Las Vegas, Nevada – The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) has identified the three victims of Wednesday’s mass shooting on campus who died from their injuries.
Jerry Cha-Jan Chang, Ph.D., 64, was a professor in the Department of Management, Entrepreneurship, and Technology in UNLV’s Lee Business School. He spent more than 20 years of his academic career teaching a generation of UNLV Lee Business School students. He joined UNLV in 2001, and his field of expertise was information systems.
He loved research so much that he donated his body to science, reports the Las Vegas Journal Review. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Patricia Navarro Velez, 39, researched cybersecurity disclosures and assurance, internal control weakness disclosure, and data analytics. She began her employment with UNLV in 2019. She was also a recipient of the AICPA Fellowship for Minority Doctoral Students and the KPMG Foundation Minority Doctoral Students Scholarship from 2014 to 2019.
Navarro Velez was described by a colleague as having a larger-than-life personality with an infectious smile and genuine kindness, reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal. She is survived by her husband and four children.
Naoko Takemaru, Ph.D., 69 was an associate professor of Japanese studies at UNLV and led the program. She also authored the book Women in the Language and Society of Japan: The Linguistic Roots of Bias and other articles. She specialized in Japanese language studies, sociolinguistics, and gender studies.
Takemaru was described by her friends as a triple threat who inspired her students and colleagues, reports NBC News.
A 38-year-old visiting professor was also critically injured during the shooting, but the professor’s identity has not been released to the public.
“We will forever remember and honor those we have lost and who were injured,” UNLV said in its memorial to the victims. “We are sending our love and support to the victims, their families, and friends during this difficult time.”
