SUU In View (Alumni Magazine - Spring 2004)
Soaring Forward
In the middle of dealing with difficult budget reductions and economic adjustments over the past two and a half years, the University has pushed ahead to reach new heights on several fronts.
On December 11th of 2003, the Board of Regents approved a new Bachelor of Science in Nursing program for SUU. This is a vital program initiative to help address the critical shortage of nurses in southern Utah, the entire state and nation. For nearly the past 30 years, programs producing registered nurses had been offered on the SUU campus by Weber State University. By mutual agreement, it was determined that the time had come for Southern Utah University to offer its own program. This traditional bachelor of science in nursing program was designed by the Nursing program coordinator Donna Lister and her faculty colleagues to enable qualified students to complete it in four years. Interested students are welcome to begin their pre-nursing now. We anticipate the first class of juniors will be admitted into the program as early as January of 2005 and no later than the fall of 2005. A transition plan is being developed between SUU and Weber to assure the smooth completion of Weber students currently enrolled in nursing programs and to plan for the solid launching of the new SUU BSN program. The University has a long and impressive record of successfully placing her students in health professions programs such as medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, physical therapy, veterinary medicine, optometry, and more. This nursing program will be a strong complement to that niche. Many played a pivotal role in communicating the compelling need for this program at SUU including Trustees, Regents, Southern Utah legislators, health care leaders, students, and more.
- During the fall of 2003, SUU began the third year with our comparatively new bachelor of science in integrated engineering. This unique program is designed to prepare a generalist engineer for small and medium-sized manufacturing companies. With the financial support of the Governor’s Initiative on Engineering and Technology, SUU has added two faculty members, a technician and new state of the art labs for this program. There are now close to 100 students enrolled in this promising new program. With so many of the new jobs in southern Utah and throughout the state coming from small and medium-sized manufacturing companies, this is a program meeting important needs.
- The new Eccles Living and Learning Center is well underway and is expected to be completed this spring. This beautiful new 300-bed facility will be an attractive addition to the SUU campus. It features both individual rooms and double rooms. These buildings represent the first on-campus student housing built since the early 1960’s. George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation provided a generous donation of $2 million to help finance these splendid new facilities. The dedication is expected during the fall of 2004 with a time to be announced.
- SUU is offering a new B.S. program in Hotel, Resort and Hospitality Management. After a long and distinguished career in this field, Dr. Emmett Steed has joined the School of Business faculty to develop this new program. It will dovetail with the needs of a growing hospitality industry in southern Utah.
- Southern Utah University created an Enrollment Management Division which includes the Financial Aid and Scholarship Office, the Admissions Office and what was formerly the School Relations Office which has been merged with the Admissions Office. Placing these functions together under Stephen Allen, the new Executive Director of Enrollment Management to strategically correlate these functions is an important step forward. Enrollment Management will be working with the entire campus in taking a holistic approach to student recruitment and student retention. SUU is pleased to report that our enrollment for the fall of 2003 was up nearly 3 percent and retention of students was up six percent. The addition of four new academic advisors has likewise been an major help in strengthening student advisement across the campus.
- Finally, we have inaugurated a new annual tradition at SUU entitled the Scholarship Jubilee. On November lst nearly 400 people attended a sumptuous banquet which included a silent and public auction. The cuisine was marvelous! Prepared by Mo Hinton, SUU Food Services Director and his staff and with wonderful collaboration with talented southern Utah chefs, it was a night to remember. However, the “Rick Thomas” magic show which came from Las Vegas drew a capacity crowd to the new Cedar City Heritage Center including live Bengal Tigers. The SUU Advancement Office, in conjunction with a terrific committee, planned this exceptional evening and raised over $75,000 to support student scholarships, which continues to be the University’s top private-giving priority.
Many other activities are covered in this SUU Alumni report. As the recent accreditation reviews at SUU have attested, the University’s quality is assured by these outside experts who have confirmed the high quality of the programs and services provided. Your interest in and support of SUU is deeply appreciated!
Artist's rendering of the Eccles Living and Learning Center,
currently under construction.
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