FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Suzanne Ernst (702) 889-8426

LAS VEGAS –- Helen R. Thompson, a former member of the Nevada Board of Regents, died Wednesday in Las Vegas at the age of 82. The UCCSN community lost former regent Molly Knudtsen on Tuesday.

A private service for Thompson will be held in her hometown of Memphis, Tenn.

Thompson, a trained actress, moved to Las Vegas after living a number of years in New York and Los Angeles. She attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and was the first student elected to the Board of Regents in 1969. She concluded her service in 1976.

Thompson used her personal financial resources to improve UNLV's campus landscaping as well as fund a Black Studies Program in the early 70s.

The Nevada Board of Regents is the elected, 11-member governing body for University and Community College System of Nevada. Comprising two doctoral granting universities, a state college, four comprehensive community colleges and one internationally acclaimed research institute, the UCCSN serves the educational and job training needs of the nation's fastest growing state. As Nevada's only system of higher education, the UCCSN provides educational opportunities to more than 100,000 students.