Celebrating the Liberal Arts

Dr. Catherine Bellver, retired UNLV Distinguished Professor in the Department of World Languages and Cultures, believes deeply in liberal arts education.

In 2011, to honor her parents, she created the Samuel A. and Jean V. Gullo Scholarship for outstanding Spanish students. Recently, she committed $750,000, using stocks and mutual funds, to create two new endowments.

“The liberal arts broaden knowledge and intellectual vision and promote critical analysis and human understanding but are often overlooked in today’s technological and materialistic society,” Bellver said. “I wanted to honor excellent faculty devoted to the liberal arts mission.”

The Dr. Catherine Gullo Bellver Endowed Scholar in Humanities will help faculty reach full professor status, supporting scholarly and creative production. The Catherine Gullo Bellver Career Achievement Award for the Liberal Arts provides culminating recognition for tenured faculty with demonstrated achievements in scholarly or creative production, teaching, and service.

Dr. Bellver served UNLV for 44 years, teaching Spanish at every level. Her extensive research on Spanish poetry and narrative resulted in five books, about 70 articles and chapters, and more than 100 book reviews. She also served as a department chair and graduate coordinator. From 1991 to 1993, she served as interim director of the Women’s Studies Program after helping establish the Women’s Center on campus. In 2005, she received The Don Schmiedel Lifetime Service Award.

“My life has been dedicated to teaching, research, and learning, and I wanted to continue that through these endowments,” Bellver said. With her gift, she hopes to make a lasting and ongoing impact.

By funding these endowments with gifts of appreciated stock and mutual funds, donors like Catherine avoid all capital gains taxes, while enjoying income tax savings, and support a mission with which they care about deeply. To learn more about this form of giving, please visit: https://unlv.planmylegacy.org/appreciated-securities.