Community Connections

Partnering in the community to solve problems, create dialogue and provide opportunities

THE OFFICE STAR ENTERTAINS, MOTIVATES 2024 graduates

The Office Star, Rainn Wilson, at WSU 2023 Commencement

Emmy-nominated actor and comedian Rainn Wilson, best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on NBC’s hit show The Office, delivered the commencement address to WSU’s class of 2024.

Television’s favorite assistant (to the) regional manager sprinkled in jokes inspired by the sitcom while bestowing on graduates “the meaning of life.”

Wilson encouraged the graduates to nurture a “bouquet of virtues,” serve others rather than being self-indulgent, invest in relationships, choose love over fear, and keep hope alive.

"Don’t give into the bitterness and the cynicism and pessimism of these modern times. Keep hope alive, like Jesus — and SpongeBob. Bring joy into your work, into your family life, into your friendships and, above all, into your service to others." -Rain Wilson

WSU PROFESSOR PUTS TYPE 1 DIABETES EDUCATION within ‘REACH’

Children with type 1 diabetes often struggle to participate in physical activities in the way their peers do. Whitewater rafting at summer camp, playing a large game of red rover or even simply spending a long time outdoors can, for some, be out of reach.

Eddie Hill, associate professor in the Outdoor & Community Recreation Education program, aimed to change that by starting REACH Weber in April 2023.

REACH Weber is part of the national Recreate, Educate, Advocate, and Climb Higher (REACH) program, which serves youth with type 1 diabetes and their families through the promotion of healthy lifestyles.

At Weber, children of all ages and their families join single- and multi-day camps year-round, with the aim of promoting exercise, diabetes education and healthy lifestyle outcomes for youth living with type 1 diabetes.

Hill said bringing parents of children with chronic conditions together is particularly important.

“There’s high demand because there’s nothing like it in the state,” he said. “Families come from Logan and Provo, even for our one-day programming.”

Weber State students often engage with REACH to gain a better understanding of participants’ experiences and collect data to study the efficacy of such camps.

WSU health promotion major Heidi Blaylock’s husband has type 1 diabetes. She has been conducting undergraduate research evaluating the inaugural week-long tween-teen REACH Weber day camp through observation, questionnaires, and monitoring the blood sugar levels of those attending the camp.

“Personally, this experience has increased my confidence and self-esteem exponentially,” Blaylock said. “I have learned to be a better team member and to be more flexible.”

While research and programming are two arms of REACH Weber, Hill hopes to add a third arm that will offer training and education for others who also want to start REACH programs.

"Weber is just so tied to community engagement," he said. "It has been pretty exciting, and I think this will just continue to thrive and grow."

Children participating in the OCRE Program

A WILDCAT TAKES THE LEAD AT THE Community Education Center

This past spring, the Community Education Center welcomed its new director, Yesenia Quintana, a 2023 Weber State graduate and experienced staff member.

Located in central Ogden, the CEC is a gateway to WSU, offering ESL classes, career development programs and more. Much of the staff is bilingual to help fulfill the center’s mission of furthering the education of Weber County’s Spanish-speaking population.

“We want to increase access to resources and experiences while also strengthening the fabric of our community, creating a ripple effect of connections and opportunities,” Quintana said.

She envisions the CEC as a welcoming place for Spanish speakers and many others to embark on their journey to college and career.

Taking The College Tour to Ogden

An episode of the streaming series The College Tour focusing on Weber State screened for an audience of nearly 200, including many local high school seniors, at Peery’s Egyptian Theater in downtown Ogden on Oct. 10, 2023.

At the event, two seniors received $2,000 scholarships in a prize drawing.

The episode, now available on Amazon Prime Video, follows nine students and one alum as they show how WSU supports their goals.

“Students, professors and admins, they’re spectacular, and they all just want you to do well,” said Cameron Dunn, an emergency medicine student in the episode.

The series is produced and hosted by Emmy-nominated producer Alex Boylan.

GEORGE WILL DISCUSSES US Constitution

Weber State’s Olene S. Walker Institute of Politics & Public Service welcomed guest speaker George Will and interviewer Boyd Matheson for a Constitution Day discussion on Sept. 6, 2023.

Will is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Washington Post, author and regular contributor to MSNBC and NBC News. Matheson hosts KSL NewsRadio’s Inside Sources. The discussion ranged from Will’s thoughts on the 1787 Constitutional Convention to the 2024 presidential election.

HANDS-ON LEARNING AT Harmony Ranch

Weber State students in the Department of Geography, Environment & Sustainability apply classroom knowledge to real-world cases not far from campus.

As the result of a collaboration between geography professors and Harmony Ranch, a planned subdivision in Eden, Utah, upper-division students have opportunities to study soil health and biodiversity, as well as regenerative farming, or restoring soil health through sustainable practices.

They learn how to take soil samples to measure factors such as microbial activity and moisture content, organize a study geographically and interpret the results. Working at the ranch gives students a feel for career skills.

“I think the anxiety for students these days is, ‘I’m going to class, I’m getting good grades, but how do I use this?’” said Maria Groves, assistant professor in the geography department.

Students have gone to Harmony Ranch every fall since 2021 and have plans to do so going forward. The subdivision has land intended to be a regenerative farm; the idea is for students to study the soil and more throughout the land’s transformation.

When Groves taught the class Arid Lands: Resources, Landforms, and the Quest for Water a few years ago, she discovered many students had a farming background. To build on this interest, she connected students with Argyle Acres in the Ogden Valley to learn about regenerative farming.

Soil research is now done at Harmony Ranch through geography senior projects, which Groves supervises under the individual research class.

WSU HELPS MILITARY NURSES STEP INTO education careers

A new partnership at Weber State University is helping veterans seamlessly transition from military service to fulfilling civilian careers as nurse educators.

The Annie Taylor Dee School of Nursing has joined the U.S. Department of Defense’s SkillBridge program, which gives military personnel the opportunity to gain civilian work experience during their last six months of service.

“Weber State is known as a military-friendly school, and this shows our continued dedication,” said London Draper Lowe, WSU nursing professor and SkillBridge program coordinator. “We care about the military community and want them to be part of our school.”

Retiring or separating military nurses with a master’s or doctoral degree can apply for a five-month internship at WSU to work alongside instructors and experience all aspects of nursing education.

Michael Humphrey, a women’s health and family nurse practitioner who recently retired from a 22-year career with the U.S. Air Force, was the first intern to complete WSU’s SkillBridge program.

In addition to serving across the country and several deployments in the Middle East, Humphrey has worked in labor and delivery, postpartum and newborn nurseries.

Now, he will continue sharing his knowledge and skills at WSU, where he was hired as a nursing instructor in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program.

“This partnership provided an avenue for me to share my distinct experience over the past two decades in the military,” Humphrey said. “Being given the opportunity to train the next generation of nurses is a true honor for me.”

OGX CARRIES COMMUTERS, academic opportunities

Utah Transit Authority’s Ogden Express (OGX) electric bus line began full operation on Aug. 20, 2023, and has quickly become a popular way to get to WSU’s Ogden campus.

UTA data showed that the OGX carried between 30,000 and 60,000 more riders per month from August 2023 to March 2024 than the 603 bus route that the OGX replaced carried over the same period a year earlier.

The OGX has also created research opportunities for 10 students in professor Bryan Dorsey’s spring 2024 Advanced Land Use Planning course. Students collaborated with the Ogden City planning department to produce a residential infill study for three areas of the city, including an East Central Ogden neighborhood around the OGX route, with the goal of creating more affordable single-family housing in more walkable, bikeable and vibrant communities.

“The report will be used by the Ogden City planning department as part of the Zone Ogden project,” Dorsey said. Zone Ogden is a two-year effort to completely rewrite existing zoning ordinances and create a unified development code for the city. He hopes to have his classes continue participating in the project through the spring 2025 semester.

OGX BEGAN OPERATIONS IN AUGUST 2023

Due to a federal grant, the service is free until August 2026, and included with Weber State’s UTA Ed Pass.

828,000+ riders as of June 2024
248,000 stops made by riders at WSU
90,000+ riders in October and February, aligning with WSU’s fall and spring semesters

By 2038, WSU anticipates having converted every building to all-electric systems.

SEEING GREEN: Sustaining National Interest

Weber State’s commitment to becoming carbon neutral is not only helping the university be more sustainable but also attracting national recognition.

The American Association of State Colleges and Universities selected WSU to receive the 2023 AASCU Excellence & Innovation Award for Sustainability and Sustainable Development.

The university earned the honor specifically for its 5-point Carbon Neutrality Strategy initiative, selected by the awards committee for its outstanding results and potential to serve as a model for other institutions.

“We’re extremely proud of this achievement,” said Brad Mortensen, WSU president. “We’re 10 years ahead of schedule in reaching our carbon neutral goal, but we’re even more excited that our model is catching the eye of other institutions across the country who take sustainability seriously and are looking to replicate our success here in Utah.”

Mortensen joined Justin Owen, WSU energy manager, and Jacob Cain, operations director, to present Weber State’s key successes at AASCU’s 2023 Sustainability Solutions Symposium in Washington, D.C.

In March 2024, Provost Ravi Krovi was invited to serve as a panelist at a symposium convened by The New York Times, examining issues confronting university administrators. Krovi spoke at the climate action on campus breakout session, showcasing WSU’s sustainability efforts, including its plan for carbon neutrality, infrastructure changes and efforts to prepare the next generation of scientists and policy makers.

In 2007, Weber State formalized its dedication to sustainability by signing the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, aiming to eliminate emissions and become carbon neutral by 2050, a goal WSU is on track to reach by 2040.

ROOTED IN OUR Arts Community

The Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities brought the community together through performing and visual arts throughout the 2023–24 academic year.

Weber State amplified Ogden’s culture scene via the Dumke Arts Plaza when it opened a new exhibition, Coincidences, in October 2023. A collaboration with the university’s Mary Elizabeth Dee Shaw Gallery, the WSU Dance Program, and various artists and performers, the exhibition weaved dance, film and photography into an immersive experience to depict the story of shared isolation, concepts of sensory stimulation and informed trauma that impacts the human experience.

Also in the fall, WSU welcomed author Gabby Rivera, the first Latina to write for Marvel Comics, best known for her popular series America featuring superhero America Chavez. Host of the podcast Joy Revolution, Rivera spoke about prioritizing joy through the lens of her life experiences, and interacted with audience members during a Q&A and book signing.

In March 2024, WSU celebrated Native American culture and heritage with a captivating performance of Indigenous Soundscapes in Motion. The only performance of its kind in Utah, the evening featured world-renowned musicians, dancers and poets. WSU students also danced with and asked questions to performers during a workshop the day before.