President Cockett delivers State of the University Address
Noelle Cockett, the president of Utah State University, delivered the 2022 State of the University address on Monday morning in the TSC ballroom.
The address was attended by students, faculty and staff, and was broadcasted on AggieCast.
The purpose of the address, given by the USU president on an annual basis, is to highlight the accomplishments of the university for the previous year.
Cockett first discussed the increase in degrees, certificates and other awards in recent years.
USU enrollment has remained consistent, but the amount of awards given has increased by 26.5% in the last decade.
“It’s not that we don’t have lazy recruiters with an amazing story to bring students to USU,” Cockett said during the presentation. “It is that awards are increasing, meaning more is coming out at the end.”
Next, Cockett highlighted the achievements of USU online, which has remained on U.S. News’ top 25 Best Online Program list for the last 8 years.
Cockett also took time to recognize the work being done by both USU’s Get Away Special team and the Center for Anticipatory Intelligence.
The GAS team recently launched a satellite to be flown with the international space station, and the CAI is preparing students to anticipate trends, threats and consequences that are occurring across the globe.
The address also included information about USU’s statewide campuses and centers, and reflected on the growth they’ve received in the past year.
One major success statewide from the previous year is the approval of the USU Student Association, or USUSA, statewide constitution, which united all students under one student government.
Another success for students across the state was the appointment of the first department head serving outside of the main campus.
Susan Polster became the department head of USU’s Department of Journalism and Communication in July. Polster serves on the USU Eastern campus.
Cockett also discussed the university’s recent Carnegie R1 designation, which she said was one of the most exciting announcements during the address.
The R1 designation is reserved for institutions with very high research activity. Currently, there are only 137 R1 institutions in the country.
“We believe in and do undergraduate research at USU,” Cockett said during the address. “We have a long history of this, starting decades ago. We think the combination of our R1 status, plus our strong efforts in undergraduate research, will continue our success for years to come.”
Cockett further expressed her pride for the accomplishment after the address.
“As someone who’s had a research career at USU, seeing that R1 designation, it matters,” she said. “As I go places in the U.S., I hope that our faculty can be very proud of that.”
The address also highlighted the construction and development planned across USU’s statewide campuses.
One of the buildings currently under construction is a new residential building, Canyon Crest Suites, is on schedule to open in Fall of 2022.
Another building mentioned was the Mehdi Heravi Global Teaching and Learning Center, which will be built on the quad between Ray B. West and Old Main. Groundbreaking on the building is expected following Spring 2022 commencement.
A Veterinary Science building is also planned for development on USU’s Innovation Campus, and will house the new College of Veterinary Medicine when completed in 2025.
President Cockett said she’s very proud of the upcoming College of Veterinary Medicine, as she began working on a similar program during her time as dean for the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences.
“This is that next step,” Cockett said after the address. “I have known people over the years who want to have that opportunity.”
Elle Brown, who was recently appointed as the USUSA public relations director for the 2022-23 academic year, attended the address to better understand the work being done by USU.
“I’m excited to see where everything’s gonna go in the next year,” Brown said. “I think that’ll be so fun. We’ll get some great characters.”
Only 25 land-grant universities offer schools of veterinary medicine. USU will be the 26th.
Brown said she would’ve loved to hear more about how the successes of the university impacts students.
After the address, Cockett said they’re looking for ways to make sure students are successful.
“Success for a university is not just in the classroom,” Cockett said. “We want to keep building those opportunities for students to interact with faculty, but also each other in whatever way it might be.”
During the address, Cockett announced a brand new position, vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion, who will be serving our campus in the future.
“One of the things that I’d really like to work on is the culture of being an Aggie,” Cockett said. “I think the VP of diversity, equity and inclusion will help us identify ways for our staff, students and faculty to be a part of a welcoming community.”
Abe Rodriguez, the USUSA executive vice president-elect, attended the address in a personal effort to stay up-to-date on USU’s accomplishments. He said he would’ve liked this role to have been elaborated on.
“Something that they’ve been promoting over the years is trying to make campus more inclusive,” Rodriguez said. “I’m excited to hear more about who will take on that new position.”
The address also briefly mentioned a few additional successes in the past year, including an 85% COVID-19 vaccination rate among students, a record fundraising year and a number of legislative outcomes.
The full 2022 State of the University Address can be found on USU Today.
-Jared.Adams@usu.edu
Featured photo by: Bailey Rigby