Monday, March 2, 2015

We're Celebrating USU's Birthday, Complete With a Theme Party

Each year in March, we celebrate the birthday, or founding, of Utah State University with a Founders Day event. This year's event takes place on Friday, March 6, but that doesn't mean the celebration is over. 

We're going to keep it rolling through the entire month of March, bringing you stories about the history of USU and the many achievements made by its phenomenal students, faculty and staff.

To kick things off, we thought we'd start by providing you with our own definition of Founders Day. 

USU Founders Day [u-s-u foun-ders dey] : noun
1. Celebrating the establishment and rich history of Utah State University  2. Honoring distinguished alumni  3. Gathering to enjoy an evening of well-known friends and alumni at USU.

For 127 years, Utah State has been known for high-quality education, innovative research and a beautiful campus. This Founders Day we'll gather once again to celebrate how far we've come. 

From day one, USU has been dedicated to resolving Utah’s water problems. This year’s theme, Year of Water, focuses on the achievements of our many leading researchers in this field. 

In a January 2015 Utah State Today article, Tim Vitale, Executive Director of USU Public Relations and Marketing, explained more about the history of USU's involvement in and the critical need for addressing Utah’s water issues.

"Utah State University took up the challenge of quenching the water needs of a burgeoning population even before historic Old Main was completed. USU’s Agricultural Experiment Station was the first building on campus before Old Main, and its mission was to research then solve Utah’s water problems and address the state’s water needs."

This year, Utah State University's Water Research Laboratory will celebrate 50 years of leading the state's efforts on water research.

In reference to that celebration, USU President Stan Albrecht said, 


“We noted immediately that it’s not just the Water Lab leading efforts to address water needs. Our specialists in many colleges across many disciplines today are among the nations and even the world’s leading experts on many water-related issues. So we decided to broaden the celebration."

Few know about the work being done across the globe by our experienced water experts. It certainly isn't a glamorous, high-profile industry. But it's one of vital significance and monumental impact. 

Noelle Cockett, USU provost and executive vice president, said, "Addressing water issues is a complex and challenging task, and our interdisciplinary approach has resulted in innovative solutions recognized the world over.”

According to Vitale, "USU has projects now in Egypt, Senegal, Thailand, Uzbekistan, throughout Latin America, Central America and in many other countries across the Middle East."

Not only that, but our Utah State water resources graduates are sought out and highly valued in their field. Vitale said, 
"People who received their graduate degrees in water resources from USU are the who’s who of water ministers, engineers, resource specialists in Jordan, Palestine, Israel, the Philippines, Thailand, the Dominican Republic and now — or, again — in Iraq. USU researchers are the principal investigators on other projects across the nation, particularly in the West and in dozens of areas of specialization.
From rehabilitation of river ecosystems, to water quality for humans AND fish, to ways to capture and then deliver to municipal systems, to the agricultural fields and to the faucets in your home, USU has been, is and will continue to be THE place for answers to water challenges facing the region, state, nation and world."

Click here for the full Utah State Today article 




Join fellow Aggies and friends of Utah State as we celebrate the 127th anniversary of the establishment of USU. Honors include Distinguished Service Awards to W. Brent & Beverley J. Robinson and Rodney E. & Valene D. Tueller. Recipients of Distinguished Alumnus Awards are Blake R. Kirby and David C. Miller. The evening includes dinner, awards presentation and entertainment. $35 per person. Please RSVP by March 2, 2015 by calling (888) 653-6246 or register online at www.usu.edu/foundersday. Doors open at 6pm and dinner begins promptly at 6:30pm.


1 comment:

Michael Mills said...

It is good that you are celebrating USU's birthday. As an alumni, I would like to see more issues on the Native American student body activities, and progress of the Native American Club. When I attended USU in 1990our Native student body population was 1%. Is that the same?