USU Eastern Announces Administrative and Academic Offerings Changes

Utah State University Eastern has announced several administrative changes as well as changes to its upcoming academic offerings. 

USU’s Vice President for Regional Campuses, Dave Woolstenhulme, will also now serve as USU Eastern’s interim chancellor. Gary Straquadine, who has served as USU Eastern’s interim chancellor since July 2018, has been appointed associate vice president for Career and Technical Education/vice provost (CTE). In this role, Straquadine will oversee CTE in Carbon, Emery, Grand and San Juan counties. 

In addition, Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Services and Student Affairs Greg Dart, has been named as associate vice president for USU Eastern. Dart will report to Woolstenhulme as interim chancellor.

“I am honored to be given the opportunity to serve as interim chancellor at USU Eastern at a time with so many innovative changes,” Woolstenhulme said. “With Gary’s strength and expertise, the university will be able to build our career and technical education offerings, something so needed in this area of the state. And I am looking forward to working with Greg and his ability to bring a fresh perspective to the day-to-day business here at Eastern.”

As associate vice president for Career and Technical Education, Straquadine will focus on organizing career and technical education in Price and the surrounding southeast region. Working with the Utah System of Higher Education, USU Eastern is in the process of creating a more flexible curriculum allowing for open entry and exit, with a variety of stackable credentials that can articulate into an associates of applied science, bachelor’s, or graduate degree. Stand-alone certificates, essentially micro-credentials, will be offered, in addition to the more traditional university educational path currently at USU Eastern.

“We want to revolutionize the model we are using for career and technical education,” said Straquadine. “This flexibility not only helps people earn degrees and credentials that are useful to them, it benefits our economy and outreach in the region.”

Woolstenhulme returned to USU in July 2018 following his tenure as commissioner of the Utah System of Technical Colleges where he led eight regional technical colleges throughout the State of Utah: Bridgerland Technical College, Davis Technical College, Dixie Technical College, Mountainland Technical College, Ogden-Weber Technical College, Tooele Technical College, Southwest Technical College and Uintah Basin Technical College.

Prior to his role at the Utah System of Technical Colleges, Woolstenhulme served as USU’s vice provost of Regional Campuses from 2012-14. He was also a long-time Jon M. Huntsman School of Business faculty member at the Uintah Basin Regional Campus. From 2012-14, Woolstenhulme was president of the Uintah Basin Applied Technology College.

Woolstenhulme holds a bachelor’s and a master’s from Utah State University and a doctorate from the University of Wyoming.

Straquadine has been responsible for program design and development for USU in southeastern Utah and has served in many leadership roles at Utah State. He is a former department chair of Agricultural Systems Technology and past associate dean for the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences. As a former dean for the Tooele Regional Campus, Straquadine is well acquainted with the place-bound teaching and learning in Utah. He also served three years as a department chair at the Ohio State University before returning to USU at the Eastern campus.

Prior to his time at USU Eastern, Dart served as vice president for Student Services at Zane State College and in several director roles and as an adjunct faculty member at other institutions. Dart has split his time primarily between Utah and Anchorage, Alaska, and before coming to higher education he served in various advertising and public relations positions and worked as a writer, photographer and editor and has been published in many newspapers and magazines. 

USU Eastern (Price) and USU Blanding provides the feel and personalized attention of a community college with the educational opportunities and resources of a university. USU Eastern and USU Blanding provide personal or professional development training as well as associates, bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees.