers, online-only scheduling, and skepticism — hampered the efforts of Las Vegas health officials to get more minorities vaccinated.
K.L.A.S. T.V. 8 News Now
‘The Pandemic Stops with Me’ webinar covered the importance of the COVID-19 vaccine, why minority communities are hesitant to get vaccinated, and how the community can do its part to stop the spread of the virus.
Las Vegas Review Journal
Minority groups have been affected by COVID-19 at disproportionately higher rates than their white counterparts in Southern Nevada and, on Friday, Gov. Steve Sisolak announced a plan intended to reverse inequities in distributing the vaccine to traditionally marginalized groups.
K.N.P.R. News
Democrats are concerned with one thing and one thing only: Beating President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

Articles Featuring Jose L. Melendrez

nurse administers shot to woman
Campus News | December 29, 2021

A collection of news stories from 2021 highlighting UNLV’s continuing response to COVID-19 and faculty experts who have helped make sense of the pandemic and its impact to daily life. 

Student playing Jenga
Campus News | September 7, 2021

A collection of news stories highlighting community and perseverance at UNLV.

Crowd of students
Campus News | September 9, 2014

UNLV ranks sixth for undergraduate ethnic diversity, according to U.S. News & World Report's "Best Colleges" publication; university ranked in top ten for fourth consecutive year.