Gift Pushes USU Eastern Past $1 Million Mark

Article Courtesy of Utah State Today 

An aerial view of the USU Eastern campus in Price. A donation by the Sorenson Legacy Foundation supports the Building Vitality Campaign.

A $267,000 donation from the Sorenson Legacy Foundation pushes Utah State University Eastern past the million dollar mark in private funding toward its Building Vitality Campaign.

The significance of this is that USU Eastern can now hand the Utah Legislature complete architectural plans for a new Central Instructional Building when it convenes in January. This will hopefully move the project even higher up on the state building priority list, said USU Eastern Chancellor Joe Peterson.

“We wanted to pay for architectural planning in advance of the upcoming legislative session,” he said. “We have now accomplished that goal.”

The Sorenson Legacy Foundation is known for support of educational initiatives related to arts and the disabled or disadvantaged.

“We’re extremely grateful that the foundation perceived our project’s congruity with the foundation’s values, and the importance of our project for this region,” Peterson said. “Its gift makes the foundation one of the college’s chief partners in extending access to cultural events and educational opportunity.”

It was estimated that it would cost USU Eastern $1.4 million for architectural planning. Last year the state legislature gave the college a kick-start when it allocated $500,000 in planning money for the project. With help from the Sorenson Legacy Foundation, USU Eastern was able to raise the additional private funding necessary to not only meet, but exceed its goal, Peterson said.

“The success of our fundraising effort demonstrates in a concrete way that people of good will understand and value USU Eastern in general, and this building project in particular,” he said. “Now, as we seek full funding for construction, it is up to us to explain why this new building is so important to the college and our regional vitality.”

Part of this has to do with curb appeal.

The Building Vitality Campaign is based on the connection between buildings, enrollments and economic vitality in southeast Utah. The logic of the campaign is that to boost economic and cultural vitality in southeast Utah, USU Eastern needs to prepare more people to make economic and cultural contributions, Peterson said.

To prepare more people, the college needs to grow its enrollment numbers. Facilities play an important role in attracting new students because without upgraded or new campus structures, it’s difficult to effectively compete against other campuses in the state, he said.

“This new building will allow the college to improve facilities, attract and enroll more students and have a greater impact on the regional vitality,” Peterson said.
 
http://eastern.usu.edu/price/

6 Ways to Ensure Your Kids Become Aggies

It’s one of many parent’s greatest fears – when the time comes for their high-school-aged child to decide where they want to further their education - and they pick a school that is NOT their parents’ alma mater. As if there were any other options.

OK, so maybe it’s not a “greatest” fear of many parents. Or even a fear at all. But when you had memorable experiences and received a valuable education at USU, it’s only natural to want similar experiences and a quality education for your son or daughter.

On top of that, it can be very rewarding to share that Aggie pride with your adult children.

With that in mind, we’ve concocted a list of six ways to ensure your kids follow in your footsteps to becoming loyal Aggies.

Caution: None of these methods have actually been tested and are not based on facts. Results may vary.

Get them involved at a young age.

Take them to USU hosted events as youngsters. Not just athletic events. While the football and basketball teams are fun to watch, there are always other events taking place all around campus – performing arts shows, visual art galleries, speakers, ceremonies, etc. And these events aren’t just limited to the Logan campus. Regional campuses get involved as well. Keep an eye on the university calendar for a detailed list of what is happening in your area.    

Play The Scotsman in their room every night while they sleep.

Start this one from the day they come home from the hospital and before you know it, their first words will be “show me the true-blooded Aggie from Utah…”

Replace their entire wardrobe with Aggie gear.

The Campus Store sells about every article of clothing you can imagine with an Aggie logo on it. Not only would your kids open their dressers and closets every morning and be reminded of how great it will be to become an Aggie one day, but by wearing their Utah State gear, they also display both their Aggie pride and yours as a loyal alum and parent.

Give all your kids names that start with “A”, officially spelled with the Utah State block “A”.     

It may take them a while to write their names, especially when they’re young, but they’ll get the hang of it.

Dress them up as Big Blue every year for Halloween.

Great mascots can be hard to find. If they learn how to break dance and do back flips in their costumes, this could be fantastic training for some future mascot prodigies.  

Feed them nothing but Famous Aggie Ice Cream for the first two years of their lives.

Potential health risks aside, who wouldn’t want to become an Aggie after eating our ice cream?

What other suggestions do you have (serious or not) when it comes to raising devoted little Aggies?