The first first gentleman of Utah State: The John Cockett Story
Optimistic, genuine and hard-working are just a few words to describe John Cockett, the director of technology for the College of Education and Human Services.
Cockett is originally from California but has spent some time in many different areas of the country. After moving to upstate New York and spending high school there, he decided to come back to the west coast because for him, it is home.
Cockett attended Oregon State University and obtained his degree in biology. It was here that he met his wife, current Utah State University president, Noelle Cockett.
“She was in grad school and I was in undergraduate school,” he said. “We had a common friend and we all needed a place to stay. So we rented a house together. We became very good friends which then led into a relationship after that.”
During Noelle’s candidacy for president, John was the greatest support that she had.
“John has always been supportive of me in whatever position I’ve been in,” she said. “He picks up ‘the slack’ for me — whether it is driving our daughter to school when the weather is bad, picking her up to take her to her hair appointment, clearing the snow, arranging for the dishwasher to be fixed etc. He is never resistant to do something I ask him.”
Noelle describes her husband as someone who is personable, competitive, fun and a great teacher.
“John has been highly successful in secondary education and is now bringing that ‘real life experience’ of teaching students and using technology to the college,” she said. “He also really knows computers and technology — in fact, he loves reading about the newest electronic gadgets, software, hardware, etc. He keeps me totally connected — home and office, which is super nice. I don’t have to do anything but tell him what is wrong and then he fixes it.”
One of John’s greatest passions is spending time outdoors. Whether it be a rafting trip, kayaking, skiing or scuba diving, he can be found spending the majority of his free time with his family, enjoying all that nature has to offer.
“We’d run multi-day rafting trips up in the middle fork of the Salmon or the Grand Canyon. I love the water, especially the ocean,” he said. “When I’m here, I feel like I have to fly out to somewhere to get in the salt water.”
Cockett has been serving as the director of technology for the College of Education and Human Services for the past 18 months.
“One of my primary responsibilities is to help our college hit the federal compliances such as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). Then part of it is just technology support. Many days are spent configuring computers, making sure they have virus protection and being updated. We do web development and media. We maintain the webpages for the college. We also do a lot with public relations and marketing. It is a great team and college to be a part of,” he said.
Before coming to USU, John worked as a high school principal in Malad, Idaho.
“I worked in Malad for 25 years prior to having this position,” he said. “I started out as a science teacher, then a coach and I knew the most about computers and technology so I sort of became the director of technology there.”
Having all of this experience as an educator and with technology has helped John get to where he is today at USU.
John describes himself as a “glass half-full” kind of person who loves life to be simple.
“Even when I fail, I always look at a failure as an opportunity to learn from that and improve on the next iteration,” he said.
John’s favorite part about working for the university is the opportunity he has to be in contact with people on campus.
“I enjoy interacting with the students, staff and faculty. There are a lot of very bright people here on campus. Just being in that environment brings a lot of positive energy,” he said. “As a staff member, it’s a different role for me because I get to associate with everyone. Building relationships is really important to me and I’ve loved the opportunity I’ve had to do that here.”
Jairo Hernandez, database administrator for the College of Education and Human Services, considers Cockett to be a great coworker and friend. The two work together nearly every day of the week, and even find time to play some competitive ping-pong after hours.
“We’ve been playing almost since he started working at the college,” Hernandez said. “It’s how we unwind from the day and how we catch up on the day’s accomplishments. We’ll play at the HPER (The Health, Physical Education and Recreation) building a few times every week. We found it as a great time to keep up with our competitive spirit.”
Hernandez said thanks to Cockett, their college and team has grown in large ways.
“John is a visionary and he channels that through his leadership skills,” he said. “Our team has grown largely because of his vision on how we, as a college, can leverage technology for our faculty and staff to deliver and expand our services. In turn, it has given our students opportunities to expand their knowledge and practice with current technology trends in their respective fields.”
An example of these student opportunities is a project Cockett’s team is currently working on. Cockett and his team have developed a telemedicine program that allows students in the Speech Language Pathology major to deliver therapy sessions to patients across state lines.
Cockett’s advice to USU students is to work hard, but to play hard as well.
“Time management is huge. Managing your time so you get your studies done, but also so that you have time to get out there and interact with people. Get out of your comfort zone, take some risks and usually those risks will bring rewards,” he said.
—shelbstoor11@aggiemail.usu.edu
@shelbstoor11