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Interim Vice President of UNLV Foundation

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

A fifth-generation Nevadan, Bo Bernhard, Ph.D., happily calls Las Vegas home, but he works often in jurisdictions as diverse as South Africa, Australia, Singapore, South Korea, Macao, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan, Argentina, Brazil, Russia, Portugal, Albania, Austria, Greece, England, Mexico and Canada – as well as dozens of states in the United States.

Bernhard began his research career at Harvard University, where as an undergraduate he completed a double major (sociology and psychology) magna cum laude thesis on the socio-economic impacts of the Las Vegas Strip – while captaining the baseball team, winning the Louis G. Williams outstanding player award on the nationally ranked soccer team, earning honorable mention All-America status and garnering Academic All-Ivy League honors in the classroom. The foundations of Bernhard’s undergraduate thesis have since been extended worldwide, and by the age of 30, he had delivered major research addresses on six continents. After earning his doctoral degree in 2002, Bernhard was named the inaugural research director at the UNLV International Gaming Institute (IGI), and he was awarded a dual professorship in hotel management and sociology. In 2013, he was named executive director at the IGI, where he developed and oversaw all academic and business functions. Under his leadership, the organization grew from two employees to 51, with four “centers of excellence” in areas of strategic need in the gaming-hospitality-tourism sector (innovation, policy/regulation, diversity in leadership and problem/responsible gaming).

In 2021, he was named a university vice president in charge of UNLV's economic development functions, including the new Harry Reid Research and Technology Park campus, its Black Fire Innovation hub, and the UNLV Incubator, powered by the Hughes Center and Blackstone. Representing the university in these roles, Bernhard has delivered more than 300 keynote addresses in government, business and policy settings. His projects have been featured in local and national media outlets (including The New York Times, The Discovery Channel, The Australian Broadcasting Channel, The History Channel, CNN, PBS, NPR and all three major U.S. networks). These efforts have earned him several awards: in 2007, his focus on globalization earned him the World Affairs Council’s International Educator of the Year award; in 2008, he was given the UNLV Hotel College’s top research award, the Boyd Award for Research; in 2009, he was given the Hotel College’s top teaching award; in 2010, he was named a Lincy Fellow at Brookings Mountain West; and in 2013 he was given the university-wide Barrick Scholar Award and the hotel college's Denken Career Award for research.

After winning the university-wide Spanos Teaching Award, in 2017, he also was awarded the university’s top research distinction, the Harry Reid Silver State Research Award, making him the only individual in the history of UNLV to win these top research and teaching awards at UNLV. In 2022, the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance, the region's economic development agency, gave him the "Leadership Award" for excellence in economic development. 2016-2025, Bernhard held the University of Nevada, Reno Philip G. Satre Chair, the most prestigious chair in the gaming field, giving him faculty status at both of the state’s major research universities. Most recently, ESPN and the New York Times both profiled Bernhard for his rare research-based academic impact in helping bring the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas, in a manner that effectively countered long-harbored doubts about the city’s viability and integrity.

Bernhard also has worked for more than two decades with Fortune 500 CEOs and leaders throughout the hospitality and entertainment industries. These engagements include projects that span six continents for clients like Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, IGT, Hard Rock International, Caesars Entertainment, the Las Vegas Raiders and MGM. Bernhard is bilingual (English and Spanish), and spends his spare time playing sports and watching games with his daughters, Audrey and Ava.

Executive Director of Outreach and Engagement, University of Nevada, Reno, College of Business.

Jim McClenahan’s mission is to link the University of Nevada, Reno College of Business’s most valuable asset – its students – with companies that will benefit from their skills and talent and help those students grow in their personal and professional skills.

As the college’s executive director of outreach and engagement, McClenahan is responsible for connecting students to businesses through community events, internships, mentorships and providing contacts for career opportunities. He is also responsible for the Nevada Global Business program, which takes students around the world for experiential opportunities and for administering the college’s Corporate Partners program. As the College expands programs to specific industries, McClenahan is engaged as the Director of the College of Business Real Estate Initiative, and the Interim Director of the Institute to Study Gaming and Commercial Gambling. He has served on the planning team for the Executive Development Program, the premier leadership program for the Gaming Industry for 15 years. McClenahan also teaches marketing in The College of Business Executive MBA program.

McClenahan holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Nevada, Reno and bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

McClenahan currently serves as Past Chair of the Board of Directors for United Federal Credit Union, a $4 billion national financial institution, and as past chair of the Board of Directors for Junior Achievement Northern Nevada, a nonprofit dedicated to financial literacy in K-12 schools. He recently finished his term as the past chairman of the board for The Reno Chamber of Commerce. He is an ordained deacon in the Roman Catholic Church in the Diocese of Reno.

He and his wife Karen have lived in Reno since 2000 and enjoy all the outdoor activities Northern Nevada has available.