Month: September 2015

A partnership with the University of Utah will offer a new physician assistant program at Dixie State University.

Representatives from both DSU and the U of U are planning a new physician assistant program that will start in May 2018. 

Carole Grady, vice president of academic affairs, said the program will take a while to develop because it’s still ongoing. The partnership is not only between DSU and the U of U, but it also involves Dixie Regional Medical Center.

Grady said the partnership involves Dixie Regional Medical Center because DSU needs their physicians to be willing to help the students in the program, and they are. 

Dr. Steven Van Norman, chief medical officer at Dixie Regional Medical Center, said people from the center “look forward to the strength future graduates will bring to local healthcare in the coming years.”

Only 15 students will be accepted into the program initially, and if things go well, over time there might be a possibility of increasing the number of students that can be enrolled, Grady said. 

“The students will typically go through several months of classroom experiences, and then they will have preceptor experiences in the community with physicians,” Grady said.

Caylie Hancock, a freshman nursing major from Bountiful, said she thinks this program is a great opportunity, and students who have an interest in the medical field should take advantage of the program.

“It’s broadening the medical field and giving the students at DSU different opportunities,” Hancock said.

It took some “good connections” to start a partnership with the U of U, and it ended up benefiting both universities, Grady said. 

“From [the U of U’s] perspective, it gives them the opportunity to serve a part of the state that they haven’t been able to serve before,” she said.

Grady said this partnership will bring more opportunities in the near future with the U of U and also other universities.

DSU representatives are thinking about partnering up with the U of U again to offer its physical therapy program on campus.

“Outside of the health sciences area, [DSU] is partnering with Utah State University,” Grady said. “In January, they are going to offer their Executive [Master of Business Administration] program on our campus.”

DSU will also have its first opportunity to provide one of its programs to another college’s campus.

“We are just entering into discussions, with sort of a reverse idea, where we have been approached by Salt Lake Community College to offer our respiratory therapy program on its campus,” she said.

Grady said this partnership can provide a good example to other institutions.

“Sometimes we think the colleges and universities in Utah compete with each other; in some respects they do,” she said. “But on the other hand, this is a great example of the cooperation and collaboration that can happen among institutions.” 

Dixie State University’s Student Success Program has goals to make the college life easier for incoming freshmen.

The program kicked off last year as part of the Student Success Center. It aims to help freshmen feel more comfortable in the college environment through the use of student mentors. 

The majority of students in the program are specifically assigned to a mentor, but students who don’t have a mentor can meet with one if they need additional help. Mentors are assigned based on the student’s major. 

“A lot of what the program is trying to do is get students connected with students and having them help each other,” Roos said. “We’ve found that younger students actually appreciate upperclassmen who come and help them.”

Roos said the biggest challenge for new students is making it past the first year.

“[College] is a big transition from high school,” Roos said. “It’s not always obvious what you need to do to make it through that first year.”

Other schools in Utah, such as The University of Utah and Brigham Young University, also use success workshops and programs to enhance a student’s college experience. 

Roos said the other success programs in Utah gave him inspiration to start the Student Success program at DSU.

“You don’t have to look very far to see examples of programs that are working,” Roos said. “We’re working to emulate some of the things we’ve seen that are working.”

Roos said other programs are targeting students that are more at-risk for dropping out of school, as well as at risk courses— courses that are a struggle for many students. 

Programs that target at-risk courses are called supplemental instruction. Roos said he would like to have more supplemental instruction in the Student Success program as it moves forward.

Coy Cox, a junior criminal justice major from St. George, said he enjoys being a Student Success mentor.

“One reason I like [mentoring] so much is remembering what it was like to be in my first semester of college not really understanding how things work and not really knowing where to get my questions answered,” Cox said.

Cox said it feels good to help students get help, especially due to the struggles he went through. 

“If [students are] struggling in class, it feels good to see them turn things around,” Cox said. “Being able to get the help they need and being able to do things that they maybe thought they couldn’t do before.”

Cox said the biggest issue is trying to “break down the wall” that’s preventing students from seeing the mentors as peers.

“A lot of the students we contact see us as an authority figure,” Cox said. “[The students] kind of have this mentality that ‘this guy’s trying to get after me because of my grades or attendance.’ They don’t really want someone they don’t know very well holding them accountable.”

Roos said his ultimate goal for the mentoring program is to see every freshman have someone to turn to for help. Getting students connected is a step toward success. 

Students interested in getting help from the Student Success program can email [email protected] or call 435-652-4691.

Dixie State University’s theater program pulled the curtains back during homecoming week.  

The opener premiered Thursday and is the first main stage production to have a student director.

Tiffany Herzog, a senior theater major from Brigham City, was offered the opportunity to direct “God of Carnage.”

“I was super, super terrified for all of it,” Herzog said.

The faculty department had confidence in Herzog that she could handle the stress and responsibility of being a director and determined she would benefit from the experience, said Michael Harding, an associate professor of theater and head of the department of theater and dance.

“God of Carnage” is set in France inside a family home. Two sets of parents come together to civilly discuss a brawl that occurred between their younger boys, and they slowly devolve into children themselves.

“It is really about maturity or the lack thereof,” Harding said. “Who is at fault? Is it the kid who is bullying, or is it the parent?”

“God of Carnage” differs from previous plays shown at DSU because it is contemporary and a “little harsher,” Harding said.

“Everybody is like, ‘more Shakespeare,’ but Shakespeare is naughty,” Harding said.

“God of Carnage” is a dark comedy rated PG-13 for language and a few graphic scenes.

Audience members also receive a different experience with the play being shown in the black box theater, instead of the main stage in the Eccles Fine Art Center. This allows actors and details of the play to be close and personal, Hertzog said. 

Planning for “God of Carnage” began at the end of March, casted for four actors and two swing actors, and has about 12 to 15 students involved in the production.  

Each of the theater productions at DSU is planned six months in advance with the next production beginning every two months.

“Barnum” is currently in rehearsal, “The White Whale” rehearsal will begin soon, and auditions for “The Country Wife” in late October. “God of Carnage” will be shown again Oct. 1 through the 3 at 7:30 p.m.

This upcoming season for the theater program is one of the most diverse DSU has had, Harding said.

“Barnum” is a musical with a circus plot, “The White Whale” is a devised play where actors follow the story plot but create the script, and “The Country Wife” is a restoration comedy.

“Being a university, it is our job to expose not only [the] community, but particularly our students to what is out there,” Harding said.

Harding said the program has changed a lot in the nine years he’s been involved. The growth will come now that DSU is a university, he said.

“Now we are poised to grow,” Harding said.