Utah Valley University

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Utah Valley University
Motto	"Engage"
Established	1941
Type	Public
President	Matthew S. Holland
Undergraduates	26,696
Location	Orem, Utah, USA 40°16′40″N 111°42′50″W / 40.27778°N 111.71389°W / 40.27778; -111.71389Coordinates: 40°16′40″N 111°42′50″W / 40.27778°N 111.71389°W / 40.27778; -111.71389
Campus	Suburban
Colors	Green & Gold (Yellow), with White trim
Mascot	Wolverine
Website	www.uvu.edu

Utah Valley University or UVU, is a publicly-funded university located in Orem, Utah. Although Utah Valley has many courses of study, including an increasing number of bachelor's degree programs, it still retains many of its trade and technical school roots. The university currently offers 58 bachelor degrees, 60 associate degrees, more than 20 certificate/diploma programs and high-demand master degrees in education and nursing.

The university’s Wasatch Campus in Heber City, Utah, also offers bachelor degrees in business management and secondary education as well as associate degrees in accounting, behavioral science, business management, elementary education and general education.

Utah Valley University is a teaching institution that prepares students through a combination of academic and hands-on learning, a process dubbed "engaged learning" at UVU. The institution was awarded the Community Engagement Classification by the Carnegie Foundation in 2008^[1].

Most recently known as Utah Valley State College (UVSC), on July 1, 2008 the school attained university status and switched its name to Utah Valley University. Matthew S. Holland, appointed as the first president of UVU after an interim presidency assumed by Elizabeth Hitch, officially began his duties on June 1, 2009. ^[2]

Contents 1 History 2 Academics 2.1 Accreditation and admissions 2.2 Faculty 3 Rankings and awards 4 Campus 4.1 Digital Learning Center 5 Athletics 6 Media 7 Fire Academy 8 Alumni 9 References 10 External links

[edit] History

UVU was founded in the fall of 1941, when the Utah State Vocational Office consolidated federal work program classes into one campus in Provo. At this time the school was known as the Central Utah Vocational School.

Growth brought many changes to UVU over the years. The name of the now-university changed several times to reflect its changing role. In 1963 the name was changed from Central Utah Vocational School to Utah Trade Technical Institute. In 1967 the name became Utah Technical College at Provo as it was first given the authority to confer associate degrees. In 1977, the institution began moving to its present location beside I-15 in Orem. In 1987 it became Utah Valley Community College.

It wasn't until 1993 that it became Utah Valley State College and began awarding four-year degrees. The Utah legislature approved renaming it as a university in February 2007 (effective July 1, 2008), allowing it to begin offering master's degrees, although the school's emphasis would remain with its two-year and four-year degree programs.

In July 2008, the institution was awarded university status and changed its name to Utah Valley University to reflect the shift.

UVU is Utah's second-largest public university and the largest employer in Orem^{[citation needed]} with more than 1,300 salaried faculty and staff and 3,540 part- and full-time staff.

UVU announced Monday, October 5th 2009, that enrollment has continued to grow an average of 8% annually^[3]

[edit] Academics

[edit] Accreditation and admissions

UVU was accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Northwest Association of Schools in 1969, and has since been renewed in 1984, 1995, and 2005. Vocational accreditation was granted in 1976 and renewed in 1990, and 1995 by the Utah State Office of Vocational Education. In December 2006, the UVU School of Business received accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

In 2009, UVU students represent all 50 states and 73 countries^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Faculty

Faculty include Scott Carrier, an author and radio producer whose stories have been featured on "This American Life"^[4], and Jay DeSart, who created an election forecast model that was cited by The Wall Street Journal in predicting Barack Obama’s presidential win.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Rankings and awards

University rankings
USNWR National University[5]	NR
Washington Monthly National University[6]	NR

UVU has chosen not to participate in the U.S. News & World Report.^[7] Since 2001, UVU student teams have placed 1st or 2nd overall in the National Skills USA competition. Each year students from UVU place well in National Phi Beta Lambda and Delta Epsilon Chi Business Competitions. At the 2008 National Phi Beta Lambda conference in Atlanta,Georgia UVU students were awarded with 12 top 10 finishes^[8].

[edit] Campus

This section requires expansion.

[edit] Digital Learning Center

In September 2006, the school began construction of a new Digital Learning Center that replaced the previous 35,000-square-foot (3,300 m²) Losee Resource Center (library). The "DLC" is 180,000 square feet (17,000 m²) and is located northeast of the Liberal Arts building. It opened on July 1, 2008. UVU President William A. Sederburg hired Cooper, Roberts, Simonsen and Associates and Layton Construction as the design/build team for the new Digital Learning Center, with acclaimed New York architect Jacob Alspector as lead architect. “We chose the design we’re going with because it was an exceptional design that still kept a lot of the same features of our current campus. So it looks like it’s supposed to be there yet it stands out,” said Jim Michaelis, associate vice president of Facilities Planning. The $48 million project includes: networked computers, computer labs, computer reference area (Information Commons), media center, 31 study rooms, and wireless internet throughout the building.

The library is the “greenest” state-owned building in Utah, and it won two awards of merit from Intermountain Construction magazine in 2008 for its energy efficiency.

[edit] Athletics

The school mascot is the Wolverine, and the colors are green and gold. ^[9]

The school competes in most major sports at various levels. The school's NCAA sports are Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Track and Field, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Men's and Women's Golf, Baseball, Wrestling, Softball, Women's Soccer, and Women's Volleyball. The school also fields several club teams including men's ice hockey (plays in the ACHA), Men's Soccer, Men's Volleyball, Men's Lacrosse, and Men's and Women's Rugby.

The Wolverines play their home basketball games in the 8,500 seat McKay Events Center. The Men's Basketball team finished the 2008-09 season with a 17-11 record^[10], record which capped off its 26th winning season in a row. The McKay Center is also home to the Utah Flash of the NBA D-League and the Utah Valley Thunder of the American Indoor Football Association.

The baseball team plays at Brent Brown Ballpark, a 2,500 seat facility (up to 3,000 additional fans can sit on a grass berm that wraps around third base and left field for a grand total of 5,500) that opened on March 25, 2005. Brent Brown Ballpark is also the home of the Orem Owlz, a minor-league affiliate of Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, that competes in the Pioneer Baseball League.

The school's club hockey team, which competes in the ACHA Division 2, plays their home games at the Peaks Ice Arena a 2002 Winter Olympics Hockey Venue.

The athletic program is in the NCAA Division I. After many years of being an independent, the Wolverines are now affiliated with the Great West Conference, which began its inaugural all-sports season in 2008-09. ^[11]

The UVU Rodeo Team was ranked No. 1 in the nation by the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association in March 2007. Daily Herald, http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/217127/

The UVU student section is named the MAWL (Mighty Athletic Wolverine League). Justin Davies, student and Executive Vice President, came up with the name.

[edit] Media

The school has an independent, student-run weekly newspaper called UVU Review. The newspaper began publishing under the name on June 30, 2008, the day before the university transition became official.^[12] UVU Review's inaugural Editor-in-Chief was Jack Waters for the 2008-09 year, followed by Jennie Nicholls-Smith in 2009-10.^[13]

[edit] Fire Academy

The school is one of few Utah Universities which provides free training to Utah fire agencies. In August 2009 the University unveiled a 53-foot long Mobile Command Center, acquired by federal grants. The Utah Valley University Fire Academy Mobile Command Training Center cost an estimated $200,000 to $300,000 and provides both students and firefighters with realistic fire training. ^[14]

[edit] Alumni

• Ricky Allman - Internationally renowned painter
• Mitch Jones - Major League Baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers
• Kam Mickolio - Major League Baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles
• Ronnie Price - basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the NBA
• Michael McDonald - former basketball player for the New Orleans Hornets of the NBA
• Travis Hansen- former basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA
• Gregg Hale - former guitarist for Multi-platinum band Spiritualized
• Noelle Pikus Pace - World Cup Gold Medalist in Skeleton (tobogganing)
• Matthew S. Petersen - Federal Election Commission member, and former Republican chief counsel to the United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration [1]
• Chelsie Hightower - Professional dancer on hit TV series Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance

[edit] References

"UVSC celebrates first 'unofficial' university grads"; Salt Lake Tribute,http://www.sltrib.com/ci_5767536

[edit] External links

• Official athletics website
• United Basketball Conference
• Utah System of Higher Education
• UVU Review (student newspaper) website

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