A Look Back at 2013 at WSU

December 27, 2013

OGDEN, Utah – As 2013 comes to a close, we revisit some of the people and developments that made news at Weber State University this year.WSU theater arts teaching freshman and LGBT advocate Jackson Carter faces one of his biggest challenges yet.Coder paves the way for blind students to program popular new technology.Creator of the Science in the Parks summer series Adam Johnston receives one of the Governor’s Medals for Science and Technology in the category of Science Education.Supply chain management professor Stanley Fawcett hopes to improve students’ standards of living by teaching them the skills they need to get great jobs.Fifteen-year-old math and zoology double major Jessica Brooke says she feels like a normal teenager even though she’s preparing for medical school before many of her friends graduate from high school.The one-of-a-kind center among Utah’s public universities will advance and elevate sales techniques by redefining sales around the customer.The first charter academy authorized by an institution of higher education in Utah will focus on educating children as a whole, faculty, students and families will work together to develop children’s academic, social, emotional and physical capabilities.Co-hosted by Weber State University and the Utah Recycling Alliance, this year’s summit focuses on increasing sustainable business practices and profits at the same time.Weber State University economics professor Therese Grijalva has been named the 2013 John S. Hinckley Fellow, while WSU’s executive committee for the National Conference on Undergraduate Research is the 2013 Exemplary Collaboration award winner.Weber State University assistant economics professor Brandon Koford and colleagues from the University of Kentucky find that raising financial incentives for recycling does not increase recycling.For the first time since 1988, Weber State University hosts the National Debate Tournament and brings more than 500 visitors to Ogden March 28-April 1.Ogden businesswoman Karen Fairbanks and Weber School District superintendent Jeff Stephens join the Weber State University Board of Trustees.Fan-Ya Lin, one of the first-place winners in the American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition 2013, prepares for a concert at Carnegie Hall March 31.Alumnus and undergraduate researcher Trevor Hicks-Collins will present the research sparked by observations of his 7-year-old autistic son’s sleeping habits at the Posters on the Hill event on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C, April 23-24.Weber State University computer science students build a sophisticated inventory-controlled database that allows donations at the Catholic Community Services Northern Utah Food Bank to be recorded and managed with ease.Associate athletic training professor Valerie Herzog has been selected as the 2013 recipient of the John A. Lindquist Award at Weber State University for establishing community involvement as an integral part of both undergraduate and graduate studies.The Weber State University Board of Trustees select English professor Hal Crimmel, physics professor Adam Johnston and business administration professor Shane Schvaneveldt as the 2013 Brady Presidential Distinguished Professors.Jon M. Hunstman, Jr ., former Utah governor and current chairman of the Hunstman Cancer Foundation, will delivery the keynote address to more than 4,327 graduates April 26 during Weber State University’s 141st commencement.Weber State University’s Dee Events Center earns a top honor for improving energy efficiency, and WSU is named as one of 322 schools that demonstrate notable commitments to sustainability.The Boyd K. and Donna S. Packer Center for Family and Community Education will help administer and support eight community education outreach programs that serve families, teachers, students and community members.Coordinator of the Center for Diversity and Unity and instructor Adrienne Gillespie Andrews is chosen as the new Assistant to the President for Diversity.Weber State University’s history department chair, Susan Matt, will be a visiting faculty members at the University of Tübingen in Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, where she will teach a course on emotions in U.S. history.The Sales Education Foundation highlights Weber State University as one of the best locations for hiring sales professionals.Weber State University history professor Eric Swedin publishes his 11th book, “Seeking Valhalla,” a retro science fiction novel set in 1945 Germany.Former Weber State All-American and 2013 NBA Rookie of the Year Damian Lillard returns to Ogden.Affordable Colleges Online ranks Weber State University 17th on its list of colleges with a high return on investment for students.Campus Compact recognizes Brenda Marsteller Kowlewski, director of the Center for Community Engaged Learning, as a finalist in the 2013 Thomas Ehrlich Civically Engaged Faculty Award.A five-student team places second in the nation in the category of Parliamentary Procedures at the recent Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda leadership conference.Fifteen-year-old Kennedy Hansen has lost most of her sight, uses a cane for balance and has difficulty speaking, but singing allows her to express herself clearly. Recently diagnosed with the fatal juvenile Batten Disease, Hansen will see and sing along with Imagine Dragons during their concert at Weber State University Oct. 25.Weber State University collaborates with Ogden police, fire and SWAT teams as well as local hospitals and volunteers to test the emergency readiness of the campus in a daylong exercise Aug. 15.The newest addition to Weber State University’s Wildcat Village student-housing community, which features a pod organization of rooms to add to the variety of WSU housing options, opens Aug. 14.The Professional Programs Classroom Building, or D-3, that will contain accommodations for several high-demand programs at Weber State University opens Aug. 29.Alan Hall, Weber State University alumnus and chairman of MarketStar, will serve as the chair of the Board of Trustees for another year.The 45th Annual WSU Salutes at Weber State University honors outstanding students and alumni for their service to campus and the community, including WSU alumnus Ogden Mayor Mike Caldwell ’96.The new student gym opens Sept. 25 and will allow more students to improve their health while attending Weber StateUniversity without conflicts with athletic competitions and academic classes.The newest addition to the Ogden City College Town Initiative, a center designed to attract underrepresented community members and help them obtain a post-secondary education, opens Oct. 3.The Hall Global Entrepreneurship Program is a new minor available to students and will allow them to combine the specialized knowledge of their majors with the real-world skills gained in their entrepreneurship minor to start their own businesses.Ogden City and Weber State University sign a College Town charter for formalize the ongoing partnership between the two entities.The Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education’s stamp of approval on the Weber State University Master of Health Administration program will bolster credibility and value to the degree.Weber State University will celebrate the inauguration of its 12th president, Charles A. Wight, with an Oct. 22 ceremony and a week’s worth of activities, including a 5k run, a sold-out Imagine Dragons concert, and Make a Difference Day.The Sorenson Legacy Foundation gives a $3 million donation to the Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities at Weber State University to create an endowed arts program to perpetuate arts-integrated learning.The Weber County Sports Complex, with new features such as a NFL-size ice rink and indoor practice field for university teams, opens Oct. 22.The Dr. Ezekiel R. Dumke College of Health Professions has received a $2.5 million “capacity-building grant” to double the size of two high-demand programs: health information technology and health information management.The weeklong 40th anniversary celebration of the dedication of Weber State University’s Social Science Building will include an open house with family-friendly games and activities, a college reunion, a lecture from a renowned historian and a “Utah antiques virtual world.”Weber State University professors in the child and family studies department partner with the Department of Workforce Services to study and track factors that lead to intergenerational poverty — families that have lived in poverty for three or more generations.The 18,000-square-foot building set up for innovative co-working will return Weber State University to its origins in downtown Ogden and will open Nov. 21.Kathleen Cadman has visited 108 countries and seven continents in less than 34 years, and hopes to bring a global perspective on health care to her Weber State University nursing students.More than 1,500 Weber State University students will graduate Dec. 13 during the 142nd commencement ceremony at theDee Events Center.Owner and president of Ennovative Performance Group, a health care advisory and resource company and chair of Weber State University’s National Advisory Council, Joné Law Koford will receive an honorary doctorate of humanities from WSU at its 142nd commencement on Dec. 13 at 1 p.m. in the Dee Events Center.Weber State University celebrates 125 years on Jan. 7, 2014, with parties, entertainment and the announcement of Dream 125 — a $125-million fundraising campaign. The university invites students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members to wear purple to mark the occasion.OGDEN, Utah – Weber State University turns 125 on Jan. 7, 2014. Many milestones mark that long history. Since 1889, the university has moved, grown and changed its name, but it has never changed its focus on helping students discover their passion and reach their educational dreams.Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University.