How are we ordered at Utah State University? Not in the exacting scientific sense of order, genus, species, etc.
Does our ordered path of impact go: "an institution » a project » a person?"
Or is it the reverse: "a person » a project » an institution?"
And how do we break down who and what we are and, in the end, say to ourselves - and to you - that 2010 was a great year at Utah State University? These are not rocket-science questions, although if they were, we’d know those answers as well as anyone, since we truly are experts at rocket science.
But we have English Department in our bones too, deeply enough that we have diagrammed (and still can!) the exactness of sentences, the exactness of gerunds and participles aside. We model sentences, not just probability distributions or mathematical equations, and we take seriously the job of accurately telling our story.
Great people make this university great, not the reverse. We need only look to our students, our professors, our alumni to see the roots of greatness. People ... do things ... become University. Become Great University.
STUDENTS
At Commencement we watched Dani Babbel leave us. Dani: who had to choose whether to be valedictorian for HASS or Natural Resources (she chose CNR), now cramming to be a doctor to fix the world, our latest Rhodes Scholar finalist. And Dione Garlick: double major, concert pianist on the side, deciding between Boston College law, UTexas-Austin law, maybe Georgetown, maybe Cornell, UCLA (bingo, lucky Bruins).
Or our boy Jeff Carr: heading to Stanford for a grad program in Russian studies, new baby in his life and fighting the urge to say yes to NYU's prestigious creative writing program instead of ... what, are you kidding — Stanford? Ah, but Manhattan's street cred for the writer in him to match himself against his fellow- USU-writer buddy, John Gilmore, another undergrad — who just happened to win perhaps THE most prestigious student writing award in the U.S. last year, the Norman Mailer Prize in Literary Nonfiction.
Yes, USU students all. The tops of the tops. Not just here, not just in the state. In the nation. These are the best of this nation's elites. And they are ours, although own them we defi nitely do not. In fact, we owe them. They serve as the pulse for what we do.
ALUMNI
Students come here as freshmen ... ... meet professors ... ... remold into seniors ... and become alumni who shape this world. The story is the same, whatever decade you preened here. What do buzzcut/ beehived (early '60s), long-haired (early '70s), purple-haired ('80s), mohawked (remember that early '90s craze) students — kids, really — become when they grow up?
We remember 30+ years ago one of those skinny, Frisbee-onthe-quad, class-skipping kids, who ... went on to Harvard grad school ... started a little voice-mail technology business ... shows up now in National Geographic specials ... shows up (wishing he were in the background) in Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park where his foundation is helping restore a country's livelihood.
This year we highlighted alumni from around the world: Norah al-Faiz, Deputy Minister for Women's Education in Saudi Arabia and named to Time Magazine's "100 Most Infl uential People"; Michael McCull ugh, Executive VP and CMO, Miami Heat; Richard F. Daines, Commissioner of Health of the State of New York; or, to add a more recent graduate, Joey Lynn Blanch, criminal prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney's Offi ce in Los Angeles.
CAMPAIGN
As we grew, as we gained, we also suffered losses. There were moments with tears. We lost the "voice of USU" this year, Merlin Olsen, a gentle giant as Father Murphy on the screen, and a gentle giant among true giants of humanity and selfl essness. Merlin, as he was simply known to all, was a driving force in the university's comprehensive campaign (which surpassed the $300-million mark this year!), so it was fi tting that donors and friends unveiled a larger-than-life bronze statue honoring him.
There are always ups and downs, or downs that were up — Huntsman business students rocketing down Old Main Hill on a 200-foot water slide (raising money to fi ght cancer) — or a beloved Landscape Architecture professor walking up that breath-stealing hill, enjoying life, as always, even as he struggled for true last breaths as he faced the disease that took him from us.
PROFESSORS
If students are the pulse running through our veins, then our faculty are the heart pumping them. Feeding. Working them. Coddling them. Letting them explode. No, making them explode. Sometimes reeling them in and, often, when we are honest with ourselves, just staying out of their insanely brilliant ways. It takes a certain kind of professorial assuredness — the assuredness of knowing one's job — to recognize when to play which card or, better, how to play all those cards during the same class.
Not to brag about our professorial ranks or anything, but we added another Carnegie Professor of the Year this year. Engineering professor Laurie McNeill makes 10 of the last 16 Professors of the Year in Utah from USU — not that we have a big head about these sorts of things, and we of course forgive envy.
Award accolades from the year are always just the spotlight moments, and there were many to detail. There are every year. (On page two we show you one from each college. Just one.) But year in and year out, there always are the unheralded maestros, often young guns unheralded and unknown ... so far. You don't know Tim Shahan in Pyschology, an expert in addiction, a Shaman of addiction. You will. Or Center for Persons with Disabilities researcher Vonda Jump? They know her in Jordan, where she is leading efforts to train kindergarten teachers. Engineering's Chris Winstead, recipient of a prestigious National Science Foundation career-development honor? Rosemary Fullerton in Accounting? Camille Litalien in Theater?
OK, we're name dropping now, but we guarantee that these will be the capitals on the USU map real soon.
NEW PLACES/BUILDINGS/COLLEGES
We are in places far, places near. We build things, we grow things, and we matter. This was a year of explosive growth in Utah itself, and not just in bodies, structures and pretty new flag poles. Have you been to Vernal lately? Price? On campus itself?
VERNAL, Utah — USU Bingham Entrepreneurship center, a ribbon cutting, in September: We went to the scheduled building dedication but instead witnessed a community dedicating itself ... to itself. This is not a building; it is gift of long-term economic and communal health. Watch this community grow.
PRICE, Utah — USU-College of Eastern Utah partnership, announced in April: We went to CEU commencement and to celebrate with our new partners. But we saw, instead, or in addition to, a celebration of community purpose, a purpose now backboned by our own well-rooted institutional spirit. A great team indeed.
NORTH CAMPUS, SOUTH CAMPUS, THE QUAD, PARK CITY— A (very shortened) list: Emma Eccles Jones Early Childhood Education and Research Center, Swaner EcoCenter, USTAR BioInnovations 650, Equine Education Center, a new College of Agriculture building to grace the quad ... and Merlin Olsen Field.
2010: A GREAT YEAR
These are our mentors, our memories from a year, our models — models for who we are now, and who we will become, and models that tell us for certain that 2010 was another great year at Utah State University.
From the (Under)Ground Up
SDL's WISE satellite took millions of snapshots as part of a NASA project to create an infrared atlas of the entire sky, including the identification of 19 new comets.
SDL's Storm instrument will measure the Earth's atmosphere, allowing forecasters to better predict hurricane paths.
Safflower and canola plants are growing on roadsides with a goal of producing 50 million gallons of biofuel in five years.
The Utah Water Research Lab works on nearly 250 projects a year in more than 40 countries including Egypt and Singapore.
Extension specialists have secured $5 million in funding to support research in areas including marital relations and stepfamily dynamics.
The Utah Climate Center focuses on studying Utah's precipitation cycles, snowpack trends and winter inversions.
CNR researchers are studying how soil could be part of a solution to curb global warming.
Geologists are exploring the Yellowstone - Snake River hotspot system for potential geothermal energy.
RESEARCH FAST FACTS
One of the top "30 Awesome College Labs" — USU's Center for Integrated BioSystems
#2 in the nation for research funding received for aerospace engineering
#10 in the nation among Colleges of Education for external research funding, Emma Eccles Jones College of Education
A record 44 patents were filed and 11 patents were issued to USU, along with 10 commercialized technologies that fall into the "copyright category"
A record 10 companies were spun out from 2009 to 2010, the average for a university is 3 per year.
WORLD EXPERTS
The Student 1 2 3
Knows the library (and late-night
study sessions) maybe a little
too well. Sleds down Old Main
Hill... in a canoe. Walks barefoot
for a cause. Can be found
around campus snoozing on
an open book. Will do just
about anything for free food.
The Professor 2 5 9
Writes the books read at
universities across the
country. Remembers
hundreds of
names (how?).
Hears the
same questions
year after year, but
always responds like it's
the first time. Loves that the
word "commute" doesn't exist
in Logan.
Arlette Dominguez. Dominican Republic. Biology.
Because her family has battled cancer, Arlette plans to pursue a career in oncology. “We went to the hospital so often; it didn’t feel like anything anymore – like going to the grocery store. I went with my little cousin who is dying from cancer. I’ve already lost my grandma and my aunt to cancer, so I’m doing something about it.”
The Alum 3 6 7
Can be found running
Fortune 500 companies,
performing on Broadway,
solving medical mysteries, and
directing universities around the
world. Works hard. Remembers
pulling all-nighters. Wonders how.
Always feels at home in Logan.
THE STORIES
1 It wasn't the first time students brought home awards from the top university theater competition in the nation, but 2010 was a first for bringing home two in one year.
2 USU professors are regularly sought out for expertise. In September, Joseph Tainter was featured in National Geographic's Collapse.
3 Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) wore a Bibhu Mohapatra ('97) gown at the 2010 Emmy Awards, and another one of his dresses was seen on season four of Gossip Girl, which premiered in September.
4 Students took 2nd place at Microsoft's Imagine Cup that drew in more than 22,000 applicants.
Check out Aidventure on Facebook.
5 Because of USU's professors, Cache County is one of 30 spots nationwide to participate in the recruitment pilot for the National Children's Study.
6 Harry Reid ('61) was re-elected as senate majority leader in November.
7 Matthew Kirby ('03, '08) published his first novel through Scholastic Press in 2010, The Clockwork Three. Look for his second book later this year.
8 Alina Sergeeva was one of only three graduate students in the world awarded at the Sanibel Symposium, frequently attended by Nobel Prize winners.
9 Best teachers in the country: 2010 Utah Carnegie professor makes 10 of 16 from USU.
| Germany: Zach Maughan, a German major: Fulbright scholarship, English Teaching Assistantship. Morocco: Porter Illi, an International Studies major, received a Boren Award to study Arabic in Morocco. South Korea: Madison Pope, art student: Study abroad in South Korea – Studied painting at Hongik University in Seoul." "four months, six classes, two scars, 875 pictures, infinite acquaintances ago." |
Middle East: Drs. Wynn Walker and Mac McKee: the Water and Livelihoods Initiative, a life-style changing initiative to be implemented in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, Iraq and Yemen. International Trade: "Food Security": Economics professor Reza Oldadi, examining how the restriction of imports of food to increase local production would impede international trade negotiations. Moldova: Engineering professors Bob Hill and Gary Merkley, pivotal role in Moldova's efforts to sign compact with U.S. to demonstrate a commitment to democracy. |
China: Northwest University for Nationalities (NWUN) in Lanzhou, China/USU's College of Agriculture and Jon M. Huntsman School of Business: developing longterm relationships across disciplines. Peru: National University-Piura and National Agricultural University de Molinas in Lima, Peru's leading school of agriculture. Develop collaborative relationships in agricultural research. |
PLANTING SEEDS
So, you're interested in studying ... where?
USU already offers Study Abroad opportunities with more than 150 partner institutions around the world. Seed grants awarded in 2010 for NEW student experiences in:
ITALY: history, art, architecture and languages in the Mediterranean
CHINA: prehistoric human-land relationships in western China
COSTA RICA: issues tropical rain forests
JAPAN: study Japanese culture, develop language skills
SLOVENIA: environmental studies
THAILAND: understanding diversity in world food systems
MEXICO: services for disabled children
MEXICO: pre-service teachers in elementary education
A Day In Mozambique:
USU at Gorongosa National Park
USU professors Christopher Neale and Jennifer Reeve, among many others at USU, are working with the Carr Foundation (founder Greg Carr, a USU alum) and international agencies to help restore and maintain the greater Gorongosa ecosystem. Dr. Neale summarized a day on the ground in-country.
MORNING WAKE-UP CALL: You're not in Logan anymore — baboons screeching wake up just outside the tent. Outside the fence: warthogs/lions/elephants/impalas/ostriches/hippos/ crocs ("you don't bathe in the ponds). GORONGOSA PARK: dense savannah forest, pervasive wetlands in rainy season, millions of long-legged water birds, one of the "Lost Edens of Africa," coming back from devastation of civil war. PEOPLE: Happy people, hungry people, curious kids, thatched-roof huts, Portuguese and Sena, colorful clothes, colorful market foods (including peri-peri, the ubiquitous chicken w/pepper sauce, fantastic seafood). PROBLEM: Shrinking land base leads to crops depleting soil, then people cut more forest to reach new rich soil. TOOLS OF CHANGE: new Community Education Center ("stunning"), well-educated park employees, students ("pair our students with Mozambican students on ag projects; they are the future."), tourists ARE coming. OUR HOPE: Teach sustainable agriculture (Dr. Reeve) and irrigation techniques (Dr. Neale). "Find a way to let people stay on the land, but work with them to ensure their practices are sustainable." MEASURING SUCCESS: "... 15 years from now we've addressed deforestation, and we see agriculture that is sustainable ... We're in this for the long term." AT DAY'S END: "We're coming in on the ground floor with a long, long way to go. But we have the chance to have a real impact on a country, not just a park."
Honoring Tradition. Securing our Future. The Campaign for Utah State University.
$310 million and growing. The university’s comprehensive campaign is thriving with one year to go. 2010 saw new buildings and marked increases in endowments, chairs and professorships. The $600,000 Merlin Olsen Field Campaign, statue and endowed scholarship are fitting tributes to the university’s most decorated football player and distinguished alum who died March 11, 2010. Honoring tradition and securing our future, indeed.
61 Outland Trophy
61 1st Round NFL Draft, L.A. Rams
62 USU Graduate, Summa Cum Laude USU Football All-American / Academic All-American
62 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year
71 Master’s Degree Economics, USU
60’s-70’s NFL All-Decade Team, 14 Consecutive NFL Pro Bowl Appearances, NFL All-Pro nine times, 15-year NFL career, L.A. Rams, 208 games, 198 consecutive
80 College Football Hall of Fame
82 Pro Football Hall of Fame
88 GTE Academic All-American Hall of Fame
04 Honorary Doctorate USU
08 NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team
ENROLLMENT
25,767  |
Total enrollment: all-time high |
| 3,125 |
Logan campus freshman class: all-time high |
| 23% |
Regional campus / distance education: First time students entering higher ed: up 23% |
| 21% |
Utah state university / college of eastern utah: 21% Increase - up 500 students from 2009 |
| 18% |
Graduate students: RCDE students: 2,122, an 18% increase |
| 26% |
Multicultural student enrollment: Jumped 26% in just one year |
| 12% |
Nonresident students: Up nearly 12% from last year |
ACADEMIC QUALITY
|
Both average act scores & academic index scores of incoming students increased |
|
Recipients of top academic awards also climbed! |
| 195 |
Presidential scholarship (full tuition scholarship) 2010 – 195 | 2009 – 136 |
| 244 |
Dean’s scholarship (half tuition scholarship) 2010 – 244 | 2009 – 171 |
DEDICATIONS & NEW TERRITORY
Utah State University gained new campuses in Price and Blanding with the birth of Utah State University- College of Eastern Utah and moved into a new neighborhood in Park City when the Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter joined the university — the result of the largest private donation in university history. And, one became two July 1 when two new colleges were launched on the Logan campus — the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Caine College of the Arts.
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| College of Agriculture Equine Education Center – September 8, 2010 | Emma Eccles Jones Early Childhood Education and Research Center, and the Dolores Doré Eccles Center for Early Care and Education – September 14, 2010 | Bingham Entrepreneurship and Energy Research Center – September 24, 2010 | USTAR BioInnovations 650 Building – October 7, 2010 |