Meet your new executive vice president-Porter Casdorph
As the next executive vice president, Porter Casdorph said he wants to make sure Utah State University can return to what it’s known for — quality education and a fun campus community.
Casdorph is from Twin Falls, Idaho and will be a senior next year. He’s majoring in agribusiness and spends what little free time he has with his wife and family eating at local restaurants.
For the 2020-2021 school year, Casdorph was the vice president for student events. He said it was stressful because of the pandemic.
“Anyone can imagine what that would be like,” he said. “However, we worked tirelessly to get things done and give the students some level of experience on campus and in person. We did our best to prioritize mental health.”
Casdorph said because of how this school year went, it’s important for Utah State to get as close to how campus life was before as possible. He said USU is at a “crossroads.”
“If we don’t focus on keeping certain traditions alive, and we don’t focus on making sure we can get back to what Utah State is known to be, I feel like there’s a potential of losing all that wonderful momentum that Utah State has carried for the last 130 years,” he said.
He said his goals for next year include keeping the quality of education high, making sure tuition and fees don’t rise too much and getting students back in in-person classes.
He also said he wants to make sure students have opportunities to attend events and get the social outlet they need to make memories and friends.
While the definition of the role of executive vice president is pretty straightforward, Casdorph said he thinks his role will be malleable.
“I’ll work my tail off this year to make sure students can have the best experience possible and get every bang for their buck that students are paying tuition and fees for,” he said.
His other initiatives include making more students aware of how they can be involved at Utah State, allowing students to return to campus safely and allowing students to get all the different types of education beyond the classroom that USU has to offer.
USU provides the perfect college experience Casdorph added.
“It’s the epitome of a well balanced school when it comes to getting an education and all of the other things you could possibly get from school, like social life and extra curricular activities,” he said. “Utah State is just a high caliber of all those different things. Not only do we get a great education from Utah State, but we also have a great time doing that.”
Spencer Bitner, USU’s vice president for student affairs, said he’s known Casdorph for years and first met him through the traditions committee.
Bitner said he’s noticed that people naturally feel comfortable when talking with Casdorph.
“He truly wants to engage with individual students and help their voices be heard,” he said.
Bitner said Casdorph’s new role will benefit USU, specifically the Academic Senate and the Student Fee Board.
“Porter is passionate about the experiences students have outside of the classroom,” Bitner said. “He wants students to have a positive community experience.”