Utah State University
Encyclopedia
Utah State University is a public
university
located in Logan, Utah
. It is a land-grant
and space-grant institution and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
.
Founded in 1888 as Utah's agricultural college, the university now offers programs in liberal arts, engineering, business, economics, natural resource sciences, as well as nationally ranked elementary & secondary education programs. The university offers a total of 176 bachelor's degree
s, 97 master's degree
s, and 38 doctoral degrees. It is organized into eight colleges at its Logan campus and administers five regional campuses (Brigham City
, Tooele
, Uintah Basin
, Price
and San Juan
), as well as several education centers and offices throughout Utah.
USU's athletic teams compete in Division I of the NCAA
and are collectively known as the Utah State Aggies
. They are members of the Western Athletic Conference
.
signed the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act
into effect in July of the following year.
Meanwhile, after visiting a few rural agricultural schools in his native Denmark, Anthon H. Lund
of the Utah Territorial Legislature decided that there existed in Utah a need for such a school fusing the highest in scientific and academic research with agriculture, the way of life for the vast majority of locals. Upon returning to the states, Lund heard about the Morrill Act, and pitched a vision for the college that would receive widespread support among the Territorial Legislature, who was at the time seeking to reapply for statehood. Now there came the question of location. According to historian Joel Ricks in 1938, "Provo
had received the Insane Asylum, Salt Lake City had the University and Capitol, and the majority of the legislature felt that the new institutions should be given to Weber
and Cache Counties." Citizens in Logan, Cache County, banded together and successfully lobbied representatives for the honor. The bill to establish the Agricultural College of Utah was passed on March 8, 1888, and on September 2, 1890, 14-year-old Miss Vendla Berntson enrolled as its first student.
. Much controversy arose in response to President William J. Kerr
's expansion of the college's scope beyond its agricultural roots. Detractors in Salt Lake City feared that such an expansion would come at the expense of the University of Utah, and pushed consolidation as a counter.
In 1907, an agreement was struck to instead limit the curricula of the Agricultural College strictly to agriculture, domestic science, and mechanic arts. This meant closing all departments in Logan, including the already-impressive music department, which did not fall under that umbrella. Consequently, the University of Utah became solely responsible, for a time, for courses in engineering, law, medicine, fine arts, and pedagogy, despite the Agricultural College's initial charter in 1888 which mandated that it offer instruction in such things. The bulk of the curricular restrictions were lifted over the next two decades, with the exception of law and medicine, which have since remained the sole property of the University of Utah.
The 1920s and 1930s saw the genesis of major growth, especially with the acceptance of the college into the Association of American Universities
in 1926. Doctoral degrees were first granted in 1950, and the college became known as Utah State University in 1957.
During the late 1970s, controversy again erupted on campus surrounding the school's historically large Iranian population. As U.S. relations with Iran began to deteriorate throughout the decade, Iranian students on campus began staging protests against the Shah, which protests met with some backlash in the community. Following the outbreak of the hostage crisis
of 1979, immigration officials arrived on campus to interview each Iranian, an event which alienated many international and domestic students. For a time, the population of Middle Eastern students declined sharply and has only recently begun to rise again.
Toward the end of the 20th century, Utah State began taking more strides to shed its reputation as a small regional college and transform itself into a nationally prominent university. Under the auspices of President George Emert, who served at USU's helm from 1992 to 2000, the university's endowment increased from $7 million to $80 million. Scholarships, contracts, and grants increased substantially as well.
, USU has forged collaborations with several foreign institutions and governments. The university is continuing to grow in terms of enrollment, endowment, and research. The brand new Merrill-Cazier Library
opened in 2005, and other facilities have followed. In 2010, USU acquired both the Swaner EcoCenter outside Park City
as well as the former College of Eastern Utah, with its two campuses and various undergraduate and vocational programs. The university is also currently in the midst of a $400 million fundraising campaign—the largest ever at USU—which Albrecht has said will go down in history as one of USU's most pivotal moments.
, the former College of Eastern Utah joined the USU system in 2010 and became Utah State University College of Eastern Utah (USU Eastern). Before the merger, USU taught courses at the college through Regional Campuses and Distance Education (RCDE). USU Eastern is a junior college and offers Associate's degrees, certificates, and vocational programs however Bachelor's, Master's and Doctoral courses are available on site through RCDE. USU Eastern competes as the Eastern Utah Golden Eagles and is the only campus within the USU system with an athletics program.
Regional campuses exist in Brigham City
, Tooele
, and the Uintah Basin
. RCDE offers courses at Price
and San Juan
campuses that constituted the former College of Eastern Utah (now known as USU-College of Eastern Utah
). Distance Education operates 21 education centers throughout the state including Moab
, Kaysville
, Ephraim
, Orem
, and Salt Lake City. At each of these locations, students may receive a wide selection of degrees without ever stepping foot on the Logan campus. Courses and degrees are also made available online through Distance Education.
and the Utah Botanical Center
. With a focus on teaching, research, and public service, Extension programs include 4-H
, agribusiness
, Expanded Food and Nutrition Education
, gardening and yard care, personal finance, and animal health.
is considered one of the university's greatest assets. It is situated on about 500 acres (2 km²), approximately one mile northeast of downtown Logan, at the mouth of Logan Canyon
. The campus lies on a "bench," or shelf-like foothill overlooking the valley to the west. Mount Logan
and the Bear River Range rise sharply to the immediate east. The campus contains over a hundred major buildings. Most student activity is centered around the south end of campus, which is home to the vast majority of academic departments, the quad, the Taggart Student Center, and the Old Main
building.
Notable structures include Old Main
, the college's first building, as well as the Merrill-Cazier Library
, the 305000 sq ft (28,335.4 m²). ultra-modern main university library, which houses over 1,549,000 total volumes. The library also boasts an extensive special collections and archives area, an automated storage and retrieval system, and over 150 workstations and 33 group study rooms. Also notable is the Manon Caine Russell-Kathryn Caine Wanlass Performance Hall
, an architectural marvel which is said to contain some of the best acoustics in the entire Western United States.
The Logan City Cemetery splits much of the campus in half. To the south lie most academic buildings, and to the west and north are situated the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum and Romney Stadium, respectively. Many scientific and agricultural research buildings are located even farther north. Nearby Logan Canyon is a popular recreation destination for students, with a system of trails and parks running along the river. In addition to camping and hiking, the canyon also serves as the primary route to nearby Beaver Mountain
Ski Resort and Bear Lake
. The university's Outdoor Recreation Center rents camping, water sports, mountain sports, and winter sports equipment to students, as well as providing them with area trail maps and expertise for their ventures into the canyon and elsewhere.
, the full-service Skyroom restaurant, and the Hub, which includes fast-food restaurants such as Hogi Yogi
and Taco Time
. On the east edge of campus sits Aggie Ice Cream, a local tourist hotspot dating back to 1888, which produces "world-famous" ice cream and cheese products, as well as sandwiches and soups.
Along with Aggie Ice Cream, well-known traditions include the rite of passage of becoming a True Aggie, which requires a student to kiss someone who is already a True Aggie on top of the Block "A." Two students may also become True Aggies together on Homecoming night or on A-Day. At one point recently, USU held the title in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most couples kissing at the same place at the same time. Nearby the Block "A" is the lighted "A" atop the Old Main
tower, which shines white throughout the entire valley, and blue on nights when a varsity sport has picked up a victory, or other special events have occurred on campus.
Students have full access to the HPER and the Nelson Fieldhouse, exercise facilities which include basketball courts, indoor rock climbing, gymnastics equipment, two swimming pools, racquetball, squash, and outdoor field space for rugby, soccer, ultimate, and other sports. USU students are also involved in more than 100 clubs, an active and influential student government, five fraternities and three sororities, multiple intramural and club sports, and a student-run radio station.
.
Performance facilities include the Chase Fine Arts Center
, which houses the Kent Concert Hall among other venues, and the free-standing Manon Caine Russell-Kathryn Caine Wanlass Performance Hall
, completed in 2006. The 400-seat Performance Hall
, designed by the architectural firm Sasaki Associates, has been praised as one of the best acoustic performance spaces in the American West, and received an Honor Award from the Utah Chapter of the American Institute of Architects
. The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art
, designed by architect Edward Larrabee Barnes
and opened in 1982, contains one of the largest art collections in the Intermountain Region. Its holdings include nationally significant collections of ceramics, Native American art, and especially artworks produced in the American West since 1945.
USU's music program is particularly renowned in the region. Prominent faculty include Dean Craig Jessop
, longtime director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
, as well as opera singer Michael Ballam
, Juilliard-trained pianist Gary Amano, and the Fry Street Quartet
, USU's string quartet-in-residence.
. The college is also a leader in the international project to classify and research the sheep genome. The departments of the College of Agriculture include Plants, Soils and Climate; Applied Economics; Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Science; Nutrition and Food Science; Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning; and Agricultural Systems and Technology.
(SDL), which is a research facility focusing on military and science applications. The SDL frequently submits projects to the Department of Defense
and NASA
. According to recent National Science Foundation
statistics, USU ranked first among all universities in the U.S. in funding for aerospace research. USU has also won multiple national aerospace engineering competitions in the past, including two in the 2008–09 academic year alone.
The Utah Water Research Laboratory
is the oldest and largest facility of its kind in the nation. USU is considered the world's #1 university in a number of water-related engineering and scientific disciplines due in large part to the UWRL. The lab heads and contributes to numerous international projects, particularly in arid Middle Eastern nations.
In the Humanities
, USU has long history in the study of the American West. The university, through its departments of English and History, respectively, is the host institution for the scholarly journals Western American Literature and the Western Historical Quarterly, the official publications of the Western Literature Association and the Western History Association, respectively. The Mountain West Center for Regional Studies, a Humanities outreach center at USU, sponsors public events and research focusing on the cultures and history of the Interior West and larger American West. University Special Collections and Archives, located at the Merrill-Cazier Library
, has extensive archival holdings documenting the histories of Utah
, the Intermountain West
, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as one of the nation's largest collections pertaining to American folklore
, and the lives and works of western authors such as Jack London
and poet May Swenson
, a Logan native and USU alumna.
The college also houses the USU Museum of Anthropology
, currently located in Old Main
.
, and the Bureau of Land Management
, and its graduate programs attract overachieving students from many nations. The college also operates the Quinney Library, which houses collections relevant for natural resources education, management, and research.
The College of Natural Resources includes the departments of Watershed Sciences, Environment and Society, and Wildland Resources.
In the past decade, the Physics Department alone has produced a Rhodes Scholar, a Marshall Scholar, a Fulbright Student Scholar
, nine Goldwater Scholars, and two Carnegie Professors of the Year.
The College of Science houses the Departments of Biology, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Physics, Computer Science, Mathematics & Statistics, and Geology. The Department of Mathematics & Statistics includes one of only three actuarial science programs in the West.
. Faculty are active in many of areas of psychological research, including neuropsychology
, child development
, health psychology
, and behavior therapy.
Department of Psychology professor Karl R. White is director of the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management, which focuses on the early identification and intervention of hearing loss in infants and young children.
USU is the only university in the state of Utah to have a Housing & Financial Counseling program offered through the college's department of Family, Consumer, and Human Development. This program offers debt counseling, budget counseling, mortgage default prevention counseling, and reverse mortgage counseling through the USU Family Life Center, which also houses the Marriage & Family Therapy Clinic.
after a $26 million donation by the philanthropist
Jon Huntsman, Sr.
The School hopes to model itself after Huntsman's alma mater, the prestigious Wharton
School of Business located at the University of Pennsylvania
.
The Huntsman School of Business offers a number of graduate and undergraduate degrees in fields including management
, accounting, economics
, finance
, and management information systems (MIS). The bachelor's degrees in entrepreneurship and international business are unique to USU within the state. The prestigious School of Accountancy is distinguished by perennial Top 5 rankings in CPA exam scores by its grad students, as well as its Institute of Management Accountants
, which has received a "Gold Level Award of Excellence" for each of the past 14 years, essentially making it the top such institute in the nation. The Huntsman School widely touts its travel programs, including the unique Huntsman Scholar Program, and the impressive transformation it's currently undergoing as it puts its new resources to use. This effort has included the hiring of high-profile faculty, such as Stephen R. Covey, influential management scholar and author of the wildly popular best-seller The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
. Covey began teaching classes in 2010.
In 2011, the Utah Legislature approved funding for a new business building to be located south of the Eccles Business Building. The new building was funded by $16 million in private funds and $14 million in state funds. The 100000 square feet (9,290.3 m²) building will include classrooms, faculty offices, a business library and three new business centers.
.
The Princeton Review has ranked Utah State among the "Best Western" schools for many years, and Popular Science called it one of the Top 10 Smartest Schools in the nation. The university also leads the nation in funding for aerospace research and the number of student experiments actually sent out into space. Various entities within the university have received high departmental rankings, such as the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services, which ranks 2nd in the nation for total research dollars received by any one college, and in the top 2% for all graduate colleges of education. The athletics program recently won a National Championship for most sports success per dollar spent.
Logan and the surrounding communities also feature prominently on national lists, including #1 safest U.S. metropolitan area, #3 in "Best Cities to Find a Job", and #10 in "Best Small Places for Business and Careers".
Utah State University is classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a research university with "high research activity." It received a record $187 million in research awards during the 2010 fiscal year, a 29 percent increase over the previous year. In addition to its faculty and graduate work, the university strongly emphasizes the importance of undergraduate research. USU's Undergraduate Research program recently celebrated its 35th anniversary, making it one of the oldest such organizations in the nation.
Along with the University of Utah
, USU is an anchor in the Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR)
program, which is aimed at optimizing the university and region's most marketable strengths with the goal of bolstering Utah's high-tech economy. Nine USTAR
teams currently perform research at Utah State.
Notable research centers based at USU include the Space Dynamics Laboratory
, Energy Dynamics Laboratory, Utah Water Research Laboratory
, Center for High Performance Computing, Utah Climate Center, Center for Advanced Nutrition, Center for the School of the Future, National Aquatic Monitoring Center, Intermountain Center for River Rehabilitation and Restoration, Mountain West Center for Regional Studies, and Utah Botanical Center
, among others.
Listed here are some research and environmental highlights from recent years.
(WAC). The official mascot is Big Blue. The university sponsors football
, men's
and women's basketball, volleyball, softball, women's soccer, track and field, golf, tennis, cross country, and gymnastics. An array of club sports exist as well, and among them, the hockey and baseball teams are particularly popular with students.
The Aggies have been members of the WAC since 2005 and have won several conference championships in that time, including men's basketball in 2008, 2009,2010, and 2011, indoor track in 2008, outdoor track in 2007 and 2009, and cross country each year since joining the conference (2005–10). Women's cross country has also won WAC championships in 2006 and 2008, and women's soccer won in 2008. Utah State has won numerous conference championships in previous conferences. National championships include women's volleyball in 1978 and softball in 1980 and 1981. Immediately previous to the WAC, Utah State was a member of the Big West Conference
.
The crown jewel of Aggie athletics has long been the men's basketball
team, which plays in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, which has been called one of the nation's top 5 loudest and toughest places for opposing teams to play. USU basketball is 157–12 at home during the Stew Morrill
era, has received 6 NCAA Tournament
berths in the last ten years, and has amassed more wins than any team in the nation except Duke, Kansas, and Gonzaga during that time. During the 2008–09 season, USU's ranking in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll rose as high as #17.
Following the great heights of the 1960s through 1980s, Aggie football has fallen upon hard times in recent years, leading to a disproportionate lack of USU sports coverage in statewide and national media. Recent efforts by the athletic department have resulted in a renewed focus on recruiting, specifically in state, and with the addition of head coach Gary Andersen
.
Such recovery efforts spearheaded by new Athletics Director Scott Barnes
have included inking deals with TV stations, replacing the head football coach, raising funds, and accomplishing numerous necessary reorganizations, despite the Athletics Department's dismal budget in comparison with other state and WAC schools. In large part due to his efforts, USU Athletics was crowned the 2009 National Champion of the Excellence in Management Cup, which seeks to identify the university that wins the most championships with the lowest expenses.
, Mormon
history, Native American
studies, nature and environment, and western history.
The Utah Statesman, or simply The Statesman, and Hard News Cafe are the primary news outlets that serve the USU student body. The Statesman is sponsored by the university and is published three times per week. The Statesman won the Society for Professional Journalist's Best Column Writing award in 2002 and Best Non-Daily Student Paper in 2005. Hard News Cafe is a news website operated by USU's Department of Journalism and Communications.
Utah Public Radio
, based at the university, is heard on KUSU (91.5 FM) and KUSR (89.5 FM) in Logan, and throughout Utah on a system of 26 translators. UPR broadcasts "a mix of information, public affairs, and fine arts programming." KUSU is a National Public Radio member station, and an affiliate of Public Radio International
. In addition, an entirely student-run radio station called Fusion HD3 broadcasts on the third HD channel of 89.5 in Cache Valley and online.
Aggie Television (ATV) is a cable service lineup of approximately 110 channels offered free of charge to all on-campus residents. ATV produces Crossroads, a bulletin/announcement channel; and Aggie Advantage, providing local and student video programming.
Particularly notable alumni include Harry Reid
, current U.S. Senate
Majority Leader; May Swenson
, poet; Merlin Olsen
, pro football hall-of-famer, actor, and TV personality; Rick Bass
, writer and environmental activist; Charlie Denson, President of Nike Brand; Chris Cooley, pro-football tight-end for the Washington Redskins; and Mary L. Cleave
, NASA
astronaut.
Particularly notable faculty include Stephen R. Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
; Michael Ballam
, renowned tenor and general director of the Utah Festival Opera
; and Don L. Lind
, NASA
Astronaut and member of "The Original 19".
Public university
A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions...
university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
located in Logan, Utah
Logan, Utah
-Layout of the City:Logan's city grid originates from its Main and Center Street block, with Main Street running north and south, and Center east and west. Each block north, east, south, or west of the origin accumulates in additions of 100 , though some streets have non-numeric names...
. It is a land-grant
Land-grant university
Land-grant universities are institutions of higher education in the United States designated by each state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890....
and space-grant institution and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities is an independent, non-profit membership organization recognized by the United States Department of Education since 1952 and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as the regional authority on educational quality and institutional...
.
Founded in 1888 as Utah's agricultural college, the university now offers programs in liberal arts, engineering, business, economics, natural resource sciences, as well as nationally ranked elementary & secondary education programs. The university offers a total of 176 bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
s, 97 master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
s, and 38 doctoral degrees. It is organized into eight colleges at its Logan campus and administers five regional campuses (Brigham City
USU-Brigham City
Utah State University Brigham City Regional Campus is part of the Utah State University Regional Campuses and Distance Education system located in Brigham City, Utah. The campus offers 6 Associate, 21 Bachelor, 16 Masters, and Doctoral of Education degrees as well as certificate, licensure, and...
, Tooele
USU-Tooele
Utah State University Tooele Regional Campus is a part of the Utah State University Regional Campuses and Distance Education system located in Tooele, Utah offering a number of Associate, Bachelor and Masters degrees as well as certificate programs and a Doctor of Education program. Classes are...
, Uintah Basin
USU-Uintah Basin
Utah State University Uintah Basin Regional Campus is a part of the Utah State University Regional Campuses and Distance Education system located in Roosevelt, Utah with an additional campus in Vernal...
, Price
USU-College of Eastern Utah
Utah State University-College of Eastern Utah is a public regional college within the Utah State University system. The USU Eastern main campus is located in Price, Utah and a satellite location known as the San Juan Campus is located in Blanding, Utah.USU Eastern, formerly known as College of...
and San Juan
San Juan County, Utah
As of the current census of 2010, there were 14,746 people and 4,505 households. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 50.4% Native American, 45.8% white, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% African American and 2.3% reporting two or more races...
), as well as several education centers and offices throughout Utah.
USU's athletic teams compete in Division I of the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
and are collectively known as the Utah State Aggies
Utah State Aggies
The Utah State Aggies are the athletics teams of Utah State University. The school fields men's varsity teams in basketball, cross country, football, golf, tennis, and track and field. Women's varsity teams include basketball, cross country, gymnastics, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field,...
. They are members of the Western Athletic Conference
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...
.
Background and founding
On December 16, 1861, Justin Morrill (VT) introduced a bill into the U.S. House of Representatives, "to establish at least one college in each state upon a sure and perpetual foundation, accessible to all, but especially to the sons of toil..." President Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
signed the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act
Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act
The Morrill Land-Grant Acts are United States statutes that allowed for the creation of land-grant colleges, including the Morrill Act of 1862 and the Morrill Act of 1890 -Passage of original bill:...
into effect in July of the following year.
Anthon H. Lund
Anthon Henrik Lund was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a prominent Utah leader.-History:...
of the Utah Territorial Legislature decided that there existed in Utah a need for such a school fusing the highest in scientific and academic research with agriculture, the way of life for the vast majority of locals. Upon returning to the states, Lund heard about the Morrill Act, and pitched a vision for the college that would receive widespread support among the Territorial Legislature, who was at the time seeking to reapply for statehood. Now there came the question of location. According to historian Joel Ricks in 1938, "Provo
Provo, Utah
Provo is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the county seat of Utah County and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south...
had received the Insane Asylum, Salt Lake City had the University and Capitol, and the majority of the legislature felt that the new institutions should be given to Weber
Weber County, Utah
Weber County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah, occupying a stretch of the Wasatch Front, part of the eastern shores of Great Salt Lake, and much of the rugged Wasatch Mountains. As of the 2000 census, the population was 196,533, an increase of 24.1% over its population in 1990. By...
and Cache Counties." Citizens in Logan, Cache County, banded together and successfully lobbied representatives for the honor. The bill to establish the Agricultural College of Utah was passed on March 8, 1888, and on September 2, 1890, 14-year-old Miss Vendla Berntson enrolled as its first student.
Consolidation controversies
In its early years, the college narrowly dodged two major campaigns to consolidate its operations with the University of UtahUniversity of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
. Much controversy arose in response to President William J. Kerr
William Jasper Kerr
William Jasper Kerr served as the president of Oregon State University for 25 years, 1907–1932. In 1932 he became the first chancellor of the Oregon State System of Higher Education, serving until 1935. He also served as the president of Brigham Young College from 1894–1900 and of Utah State...
's expansion of the college's scope beyond its agricultural roots. Detractors in Salt Lake City feared that such an expansion would come at the expense of the University of Utah, and pushed consolidation as a counter.
In 1907, an agreement was struck to instead limit the curricula of the Agricultural College strictly to agriculture, domestic science, and mechanic arts. This meant closing all departments in Logan, including the already-impressive music department, which did not fall under that umbrella. Consequently, the University of Utah became solely responsible, for a time, for courses in engineering, law, medicine, fine arts, and pedagogy, despite the Agricultural College's initial charter in 1888 which mandated that it offer instruction in such things. The bulk of the curricular restrictions were lifted over the next two decades, with the exception of law and medicine, which have since remained the sole property of the University of Utah.
Widespread growth
Amid the tumult, the Agricultural College grew modestly, adding its statewide Extension program in 1914. A year later, the first master's degrees were awarded. UAC, as it was commonly abbreviated, also received a notable boost as a direct result of World War I. Colleges and universities nationwide were temporarily transformed into training grounds for the short-lived Student Army Training Corps, composed of students who received military instruction and could then return to their educations following their military service. As the then-tiny campus could not otherwise support such large numbers of new students, college president Elmer Peterson convinced the state in 1918 to appropriate funds for permanent brick buildings, which could be used as barracks for SATC students during the war, and instruction afterward. Though the war was soon to end, the campus essentially doubled in size.The 1920s and 1930s saw the genesis of major growth, especially with the acceptance of the college into the Association of American Universities
Association of American Universities
The Association of American Universities is an organization of leading research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education...
in 1926. Doctoral degrees were first granted in 1950, and the college became known as Utah State University in 1957.
During the late 1970s, controversy again erupted on campus surrounding the school's historically large Iranian population. As U.S. relations with Iran began to deteriorate throughout the decade, Iranian students on campus began staging protests against the Shah, which protests met with some backlash in the community. Following the outbreak of the hostage crisis
Iran hostage crisis
The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States where 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, after a group of Islamist students and militants took over the American Embassy in Tehran in support of the Iranian...
of 1979, immigration officials arrived on campus to interview each Iranian, an event which alienated many international and domestic students. For a time, the population of Middle Eastern students declined sharply and has only recently begun to rise again.
Toward the end of the 20th century, Utah State began taking more strides to shed its reputation as a small regional college and transform itself into a nationally prominent university. Under the auspices of President George Emert, who served at USU's helm from 1992 to 2000, the university's endowment increased from $7 million to $80 million. Scholarships, contracts, and grants increased substantially as well.
21st century
Recently, especially under the tenure of current president Stan AlbrechtStan L. Albrecht
Stan LeRoy Albrecht is an American educator, university administrator, and scholar. He has served as the president of Utah State University since 2005.-Biography:...
, USU has forged collaborations with several foreign institutions and governments. The university is continuing to grow in terms of enrollment, endowment, and research. The brand new Merrill-Cazier Library
Merrill-Cazier Library
The Merrill-Cazier Library is an academic library serving the students of Utah State University and the community of Logan, Utah.-Motto and Mission:...
opened in 2005, and other facilities have followed. In 2010, USU acquired both the Swaner EcoCenter outside Park City
Park City, Utah
Park City is a town in Summit and Wasatch counties in the U.S. state of Utah. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake City's east edge of Sugar House along Interstate 80. The population was 7,558 at the 2010 census...
as well as the former College of Eastern Utah, with its two campuses and various undergraduate and vocational programs. The university is also currently in the midst of a $400 million fundraising campaign—the largest ever at USU—which Albrecht has said will go down in history as one of USU's most pivotal moments.
System
USU-College of Eastern Utah
Located in Price, UtahPrice, Utah
Price is a city in Carbon County, Utah, United States. The city is home to the USU-College of Eastern Utah, as well as the large USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum affiliated with the college. Price is located within short distances from both Nine Mile Canyon and the Manti-La Sal National Forest...
, the former College of Eastern Utah joined the USU system in 2010 and became Utah State University College of Eastern Utah (USU Eastern). Before the merger, USU taught courses at the college through Regional Campuses and Distance Education (RCDE). USU Eastern is a junior college and offers Associate's degrees, certificates, and vocational programs however Bachelor's, Master's and Doctoral courses are available on site through RCDE. USU Eastern competes as the Eastern Utah Golden Eagles and is the only campus within the USU system with an athletics program.
Regional Campuses and Distance Education
Regional Campuses and Distance Education (RCDE) work to fulfill USU's land-grant mission to increase access to a high quality education throughout the state of Utah. Growth of RCDE is outpacing that of the Logan campus with enrollment up 4.5% to 12,650 students enrolled in RCDE courses in 2011.Regional campuses exist in Brigham City
USU-Brigham City
Utah State University Brigham City Regional Campus is part of the Utah State University Regional Campuses and Distance Education system located in Brigham City, Utah. The campus offers 6 Associate, 21 Bachelor, 16 Masters, and Doctoral of Education degrees as well as certificate, licensure, and...
, Tooele
USU-Tooele
Utah State University Tooele Regional Campus is a part of the Utah State University Regional Campuses and Distance Education system located in Tooele, Utah offering a number of Associate, Bachelor and Masters degrees as well as certificate programs and a Doctor of Education program. Classes are...
, and the Uintah Basin
USU-Uintah Basin
Utah State University Uintah Basin Regional Campus is a part of the Utah State University Regional Campuses and Distance Education system located in Roosevelt, Utah with an additional campus in Vernal...
. RCDE offers courses at Price
Price, Utah
Price is a city in Carbon County, Utah, United States. The city is home to the USU-College of Eastern Utah, as well as the large USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum affiliated with the college. Price is located within short distances from both Nine Mile Canyon and the Manti-La Sal National Forest...
and San Juan
San Juan County, Utah
As of the current census of 2010, there were 14,746 people and 4,505 households. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 50.4% Native American, 45.8% white, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% African American and 2.3% reporting two or more races...
campuses that constituted the former College of Eastern Utah (now known as USU-College of Eastern Utah
USU-College of Eastern Utah
Utah State University-College of Eastern Utah is a public regional college within the Utah State University system. The USU Eastern main campus is located in Price, Utah and a satellite location known as the San Juan Campus is located in Blanding, Utah.USU Eastern, formerly known as College of...
). Distance Education operates 21 education centers throughout the state including Moab
Moab, Utah
Moab is a city in Grand County, in eastern Utah, in the western United States. The population was 4,779 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat and largest city in Grand County. Moab hosts a large number of tourists every year, mostly visitors to the nearby Arches and Canyonlands National Parks...
, Kaysville
Kaysville, Utah
Kaysville is a city in Davis County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Ogden–Clearfield, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 20,351 at the 2000 census, and 25,820 as of the 2008 estimates.-History:...
, Ephraim
Ephraim, Utah
Ephraim is a city in Sanpete County, Utah, United States. The population was 6,135 at the 2010 census, making it the largest city in Sanpete County. It is the location of Snow College and is located along U.S. Route 89.-History:Ephraim was founded in 1854...
, Orem
Orem, Utah
Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the north-central part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is about south of Salt Lake City. Orem is one of the principal cities of the Provo-Orem, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Utah and...
, and Salt Lake City. At each of these locations, students may receive a wide selection of degrees without ever stepping foot on the Logan campus. Courses and degrees are also made available online through Distance Education.
Cooperative Extension
Utah State University Cooperative Extension, referred to simply as Extension, provides research-based, unbiased information to communities through their county offices and are an integral part of a land-grant institution. Extension operates 30 offices throughout the state, which include Thanksgiving PointThanksgiving Point
Thanksgiving Point is a 501 educational institute and associated museum complex and estate garden in Lehi, Utah. It is funded by contributions, admissions, and profits from its retail operations, and concessions. The current logo is a stylized version of its establishing landmark, a water tower...
and the Utah Botanical Center
Utah Botanical Center
The Utah Botanical Center is a botanical garden affiliated with the Utah State University. Located in Kaysville, Utah, Utah, the botanical garden offers classes for USU students at the Utah House, a home demonstrating sustainable building....
. With a focus on teaching, research, and public service, Extension programs include 4-H
4-H
4-H in the United States is a youth organization administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the United States Department of Agriculture , with the mission of "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development." The name represents...
, agribusiness
Agribusiness
In agriculture, agribusiness is a generic term for the various businesses involved in food production, including farming and contract farming, seed supply, agrichemicals, farm machinery, wholesale and distribution, processing, marketing, and retail sales....
, Expanded Food and Nutrition Education
Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program
The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program is a program of the Cooperative Extension System that operates in all 50 states and U.S. territories. Started in 1965, its purpose is to provide low-income individuals, particularly youth and families with young children, with the knowledge,...
, gardening and yard care, personal finance, and animal health.
Logan Campus
USU's main campus in LoganLogan, Utah
-Layout of the City:Logan's city grid originates from its Main and Center Street block, with Main Street running north and south, and Center east and west. Each block north, east, south, or west of the origin accumulates in additions of 100 , though some streets have non-numeric names...
is considered one of the university's greatest assets. It is situated on about 500 acres (2 km²), approximately one mile northeast of downtown Logan, at the mouth of Logan Canyon
Logan Canyon
Logan Canyon is a canyon that cuts its way through the Bear River Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range, in northeastern Utah. The canyon is popular for both summer and winter activities, especially rock-climbing, hiking, camping, fishing, snowmobiling, and skiing, at the Beaver Mountain ski...
. The campus lies on a "bench," or shelf-like foothill overlooking the valley to the west. Mount Logan
Logan Peak
Logan Peak, commonly referred to as Mount Logan, is a peak in the Bear River Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range. Located 6 miles east-southeast of Logan, Utah in the Wasatch-Cache National Forest, it is the second highest peak overlooking Cache Valley after Mt. Naomi. Logan Peak rises to an...
and the Bear River Range rise sharply to the immediate east. The campus contains over a hundred major buildings. Most student activity is centered around the south end of campus, which is home to the vast majority of academic departments, the quad, the Taggart Student Center, and the Old Main
Old Main (Utah State University)
Old Main was the first building built on the campus of the Agricultural College of Utah, now Utah State University. It sits at the top of Old Main Hill, overlooking the city of Logan to the west, and facing the quad to the east...
building.
Notable structures include Old Main
Old Main (Utah State University)
Old Main was the first building built on the campus of the Agricultural College of Utah, now Utah State University. It sits at the top of Old Main Hill, overlooking the city of Logan to the west, and facing the quad to the east...
, the college's first building, as well as the Merrill-Cazier Library
Merrill-Cazier Library
The Merrill-Cazier Library is an academic library serving the students of Utah State University and the community of Logan, Utah.-Motto and Mission:...
, the 305000 sq ft (28,335.4 m²). ultra-modern main university library, which houses over 1,549,000 total volumes. The library also boasts an extensive special collections and archives area, an automated storage and retrieval system, and over 150 workstations and 33 group study rooms. Also notable is the Manon Caine Russell-Kathryn Caine Wanlass Performance Hall
Performance Hall (Utah State University)
The Manon Caine Russell Kathryn Caine Wanlass Performance Hall is a modern recital hall on the campus of Utah State University.The Performance Hall, by which name it is usually known, was a gift to USU from two alumni sisters in 2006. Since its opening, the Performance Hall has become widely known...
, an architectural marvel which is said to contain some of the best acoustics in the entire Western United States.
The Logan City Cemetery splits much of the campus in half. To the south lie most academic buildings, and to the west and north are situated the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum and Romney Stadium, respectively. Many scientific and agricultural research buildings are located even farther north. Nearby Logan Canyon is a popular recreation destination for students, with a system of trails and parks running along the river. In addition to camping and hiking, the canyon also serves as the primary route to nearby Beaver Mountain
Beaver Mountain
Beaver Mountain is a ski area in northern Utah, opened in 1939 and located near the summit of Logan Canyon in the Bear River Mountains. While smaller and less developed than a number of Utah ski resorts, Beaver Mountain is very popular with residents of nearby Logan, Utah State University, the...
Ski Resort and Bear Lake
Bear Lake (Idaho-Utah)
Bear Lake is a natural freshwater lake on the Utah-Idaho border in the Western United States. It is the second largest natural freshwater lake in Utah and has been called the "Caribbean of the Rockies" for its unique turquoise-blue color, the result of suspended limestone deposits in the water...
. The university's Outdoor Recreation Center rents camping, water sports, mountain sports, and winter sports equipment to students, as well as providing them with area trail maps and expertise for their ventures into the canyon and elsewhere.
Student Life
Utah State is the largest public residential campus in the state, and nearly 14,000 students live on or directly adjacent to campus. The university is the center of activity for the entire area, and the campus community is considered very close-knit. 21 widely varying on-campus buildings house single students, and 39 buildings on the north side of campus are available for married housing. Many more students live in the multitude of off-campus housing options nearby. Students on campus may choose to dine in one of two cafeterias, as well as the Quadside Cafe at Merrill-Cazier LibraryMerrill-Cazier Library
The Merrill-Cazier Library is an academic library serving the students of Utah State University and the community of Logan, Utah.-Motto and Mission:...
, the full-service Skyroom restaurant, and the Hub, which includes fast-food restaurants such as Hogi Yogi
Hogi Yogi
Hogi Yogi is a fast-food restaurant chain specializing in submarine sandwiches and frozen yogurt . A subsidiary of HYATS LLC with sister brands Teriyaki Stix and Yoasis, there are approximately 70 locations throughout Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, and California.The chain was founded in 1989 by...
and Taco Time
Taco Time
Taco Time is a fast-food restaurant chain specializing in a limited menu of Mexican foods. The chain offers dine-in, take away, and drive through at about 300 locations....
. On the east edge of campus sits Aggie Ice Cream, a local tourist hotspot dating back to 1888, which produces "world-famous" ice cream and cheese products, as well as sandwiches and soups.
Along with Aggie Ice Cream, well-known traditions include the rite of passage of becoming a True Aggie, which requires a student to kiss someone who is already a True Aggie on top of the Block "A." Two students may also become True Aggies together on Homecoming night or on A-Day. At one point recently, USU held the title in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most couples kissing at the same place at the same time. Nearby the Block "A" is the lighted "A" atop the Old Main
Old Main (Utah State University)
Old Main was the first building built on the campus of the Agricultural College of Utah, now Utah State University. It sits at the top of Old Main Hill, overlooking the city of Logan to the west, and facing the quad to the east...
tower, which shines white throughout the entire valley, and blue on nights when a varsity sport has picked up a victory, or other special events have occurred on campus.
Students have full access to the HPER and the Nelson Fieldhouse, exercise facilities which include basketball courts, indoor rock climbing, gymnastics equipment, two swimming pools, racquetball, squash, and outdoor field space for rugby, soccer, ultimate, and other sports. USU students are also involved in more than 100 clubs, an active and influential student government, five fraternities and three sororities, multiple intramural and club sports, and a student-run radio station.
Service
In 1970, Utah State student Sue Brown and Director of Student Activities Val R. Christensen created one of the first service organization in the nation. VOICE, Volunteer Organization for Involvement in the Community and Environment, worked to improve the environment and social issues in Cache Valley. VOICE became The Val R. Christensen Service Center in 1999 in honor of Dr. Christensen’s efforts and support of the organization. Today, students are involved in more than 20 service organizations including Aggie Special Olympics, Aggies for Africa, Alternative Breaks, and Senior University.Aggie Ice Cream
Starting out in Old Main, USU has had a creamery since it's founding in 1888. Students studying dairying and domestic arts applied to learn how to make both ice cream and cheeses. In 1921, Gustav Wilster began working with the College of Agriculture, and by 1922, students were studying dairy technology, fluid milk processing, ice cream manufacture, dairy engineering, cheese manufacture, butter making, dairy facility inspection, and dairy product judging. Wilster's students would go on to create Casper's Ice Cream, Farr's Ice Cream, and Snelgrove's Ice Cream. In 1975, the Nutrition and Food Sciences building was built, which is where Aggie Ice Cream is housed today. Aggie Ice Cream receives its milk from the Caine Dairy Research and Teaching Center located near the Wellsville Mountains.Colleges
The University is organized into eight academic colleges:
|
Jon M. Huntsman School of Business The Jon M. Huntsman School of Business is located at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. The Huntsman School is the oldest continuously operating business college in the Western United States and one of the oldest in the nation.-History:... |
Caine College of the Arts
Formerly existing as a non-degree-granting institution within the College of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences, the Caine College became a free-standing college on July 1, 2010. The Caine College of the Arts houses the departments of Art, Music, Theatre Arts, and Interior Design, along with the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of ArtNora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art
The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art is a large museum on the campus of Utah State University in Logan, Utah, and a constituent of the Caine College of the Arts at USU. The museum, which holds one of the largest collections in the entire Intermountain West with over 4,800 pieces, focuses largely...
.
Performance facilities include the Chase Fine Arts Center
Chase Fine Arts Center
The Daryl Chase Fine Arts Center is a multi-venue visual and performing arts complex on the campus of Utah State University. It is named for Daryl Chase, the tenth president of USU, who served from 1954 to 1968....
, which houses the Kent Concert Hall among other venues, and the free-standing Manon Caine Russell-Kathryn Caine Wanlass Performance Hall
Performance Hall (Utah State University)
The Manon Caine Russell Kathryn Caine Wanlass Performance Hall is a modern recital hall on the campus of Utah State University.The Performance Hall, by which name it is usually known, was a gift to USU from two alumni sisters in 2006. Since its opening, the Performance Hall has become widely known...
, completed in 2006. The 400-seat Performance Hall
Performance Hall (Utah State University)
The Manon Caine Russell Kathryn Caine Wanlass Performance Hall is a modern recital hall on the campus of Utah State University.The Performance Hall, by which name it is usually known, was a gift to USU from two alumni sisters in 2006. Since its opening, the Performance Hall has become widely known...
, designed by the architectural firm Sasaki Associates, has been praised as one of the best acoustic performance spaces in the American West, and received an Honor Award from the Utah Chapter of the American Institute of Architects
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
. The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art
Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art
The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art is a large museum on the campus of Utah State University in Logan, Utah, and a constituent of the Caine College of the Arts at USU. The museum, which holds one of the largest collections in the entire Intermountain West with over 4,800 pieces, focuses largely...
, designed by architect Edward Larrabee Barnes
Edward Larrabee Barnes
Edward Larrabee Barnes was a American architect.Barnes was born in Chicago, Illinois into a family he described as "incense-swinging High Episcopalians", consisting of Cecil Barnes, a lawyer, and Margaret Helen Ayer, recipient of a Pulitzer Prize for the novel Year of Grace...
and opened in 1982, contains one of the largest art collections in the Intermountain Region. Its holdings include nationally significant collections of ceramics, Native American art, and especially artworks produced in the American West since 1945.
USU's music program is particularly renowned in the region. Prominent faculty include Dean Craig Jessop
Craig Jessop
Craig D. Jessop is an American academic, musician and singer best known for his tenure as the music director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir from 1999 to 2008.-Biography:...
, longtime director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Mormon Tabernacle Choir
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, sometimes colloquially referred to as MoTab, is a Grammy and Emmy Award winning, 360-member, all-volunteer choir. The choir is part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . However, the choir is completely self-funded, traveling and producing albums to...
, as well as opera singer Michael Ballam
Michael Ballam
Michael Ballam is the general director of the Utah Festival Opera, a professor of music at Utah State University, an accomplished operatic singer, pianist and oboist. His professional operatic and recital career has spanned nearly three decades and four continents...
, Juilliard-trained pianist Gary Amano, and the Fry Street Quartet
Fry Street Quartet
The Fry Street Quartet is an American string quartet in residence at the Caine College of the Arts at Utah State University. They performe at festivals and venues around the world, and have garnered an excellent reputation and numerous awards in the process...
, USU's string quartet-in-residence.
College of Agriculture
The College of Agriculture is known for Nutrition and Food Science research, as well as significant breakthroughs and global outreach in plants and soil science, animal science, veterinary science and economics. College researchers were instrumental in the creation of the first cloned equines (horses), in a project collaboration with researchers at the University of IdahoUniversity of Idaho
The University of Idaho is the State of Idaho's flagship and oldest public university, located in the rural city of Moscow in Latah County in the northern portion of the state...
. The college is also a leader in the international project to classify and research the sheep genome. The departments of the College of Agriculture include Plants, Soils and Climate; Applied Economics; Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Science; Nutrition and Food Science; Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning; and Agricultural Systems and Technology.
College of Engineering
Much of USU's most widespread academic renown stems directly from the College of Engineering. USU houses the Space Dynamics LaboratorySpace Dynamics Laboratory
Space Dynamics Laboratory is a nonprofit research corporation owned by Utah State University. SDL was founded in 1959 and has been responsible for the design, fabrication, and operation of sensors on over 400 payloads ranging from aircraft and rocket-borne experiments to space shuttle experiments...
(SDL), which is a research facility focusing on military and science applications. The SDL frequently submits projects to the Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
and NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
. According to recent National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
statistics, USU ranked first among all universities in the U.S. in funding for aerospace research. USU has also won multiple national aerospace engineering competitions in the past, including two in the 2008–09 academic year alone.
The Utah Water Research Laboratory
Utah Water Research Laboratory
The Utah Water Research Laboratory is a research institution at Utah State University. It is the oldest and one of the largest water research facilities in the United States, and is considered one of the most well-respected such facilities in the world...
is the oldest and largest facility of its kind in the nation. USU is considered the world's #1 university in a number of water-related engineering and scientific disciplines due in large part to the UWRL. The lab heads and contributes to numerous international projects, particularly in arid Middle Eastern nations.
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
The College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the largest college at Utah State University, is also its most diverse and touches nearly every student on campus through its teaching of required general education classes. The College houses nine departments and various other programs.Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
, USU has long history in the study of the American West. The university, through its departments of English and History, respectively, is the host institution for the scholarly journals Western American Literature and the Western Historical Quarterly, the official publications of the Western Literature Association and the Western History Association, respectively. The Mountain West Center for Regional Studies, a Humanities outreach center at USU, sponsors public events and research focusing on the cultures and history of the Interior West and larger American West. University Special Collections and Archives, located at the Merrill-Cazier Library
Merrill-Cazier Library
The Merrill-Cazier Library is an academic library serving the students of Utah State University and the community of Logan, Utah.-Motto and Mission:...
, has extensive archival holdings documenting the histories of Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, the Intermountain West
Intermountain West
The Intermountain West is a region of North America lying between the Rocky Mountains to the east and the Cascades and Sierra Nevada to the west. It is also called the Intermountain Region.- Topography :...
, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as one of the nation's largest collections pertaining to American folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
, and the lives and works of western authors such as Jack London
Jack London
John Griffith "Jack" London was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone...
and poet May Swenson
May Swenson
Anna Thilda May "May" Swenson was an American poet and playwright...
, a Logan native and USU alumna.
The college also houses the USU Museum of Anthropology
USU Museum of Anthropology
The Utah State University Museum of Anthropology is a small museum located in the Old Main building on Utah State University's main campus in Logan, Utah, United States.-History:...
, currently located in Old Main
Old Main (Utah State University)
Old Main was the first building built on the campus of the Agricultural College of Utah, now Utah State University. It sits at the top of Old Main Hill, overlooking the city of Logan to the west, and facing the quad to the east...
.
College of Natural Resources
USU has a long and illustrious history in the science and management of forests, rangeland, wildlife, and fisheries and watersheds. Many graduates of the College of Natural Resources have gone on to high-ranking careers in the National Forest Service, National Park ServiceNational Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
, and the Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
, and its graduate programs attract overachieving students from many nations. The college also operates the Quinney Library, which houses collections relevant for natural resources education, management, and research.
The College of Natural Resources includes the departments of Watershed Sciences, Environment and Society, and Wildland Resources.
College of Science
Among the most notable aspects of USU's College of Science includes the rate at which its students are accepted into medical and dental schools. Despite the absence of such professional schools on site in Logan, students are admitted to medical and dental programs at a rate of nearly 30 percent above the national average each year. This is due in large part to the rigorous Prehealth Advising Program and resources like the Cadaver Lab, to which undergraduates have access.In the past decade, the Physics Department alone has produced a Rhodes Scholar, a Marshall Scholar, a Fulbright Student Scholar
Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the...
, nine Goldwater Scholars, and two Carnegie Professors of the Year.
The College of Science houses the Departments of Biology, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Physics, Computer Science, Mathematics & Statistics, and Geology. The Department of Mathematics & Statistics includes one of only three actuarial science programs in the West.
Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services
USU's Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services has been ranked by U.S. News and World Report in the top 2% of prestigious graduate schools of education in the U.S. for the past decade. The college houses one of America's few combined programs in graduate psychology training, which integrates doctoral-level training across clinical, counseling, and school psychology, and is accredited by the American Psychological AssociationAmerican Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States. It is the world's largest association of psychologists with around 154,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. The APA...
. Faculty are active in many of areas of psychological research, including neuropsychology
Neuropsychology
Neuropsychology studies the structure and function of the brain related to specific psychological processes and behaviors. The term neuropsychology has been applied to lesion studies in humans and animals. It has also been applied to efforts to record electrical activity from individual cells in...
, child development
Child development
Child development stages describe theoretical milestones of child development. Many stage models of development have been proposed, used as working concepts and in some cases asserted as nativist theories....
, health psychology
Health psychology
Health psychology is concerned with understanding how biological, psychological, environmental, and cultural factors are involved in physical health and illness. Health psychologists work alongside other medical professionals in clinical settings, work on behavior change in public health promotion,...
, and behavior therapy.
Department of Psychology professor Karl R. White is director of the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management, which focuses on the early identification and intervention of hearing loss in infants and young children.
USU is the only university in the state of Utah to have a Housing & Financial Counseling program offered through the college's department of Family, Consumer, and Human Development. This program offers debt counseling, budget counseling, mortgage default prevention counseling, and reverse mortgage counseling through the USU Family Life Center, which also houses the Marriage & Family Therapy Clinic.
Jon M. Huntsman School of Business
In 2007, Utah State's College of Business became the Jon M. Huntsman School of BusinessJon M. Huntsman School of Business
The Jon M. Huntsman School of Business is located at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. The Huntsman School is the oldest continuously operating business college in the Western United States and one of the oldest in the nation.-History:...
after a $26 million donation by the philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
Jon Huntsman, Sr.
Jon Huntsman, Sr.
Jon Meade Huntsman, Sr. is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder of Huntsman Corporation. He is the father of former United States Ambassador to China and former Governor of Utah Jon Huntsman, Jr....
The School hopes to model itself after Huntsman's alma mater, the prestigious Wharton
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
The Wharton School is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wharton was the world’s first collegiate business school and the first business school in the United States...
School of Business located at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
.
The Huntsman School of Business offers a number of graduate and undergraduate degrees in fields including management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
, accounting, economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, finance
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...
, and management information systems (MIS). The bachelor's degrees in entrepreneurship and international business are unique to USU within the state. The prestigious School of Accountancy is distinguished by perennial Top 5 rankings in CPA exam scores by its grad students, as well as its Institute of Management Accountants
Institute of Management Accountants
Institute of Management Accountants is a professional organization headquartered in Montvale, New Jersey more than 60,000 professionals worldwide...
, which has received a "Gold Level Award of Excellence" for each of the past 14 years, essentially making it the top such institute in the nation. The Huntsman School widely touts its travel programs, including the unique Huntsman Scholar Program, and the impressive transformation it's currently undergoing as it puts its new resources to use. This effort has included the hiring of high-profile faculty, such as Stephen R. Covey, influential management scholar and author of the wildly popular best-seller The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989, is a self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey. It has sold more than 15 million copies in 38 languages since first publication, which was marked by the release of a 15th anniversary edition in 2004...
. Covey began teaching classes in 2010.
In 2011, the Utah Legislature approved funding for a new business building to be located south of the Eccles Business Building. The new building was funded by $16 million in private funds and $14 million in state funds. The 100000 square feet (9,290.3 m²) building will include classrooms, faculty offices, a business library and three new business centers.
Academics
As of Fall 2010, Utah State University enrolled 22,100 undergraduate students and 3,667 graduate students. 9,295 of these students were enrolled exclusively at regional campuses or in distance education. USU is home to more Carnegie Professors of the Year than any other school in Utah, and boasts nine of the last 15 for the state. The Carnegie is a teaching award, and in fact, USU strongly stresses close undergraduate involvement for even their most prestigious faculty. According to a recent survey, 49.7% of all faculty teach undergraduates, and 63.5% say they've worked with an undergraduate on a research project in the last two years. USU is also home to a dynamic and successful Honors ProgramUtah State University Honors Program
The Utah State University Honors Program is an academic program within Utah State University. Established in 1964, the Honors Program offers a wide range of courses designed to enhance the learning experience for motivated students in all of the University’s colleges...
.
Rankings
In recent years, Utah State University has received high national rankings in a diverse array of categories, especially in regards to overall value. In 2010, Forbes listed USU as the #1 highest-ranked public university in the nation within its category of most inexpensive places to go to school. It is also the #1 public university in the West (and in the top 5 public universities nationwide) on the similar Forbes list of "America's Best College Buys." USU has also in the past been ranked 1st in the nation among public universities, by U.S. News and World Report, for graduates with the least amount of debt.The Princeton Review has ranked Utah State among the "Best Western" schools for many years, and Popular Science called it one of the Top 10 Smartest Schools in the nation. The university also leads the nation in funding for aerospace research and the number of student experiments actually sent out into space. Various entities within the university have received high departmental rankings, such as the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services, which ranks 2nd in the nation for total research dollars received by any one college, and in the top 2% for all graduate colleges of education. The athletics program recently won a National Championship for most sports success per dollar spent.
Logan and the surrounding communities also feature prominently on national lists, including #1 safest U.S. metropolitan area, #3 in "Best Cities to Find a Job", and #10 in "Best Small Places for Business and Careers".
Research and environmentalism
Along with the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
, USU is an anchor in the Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR)
USTAR
The Utah Science Technology and Research initiative is a technology-based economic development initiative funded by the state of Utah. The Utah State Legislature passed Senate Bill 75 creating the USTAR initiative in March 2006...
program, which is aimed at optimizing the university and region's most marketable strengths with the goal of bolstering Utah's high-tech economy. Nine USTAR
USTAR
The Utah Science Technology and Research initiative is a technology-based economic development initiative funded by the state of Utah. The Utah State Legislature passed Senate Bill 75 creating the USTAR initiative in March 2006...
teams currently perform research at Utah State.
Notable research centers based at USU include the Space Dynamics Laboratory
Space Dynamics Laboratory
Space Dynamics Laboratory is a nonprofit research corporation owned by Utah State University. SDL was founded in 1959 and has been responsible for the design, fabrication, and operation of sensors on over 400 payloads ranging from aircraft and rocket-borne experiments to space shuttle experiments...
, Energy Dynamics Laboratory, Utah Water Research Laboratory
Utah Water Research Laboratory
The Utah Water Research Laboratory is a research institution at Utah State University. It is the oldest and one of the largest water research facilities in the United States, and is considered one of the most well-respected such facilities in the world...
, Center for High Performance Computing, Utah Climate Center, Center for Advanced Nutrition, Center for the School of the Future, National Aquatic Monitoring Center, Intermountain Center for River Rehabilitation and Restoration, Mountain West Center for Regional Studies, and Utah Botanical Center
Utah Botanical Center
The Utah Botanical Center is a botanical garden affiliated with the Utah State University. Located in Kaysville, Utah, Utah, the botanical garden offers classes for USU students at the Utah House, a home demonstrating sustainable building....
, among others.
Listed here are some research and environmental highlights from recent years.
- Thanks to the Get Away Special (GAS) team sponsored by the Department of Physics, Utah State has placed more student experiments into space than any educational institution in the world.
- A team of USU and University of IdahoUniversity of IdahoThe University of Idaho is the State of Idaho's flagship and oldest public university, located in the rural city of Moscow in Latah County in the northern portion of the state...
researchers were the first in the world to successfully clone an equine. The baby mule, named Idaho GemIdaho GemThe mule Idaho Gem was the first equine and first cloned mule.He resulted from the collaboration of Dr. Gordon Woods and Dr. Dirk Vanderwall of the Northwest Equine Reproduction Laboratory at the University of Idaho and Dr. Ken White of Utah State University...
, was born May 4, 2003.
- In 2005, chemist Alexander Boldyrev and colleague Lai-Sheng Wang discovered inorganic aromaticity, a property in chemistry that was initially thought to occur only in organic material. Recently, Boldyrev and Wang made another breakthrough and discovered antiaromaticityAntiaromaticityAntiaromatic molecules are cyclic systems containing alternating single and double bonds, where the pi electron energy of antiaromatic compounds is higher than that of its open-chain counterpart. Therefore antiaromatic compounds are unstable and highly reactive; often antiaromatic compounds...
, which was a featured article in the April 24 issue of Science magazine.
- In reaction to recent massive oil spills and the EPA's creation of the Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Plan (SPCC), USU has created its own SPCC with a detailed map of locations, oil types, quantities and containment specifications. The plan maps all possible outfalls from oil storage locations that may impact the waters of the United States.
- Research efforts are underway to produce a cost-competitive bio-diesel from algae. Lance Seefeldt and other professors formed the Biofuels Program at Energy Dynamics Laboratory to develop new and emerging technologies that will produce methane, biodiesel, hydrogen and alcohols from renewable, carbon-dioxide-neutral energy sources, such as consumer and agricultural waste and sunlight.
- Dallas Hanks, a doctoral student, has initiated a program at the university called FreeWays to Fuel, which is growing oilseed crops for biodieselBiodieselBiodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids with an alcohol....
in previously unused municipal land such as highway roadsides. Hanks estimates that in the U.S., 10 million acres (40,468.6 km²) of such unused land exists—land which generally serves no other purpose and currently costs tax dollars to maintain. Early yields from the crops are promising, and the program has spread to other land-grant universities across the nation. He has a goal to produce 50 million USgals (189,270.6 m³) of biofuel in five years.
- On January 15, 2010, the university received ownership of the $30 million-plus Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter outside of Park CityPark City, UtahPark City is a town in Summit and Wasatch counties in the U.S. state of Utah. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake City's east edge of Sugar House along Interstate 80. The population was 7,558 at the 2010 census...
. The center consists of a 1200 acres (4.9 km²) land trust and a 10000 square feet (929 m²), state-of-the-art facility dedicated to environmental education. The preserve protects critical wetland and foothill terrain in the heart of one of the state’s fastest-growing areas, and the EcoCenter, completed in 2009, is a multi-use facility with space for educational and community activities. The facility is LEED Platinum Certified, the highest standard for design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings.
- Utah State University promotes the OpenCourseWareOpenCourseWareOpenCourseWare, or OCW, is a term applied to course materials created by universities and shared freely with the world via the internet. The movement started in 1999 when the University of Tübingen in Germany published videos of lectures online in the context of its timms initiative...
(OCW) Project (open and free university courses) and is developing an open content management systemContent management systemA content management system is a system providing a collection of procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment. These procedures can be manual or computer-based...
for OCW called eduCommons. This open sourceOpen sourceThe term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
content management system is one of the important technology projects in the MIT OpenCourseWare InitiativeMIT OpenCourseWareMIT OpenCourseWare is an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to put all of the educational materials from its undergraduate- and graduate-level courses online, partly free and openly available to anyone, anywhere. MIT OpenCourseWare is a large-scale, web-based publication of...
. eduCommons aids in the creation of OCW sites and has already been adopted by several universities for this purpose.
- In July of 2011, Utah State University professor Randy Lewis made headlines for his transgenic goats, the milk of which contains spider silk.
Athletics
USU's sports teams are known as the Aggies and are a part of the NCAA Division I Western Athletic ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...
(WAC). The official mascot is Big Blue. The university sponsors football
Utah State Aggies football
The Utah State Aggies are a college football team that competes in the Western Athletic Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision of NCAA Division I, representing Utah State University. The Utah State college football program began in 1892 and has played home games at Romney Stadium since 1968...
, men's
Utah State Aggies men's basketball
The Utah State Aggies are a Division I men's college basketball team that plays in the Western Athletic Conference, representing Utah State University. The Aggies have enjoyed an extremely high amount of success in recent years under head coach Stew Morrill...
and women's basketball, volleyball, softball, women's soccer, track and field, golf, tennis, cross country, and gymnastics. An array of club sports exist as well, and among them, the hockey and baseball teams are particularly popular with students.
The Aggies have been members of the WAC since 2005 and have won several conference championships in that time, including men's basketball in 2008, 2009,2010, and 2011, indoor track in 2008, outdoor track in 2007 and 2009, and cross country each year since joining the conference (2005–10). Women's cross country has also won WAC championships in 2006 and 2008, and women's soccer won in 2008. Utah State has won numerous conference championships in previous conferences. National championships include women's volleyball in 1978 and softball in 1980 and 1981. Immediately previous to the WAC, Utah State was a member of the Big West Conference
Big West Conference
The Big West Conference is an NCAA-affiliated Division I mid-major college athletic conference. When the conference began in 1969, its name was the Pacific Coast Athletic Association . After nineteen years, in 1988, its name was changed to the Big West Conference. The conference stopped...
.
Utah State Aggies men's basketball
The Utah State Aggies are a Division I men's college basketball team that plays in the Western Athletic Conference, representing Utah State University. The Aggies have enjoyed an extremely high amount of success in recent years under head coach Stew Morrill...
team, which plays in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, which has been called one of the nation's top 5 loudest and toughest places for opposing teams to play. USU basketball is 157–12 at home during the Stew Morrill
Stew Morrill
Stew Morrill is an American college basketball coach and the current head coach of the Utah State University men's basketball team. Morrill was an All-American at Ricks College and a two-time All-Big Sky selection for Gonzaga University...
era, has received 6 NCAA Tournament
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
berths in the last ten years, and has amassed more wins than any team in the nation except Duke, Kansas, and Gonzaga during that time. During the 2008–09 season, USU's ranking in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll rose as high as #17.
Following the great heights of the 1960s through 1980s, Aggie football has fallen upon hard times in recent years, leading to a disproportionate lack of USU sports coverage in statewide and national media. Recent efforts by the athletic department have resulted in a renewed focus on recruiting, specifically in state, and with the addition of head coach Gary Andersen
Gary Andersen
-External links:* *...
.
Such recovery efforts spearheaded by new Athletics Director Scott Barnes
Scott Barnes (athletics director)
Scott Barnes has been the Athletics Director at Utah State University since March 2008. Utah State's teams are known as the Aggies and play in the NCAA Division I Western Athletic Conference.-Career:...
have included inking deals with TV stations, replacing the head football coach, raising funds, and accomplishing numerous necessary reorganizations, despite the Athletics Department's dismal budget in comparison with other state and WAC schools. In large part due to his efforts, USU Athletics was crowned the 2009 National Champion of the Excellence in Management Cup, which seeks to identify the university that wins the most championships with the lowest expenses.
Media
Journals published by the university include Utah Science, Western Historical Quarterly, and Western American Literature. The Utah State University Press publishes works in composition studies, folkloreFolklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
, Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
history, Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
studies, nature and environment, and western history.
The Utah Statesman, or simply The Statesman, and Hard News Cafe are the primary news outlets that serve the USU student body. The Statesman is sponsored by the university and is published three times per week. The Statesman won the Society for Professional Journalist's Best Column Writing award in 2002 and Best Non-Daily Student Paper in 2005. Hard News Cafe is a news website operated by USU's Department of Journalism and Communications.
Utah Public Radio
KUSU-FM
-External links:*...
, based at the university, is heard on KUSU (91.5 FM) and KUSR (89.5 FM) in Logan, and throughout Utah on a system of 26 translators. UPR broadcasts "a mix of information, public affairs, and fine arts programming." KUSU is a National Public Radio member station, and an affiliate of Public Radio International
Public Radio International
Public Radio International is a Minneapolis-based American public radio organization, with locations in Boston, New York, London and Beijing. PRI's tagline is "Hear a different voice." PRI is a major public media content creator and also distributes programs from many sources...
. In addition, an entirely student-run radio station called Fusion HD3 broadcasts on the third HD channel of 89.5 in Cache Valley and online.
Aggie Television (ATV) is a cable service lineup of approximately 110 channels offered free of charge to all on-campus residents. ATV produces Crossroads, a bulletin/announcement channel; and Aggie Advantage, providing local and student video programming.
Notable people
The Logan Campus features the David B. Haight Alumni Center, which was dedicated July 11, 1991, and houses the office of Alumni Relations. Alumni chapters exist in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Washington DC. USU boasts more than 180,000 alumni in each U.S. state and more than 100 countries.Particularly notable alumni include Harry Reid
Harry Reid
Harry Mason Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.Previously, Reid was a member of the U.S...
, current U.S. Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Majority Leader; May Swenson
May Swenson
Anna Thilda May "May" Swenson was an American poet and playwright...
, poet; Merlin Olsen
Merlin Olsen
Merlin Jay Olsen was an American football player in the National Football League, NFL commentator, and actor. He played his entire 15-year career with the Los Angeles Rams and was elected to the Pro Bowl in 14 of those seasons, a current record shared with Bruce Matthews...
, pro football hall-of-famer, actor, and TV personality; Rick Bass
Rick Bass
Rick Bass is an American writer and an environmental activist.-Life:Bass was born in Fort Worth, Texas, U.S., the son of a geologist, and he studied petroleum geology at Utah State University. He grew up in Houston, and started writing short stories on his lunch breaks while working as a petroleum...
, writer and environmental activist; Charlie Denson, President of Nike Brand; Chris Cooley, pro-football tight-end for the Washington Redskins; and Mary L. Cleave
Mary L. Cleave
Mary Louise Cleave is an American engineer and a former NASA astronaut. She also served from 2004 to 2007 as NASA Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate.-Personal :...
, NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
astronaut.
Particularly notable faculty include Stephen R. Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989, is a self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey. It has sold more than 15 million copies in 38 languages since first publication, which was marked by the release of a 15th anniversary edition in 2004...
; Michael Ballam
Michael Ballam
Michael Ballam is the general director of the Utah Festival Opera, a professor of music at Utah State University, an accomplished operatic singer, pianist and oboist. His professional operatic and recital career has spanned nearly three decades and four continents...
, renowned tenor and general director of the Utah Festival Opera
Utah Festival Opera
The Utah Festival Opera is an opera company based in Logan, Utah. The company performs four fully staged works with orchestra in repertory every July and August at the Ellen Eccles Theatre on Logan's Main Street...
; and Don L. Lind
Don L. Lind
Don Leslie Lind is an American scientist and a former NASA astronaut.-Education:Lind attended Midvale Elementary School and graduated from Jordan High School. He received a Bachelor of Science degree with high honors in physics from the University of Utah in 1953...
, NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
Astronaut and member of "The Original 19".