Tag: Featured News

Utah Tech University celebrated the 21st annual Fire and Ice Gala March 21, an initiative that brought the community on campus to raise funding for scholarships and resources.

With the sponsorship of companies like Dixie Power, Shae Financial and more, the Fire and Ice Gala was a premier black tie event.

Attendees could choose to become a sponsor at various levels. For example, attendees could join the evening as an individual registrant for $250, or they could register as a title sponsor for the price of $30,000.

In its prestige, the Fire and Ice Gala aimed to raise funding to help students through many auctioning events. Brad Last, vice president of university advancement, said the event featured a live auction, with 10 auction items for bidding.

“Auction items range anywhere from $2,000 or $3,000 and could be as high as $15,000 or $20,000 depending on how many people get involved in bidding,” Last said.

Funding raised through the auction will fund need-based scholarships, like the Marcia Wade and Dorothy Orton Pay it Forward Scholarship, and a paddle raise, which will help fundraise university initiatives like the Student Resource Center and the Struggling Student Funds.

Rochelle Blatter, donor relations event coordinator, said the Marcia Wade and Dorothy Orton Pay it Forward Scholarship benefits all students in need, even students who do not often receive traditional scholarships, such as international students.

“They’ve given out over the past twenty years more than a thousand scholarships, and it’s been $1,700,000 to those thousand students,” Blatter said.

An addition to this year’s gala was the feature of students and their research, which showcased their active learning experiences while highlighting Utah Tech’s polytechnic model.

For example, students presented the Go Baby Go program, where students from Utah Tech’s Physical Therapist Assistant program and the University of Utah’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program created eight customized kid’s vehicles to support children with mobility disabilities.

This year, six-time Emmy winner and Grammy nominee John Tesh joined the gala as the musical guest for the evening. Tesh is known for his eccentric career, from anchor to composer, with the most notable being the NBC Sports’ NBA theme. Joined by his son Sib Gerard as the emcee, Tesh ignited the night with music and stories.

An attendee of the event was Justin Durham, a first-year doctorate occupational therapy student from St. George, who was a recipient of assistance via the Struggling Student Funds.

Durham said: “Without the Struggling Student Fund, I would have dropped out of school. So, it helped me graduate with my bachelor’s degree and ultimately to get into the program that I’m now in.”

Durham shared experiences of homelessness and food insecurity, but through applying for the Struggling Student Funds, he was able to overcome his difficult experiences.

When asked about the application process, Durham said: “I needed to show what my needs were. And then once I was about to do that, Ali Threet basically took care of everything else.”

Durham said he didn’t feel judgment or hesitancy from Threet, assistant vice president and dean of students. Instead, he felt instant relief.

Threet is responsible for working directly with students in need, which are the same students who benefited from the funds raised by the Fire and Ice Gala.

Threet described her feelings toward the paddle-raising portion of the gala and said, “I just can’t help it; I just tear up, and it’s because I know the students it’s going to help.”

A Utah Board of Higher Education member announced Shane B. Smeed as the 19th president of Utah Tech University Feb. 26.

After this announcement, Smeed spoke to the audience, and he shared his goals and aspirations for his role at UT.

Smeed said, “This is where I will spend the rest of my career, and I hope to come in as a leader, as a president of this university… to lock arm in arm with each of you to ensure we continue this great momentum.”

The new president of Utah Tech was announced in a room filled with alumni, faculty, staff, students and community members eagerly waiting.

As previously reported by Sun News Daily earlier this week, the three presidential finalists participated in an open forum to allow the campus community to meet and ask each candidate questions.

After a month of deliberation, the presidential search committee finalized three candidates: Philip A. Cavalier, Steven J. Hafen and Shane B. Smeed.

Deven MacDonald, presidential search committee co-chair, gave a speech describing the process of finding a new president. Macdonald was a moderator for the forums on Monday and explained that interviews continued until Wednesday.

When asked for a comment during the announcement for Sun News, Interim President Courtney White declined to comment.

“You have my commitment as the 19th president of this university, to make sure I will lead with great honor, with integrity, with great charity, all for the betterment of our university,” Smeed said.

With the 2025 Utah State Legislature session well underway, there has been a variety of bills that have been signed and some that could potentially impact higher education.

The session began Jan. 21 and runs until March 7. During this time, members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate meet together to discuss and vote on new bills. If the bill is passed by both houses, it is sent to Governor Spencer Cox to either sign, veto or decline to take action, allowing the bill to become a law.

Here are four bills that could affect higher education.

HB 265

The Higher Education Strategic Reinvestment Bill, HB 265, was proposed on opening day of the Utah legislative session. This bill enacts and amends provisions regarding the funding of certain programs in higher education. The legislature is currently in the process of removing $60 million from institutions statewide to be placed in a reinvestment fund, with Utah Tech University’s estimated portion around $2.5 million.

Henrie Walton, interim chief of staff and assistant to the president for government and community relations, said, “If the bill becomes law, Utah Tech will work collaboratively to gather input from students, administration, faculty and staff in the development of our strategic reinvestment plan [through] forums for feedback [that] will include listening sessions and surveys.”

Additionally, the bill proposes several other changes including:

• A 120 credit hour degree cap with the exception of up to 126 hours for certain licenses.
• A three-year degree program created by the Utah Board of Higher Education.
• A five-year program review cycle instead of seven, with qualitative and quantitative program standards created by UBHE.

If approved, this bill will take effect May 7, 2025. Higher education institutions will have three years to implement their reinvestment plan, with 30% reallocated in the first year, 70% in the second year and 100% by the third year.

“We are committed to an open process and on making decisions based on student needs,” Walton said. “Our primary focus is on providing an educational experience that prepares students for lives and careers in our community.”

HB 269

Sponsored by Representative Stephanie Gricius, the Privacy Protection in Sex-designated Areas, HB 269, was recently signed by Gov. Cox Feb. 14.

This bill entails that UBHE will provide new restrictions regarding the institution’s policies on transgender students’ on-campus housing. It will require students to reside in dorms based on their sex at birth or reside in a gender-neutral dorm.

On Jan. 28, the bill cleared the House with a 59-13 vote. After amending the bill, the Senate also passed it with a 20-7 vote Feb. 6. During a second meeting, the House passed the amended bill Feb. 10.

Ben Dawson, a junior criminal justice major from Dover, Delaware, is currently interning with Senator Stephanie Pitcher. Dawson said it doesn’t take into account whether or not you’ve transitioned or how you currently identify.

“I don’t know what the long-term effects will be, so it’s kind of hard to say,” Dawson said. “I think there’s always a chance that the bills play out in a way that isn’t foreseen, for better or for worse.”

HB 269 will go into effect June 1, 2025.

“We are committed to providing a welcoming environment for all our students and encourage any students who need support to contact the dean of students office or the Booth Wellness Center,” Walton said.

HB 449

A recent bill was introduced aimed at student athletes. HB 449, Student Athletes Amendments, would allow higher education institutes to use certain funds to compensate a student athlete directly for the use of their name, image or likeness.

In addition, the bill defines regulations for the student athletes compensation. Some of the regulations proposed include:

• Institutions can’t prevent student athletes from participating in intercollegiate sports because they are receiving compensation.
• Institutions can’t prevent student athletes from participating if they obtain professional representation from an athlete agent or attorney.

If passed, the bill takes effect May 7, 2025.

HB 267

The Public Sector Labor Union Amendments, HB 267, was signed by Gov. Cox Feb. 14. Sponsored by Representative Jordan D. Teuscher, this bill passed the Senate on a 16-13 vote.

This bill “prohibits a public employer from recognizing a labor organization as a bargaining agent for public employees; prohibits a public employer from entering into collective bargaining contracts; prohibits using public money or public property to assist, promote, or deter union organizing or administration.”

The bill prohibits the process where a school, city, county or organization that works with public employees meets with a union to negotiate contracts for those employees. Bryce Harding, Salt Lake Unit Executive Board of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said it could potentially lead to a decrease in the quality of public services and a shortage of qualified workers.

“If you’re forcing the teachers to make a choice on where they’re going to teach, they’re not going to choose this school in Utah,” Harding said. “Really, wages and benefits are why we go to work. I know most teachers do it because they love it, but at some point in time, the love only goes so far.”

This bill has caused protests at the Utah Capitol to encourage Gov. Cox to veto the bill.

“It will be interesting to see how collective bargaining being removed will affect employees,” Dawson said.

HB 267 will go into effect July 1, 2025.

With the legislation halfway completed, there are still a variety of new bills awaiting to be proposed or passed. Follow along with the 66th Utah State Legislature Session to see how higher education could be potentially affected.

“The biggest thing I would say is just to advocate and make your voice heard,” Dawson said.

Missouri State University’s student-run news, The Standard, published an article about student tension rising after a lawsuit was released against former Utah Tech University president Richard “Biff” Williams.  

Liz Garcia, a senior journalism major from Branson, Missouri, is a co-editor-in-chief for The Standard. 

“I know, especially on social media, there was kind of a lot of upset… learning about… what [Biff] had done at Utah Tech,” Garcia said. “And so there was just kind of a lot of confusion. And, students were kind of wondering, ‘Where do we go from here now that he’s our president?’” 

Garcia said once students came back to school from being home during Christmas break, student voices became more apparent. 

On the college social networking app Yik Yak, an individual had posted a picture with “F— BIFF” written in the snow outside MSU’s Freudenberger House. 

Ruby Knight, a freshman business education major from Purdy, Missouri, is the reporter from The Standard that wrote the story. 

“I would mention too, that before Christmas break, I had mentioned the chalking practice in my article, where they write on the sidewalk,” Knight said. “I had seen that same message, written on the sidewalk in front of Carrington, which is our administration building.”

Flyers were placed, like this one in an elevator in the Brick City 1 building, on MSU’s campus. 

A couple of social media pages were created where students displayed their distaste for Williams, including @bearsagainstbiff and @zuweenie_gate. 

@bearagainstbiff has posted about flyers in the library that read, “We need Biff off our campus,” and a post about, “Meet the board of governors, the ones that okay-ed someone who abuses power.”

@zuweenie_gate’s page was at one point selling “Zuweenie-Gate 2024” shirts that said, “50 shirts bought and we’ll anonymously send one to Biff.” 

“I would just say that I think that sometimes things can get blown up or amplified by social media and, you know, to quote ‘Wicked,’ ‘The best way to bring people together is to give them a real good enemy,’” Knight said. “And I feel like we are seeing some of that phenomenon on our campus. And based on my reporting and the way things are trending, I do believe it will eventually blow over.”

Students weren’t the only ones voicing their concerns. MSU Faculty Senate passed a no-confidence resolution pertaining to Williams’ leadership. 

MSU Faculty Senate Chair-elect Micheal Foster shared the final language of the resolution reading, “Whereas, the conduct of President Williams at Utah Tech is not in line with Missouri State University’s (MSU) commitments to ethical leadership and inclusive excellence; and Whereas, the high-profile nature of his breech in ethical leadership and inclusive excellence could negatively affect MSU’s current search for a new Provost, development of a strategic plan, as well as the university’s ability to recruit and retain students, staff, and faculty.”

However, the MSU Board of Governors, composed of individuals who are affiliated with MSU but don’t necessarily live in Springfield, Missouri, voted unanimously to keep Williams as president. 

“It doesn’t really seem like if students did want to continue, sort of, expressing their distaste for him, if that would really have as much of an impact considering the board of governors decided to keep him instated as our president,” Garcia said. 

While Williams is remaining as president at MSU, Utah Tech’s Faculty Senate also passed a no-confidence resolution pertaining to six administrative individuals on campus.

Kyle Killebrew, Utah Tech instructor of the practice in English composition and Faculty Senate secretary, said though the majority of the press coverage has focused on Williams’ actions and how the administration has handled those actions, Utah Tech Faculty Senate’s no-confidence resolution addressed a variety of concerns.

No-confidence resolutions are not binding decisions and don’t have the power to compel change, but they do send a strong message of disapproval from faculty.

“However, the strongest voice at Utah Tech is that of its students,” Killebrew said. “Utah Tech students have an important role to play in shaping the climate on campus, and as your tuition dollars keep the university running, you have a power for change greater than that of our faculty, staff and administrators.”

Additionally, Utah Tech is in the process of searching for the next president. The education requirement changed from having a doctorate degree to a bachelor’s degree. 

“I think if that were to happen at Missouri State, I would be kind of concerned, especially since, having the bump down from a PhD to a bachelor’s degree is a pretty big difference in terms of just the pure education level that you would have,” Garcia said. “And it would kind of feel as if, you’re just prioritizing, seeking an immediate replacement rather than looking for a long term stability or different other qualities that might be more essential in a candidate.”

The Standard has reported on students’ reactions to the lawsuit against Williams, the Faculty Senate no-confidence resolution and the multiple meetings the board of governors held to determine Williams’ standing. 

“I would say that the student voice is very amplified and encouraged on our campus,” Knight said. “Exercising the right of free speech is always very welcome here, and I found that that’s an interesting part of our university that I hadn’t experienced in my educational journey thus far.” 

With the fear of an estimated 10% budget cut, students, faculty and staff gathered in the Gardner Student Center Jan. 16 at 1 p.m. to discuss the potential effects this could have on Utah Tech University.

The Institute of Politics and Public Affairs hosted the event to create conversation about the upcoming bills proposed for the 2025 Utah State Legislature that affect higher education. With the goal of informing the audience, a discussion was held amongst a panel of speakers. Led by moderator Vince Brown, director of the Institute of Politics and Public Affairs, the panel included:

• Stephen Lee, Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Julie Chew, Faculty Senate president
• Geoff Allen, assistant professor of political science
• Bella Estes, student body president
• Brad Ashay, president of the American Federation of Teachers of Utah

Brown said the panel was selected to give diverse thoughts and opinions regarding the upcoming bills, specifically HB 265, and the effects they could have.

“There is a lot of concern amongst the faculty, staff and students about what is going to happen in the legislature this year in terms of bills coming down that affect higher education, including possible cuts to funding,” Brown said. “At the IOP, our job is just simply to try to provide as much information as we can, and in this case, to allay concerns or to make people aware so that they’re active and involved.”

The Higher Education Strategic Reinvestment Bill, HB 265, is sponsored by Republican Representative Karen Peterson and is discussed in this year’s legislative. The legislature is in the process of removing $60 million from institutions statewide to be placed in a reinvestment fund, and Utah Tech’s estimated portion would be around $2.5 million.

Thus, the bill will “require each degree-granting institution to create a strategic reinvestment plan to reallocate funding from certain programs and divisions of the institution to certain programs and divisions that merit additional investment.”

The effective date for the bill is May 7, 2025 if passed, with universities having three years to implement the investment plan.

For many in attendance, the event was a way to become more informed about the potential effects on the university in the future. Kyle Killebrew, instructor of English, attended the event to learn more about the upcoming bills that could affect universities in Utah, specifically information about reallocation and budget cuts.

“Theoretically, if some of the proposed reallocations end up going through, it could negatively impact some of the important programs here at Utah Tech, especially if anything goes through that impacts faculty lines,” Killebrew said.

Similarly, Shauna Wight, assistant professor of English, said she is concerned about the impacts the bills could have on the students’ offerings, like the courses they can take or are required to take.

Daniel Klingler, a junior English major from South Jordan, was among the students who attended the event. Klinger said they attended to learn more about how the bills would potentially affect the university, fellow students and themself. However, a big concern of Klinger’s is the effect these bills could have on the College of Humanities and Social Sciences department.

“I just don’t see them [CHASS] getting as much funding, or they’re going to get downsized to such a degree we’ll lose a lot of degree programs, things like my degree, creative writing,” Klinger said.

With these potential cuts to certain programs, Klinger is concerned about the skills students will lose by not having these classes. He said these programs encourage people to create cultural impact.

“If we lose the ability to learn these skills to create change, then humanity stalls,” Klinger said. “People aren’t going to be able to fight for what they believe in if they don’t have the words, language or understanding to do so.”

Dean Lee discussed amongst the panel the importance of CHASS and the skills it can help students develop. Some of the skills mentioned in the discussion were critical thinking, communication and innovation. He said it’s important to be able to look at issues from multiple perspectives and challenge ourselves environmentally, which ultimately prepares you for life after college.

Lee said, “It is that we’re preparing you for life-ready and citizen-ready; that you are indeed a contributor to society and an informed citizen because that’s where your liberal arts or humanities and social science training will come to bear every day.”

An additional discussion that arose was the potential cutback on the credits required for general education. Part of this would mean that students could get a degree in three years instead of four. With a shorter time at the university, it would be a cutback on general education and elective classes. Chew discussed with the panel how these classes help make a more rounded individual.

“I think you learn grit and develop resiliency through taking classes that make you critically think, make you collaborate, make you examine values and beliefs and how they fit in with that, and develop an ethically principled adult who works in the world effectively,” Chew said.

The Utah State Legislature session begins on Jan. 21 and will go until March 7. If interested in taking action, Utah Tech Day on the Hill is Jan. 29, which is an opportunity for anyone to voice concerns at the Utah State Capitol. Moreover, if you want your voice to be heard, you can also email Governor Spencer Cox regarding concerns about the bills.

“It starts here, but it doesn’t end with us,” Klinger said. “They’re going to push these studies out without realizing the impact if we don’t stand up and fight back.”

When the lawsuit against Utah Tech University administrators was released to the public, students, faculty and staff experienced a multiplicity of events.

This 42-page lawsuit named 13 administrative faculty and staff, as well as the Utah Board of Higher Education, the Utah System of Higher Education, Utah Tech University and the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education.

This lawsuit was a result of repeated discriminatory, harassing behavior that three Utah Tech employees faced. These employees were:

• Rebecca “Becky” Broadbent, general counsel
• Jared Rasband, senior associate general counsel
• Hazel Sainsbury, director of equity compliance and Title IX coordinator

This lawsuit shed light on what was going on inside Utah Tech. A court date has yet to be released to the public, even after the 2024 semester ended.

However, many things have changed around campus since the release of this lawsuit. First, quickly after the lawsuit was released, the Utah Tech Faculty Senate proposed a resolution to faculty members regarding administration.

The proposed resolution included a vote of no confidence in administration with executive duties in leadership positions which included:

• Interim president Courtney White
• Provost Micheal Lacourse
• Del Beatty, vice president of student affairs
• Jordon Sharp, vice president of marketing and communication
• Henrie Walton, assistant to the president for government and community relations and interim chief of staff
• Travis Rosenberg, executive director of human resources

A section of this proposed resolution states:

The resolution continues, saying the faculty senate will meet with the general faculty Nov. 20, 2024 to recall for the following actions: reviewing the allegations against the university and ensuring accountability, strengthening protections for whistleblowers, publicly sharing and detailing a plan addressing a recommitment to fostering a respected workplace culture, and acknowledging the apology issued by Courtney White to faculty and staff.

Robert Hall, assistant professor of communication and faculty senator for the communication department, said: “We didn’t just do this on behalf of faculty; we did take into consideration the student’s concerns. After we saw the news piece from the Sun News, I reached out to our senate president, president-elect and other members and said, ‘Our students are calling this out, we cannot be quiet.'”

After voting in favor of the resolution, the faculty senate met with Geoffrey Landward, Utah System of Higher Education chancellor, to express their concerns and aspirations for a new president.

Hall said it was a good opportunity to meet and discuss their concerns with him and they have been meeting regularly with the board of trustees since their initial meeting.

The Faculty Senate also hoped to bridge the gaps between administrators, students, faculty and staff. Hall said they are trying to figure out how to collaborate and be in the same lane rather than having faculty and students in one lane and administration in the other. The board of trustees has been working with the faculty senate to resolve this.

The second change occurred during the 2024 winter break, Dec. 24, when the Utah Board of Higher Education emailed the campus community to announce a new presidential search committee.

Student body president, Bella Estes, a senior communication major from Scottsdale, Arizona, said she was surprised they were establishing a new search committee.

In this email, UBHE announced that it had established a 10 member search committee to expedite the search for a new president.

Furthermore, the committee included Utah Tech and Utah Board of Higher Education trustees faculty, staff, students, alumni, administration and the local community, all of which will decide who the new president is.

These members were:

• Danny Ipson, search committee co-chair and Utah Board of Higher Education member
• Deven Macdonald, search committee co-chair and Utah Tech board of trustees member
• Wendi Bulkley, Utah Tech director of community relations and athletic development officer
• Jennifer Ciaccio, Utah Tech Faculty Senate president-elect and biology professor
• Jon Cox, UBHE member
• Bella Estes, Utah Tech student body president
• Dan Nielson, alumni, Utah Tech administrator, Coral Desert Surgery Center administrator
• Rich Nye, Utah governor’s senior adviser of education
• Tasha Toy, assistant vice president and chief compliance officer at Utah Tech
• John Willis, St. George city manager

In the email, the UBHE stated they understood the importance of this transition and, “want to reassure you that every effort is being made to select a president who will lead by example, elevate UT’s mission of innovation, strengthen the campus community, and further advance hands-on, student-focused learning.”

Moreover, on Jan. 9, UBHE held a Committee of the Whole meeting, during which they discussed the reasoning behind creating a new committee.

Utah System of Higher Education board member, Javier Chavez Jr., said they were determined to reconstitute a new committee to have a fresh perspective and fresh start.

Chavez said: “The search committee is proceeding on an expedited basis with the goal to appoint a new president by early March. That area of the state, that community, that university requires the care and attention for a president; therefore, the decision has been made to expedite the search. I want to reiterate by no less, does that mean that it’s a hurried search.”

With the formation of the new committee, a expedited timeline was also created, which proposed a new president by March 2025. However, the committee was not the only thing that changed with the presidential search. The presidential position details and requirements were updated when the search was announced.

The new, largest change made was lowering the minimum education requirement for prospective presidents. Now, applicants are no longer required to hold a doctorate and can maintain a minimum of a bachelor’s degree.

“There are things we are still not happy with,” Hall said. “One thing we are very displeased about is that they changed the qualifications.”

While a graduate degree is still preferred, the minimum qualification could change the application pool significantly, creating the possibility that most of the faculty would be more educated than the president.

Estes said the qualification changed to broaden the overall scope. She said the committee would still do its due diligence and ensure the new president has leadership experience and upholds the university’s values.

“I would anticipate some people being frustrated, but I’m not quite sure because we wouldn’t know who that applicant is yet, so I can’t speak on it,” Estes said.

Once the committee narrows down to three to five finalist candidates, they will come to Utah Tech to meet with different stakeholders. Estes said these stakeholders represent different perspectives on campus and around the community.

“Those groups in those stakeholder groups get to share their feedback on those three to five candidates,” Estes said.

As the student representative on the search committee, Estes was advised to pick 10-12 students to represent the student body.

“I wanted to pick students who represent different areas, so I picked my UTSA executive council because they oversee different branches,” Estes said. “Then I chose student groups who oversee a large number of students in different branches.”

She also picked a student representative from the Peer Coach program who works with first-year students, a representative from the Ambassador Program who works with prospective students, and a representative from the Alumni Ambassadors. Estes said once the stakeholders met, USHE would pick a finalist who may come speak at the university.

“I appreciate everyone’s patience on this. This has been a very sensitive challenging topic,” Chavez said. “The system [of higher education’s] goal is that the people of Utah win, the students win.”

The university has experienced a myriad of changes over a short period of time. If students, faculty and staff have concerns about the presidential search, they are encouraged to provide anonymous feedback through the USHE form listed on the presidential search website.