Rebel Recharge, a lecture series presented by faculty, staff, and alumni of UNLV and open to the public, will host Dr. Caryll Batt Dziedziak’s virtual presentation, titled “The Lady is Taking Charge: Jan Jones as the First Female Mayor of Las Vegas, 1991-1999” on March 18, 2022 at 12 pm PST. Dziedziak has served as a past SOHA president and treasurer.
Learn more about the presentation and register in advance at https://bit.ly/3CA9KZH.
Here is the description of her upcoming presentation:
“The 1980s brought sweeping cultural changes to the Las Vegas Gaming scene. Steve Wynn’s opening of the Mirage in 1989 ushered in unheard-of glamour to the Las Vegas Strip. Upstaging such family-friendly casinos as Excalibur and Circus Circus, Wynn attracted the world’s high rollers with lavishly beautiful art and architecture. Yet, Las Vegas had a preponderance of other issues which nagged the city’s leadership: a lack of a city masterplan, inferior infrastructure, a rising homeless population, a deteriorating downtown, developers eager to expand the suburban landscape, and a lack of a cultural presence. A transplant from California, Jan Jones quickly became a recognizable figure from her family’s business commercials. Once elected mayor in 1991, Jones set forth to address the critical problems facing the city while having to constantly prove her political qualifications as a female leader. Hear about her challenges and accomplishments as a ‘female first’ who led Las Vegas through a transformational decade.”
Presenter: Dr. Caryll Batt Dziedziak, Assistant Faculty-in-Residence, History Director, Women’s Research Institute of Nevada Phi Alpha Theta Faculty Advisor
We hope that you can attend Dr. Dziedziak’s presentation, and we are excited to learn about such wonderful works of our SOHA members and oral historians.
Southwest Oral History Association 