COLUMN: Utah State continues to grow
I have always enjoyed Carl Sandburg’s autobiography, “Always the Young Strangers.” Sandburg highlights what he refers to as “the essential revitalization of society” that is made possible by the emergence of what he calls young strangers – young people who have the ability to lead their contemporaries in the renewal of the key values that sustain our culture. Those of us who comprise the more enduring part of our campus community – faculty, staff, and administration – have the opportunity to experience that revitalization and renewal each fall as we welcome first-time and returning students to our campus. This is the time of the year that I enjoy most. The excitement and enthusiasm you bring renew us all.
We begin this new academic year having reached a number of important new milestones. This includes our selection by U.S. News and World Report as one of America’s top-tier universities– the first time we have achieved that status. Several of our individual colleges and programs have been recognized as among the very best in the country. For example, USU is No. 17 of “30 Awesome College Labs,” according to Popular Science’s online magazine, “PopSci.” USU’s Center for Integrated BioSystems got the nod for its genetics research involving cloning.
We are approaching, again for the first time, the $200 million mark in annual research grants and contracts, placing us among the elite of our country’s research universities. This is important to your education, both because you have the opportunity to study with what truly is a world-class faculty, and because many of you will serve as research fellows, or undergraduate or graduate research assistants, where you will have direct mentoring experiences in the laboratories and classrooms of our finest research faculty.
Other important milestones include our having reached the $300 million mark in our $400 million comprehensive campaign – a campaign that is generating a very significant number of new endowments that will provide financial support to our students. We are reaching new enrollment highs, both in Logan and at our regional campuses. And speaking of our regional campuses, we are thrilled to welcome the College of Eastern Utah as part of the Utah State University system. This means that we now have campuses in the Uintah Basin, Tooele, Brigham City, Price and Blanding, making a USU educational experience possible across most of the state.
In the next four weeks, we will dedicate four beautiful new buildings that will add significantly to the teaching and research space on our campuses. You will also note that some parts of our campus are a little torn up as we continue construction of the new Agricultural Sciences Building that will anchor the east side of our historic quad.
The list of new milestones could go on, but I wanted to share with you briefly just some of the changes that reflect the excitement we feel for the future of this great university.
I urge you to become involved in all aspects of campus life. Do your best in your classes, but also become engaged in ways that will allow you to experience the fullness of what the university has to offer. Become involved in one or more of the over 100 clubs and student organizations that are available. Find ways to make our campus, community, and world a better place by sharing your time and talents with one of the many service organizations on campus. Attend a concert in our wonderful new performance hall. Extend your Aggie Spirit by supporting athletic events.
And, I hope you will let me know how you are doing. To facilitate that, I will have regularly scheduled presidential office hours. You can schedule an appointment, if you choose, by contacting my staff at 797-7172.
Please know that it is a great honor for me to serve as your president. GO AGGIES!
Stan Albrecht is President of Utah State University.
Faculty voices appears each Wednesday in The Utah Statesman. If you are a member of the USU faculty interested in writing a column, send an email to statesmaneditor@aggiemail.usu.edu or stop by TSC 105.