First CEU chancellor chosen
Joe Peterson, vice president for Instruction at Salt Lake Community College, was named the first-ever chancellor of Utah State University-College of Eastern Utah April 26.
Peterson will begin his duties July 1 when the merge becomes official and will work directly with USU President Stan Albrecht.
“He’s an excellent fit,” Albrecht said.
Peterson was a professor at USU starting in 1982. He has also worked as a faculty member, dean of the arts, interim academic vice president and vice president of Students Services at Dixie College as well as his current role at Salt Lake Community College.
Knowledge of the regional campus system, experience as a senior level administrator at Dixie and Peterson’s extensive experience in higher education in Utah make him the right man for the job, Albrecht said. The variety in his work experiences will also bring “a broad set of skills” to the job, Albrecht said.
The Price native, whose hobbies range from running marathons to reading Latin American literature in Spanish, said he looks forward to being associated with CEU and USU, and their students and faculty.
“I know them both and I like them both,” Peterson said. “They’re just wonderful people.”
There are many positive things that can be done with the merged schools, Peterson said, and his biggest challenge will be bringing as many of those possibilities to reality as he can.
Peterson plans to complete a strategic planning process where he and others will look at the school’s mission statement, strategic initiatives and activities in order to identify shared goals. In order to bring CEU and USU together fully, Peterson said the schools need to be moving in a common direction. At the end of the planning process, Peterson said he will have a concensus of where his peers would like to see the two schools go.
Albrecht said, “We just need someone who can make this work. It’s an important step for us. It’s an important step for CEU.”
Peterson has spent time in Logan and Price. He grew up in Price, where his father worked as a faculty member at CEU. Later, Peterson’s father worked as faculty at USU, so Peterson said he, as a kid, spent time on both campuses.
“I feel like this job brings together both parts of my childhood,” Peterson said.
Albrecht said Peterson’s wife is from Price and has Greek heritage, which ties the Petersons further to the large Greek community in Price.
As a faculty member, Peterson said he taught at a community college and at USU, so he knows “the kind of teaching that happens in those two kinds of places.” He said this knowledge is “kind of an ideal experience” for him to lead the integration of the two school’s strengths.
To the students of USU, Peterson said to expect a lot of new classmates coming to southeastern Utah, “from Carbon County, Emery County, Grant County and San Juan County.”
“They’re going to be alumni of USU, and they’ll share in that great common experience,” he said.
– rac.ch@aggiemail.usu.edu