Las Vegas businessman Richard Tam has donated $130,000 to UNLV, according to President Carol C. Harter.
Tam, a long-time UNLV friend and benefactor for whom the Alumni Center is named, gave $100,000 to help furnish the new Lied Athletic Complex, $25,000 to the Alumni Scholarship Fund, and $5,000 to the men's basketball program, Harter said.
"UNLV is very grateful to Richard Tam for his donations over the years," Harter said. "His generosity has made a great difference in the life of this university."
Fred Albrecht, executive director of alumni and community relations, said, "I appreciate Richard's commitment to the university and his continued support for both academics and athletics. Richard has been a tremendous benefactor for the university."
Tam is a member of the UNLV Palladium Society of million-dollar donors. He received an honorary doctorate at the university's commencement ceremony in 1995.
The UNLV Department of Intercollegiate Athletics will recognize Tam's gift to the new Lied Athletic Complex by naming him an Honorary Letterman and installing two 1-by-four-foot glass panels, one inscribed with Tam's name and one inscribed with an inspirational saying or motto of Tam's choosing, in the spacious, curved hallway that forms the spine of the building.
Tam's glass panels and those of other donors who give $100,000 or more to the building will form an artistic display in the complex, according to Assistant Athletic Director Tom Gabbard, who has coordinated the Lied Athletic Complex project. The image of a running athlete, taken from individual frames of a video tape, will be etched into the display, tying all the panels together into one large piece of art.
Gabbard said Tam's gift will enable the university to finish equipping and furnishing the 65,000-square-foot, $8.7 million complex. The complex, one of the best designed and equipped in the nation, will be ready for use this fall and will be dedicated during Homecoming festivities in October.
