C O M I N G FA L L 2 0 1 6 Find everything you need for Shoot for the moon, WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL GAME DAYS News for Alumni & Friends or in this case, Mars at our store downtown! WILDCAT Vol. 20, No.2, Fall 2015 editor in chief Amy Hendricks Creative director Hillary Wallace BFA ’98 Contributing writers Amy Hendricks Allison Barlow Hess Karin Hurst Marcus Jensen BA ’15 Peta Owens-Liston Michael Vaughan Michael Wutz designers Melissa Dallof J. Michaela Funtanilla Amy Hajdas Becky Jorgensen contributing editors Nancy B. Collinwood ’94 Margie Esquibel John Kowalewski Brad Mortensen Amber Robson BS ’05 p hotographers D’Arcy Benincosa Sara Lleverino BS ’01 Zac Williams BS ’01, MPC ’13 Michael Wutz Special thanks Jessica Corbran AS ’11 Janessa Richardson AS ’00 Greg Ward Comments and questions may be sent to Wildcat, Weber State University, 1265 Village Drive Dept 4025, Ogden UT 84408-4025. The editor may also be contacted by phone: 801-626-7359 or email: magazine@weber.edu. When Greg Yardley AS ’09, BS ’10 graduated with his degree in radiologic sciences, he had no idea that, one day, he’d be saying this about his job: Because bones decrease in mass and density during long-duration missions, it is imperative to identify preventative measures and treatments that can be brought into space. “The best part is participating in biomedical research that will hopefully get humans to Mars and back safely, and, getting to meet astronauts, past and present, especially those who walked on the moon.” Greg has extensive experience in DXA scans, which require significant technical expertise and quality control. “I was taught to produce the best scans possible. If they’re not your best, you re-do them. You learn that at Weber.” Originally from Beaver, Utah, Greg is a registered bone densitometry (DXA) technologist and research assistant for Wyle Laboratories, a provider of scientific services to NASA. He works at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, performing bone density scans on active and retired astronauts and researching alternate methods of studying bone density in zero gravity and on Earth. A Mars mission could send astronauts to space for up to three years, Greg explained. That emphasis on quality is the reason Greg chose to earn his Master of Science in Radiologic Sciences from Weber State — his third degree from the university. He is slated to graduate in 2016. For more information on WSU’s Department of Radiologic Sciences, which offers associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees, as well as outreach and regional programs, visit weber.edu/radsci. Send address changes to Advancement Services, Weber State University, 1265 Village Drive Dept 4018, Ogden UT 84408-4018, call 801-626-6138 or email giving@weber.edu to update your records. postmaster: Send address changes to Advancement Services, Weber State University, 1265 Village Drive Dept 4018, Ogden UT 84408-4018. n Weber State apparel n Tickets n Tailgating n Get weber state university board of trustees 2015-16 Alan E. Hall BA ’69, chair Retired Gen. Kevin Sullivan, vice chair Louenda Downs BS ’78 Karen Fairbanks Heather Hales BA ’91, M.Ed. ’06 Nolan Karras BS ’70 Cash Knight BS ’14 Scott Parson Steven E. Starks BIS ’03 Jeff M. Stephens BS ’84, MS ’88 25% off your apparel purchase - with this coupon PR5000000004801 weber.edu/wsumagazine | alumni.weber.edu IMPORTANT MAILING NOTICE In an effort to be more sustainable, one copy of Wildcat will be sent to each address on record, starting with the fall 2015 edition of the magazine. If you would like more than one copy sent to your home in the future, please contact Advancement Services at 801-626-6138. 2314 Washington Blvd., Ogden / 801-626-8820 Open Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. CONTENTS Can you guess what these brick patterns represent? Visit weber.edu/magazine to see if you’re right. WEBER WATCH Allison Barlow Hess and Marcus Jensen BS ’15 MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS International Praise During the 2015 International Town & Gown Association Conference, Weber State University and Ogden City were honored with the Larry Abernathy Award, recognizing the strong bond between the university and the city. 15 Weber State and Ogden City formally signed a College Town Charter in 2013, outlining a vision for continued collaboration. This College Town Initiative has since had a profound impact on the The Art of Construction community, fostering an environment conducive to learning, growth and development for both View the building of WSU’s new science center through English professor Michael Wutz’s lens. students and residents. WSU President Charles A. Wight (left) shakes hands with Ogden Mayor Mike Caldwell BS ’01 during the signing of the College Town Charter. 12 A Wonderful Life 26 The Dark Side of the Internet Former provost and dean Michael Vaughan remembers John B. Goddard, the namesake of Weber State’s business school. Criminal justice professor Bradford Reyns discusses cyberstalking and what you can do to prevent online harassment. 20 30 Fueled by Curiosity A microbiology professor for 35 years, Craig Oberg answers questions about his commitment to students and comedic tendencies. A ‘Habit of Not Quitting’ Read how alumnus Michael Beasley overcame discrimination to become a successful corporate executive. Leading the Nation Fifty universities lead the nation with innovative Master of Health Administration (MHA) programs, and Weber State University tops that list with the most affordable program, according to the online site Top Master’s in Healthcare Administration. Departments were evaluated on a number of criteria, including national accreditation, variety of degrees, online and executive programs, active student and alumni groups, and faculty engaged in research. Tuition for WSU’s on-campus MHA is $15,775. The average tuition nationally is $44,850. The most expensive program, Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., costs $93,480. 39 Class Notes Wildcats share their successes and updates. In fall 2015, Weber State began a new online executive MHA designed for professionals. Students gather for in-class instruction just two days per semester. They meet at Weber State Farmington Station, a new professional education center that just opened in the Station Park outdoor retail development center in Farmington, Utah. Fall 2015 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 5 WEBER WATCH WEBER WATCH Picture of Health A community health assessment conducted by students from the Jerry & Vickie Moyes College of Education has given administrators in Weber and Morgan counties a better picture of citizens’ attitudes about health. Here Comes the Sun Under the direction of Laura Santurri, WSU assistant professor of health promotion and human performance, Ogden homeowners can buy solar panels conveniently students conducted 11 community focus groups in and at the best possible price thanks to a partnership Weber and Morgan counties. They asked participants with Utah Clean Energy, community volunteers their views of current services and unmet health needs. and Weber State’s new Sustainability Practices and Research Center (SPARC). Students and community photographers then created a photo exhibit, depicting messages shared in the focus Using bulk-buying power to negotiate discounts with groups, such as the need for clean air, water and access installers, the Susie Hulet Community Solar Program to quality health care. helps homeowners purchase affordable residential solar paneling. Participants also are eligible for a more affordable and simplified solar-installation process. The last day to enroll in the program is Oct. 1, 2015, at weberstatesolar.org Safe Haven The program is named in honor of the late Susie Hulet, a longtime advocate and benefactor to nature and sustainability programs, who worked with WSU’s Homeless Utah teens can find shelter in a crisis thanks to a Environmental Issues Committee. It is the newest recent WSU social work graduate. addition to WSU’s innovative sustainability efforts. Kristen Mitchell BS ’15 was honored nationally as a Newman Civic Fellow for establishing a youth shelter in Ogden — the first of its kind in Utah. The Newman Civic Fellow Awards honor extraordinary college students who demonstrate a commitment to solving problems in communities across the country. Mitchell was the only student from a Utah university to receive the award this year. Review’s Guide to Green Colleges. New Role for Familiar Face The nationwide search for a provost ended with the selection of a candidate who has already made a significant contribution to Weber State. Madonne Miner, who served as dean of WSU’s Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities for the past eight years, took over as opened its doors in February 2015, to provide safety, advocacy, provost in July. guidance and resources to homeless and runaway youths. “Weber State is on a marvelous trajectory, and I don’t want to see that stop or slow down,” Miner said. and worked diligently in concert with fellow WSU students and Miner succeeds Michael Vaughan, who announced last professors to change laws and raise money for the shelter. fall that he would step down as provost at the end of June As of June 2015, Youth Futures had provided 249 shelter night stays and more than 1,100 meals to teens in need. weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2015 year straight by Tree Campus USA and the Princeton Mitchell founded Youth Futures, a nonprofit organization that Six years ago, Mitchell identified the need in the community 6 In 2015, Weber State was honored for the fourth 2015. Following a sabbatical, Vaughan plans to return to the classroom and lead WSU’s Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality (read more about Vaughan on page 47). Fall 2015 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 7 WEBER WATCH WEBER WATCH ’Cats Take Home Hardware The WSU Athletics Department has a few more trophies to add to its collection … Waldo Waldo won first place in the NCA Collegiate National Mascot Championship, beating out mascots from universities across the country, including Georgia Tech, Missouri, Wyoming and Utah Valley University. The competition was held as part of the Collegiate Cheer and Dance Championship. Waldo posted a final score of 59.10 in the competition that included character, creativity, crowd interaction, dance and the use of props. He won the event by nearly two points. See Waldo’s winning performance online at weber.edu/wsumagazine. Softball In its sixth season since being reinstated, WSU’s softball team won its first Big Sky title and played in the first round of the NCAA regional tournament in Louisiana. The Wildcats ended the season 38-17, including 13-6 in Big Sky Conference play. Twelve Wildcats earned All-Conference Honors, and head coach Mary Kay Amicone was named Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year. Men’s Tennis For the second straight season, the men’s tennis team earned 10 consecutive conference victories, helping the Wildcats secure back-to-back Big Sky regular-season crowns. 8 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2015 Fall 2015 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 9 WEBER WATCH READY. SET.GO. A Weber State University MBA put Riley on the right track. As a student-athlete, Riley Cook combined his passion for running and for business, ultimately winning the 2005 Big Sky title in the indoor mile and receiving his bachelor’s degree in business economics. He later returned to his alma mater to earn his MBA because it was “the best value, convenient and a great program.” Riley’s MBA courses helped him hone his analytical and people skills, which he finds invaluable as a cost analyst for Hill Air Force Base. “Everything I learned in my MBA correlates perfectly with my work.” Rookie of the Year, All-Star, WSU Grad Today, Riley, who is married with three daughters, still finds time to run. His 2015 goal: the Olympic Trials in the marathon. Mom knows best. That’s what motivated Damian Lillard BS ’15 to return to Ogden to get his degree during WSU’s 145th Commencement in May 2015. Lillard made a promise to his mother that, even though he hadn’t finished his degree upon entering the NBA draft, he would eventually walk as a college graduate. Hear what other WSU MBA alumni have to say about the program. “This is the best Mother’s Day gift I could ever get,” said Lillard’s mother, Gina Johnson, during a news conference on graduation day. “I know he is an NBA star, but this was the most important thing for me, for him to have a degree.” Riley Cook BS ’07, MBA ’11 Cost Analyst, Hill Air Force Base Lillard left WSU three classes short of graduation. He took classes during three off-seasons to earn his degree in professional sales. “Anything you start you should want to finish, especially with your education,” Lillard said. “That is something that goes a long way.” With all the accolades he has received, Lillard views graduation as one of his top accomplishments. He credited his time at WSU with much of his personal and professional success. “It was one of the most challenging things of my entire life,” Lillard said. “This is one of the better moments in my life.” MBA PROGRAM The Weber State University MBA is: • A sound investment, combining outstanding faculty, innovative curriculum and affordable tuition • Designed for the working professional, meeting one evening per week with supplemental online learning • Flexible, allowing students to switch between fulland part-time anytime 10 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2015 weber.edu/weberMBA I Jack n some ways, Jack Goddard reminded me of the lead character in It’s a Wonderful Life. If you are familiar with the movie you’ll recall that Jimmy Stewart plays George Bailey, a man who runs a small-town savings and loan. A series of flashbacks reveals George’s good works and the immeasurable mark he made on his Bedford Falls community. Jack grew up in Ogden and, like George Bailey, had a tremendous impact on his hometown and the entire northern Utah region. He was an entrepreneur, banker, builder and developer, and someone who cared deeply about his city and its local college, which he believed could be an economic engine for Ogden. To illustrate the immense impression Jack left on our community and university, I would like to share my own series of “flashbacks” on Jack’s life. In 1991, during my first weeks on the job as dean of Weber State’s business school, I scheduled meetings with alumni to ask for their advice and perspectives. One of these meetings was with Paul Neuenschwander BS ’70, who had earned a degree in economics from the school. I visited with Paul at his office at United Savings Bank. After about 20 minutes he said, “The guy you really should be talking to is down the hall.” I asked who that was, to which he replied, “Jack Goddard.” Paul led me to Jack’s office and introduced me. It was a fortuitous meeting. For the next 24 years, Jack was always ready to provide resources, advice and help to improve the business school and Weber State University. O n January 8, 2015, Weber State University said goodbye to a long-treasured friend, John B. “Jack” Goddard. A highly respected businessman and philanthropist, Jack was instrumental in helping Weber State achieve university status in 1991 and later established an endowment for WSU’s school of business and economics, which now proudly bears his name. Michael Vaughan, economics professor, former provost and former dean of Weber State’s business school, recalls his first meeting with Jack and the wonderful partnership that ensued. 12 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2015 In the late 1990s, Jack told me that Weber State should start a Master of Business Administration (MBA) program. I told him the faculty would love to, and I knew students would flock to the program. Yet I told him we didn’t believe we could get the degree approved by the Utah State Board of Regents because of opposition from other institutions. Jack said to go for it. We did, and we encountered pretty intense opposition. The former president of a university to the north told the Regents that WSU would never attract enough students to have a viable program. The Regents refused to act upon the proposal when it was initially presented. Jack was by our side as we responded to our critics. You see, he had previously served as a member of the Board of Regents for 12 years. During that time, he was instrumental in WSU gaining university status. Jack knew how to navigate the political waters, and with his help, the MBA program was approved and started in July 2000. Since then, more than 800 students have earned MBA degrees from Weber State. Today, the John B. Goddard School of Business & Economics bears Jack’s name in recognition of his immeasurable contributions. Jack also knew how to have fun while doing good. One year, a few days before Christmas, he called me. He asked if the MBA students would enjoy buying some toys and other things for needy children so they would have a little better Christmas. Jack gave the students $10,000, and in the days before the holiday, a group of students had a delightful time running around Ogden playing Santa Claus. Because of Jack, a lot of families had an unexpectedly nice Christmas. I also crossed paths with Jack in my personal life, in some delightful and curious ways. For the past 25 years, my wife and I have lived in a neighborhood originally developed by Jack. The house we live in was designed by Jack’s wife, Gerry. Jack passed away last January, but Weber State and the Ogden community continue to benefit from his good works. A couple of months before he passed away, Jack provided seed money to start a community solar program named after his late daughter Susie. The Susie Hulet Community Solar program officially started this spring. The program will provide homeowners with accurate information about the current state of solar energy and help them assess the feasibility of converting their homes to solar. Jack may no longer be with us, but his legacy will forever remain strong. Just as George Bailey turned Bedford Falls into a flourishing community, Jack Goddard helped transform northern Utah into a place of opportunity and Weber State into a university that helps students achieve their scholastic dreams. Like George Bailey, Jack Goddard, too, had a wonderful life, and I am honored to have known him. WEBER LEARN GROW LEAD EXCEL DREAM BUILD TEACH SUCCEED Keep the good times rolling! Share your love for Weber State by referring a friend! To submit your future Wildcat referrals, visit: weber.edu/requestinfo Welcome to the Neighborhood A Brady Presidential Distinguished Professor, English scholar, photography enthusiast, and admirer of both the arts and sciences, Michael Wutz shares his thoughts on, and photographs of, the rise of Weber State University’s new Tracy Hall Science Center, slated to open in the fall of 2016. Fall 2015 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 15 W hen English physical chemist and novelist I also took an elective in photography, which helped me C.P. Snow famously declared the existence of understand questions of framing and composition together two distinct cultures in the postwar Western with the chemistry of film developing in the good old days world — the culture of the sciences and the culture of the of analog. This was STEAM education (science, technology, arts — he created a division that, to this day, has provided engineering, arts and mathematics) avant la lettre and incredible fodder for discussion. Since Snow first diagnosed almost certainly laid the groundwork for my interest in the this state of intellectual schizophrenia in the 1950s, arts and sciences alike. countless writers — fiction or otherwise — have developed an impressive knowledge base in the sciences, just as numerous scientists are among some of the most elegant and beautiful writers working today. In my area of so-called expertise, English literature, Barbara Kingsolver or Richard Powers come to mind, but the list could, in other areas, easily be extended to include, say, Jane Godall and Edward O. Wilson. Even the images of coastlines and snowflakes circulating in the media during the heydays of “chaos theory” in the 1990s, demonstrated not just the repetition of scale levels throughout the natural world, but also emphasized its elegance, (a)symmetry and, well, beauty. It is in that spirit that I want to offer these photographs of the new kid on the block, Tracy Hall Science Center, rising majestically next to Elizabeth Hall, bringing the sciences and the humanities into close(r) symbolic proximity. If photography in itself is an oft-noted hybrid of art and trade, that is also true of architecture and the workers translating aesthetic design into the actual building. Both embody, in one form or another, science and the arts in action, from the brickwork containing patterns so subtle that, when viewed from a distance, becomes akin to the process of reading, to the industrial trapeze artists, the Houdinis of Hardware, wielding their torches, abiding by I, for one, have never subscribed to that stark division and the electrochemical processes of welding, performing am a firm believer in disciplinary fluidity. In my case, that science at every step. most likely started during my education in a German high school that emphasized, in equal measure, languages and the humanities side by side with science and technology. G Visit weber.edu/wsumagazine to see more of Wutz’s photographs. enerous funding from the Utah Legislature and donors have resulted in an outstanding learning environment for students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Today, you, too, can help support STEM education at Weber State, by providing state-of-the-art laboratory equipment for Tracy Hall Science Center. Visit weber.edu/wsumagazine, or call 801-626-6138, to find out how you can make an impact on students. 16 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2015 Fall 2015 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 19 Amy Hendricks MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Craig Oberg’s BS ’79 earliest memory is a tale fraught with adventure, mischief and the brief appearance of a substance so nauseating we won’t mention it here (but will later … be prepared). For just a moment, imagine a 3-year-old Craig, sporting buckaroo gear, complete with cowboy hat, boots and fringed shirt, mounting his trusty steed and furiously racing around the hedge separating his home from his neighbor’s … a captive audience at Weber State University’s Last Lecture Series, which honors professors — by giving them the opportunity to present the lecture of a lifetime — who inspire, entertain or challenge their students. Oberg, a Brady Presidential Distinguished Professor of microbiology, does all three. In late April 2015, I caught up with Oberg in his third-floor office in the Science Lab. We laughed about the spaghetti story. Afterward, as I transcribed the interview, I couldn’t help but notice how often he said, “That was fun.” You’ll see ... __________________________________ Looking back on the spaghetti incident, is that when you knew you wanted to become a scientist? I don’t know why exactly, but I’ve just always been interested in science. My grandma gave me a book when I was just starting to read; it was a giant field guide to everything. I read that book about 20 times until I pretty much had it memorized. It talked about rocks, trees, ecology and weather. I wish I still had it. “I wasn’t supposed to, and I knew I would get in trouble, but I did it anyway,” Oberg admitted some 40 years later. But, his curiosity had gotten the best of him: “They had a collie, and I just had to see it.” Now, here’s where it gets good. (Skip the next paragraph if you’re squeamish.) (You’ve been warned.) “The dog had just regurgitated. I rode over to investigate, and my first thought was, ‘They feed their dog moving spaghetti?!’” Oberg said, holding up a roundworm specimen. He told this story six years ago to I discovered microbiology right here in this Science Lab as a student in the ’70s. It encompassed so many things about the natural world; it intrigued me. At one point I thought I would go to medical school, but I just really liked being in the lab. I like seeing what grows. When I went to graduate school at Utah State University to get my Ph.D., I started out studying curly top beet virus. I was working in the pathogenic virus lab, you know, where you had to wear the big, white safety suit and gloves. One day, my professor came in and said, ‘We’re out of money.’ I was taking a food fermentation class at the time and asked the professor if he had any room for a Ph.D. student. He said, ‘Yeah, I have a cheese project.’ I thought, ‘Pathogenic viruses. Cheese. Yep, that’s perfect.’ In one day, I went from a plant pathologist to a dairy microbiologist. I thought, ‘Great man, I can take my experiments home, put them on toast and have a grilled cheese sandwich.’ That was a lot of fun. Most people just see cheese as something you slice and put on bread. I look at it and see a whole microbial world. In fact, aged cheese has a lot of different organisms in it doing lots of different things to give it its flavor and characteristics. __________________________________ What are you researching these days? For a few years now, I’ve been working with Dr. Michele Culumber (WSU’s microbiology chair) and two colleagues at Utah State University, Dr. Jeff Broadbent and Dr. Donald McMahon. We recently discovered a new bacterium in the dairy world that, we believe, has been causing packages of sharp cheese to puff up and create defects in the cheese. Some of our Weber State students have helped us with that project, analyzing cheese samples from across the U.S. in an effort to assess the scope of the new bacterium, which, by the way, we’re going to name for the Wasatch Front. That’s been a lot of fun. We have a paper coming out soon. __________________________________ How does one come across new bacteria? You know, I keep this quote and share it with my students. (He pulled a push-pinned print out off his wall and handed it to me. It was a quote by biochemist and author Issac Asimov: “The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds the most discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ but, ‘That’s funny.’”) So, the new bacterium is a funny story. I kind of intentionally left the plates (or Petri dishes) in the fridge for six weeks. They normally only incubate for two days. I came back and said, ‘Hey! There are teeny little colonies growing on here.’ So, we figured out how to grow the bacteria a little better. Fall 2015 | weber.edu/wsumagazine Photo by D’Arcy Benincosa 21 who’s still here is Stephen Clark BS ’64. I took a couple of botany classes from him and enjoyed that. They helped me see that graduate school was a possibility, that I had the potential to be successful. The same thing that happened to me way back then, still happens today. I get to know my students’ names, know a little about them. You’re very passionate about undergraduate research. Why? If I had to pick just one thing to do in my career, it would be doing research projects with students so they have the chance to apply the scientific method, so they realize science can be fun and applicable to everyday life. It’s fun for me just to watch them gather data. They’ll come in and say, ‘These are kind of weird results.’ I’ll say, ‘That’s great! Let’s figure out why they’re weird.’ It gets them to ask those questions they asked as a little kid — ‘Why does that do that? Why is the sky blue? Why is that spaghetti moving?’ In recent years, we’ve had a lot of fun at the Great Salt Lake. To most people, it looks pretty sterile, but to microbiologists, it’s an undiscovered microbial jungle. Our students have discovered interesting bacteria, interesting viruses. We let them name what they find and number the strains because they’re so unique. We’ve had some pretty spectacular adventures there, too. We’ve run into gigantic spider webs and been attacked by biting gnats. One time, there were six or seven of us, and we all ran screaming up the hill, jumped in the car, drove to the closest Maverik, got the water hose out and hosed ourselves off. I’m thankful for the resources that allow the students to ask interesting questions, and to have the tools, equipment and mentors to help them answer those questions. I hope the people who have donated to undergraduate research and helped fund these projects realize what this has done for our students and our faculty. Every year, we’ve had students present their research at the American Society for Microbiology general meeting. This year, four students went and presented on the virosphere of the Great Salt Lake and dairy microbiology. It’s been a lot of fun. __________________________________ You’re known for being a gifted lecturer and for bringing humor into the classroom. Where did you get your sense of humor? I think it came from being a science geek when I was a kid. It was a self-defense mechanism. Over time, though, I realized there are a lot of crazy things that happen in science that, if we just take time to look, we would think, ‘Wow! I can’t believe that happens.’ That’s what I try to get across in the classroom — the fun, interesting side of science — because no matter how important my course content is, if my students are asleep, it just doesn’t matter. At least it’s kept me awake over the years. He said, chortling. Let’s go back to when you were a student. Why did you attend Weber State? My dad passed away when I was in high school. I was the oldest and the only son, so I felt like I should stay around my mom’s house. I got a scholarship here for about $95 a quarter. After I paid my tuition and bought my books, I still had a little money left over — shows you how old I am. I didn’t really have much knowledge about the college experience. Fortunately, I took a couple of classes early on where I rubbed shoulders with faculty who had a positive influence on me. I think it surprised me because I had always liked the hands-on lab experience, and every class I took up here had that. That kept me interested in things. __________________________________ You’ve been a professor here since 1985. What made you return to your alma mater to teach, and stay for 30 years? When I was here as a student, I thought, ‘This is awesome. I get to learn from and be mentored by a number of faculty who had Ph.D.s.’ One was Lee Jackson. He was the department chair of microbiology at the time. I just really admired him and how he could make science interesting. One For me, it’s always been about the students. I think I’ve sacrificed some research opportunities for my own personal edification, but it’s been more than worth it to have a student say, ‘Thanks. You got me to a place I never thought I’d get.’ This is an unusual institution in that, being open enrollment, students sometimes come not realizing what they can do. Being able to help them see what they can become and to watch them actually do it — that’s why I stayed. __________________________________ Recently, you and WSU history professor Gene Sessions, also a Brady Presidential Distinguished Professor, collaborated on a MOOC, a massive open online course, titled “Microbes Rule the World: Effects of Disease on History.” How did that come about? Occasionally, I take classes across campus. I’m just interested in learning. I’ve taken zoology classes, history classes, Spanish classes, here and there when I can. I was taking a history class from Gene years ago, and I, of course, made a snide remark, something like, ‘Oh, you know, microbes and diseases are the things that drive history.’ He said, ‘Prove it.’ So, I wrote a lecture and presented it to his class. I’ve given that lecture quite a bit since, to alumni groups and others. One day, Gene and I were sitting and talking, and I said, ‘I’ve always thought these MOOCs were interesting. I’ve always been interested in learning new stuff, and I think people all over the world are interested in learning new things. Let’s do this.’ So, we did. It’s really a history class with a lot of science hidden in it. (It covers everything from the English monarchies to Vikings to Salem Witch trials, and discusses how diseases and microbes have impacted history.) Gene and I had a really great team of instructional developers. We learned a lot, and it was a lot of fun. We had to re-shoot a lot of the videos because we’d start chortling. It’s shown me that interdisciplinary classes really do work, and that you can take two pretty different things, history and microbiology, and mesh them together and get people interested in how the world works in bigger pictures. To see videos from the MOOC, visit weber.edu/magazine. __________________________________ What’s your favorite lesson from the MOOC? Even though I get a kick out of the syphilitic insanity in the European monarchs, I’ve always been enamored with the Lewis and Clark Expedition. They were tasked with going to a place that no one knew anything about, and they discovered all kinds of plants and animals. They probably would’ve discovered microbes if they would have had the capacity, but they didn’t. There were a couple of times when microorganisms or diseases could’ve just ended it for them. Many of the people on the expedition were infected with syphilis when they spent their first winter with the Mandan Native American tribe. The treatment for that was mercury. I don’t know how they didn’t die from mercury poisoning. Then, they just barely survived going over the Lolo Pass from Idaho into eastern Oregon. The natives there gave them tainted fish, and they all got really egregious food poisoning. Just think, one sexually transmitted infection and one case of food poisoning could have ended this unbelievable expedition that opened up the West and the natural world to us. Siblings Jed Lowe BS ’04 and Rachel Lowe BS ’13 have a lot in common. They were both English majors at Weber State University. They both decided to pursue careers in the medical field. (“Their father, John Earl Lowe BA ’70, is a doctor. I’m a teacher and former English major. It’s a combination that’s just in their blood,” said their mother, Nancy Lowe BA ’71.) They both attend school at Touro University Nevada, Jed in the osteopathic medicine (DO) program, Rachel in the physician assistant (PA) program. And, as their mom says, “They both have Craig Oberg BS ’79 to thank for helping them get there.” In fact, so does Jed’s wife, Tarris Webber Lowe BS ’12, who is also in Touro’s DO program. “Craig spent hours and hours with Jed, Tarris and Rachel. He helped them with research projects and papers that made them stand out in their graduate school applications,” Nancy said. “And today, you need that extra something. PA programs, for example, are extremely difficult to get into now.” Nancy said her kids’ research projects were incredibly successful and well received when presented. “Craig knows exactly what needs to be done, that projects and papers must have merit to be presented and published,” Nancy said. “It’s a very extensive, time-consuming process. It sometimes takes a year or more. He didn’t have to put in all of those hours, all of that extra work, but he did with my kids, and he does it for many others because he cares.” Today, Nancy’s kids know they have to work hard to be successful — something she and her husband taught them at home, and something Oberg reinforced at Weber State. “You can teach them to have a strong work ethic at home, but they need other people in their lives who push and encourage them,” Nancy said. “Craig’s students know they have to work hard. He tells them, ‘You have to work harder than the other person. You have to put forth that extra effort. You have to be a little better. It’s up to you.’ Of course, it’s Craig saying that, so he does it in a wonderfully funny way, but in a way that gets through to them.” The family’s experience with undergraduate research inspired the Lowes to create a fund to support students who want to work on a rewarding, challenging, sciencerelated research project. To learn how to make invaluable opportunities such as this available to even more students, contact the Development Office at 801-626-6194. continued on next page ... 22 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2015 Fall 2015 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 23 In the summer of 2016, you’ll be moving from the Science Lab to Weber State’s new Tracy Hall Science Center. Are you excited? It’s bittersweet. The new building will give students great experiences. I’m looking forward to it, but at the same time it’s kind of like moving out of my ancestral home. I took my first science class in the Science Lab in 1973, so I’ve been banging around this building for a while. I’ll miss it. It will be hard to walk over with my box of books and microscope (and his mini-fridge packed with Diet Cokes), but I’m sure I’ll adjust rapidly to not having brown water and having electrical outlets that actually work. He said, smiling. ____________________________________ In a few of your lectures, you’ve mentioned something called a “Rocks In Your Pocket Gene.” What is that exactly? I believe each of us is born with a gene that causes fascination with the natural world, a gene that causes us to explore, to pick up rocks and examine them when we’re outside, to be curious. The gene often gets de-activated as we get older. I challenge my students, anyone, to get out and re-activate that gene. My wife complains that I’m a slow hiker. I like to poke around. I was out hiking with my grandson Ashden once, and when we got back, I noticed his trousers were hanging a little low. His mom said, ‘Ashden, empty your pockets,’ and he started pulling out sticks and rocks. ‘He does this all the time,’ she said, to which my wife replied, ‘He comes by it honestly. Craig, empty your pockets.’ And I started pulling out rocks, sticks, lichen … With a gift of $125 JOIN THE ANNIVERSARY CLUB There’s much more online, including a video of Oberg’s Last Lecture, details about what it’s like to sit in his microbiology class, and his list of top sites to see at Yellowstone National Park (a “microbial wonderland”). Visit weber.edu/wsumagazine for these online exclusives. Make your gift online today: weber.edu/give EDUCATING THE 21ST-CENTURY communication professional Elevate your support and join the PRESIDENT’S SOCIETY with a gift of The Master of Professional Communication program at Weber State University 1,000 As a President’s Society member, you will receive invitations to private events, where you can engage with alumni, WSU President Charles A. Wight and others who support Weber State’s mission. You will also receive exclusive communications from the President’s Office that will keep you up to date on the university’s goals and activities. “I went to class at night, then applied what I learned in my job the next day.” Jeff Haney BA ’95, MPC ’13 Chief Internal Communications Officer, Canyons School District To learn more about the MPC program, visit weber.edu/mpc. $ For 125 years, students have been coming to Weber State with big dreams. Help make their dreams a reality. Weber State University is a 501(C)3 nonprofit organization Federal Tax ID#87-6000535. Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Please consult your tax advisor for details on deductibility. STALKING the Stalkers IN CYBERSPACE Professor’s Research Sleuths New Terrain Peta Owens-Liston, Contributing Writer time and space cease to be factors Prior to Reyns’ research, the only Offline stalking has generally and opportunities to stalk abound. national survey on cyberstalking been the attention grabber while — The 2009 National Crime cyberstalking drifts in the “There’s the devil you know and Victimization Survey — revealed shadows; yet studies the devil you don’t know,” quips a quarter of the stalking victims suggest cyberstalking is Reyns, referring to the infinite were cyberstalked. “If we updated much more widespread number of opportunities to that for 2015, it would be much, due to the borderless encounter others (“friends” and much higher,” asserts Reyns, and limitless nature strangers) on the Internet. citing the proliferation of new of cyberspace allowing social media sites and electronic victims and offenders to media just in the last five years. converge more easily. The anonymity Reyns’ research focuses on criminal victimization and more recently and specifically cyberstalking among college students — a pioneering study in a relatively new field. He At first glance, the professor’s office offers few clues into the world of crime: there are the quintessential bookshelves lined with hefty textbooks, framed diplomas, and a neat, even sparse desktop. Yet, a closer look reveals hints of a world enmeshed in good and evil and the often deviating line that divides the two. of the Internet provides an invisibility SORTS OF STALKING AND THE FEAR FACTOR cloak of sorts allowing individuals to easily follow or suddenly appear in someone else’s ether space. has co-authored a victimology Cyberstalking is the repeated pursuit textbook and is the editor of of someone through electronic Stalking stole the spotlight in the the Journal of School Violence. devices, including online behaviors 1990s when several celebrities such as harassment or threats became victims, including Rebecca via email, instant messaging, Schaeffer, an actress and model chat rooms, message or bulletin who was stalked for three years by a boards, or other Internet sites. man who eventually murdered her. His research reveals that among college students, 40 percent have been cyberstalked. It is especially prevalent among females, nonwhites and non-heterosexuals. Young people are generally stalked at a higher rate than other ages as they are early adopters of technology and most are single and dating; a lot of stalking results from bad breakups, with offenders most likely being men. Race tended to be a nonfactor. Her death prompted the passage of The pursuit behavior includes the anti-stalking laws in California. persistent and unwanted electronic About a decade later, Jeri Lynn Ryan communications that can contain (an actress on Star Trek: Voyager) messages was stalked laced with coercive or Fourteen of every 1,000 adults intimidating wording or sexual are stalked annually; 26 percent of those stalked are by a man who was convicted for harassment and accused “A relationship not going well, or that overtones. At the far end of the bookshelf, a model Star Trek ends, or someone who is trying to In trailing ship awaits the opportunity to explore “where no start one can instigate cyberstalking their target, man has gone before.” Perched on another shelf by sending unwanted messages or offenders might use devices such is a framed scene from the dark crime-drama threats to sexually assault her pictures,” says Reyns, who overhears as cameras, computer programs, series, Breaking Bad. Looking over Brad Reyns’ BA and torture her boyfriend. his students tell stories weekly GPS or listening devices. ’02, MCJ ’04 right shoulder is a colorful print of about their Internet behaviors. “They Dexter, the serial killer who kills bad guys in the sometimes have no idea they’re eponymous television series. Emanating from getting close to what we’d call pursuit his screensaver is the iconic Superman shield, behaviors, such as sending unwanted with that unmistakable swoop of the “S.” messages or leaving unwanted Yet it is in the dusky twilight zone of the Internet that Reyns, an assistant professor of criminal justice, is in his element, sleuthing and investigating. A place where good and evil play out on a much different terrain; where 26 26 Fall2015 2015 weber.edu/wsumagazine | | Fall weber.edu/wsumagazine comments.” When he calls them on it, they rationalize that if you are going to be on social media, then that’s the risk you take. also being cyberstalked. of sending her letters with Though stalking is hardly new Inducing fear is the key legal (all predators stalk their prey), criteria in determining guilt of these celebrities brought attention stalking or cyberstalking. “Not a to stalking and expedited it lot of crimes are based on how being established as a crime. the victim reacts that make it a Again, the link between stalking crime,” points out Reyns. According and cyberstalking is notable: to state laws, the victim has to be “Fourteen of every 1,000 adults fearful of what a stalker is doing are stalked annually; 26 percent and experience emotional stress. of those stalked are also being Every state has now implemented cyberstalked,” according to Reyns. laws in this area of victimization. Fall 2015 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 27 Reyns’ previous research and involve the study of human and tablets, we’re not just working to support theories, he is still who keeps coming into my work (2013) compared behavior — the focus is still on what primarily from a laptop or desktop able to explain why and what and says these things and gives victims of each of these questions do we have about people computer,” says Reyns, who ironically that means for the next step — me gifts.” However, what strikes types of stalking. “We and how are we going to answer has an old push-button, corded he is always thinking about the him most about his students — the wanted to find out if them,” points out Reyns, whose past phone on his desk. “Consider the next study,” adds Fisher. “This is very demographic his research cyberstalking is a unique WSU professors are now some of his apps we have now, like Instagram one of the marks of a scholar.” involves — is their flippant attitude current colleagues. To establish an and Twitter. Social networking traditional stalking.” While victims expertise in criminal justice, Reyns is constant and more tightly experience fear in both scenarios, earned his Ph.D. at the University of integrated than ever before.” the key differences were in the Cincinnati, which offers one of the crime or a variation of level of fear and the money victims spent to protect themselves. about it. He will overhear them DETERMINING THE RISK AND REVENGE PORN say, “I was Facebook stalking …” top three “Brad was Certain online behaviors increase “revenge porn” will become doctoral really the risk of being cyberstalked, something states will have to creative and such as allowing strangers to have grapple with criminalizing or not. innovative access to your social networks An example of this is when a couple in pursuing or “friending” people you don’t who were in a relationship break Certain online behaviors increase programs He found that victims of cyber- in criminal stalking experienced less fear justice. than traditional stalking victims the risk of being cyberstalked, such as allowing strangers to have access to your social networks or What’s next? Reyns anticipates his research,” know. According to Reyns’ recalls Fisher. research, this triples your intimate photos or videos online He essentially risk of being cyberstalked. to get revenge. Sexting (sending took a theory The number of social sexually explicit messages) is developed in networks you belong increasing as well, and if you to also increases risk. throw in the creep factor, can up, and then one of them posts (given that physical proximity His mentor elevates alarm), yet they received and doctoral more threats and attacks than advisor, traditional stalking victims. Bonnie Cyberstalking victims also spent Fisher, influenced Reyns’ decision the 1970s, known as lifestyle-routine- twice as much money in self- to focus on victimization. Fisher activity theory, used traditionally to protection measures (e.g., change is a nationally recognized expert describe and predict opportunity for Adding strangers as “friends” Then there are the anonymous jobs, buy guns, miss work, alter their on victimization and one of the victimization in primarily face-to- doubled the likelihood of unwanted spaces such as gaming forums appearance). Again, college-aged first people to conduct national face offensives, and adapted it to contacts, harassment, unwanted that increase the opportunities female students were at a higher studies on violence against cyberspace to explain why and how sexual advances and threats of to brush up against all sorts of risk for both types of stalking. women in the United States. Her victimization happens. “He kept the violence. “We found that it didn’t strangers. “All this new terrain research on stalking — common structure of the theory but had to so much matter what info you He points out that there is a fine opens up unexplored research in cases where there is violence rethink the concepts in an online posted online — photos, where you distinction between cyberbullying questions in victimology that we against women — got Reyns environment as opposed to offline,” work, your school—but rather who and cyberstalking, yet they both have yet to answer,” says Reyns. wondering about cyberstalking. says Fisher, adding that because it you let in to see that info,” adds “friending” people you don’t know. fall under the same umbrella of devolve quickly into cyberstalking. had never been done before, there Reyns. “Most of our findings were Admittedly, Reyns research has harassment. “Bullying used to be “This was in 2006, really before was no secondary data set to pull being driven by stranger stalking.” made him hyper aware of the at school, but you were safe at smart phones took off, but Facebook from. Reyns and Henson had to home; now bullying is with you all and MySpace were growing rapidly; the time 24/7 via the Internet.” at that point, no one had really studied online victimization,” recalls WHAT LURED HIM DOWN THIS PATH? create a data set by developing and administering survey questions. They have since continued to refine Reyns, who worked with fellow and more rigorously test the theory investigator Billy Henson to delve in a cyberspace environment. into such research. Reyns admits virtual corner on the Internet, and deviant things online are more at as a father of two girls — one that is risk of being victims (i.e., illegal already asking for a cell phone and downloading, a Facebook harassing others). Offenders sometimes don’t even Also pursuit might be termed an “academic need to continually evolve to keep not in an egotistical way, but in a behaviors cyber detective” began at WSU as up with the rapid proliferation and ‘I’m curious’ sort of way. He puts in such as an undergraduate. As he finished morphing of technology. He cites a the hard work to understand what trolling (being mean online) or his undergraduate degree in “Knowing what I know about 2011 study he did that is considered happens,” says Fisher, who co-edited being pugilistic increased the risk anthropology, the university sexting and stalking and trolling, old now because social of being cyberstalked as well. had just added a graduate I’m not sure what age will be networks are different, program in criminal justice. as is the level of “It seemed like a natural transition since all social sciences overlap 28 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2015 connectivity. “Now we Practice. “Even when Brad have smart phones doesn’t get the findings realize they are stalking. Offenders sometimes don’t even realize they are stalking. Reyns uses the example of one of his students who complains about “this guy Refrain from posting: • Your first and last name (use your last initial) • Your phone number and/or email • Personal locator information such as your work schedule, where you work, or that you are going to Hawaii for two weeks 2- Take it seriously. If you are fearful, call the police. Track the evidence. 3- Exercise guardianship. Be present and pay attention to what your children are doing online. 4- Belong to fewer social media networks. 5- Avoid “friending” strangers (set privacy settings). (“not yet” “Brad’s always pushing the envelope, Theory, Research, and 1- account that research studies in this area Victimology: Contemporary For concerned parents or social media users who want to reduce these “opportunities,” Reyns suggests the following: “stranger danger” around each He also found that people who do Reyns’ first steps in becoming what the textbook Introduction to Reyns’ research focuses on the “opportunities” that can open someone up to being cyberstalked. These are favorable circumstances for a crime to occur; risk factors are those things that facilitate opportunities (i.e., deviant online behavior, “friending” strangers). and “no”) — he is vigilant. the right age to say ‘yes’ to my daughter. We want to keep her safe,” says Reyns. “And hopefully not ruin her social life.” weber.edu/wsumagazine 29 he worked was being shut down. Theodore was offered two alternative jobs: one in Huntsville, Alabama, the other in Ogden, Utah. “My father said, ‘I don’t know where Ogden, Utah, is, but I sure know where Huntsville, Alabama, is … so we’re moving to Ogden,’” Beasley says with a sly smile. “He did not want to move us back to the South in 1964.” TURNING The Beasley family may have dodged Alabama’s violent clash TRIALS I N T over desegregation during the American civil rights movement, but racial prejudice was certainly no stranger to Utah in those years. Municipal and private swimming pools, including Ogden’s Lorin Farr Park and Farmington’s Lagoon, were O off-limits to African-Americans until the 1950s, and the aura of white privilege lingered into the ’60s and ’70s. Restrictive TRIUMPH real estate covenants and private business policies relegated African-Americans to certain neighborhoods and professions. “We lived between Washington Boulevard and Wall Avenue,” says Beasley. “First, because that’s really the only place we were allowed to live, and, second, that’s where we preferred to live to How Michael Beasley battled adversity and discrimination NFL DREAMS MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS “And you, Mike … your job is to scrub the toilets.” It was a directive so degrading it caused a handsome, confident, 17-year-old high school athlete to hang his head in shame. Nearly 50 years later, Michael R. Beasley’s BS ’71 pain is palpable as he describes the time a Defense Depot Ogden warehouse supervisor announced to a group of eager teenage workers that Beasley, the only black kid in the bunch, would scour the depot restrooms. Permanently. It didn’t matter that the crew had previously rotated between closing-time chores. On that otherwise uneventful day in Ogden, in 1965, a white supervisor decided that his lone African-American student employee should be assigned the unsavory task of cleaning toilets. Permanently. “I remember not wanting to look up. I kept my head down because I didn’t want anyone to see how I felt. I couldn’t wait to get out of there,” Beasley recalls. At the end of his shift, Beasley fought back tears as he sprinted home to tell his father what had happened. Breathlessly, he spat out the mortifying details, certain that his father would embrace his fury and champion a call for justice. Instead, the elder Beasley looked his St. Michael the Archangel defend us in battle Karin Hurst be around other people who were like us.” A star athlete at Ogden High School, Beasley was offered a BORN TO DO BATTLE football scholarship to Weber State College. Initially, he dreamed of playing in the NFL, a dream that fizzled when f Beasley knows a thing or two about battles, it may I former Wildcats Henry Owens BS ’74 and Lee White ’69 were be because of his first name. “My maternal both drafted by the New York Jets in 1968, and then cut. “Henry grandmother wanted to name me after an angel,” was faster than me, and Lee was bigger and stronger than me,” he says. Ironically, Willie G. Harrison chose the name says Beasley. “Right or wrong, I concluded that if they couldn’t of an exceptionally powerful archangel. (About as far make it in professional ball, then I couldn’t. The probability of from a pudgy cherub as you can get.) Accounts in the success just wasn’t there.” No longer seeing the point of playing Torah, Bible, and Quran all describe Michael as God’s college sports, Beasley quit WSC’s squad his sophomore year to feisty field commander, a celestial warrior who pursue a destiny he had inadvertently unearthed a year earlier. vanquishes evil and helps mortals overcome fear. Turns out, it is the perfect name for someone like Michael Beasley, who needed an archangel’s courage, insight and tenacity to withstand racial discrimination, sidestep a war draft, endure dashed dreams as a college athlete, and overcome career obstacles. TRADING TOUCHDOWNS FOR TECHNOLOGY Before the start of his freshman year, Beasley was invited by one of his best friends, Charles Johnson, to drive to Weber Beasley was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, State to meet with Leonard Nicholas BS ’67, the college’s to Theodore and Dorothy Beasley. In search of higher then-director of data processing. Beasley told his buddy, “Hey, shockingly succinct, character-defining nugget of fatherly advice that would sustain Michael wages, the family bounced from North Carolina to I don’t know what data processing is, but, sure, I’ll ride with Beasley through an unpredictable roller-coaster ride from first-generation college student to Michigan, where both parents found jobs at General you.” In Nicholas’ office, Beasley was mesmerized by the Motors, and back to North Carolina before settling conversation. “Instead of Leonard just talking to my friend, in Dayton, Ohio. Beasley was a sophomore at the he’s talking to me, too,” he remembers. “And I’m starting to predominately black Roosevelt High School when his get the feeling that I love this data processing stuff. That father announced that the civil service center where was the day that I determined what I was going to be.” outraged son in the eyes and said quietly, “That’s why you’re going to college.” It was a IBM corporate executive, software development entrepreneur, education advocate and community activist. “From that moment on,” says the now-retired Beasley, “I saw learning as a tool to fight any battle.” 30 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2015 Fall 2015 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 31 Photos by Sara Lleverino BS ’01 The road to graduation was not without bumps. Nicholas pulled some strings to get Beasley hired as a computer operator in the Salt Lake City office of Kennecott Utah Copper. Beasley was grateful, but admits the job had its drawbacks. “Kennecott would not allow me to work part time, so I worked from midnight to 8 a.m., and my first class even helped him once before,” says Beasley, who arranged a has a favorite catchphrase: “You can’t ensure success; all meeting with the executive and prepared what he felt was you can do is increase the probability of success.” He en- an open-and-shut case. “After my presentation, I knew I’d courages people from all walks of life to take the hand nailed it,” says Beasley. “I knew there was no way, he wouldn’t they’ve been dealt, and make the best of it. That simple say, ‘Mike you’ve been treated unfairly. Let’s fix this.’” philosophy has taken Michael Beasley from a low-income neighborhood in the “bad” part of Ogden, to Silicon Valley No matter who you are, somehow, — Valhalla of technology innovation and development. It was an arduous journey that required the courage, insight started at 9,” he says. On top of that, somewhere, someday, you’re still Beasley was struggling to stay out of a going to get jerked around. divisive war that seemed to be sending There’s no reason to argue or debate Michael R. “Mike” Beasley is the retired chairman of Rocket Software. about it. You just have to figure Before that, he founded Lagenta Inc., and initiated the formation out how to make the best of it. of Icing Software, a high-performing independent business unit a disproportionate number of AfricanAmerican combat troops to the front lines. and tenacity of an archangel. of IBM Software. Beasley received an IBM Executive Leadership “The Vietnam draft had a school deferment,” Award, and was named most prominent African-American in Beasley explains. “If I didn’t carry a full course load, I’d get drafted, but I also had While the man liked Beasley personally and respected him high technology by Black Press Online. As chairman of the to work full time to pay for school.” Six professionally, he nevertheless used the situation as a Mathematics, Engineering and Science Achievement (MESA) months into this grueling schedule, Beasley teaching moment to introduce Beasley to the harsh reality program in California for 11 years, he mentored more than was ready to throw in the towel. “I told my of corporate politics. “What makes you think everything in 60,000 kids. In addition to earning a bachelor’s degree in data mother, ‘I’m depressed. I really don’t think life has to be fair?” he asked. “It was like a slap in the face,” processing from Weber State, Beasley received an MBA from I can handle this,’” he recalls. “That was Beasley reminisces. “But it taught me that no matter who the MIT Sloan School of Management. Recently, he collaborated a critical point in my life — to quit or not you are, somehow, somewhere, someday, you’re still going with a team of WSU software engineering students to devel- quit.” Ultimately, Beasley decided to fight to get jerked around. There’s no reason to argue or debate op a mobile app that helped California’s Santa Clara County through the adversity. “I figured if I didn’t about it. You just have to figure out how to make the best document its homeless population (see the next page for more). quit this time, I probably wouldn’t quit the of it.” Beasley says that incident changed his definition Beasley and his wife, Wanda, live in Morgan Hill, California. next time. If I was going to start a habit, I of success. Once he recovered from the initial blow, he wanted to start a habit of not quitting.” made an extra effort to broaden other aspects of life aside from IBM. “That disaster actually ended up making me more money and getting IT PAYS TO PREPARE During a 2010 visit to WSU, Michael Beasley chats with Ogden middle school students about careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. me to a much better place,” he reflects. Long before IBM first sent recruiters to the STRATEGY FOR SUCCESS Weber State campus, the company had gained a reputation for hiring talented Michael Beasley is a competitive man, people its competitors rejected because of a scrapper who likes to win. But when race, gender or sexual orientation. IBM’s president published an equal opportunity policy one year computer operator, Jim was kind of impressed, and when I told before the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Brown v. him I had worked all night, he was really impressed.” Green Board of Education, and 11 years before the Civil Rights Act arranged for Beasley to meet with a group of managers in of 1964. So when Beasley blundered into a job interview with Boulder, Colorado, a process that happened several more times IBM representative Jim Green his junior year, he encountered over the next 12 months before Beasley was finally offered a a receptive environment. “Only seniors were supposed to be position contingent upon his graduation from Weber State. interviewed, and I’d been working all night,” says Beasley. “But I wanted to increase the probabilities of my being successful the next year, so I went there to ask someone Beasley did extremely well at IBM in Colorado. He set a lofty scheduled to end at noon. “I got there around 11:45, and goal to become a manager within four years, and followed the interviewer saw me and started to apologize for not his career path to the company’s offices in San Jose, Cali- expecting me,” says Beasley. “I explained that I shouldn’t fornia. It was there the unthinkable happened. Beasley was even be there, but he decided to interview me anyway. Why? passed over for a promotion he was sure he deserved. “I knew I think when I mentioned that I was already working as a the guy who ran the West Coast software division, and had weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2015 self-pity or regret. Instead, he uses disappointment to increase his odds of winning the next round. His formidable character was forged from hardship. “Going back to that incident at the warehouse, I don’t think the manager was a racist in the sense that he singled SETBACK IN SAN JOSE from IBM what I should do to prepare.” The interviews were 32 things don’t go his way, he shuns me out to be mean,” Beasley speculates. “It probably just seemed right having a black kid clean the toilets. I consider myself blessed that my father didn’t feed my shame or anger. He said exactly what I needed to hear. So I kept the job and cleaned the toilets.” Beasley Fall 2015 | weber.edu/wsumagazine 33 This summer, Weber State University Campus Stores began transitioning to its new name: Wildcat Store. Documenting t h e HOMELESS At 5:15 on a nippy, Northern California morning in January which has several important advantages,” says Cowan. “Pens of 2015, a determined army of volunteers began rummaging and paper don’t require batteries; they don’t break when you through parts of Santa Clara County in search of men, women drop them; and they don’t cost $600 a piece.” Early on, CTA and children living in shelters or on the streets. Like volunteers seemed reluctant to change its method of data collection. Cowan in other cities throughout the nation, the crew was carrying out understands that. “Sometimes I think technology is a solution the Point-in-Time (PIT) Census and Survey, a yearly effort to doc- looking for a problem,” he says with a smile. “But in this case, ument the number of individuals experiencing homelessness on our HOME app proved to be so much more effective in gathering a single night. What set the Santa Clara County expedition apart the information they needed. Technology made the census was the use of a mobile app developed over the course of four faster, more accurate and more comprehensive. The data was semesters by Weber State University computer science students. also immediately available for analysis.” With the glow from The story actually starts three years earlier, inside a California restaurant where Weber State graduate, former IBM executive, California resident and community activist Michael R. Beasley BS ’71 was eating lunch with David Ferro, dean of WSU’s College of Engineering, Applied Science & Technology (EAST) and development director Kelly Stackaruk. Beasley happened to mention his involvement with the Gilroy Compassion Center, a nonprofit group he helped establish in 2011 to provide life-saving services to south Santa Clara County’s woefully large homeless population. “Kelly really picked up on that and their tablets and smartphones brightening the muted hue of the pre-dawn sky, outreach workers used the HOME app’s geolocation features to identify the precise locations of homeless encampments. They took photos that were instantly paired with written descriptions of the people they encountered. In high-priority cases, homeless women with children were able to activate relief services by signing a mobile screen. All of that information was immediately uploaded to CTA’s Homeless Management Information System, a shared database that allows various nonprofits and public agencies to coordinate aid. we started talking about ways Weber State could help out,” A total of 10 WSU students worked on the HOME app. Most says Beasley. Shortly after that discussion, Beasley arranged of them had no previous experience and had to teach them- a partnership between students in Ted Cowan’s BS ’89 selves the Android and iPhone operating systems. Just before upper-division software engineering class and one of the the app went live, CTA hired one of those students to do some center’s collaborators, Community Technology Alliance (CTA), last-ditch tweaking and cleanup. an award-winning Silicon Valley agency that harnesses technology to coordinate homelessness relief efforts. CTA was looking to upgrade its current method of conducting the PIT census. “Finding solutions to real-world problems is an invaluable experience for our students,” says Cowan. “I’m especially pleased with the work of my nontraditional students,” he adds. “You’d Traditionally, CTA’s homeless counts were conducted using tally think they were just there to get that diploma and walk away, but sheets and tick marks on maps. The information was manually I found a significant amount of commitment and performance tabulated and entered into spreadsheets in the days following from students who otherwise had jobs, spouses and children.” the census. “CTA had been using a pen-and-paper approach, Here’s what you can expect: • Each bookstore location will now be referred to as Wildcat Store • A more convenient online shopping experience • New logo and store designs • Additional store locations including the Dee Evets Center and Weber State Downtown According to Cowan, the HOME app is one of a growing number of service-learning projects taking place within his college. For example, another group of software engineering students just finished writing an application Our official Wildcat Store unveiling will take place Sept. 14 during Homecoming Week 2015. In the meantime, we invite you to see what’s new at shop.weber.edu. that tracks the number of meals the Utah Food Bank serves to children. “Students involved in these kinds of activities are making the GOURMET DRINKS & PASTRIES | WEBER WEAR | WSU MERCHANDISE most of their time here,” says Cowan. “They’re making the Weber State experience a successful one for themselves, their teams, their clients and for the university itself, which is now getting a little bit of street credit for the kind of work its students produce.” Photo courtesy of Community Technology Alliance 34 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2015 NAME-BRAND TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS & ACCESSORIES | APPLE AUTHORIZED SERVICE CENTER S a W y ! t W il d c a US A e h t ee in the ALUMNI ASSOCIATION LEADERS 2015-16 Heather Hales BA ’91, M.Ed. ’06 Mackenzie Olsen BS ’09 President, WSU Alumni Association Mackenzie moved from Ogden to Zanesville, Ohio, when she was 10, but she scooted right back after high school. She studied public relations, advertising and business, and served as the Student Association’s vice president of events. Mackenzie recently started a small business making head and wrist wraps. Heather graduated summa cum laude in 1991 and was named an Outstanding English and Honors Graduate. She later returned to her alma mater to complete a master’s program in education. These days Heather is a teacher at H. Guy Child Elementary School in Ogden. If I were a car I’d be a: Jeep because I’d always be heading out on a fun adventure! Best road trip ever: A monthlong excursion to Alaska. We drove over 8,000 miles and saw glaciers, tundra, 27 black bears, eight grizzly bears, a lynx, caribou and bison herds, and huge moose. The person I’d most like to take on a road trip is: Shel Silverstein because he was happy and funny, and he related to people of all ages. He was also a talented musician, so he would definitely keep me entertained. President, WSU Young Alumni Council My first car was an: Ugly, blue Dodge van — definitely not a favorite. Best road trip ever: Helping my little sister move from Ohio to Utah. We loaded our family into two cars and drove about 30 hours. I had been away at college for two years, so hanging out again with my four siblings and parents was really a blast. The person I’d most like to take on a road trip is: Gwen Stefani because she would have amazing clothes to share and she could serenade me. The type of music I usually listen to while driving is: Rhythm and blues. The worst place my car broke down was: In front of all my friends at the busiest intersection in Zanesville, Ohio, on a Friday night. I wasn’t used to driving a stick shift and stalled through an entire green light. I finally figured out I was in third gear, not first! As a WSUAA leader, I hope to: Provide more opportunities for alumni to strengthen their ties to Weber State. The type of music I usually listen to while driving is: Anything but country! On a road trip, I love listening to vintage punk. ______________________________________________ As a WSUAA leader, I hope to: Motivate recent graduates to fall in love with WSU all over again and have the desire to stay connected. The worst place my car broke down was: On Ogden’s very busy 12th Street. I hadn’t paid attention to the gas gauge. Lee Crittenden BS ’69 ______________________________________________ President, WSU Emeriti Alumni Council As a student, Lee, a business management major, was an active member of the Excelsior fraternity. He remains involved in his alma mater today, serving on the Wildcat Club and WSU Alumni Association boards. Lee owns Crittenden Glass in Ogden. If I were a car I’d be a: Chevrolet Corvette to enjoy a good midlife crisis. My first car was a: Red 1962 Volkswagen Beetle. My friends and I had some great adventures in that car. Best road trip ever: Going to the East Coast to visit family. What an education it was to see so many historic places! The worst place my car broke down was: On the way to Lake Powell. The boat trailer bearings went out when we were miles from help. We were traveling with several families and a zillion anxious kids. The type of music I usually listen to while driving is: Anything quiet and relaxing. 36 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Fall 2015 Thank you to Jessica Corbran AS ’11 for allowing us to use her 1961 classic car, to Janessa Richardson AS ’00 and the WSU Costume Studio for donating the wardrobe, and Greg Ward and Stags Car Club for giving us access to Jack’s Garage and Oil. Photo by Zac Williams BA ’01, MPC ’13 As a WSUAA leader, I hope to: Increase the number of emeriti alumni volunteers who enjoy providing service to the university and renewing old friendships. Parker DeYoung AA ’14 President, WSU Student Alumni Association Parker is a native Utahan who earned an associate’s degree from Weber State and is now a pre-engineering major. Proud of his Wildcat roots, Parker has served two previous terms on the Student Alumni Association. If I were a car I’d be a: Toyota Prius because I am efficient and I keep on going! My first car was a: Honda Civic that ran like a champion … until the day I totaled it in the canyon on my way to go skiing. Best road trip ever: A high school graduation trip to California with friends before we all headed off in different directions. We hit some theme parks, major league baseball games and, of course, the beach. The worst place my car broke down was: My car has never broken down. Knock on wood. The type of music I usually listen to while driving is: Country. (Sorry, Mackenzie.) As a WSUAA leader, I hope to: Help increase the student body’s school pride and support of the university. future rocket scientist CLASS NOTES We’ll help with the launch. A L U M N I U P D AT E S He and his late wife, Janet Hadley Ostler AS ’55, ’56, have six children, 19 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Lloyd lives in Syracuse, Utah. ’40s A Kenneth B. Knowles AS ’49 is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel. He served as a judge advocate for 31 years. His last assignment was general counsel of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service. Kenneth traveled extensively while in the military. He has a daughter and two grandsons and lives in Duncanville, Texas. He was married to his wife, Clara Lou, for 58 years when she passed away. He later married his current wife, Julie. ’60s A ’50s A Open a Utah Educational Savings Plan college savings account today. • Morningstar Gold rating, 2014 • Free to open • Flexible investment options • No minimum or ongoing contributions required • Federal and Utah state tax advantages SAVE FOR COLLEGE. INSPIRE THEIR FUTURE. A Learn more 800.418.2551 | uesp.org Read the Program Description for more information and consider all investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. Call 800.418.2551 for a copy of the Program Description or visit uesp.org. Investments are not guaranteed by UESP, the Utah State Board of Regents, Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority, or any other state or federal agency. However, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance is provided for the FDIC-insured accounts. Please read the Program Description to learn about the FDIC-insured accounts. Your investment could lose value. Non-Utah taxpayers and residents: You should determine whether the state in which you or your beneficiary pays taxes or lives offers a 529 plan that provides state tax or other benefits not otherwise available to you by investing in UESP. You should consider such state tax treatment and benefits, if any, before investing in UESP. Sharon Fowles Macfarlane AS ’55 is executive director of the Ogden Symphony Ballet Association, a position she’s held since 2001. She previously worked at ZCMI in Ogden for 10 years, and for the OgdenWeber Chamber of Commerce. Sharon is a member of the Rotary Club of Ogden. She lives in South Ogden, Utah, and has three children, 11 grandchildren and three great-grandsons. Monroe L. (Lloyd) Ostler AS ’58 retired as a buyer from L-3 Communications after 40 years of service. He served as president of the Clearfield Kiwanis and is a member of the Sons of Utah Pioneers. A Stephen L. Clark BS ’64 recently completed his 50th year of service as a botany professor at Weber State. He teaches ethnobotany, herbal medicines and vascular plant taxonomy. Stephen earned his master’s degree from Utah State University and his Ph.D. from Brigham Young University. He has lived with indigenous peoples on five continents to learn how they use plants in their daily lives. He and his wife, Carol, live in Huntsville, Utah. Three of their children graduated from Weber State. Lewis (Lew) L. Thorpe AS ’64, BS ’65 was the president and owner of Spies Hecker Intermountain, a distributor of Spies Hecker vehicle refinishing products. Prior to his career with Spies Hecker, Lew taught English and history for the Weber School District. He served as councilman for the city of South Ogden, Utah, and is a member of the Jaycees, Mount Ogden Rotary, WSU Alumni Association and more. Lew is a supporter of Weber L Lifetime Member of the Alumni Association A Annual Member of the Alumni Association Member of the Alumni Association’s 125 Club A A A State’s College of Engineering, Applied Science & Technology and taught students in the automotive technology department the chemistry of paint used in collision repair. He lives in South Ogden, Utah, with his wife, Sharon Simpson Thorpe AS ’64 BS ’79, who is the chief financial officer of Ogden Auto Parts and Glass. All three of their children, and several of their grandchildren, are Weber State graduates. also a full, tenured teacher education professor at Weber State. Early in her career, she was a teacher, school principal and central administrator for the Ogden School District. Linda has two children and two grandchildren. She lives in South Ogden, Utah. A For nine years, Lou Jean Flint BS ’69 worked as a kindergarten teacher at Muir Elementary in the Davis School District. She later worked abroad for the Department of Defense, serving as an educational specialist and consultant. After returning to the U.S., Lou Jean was hired by Utah’s commissioner of higher education, becoming one of the first full-time, professional females to work in the commissioner’s office. She worked on the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education and National Association of State Scholarships and Grant Projects programs. Lou Jean has held offices in educational and community organizations at the state and national levels, and currently serves on several boards. A Sharon Eastman Marcyes BS ’69 retired as a project analyst from the U.S. Department of Treasury in Washington D.C. She is secretary-treasurer of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers After earning her degree in clinical laboratory sciences, Barbara Greiner Anderson BS ’66 worked in various lab positions at McKay-Dee Hospital until her retirement in 1984. She was a member of the Utah Society of Medical Technologists. Barbara lives in Ogden, and has four children, 13 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. Linda K. Inouye Oda BS ’67 is the director of early learning for United Way of Northern Utah. Previously, she was the coordinator of the English Language Learners federal program for the Utah State Office of Education and director for the office of Asian Affairs in the Governor’s Office of Ethnic Affairs. Linda received her Master of Education from Utah State University and her Doctorate of Education from Brigham Young University. She was Fall 2015 | alumni.weber.edu 39 and a service missionary for the LDS church. She also volunteers for the Phineas Wolcott Cook Family Organization. Sharon lives in North Logan, Utah, with her husband, Dave. They have nine children and 36 grandchildren. and regional information technology security manager at the Bureau of Reclamation office in Salt Lake City. Dale and his wife, Phyllis, live in Roy, Utah, and have four children and five grandchildren. He is a Wildcat Club member. A ’70s L A Michael Douglas Jones BS ’70 is a senior systems engineer for Geico in Washington, D.C. He previously worked at the Defense Logistics Agency Central Design Activity located at Ogden’s Defense Depot. Michael and his wife, Rosanne, live in Vienna, Virginia, and have two sons and two daughters. Michael is an honorary member of the Garden Club of Fairfax, Virginia. Dale J. Rogerson BS ’71 retired after 40 years of service to the federal government. He spent the last 27 years of his career as the regional data communications manager Scott L. Sangberg BS ’71, BS ’85 retired after 27 years with the Ogden City Police Department. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 11 years. Scott and his wife, Stephanie, live in Pleasant View, Utah, and have a son, a daughter and four grandchildren. He is a service missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Conference Center in Salt Lake City, and volunteers as a trail patrol officer for Antelope Island State Park. Gary C. Cornia BS ’72 served as dean of Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management from 2008 until his retirement in 2013. A professor emeritus for the Marriott School, he has been involved in tax policy research in the U.S. and around the world. Gary serves on the Utah Public Securities Commission. Previously, he was a Utah State Tax commissioner. A A Don N. Mueller AS ’77 is president of Premier Appraisal Service, a real estate appraisal company in Ogden. He previously worked at Mountain West Savings, Zions Bank, Commercial Security Bank and First Security Bank. Don and his wife, Kim Tanner Mueller BS ’76, have three sons, two daughters and seven grandchildren. Kim is a consultant for KK LuLaRoe, a home-based clothing boutique. Don sits on the Intermountain Relocation Council and is a four-time Boston Marathon finisher. John B. Lund BS ’78 is president and CEO of America First Credit Union, a position he accepted three years ago after 37 years of service to the credit union. He has held leadership positions in the Utah Credit Union Association, Credit Union Direct Corporation, and Member Business Leading Credit Union industries in 1974. He received an Academy Award nomination for The Color Purple. He also received six Emmy Awards, 13 Emmy nominations, as well as awards from BMI and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), for work with artists such as Quincy Jones, David Foster, Steven Spielberg, Julie Andrews, Shirley MacLaine, Barbra Streisand, Marvin Hamlisch and Josh Groban. Chris also is the founder of a social media content strategy consulting business. Service Organization. John also served as a director for the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce and the credit union’s Education Foundation in Utah. The Credit Union Executive Society recognized John multiple times for his leadership. He is a Boy Scouts of America volunteer. John lives in Huntsville, Utah, with his wife, Julie. They have two sons, a daughter and four grandchildren. A Lynn Jones Merrill BS ’78, M.Ed. ’97 retired as a science teacher from the Davis School District. He also taught in the Granite School District. Lynn volunteers for the Ogden FamilySearch Library. Lynn and his wife, Kristy, live in Roy, Utah, and have eight children and 15 grandchildren. GET INVOLVED with fun & meaningful activities Learn about upcoming EVENTS 40 Fall 2015 weber.edu/wsumagazine | Spring 2014 alumni.weber.edu Tom M. Humeniuk BS ’82 is a compliance manager at WebBank. Previously, he was a compliance manager for Ally Bank and Optum Bank. Tom has two sons and lives in West Jordan, Utah, with his wife, Julie. A Cindee Secrist Rummler BS ’83 retired as a deputy sheriff for Riverside County, California. Cindee also taught school for Jurupa Unified School District. She lives in Oak Hills, California, with her husband, Keith, and their five children. A Steven R. Hanline BS ’85 is a Windows system engineer in the information technology department of Intermountain Healthcare (IHC) in West Valley City, Utah. He creates virtual servers for all IHC locations. Previously, Steven worked for KSL 5 TV-Bonneville International as a systems administrator responsible for servers in three states with nine domains. He is a member of VMWare Virtual Machine User Group, Microsoft Developer Network and the Layton City Community Emergency Response Team. He volunteers with the American Youth Soccer Organization and Ogden City GOAL Foundation, and also helps support the Layton High School theater department. Steven lives in Layton, Utah, and has three children, one of whom is attending Weber State. ’80s A Chris Boardman directs the media writing and production program at the University of Miami Frost School of Music, where he teaches film scoring and advanced music editing. He is also an assistant professor of practice. Chris began his career in the film, television and recording Visit our new WSUAA website today to: View MEMBERSHIP benefits to the International Reading Association. She has four children and four grandchildren. She lives with her husband, Steven J. Brown BS ’83, who is a manager for the LDS church, in Uintah Highlands, Utah. A Darwin R. Cox BA ’81 is employed by Merck, a researchdriven health-care company, as director of biologic experience and operations for biosimilars business. He previously worked in marketing, Six Sigma process improvement, strategy and innovation. Prior to Merck, Darwin worked for Unisys, holding global positions in finance and operations, and leading the company-wide implementation of Six Sigma. He first trained as a Six Sigma Black Belt, then as a Master Black Belt. He spent 12 years working in Latin America and Europe. He and his wife, Michele, have four children and seven grandchildren. They live in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, where Darwin is involved in Physicians for Peace, the American Red Cross, Mother’s Monument Project and the Boy Scouts of America. Lori Memmott Brown BS ’82, MS ’83 has been with the Weber School District since 1983 and currently teaches fourth grade. A Sam’s Club Teacher of the Year, Lori also has received an “Apple for the Teacher Award” for 15 years. She previously worked for the Utah State Office of Education as a Core Academy instructor. Lori belongs A Frank A. Nolden BA ’87 has worked 26 years for the Internal Revenue Service, where he currently is a field director managing over 2,000 employees in two locations. He was selected for Senior Executive Service by the federal Office of Personnel Management. He PICK THE MEMBERSHIP THAT FITS NEW GRAD One year $20 / Lifetime $295 ANNUAL Single $35 / Couple $55 THREE-YEAR Single $95 / Couple $150 LIFETIME Single $550 / Couple $1,000 SENIOR LIFETIME (65+) Single $275 / Couple $550 Learn more at L A Lifetime Member of the Alumni Association Annual Member of the Alumni Association Member of the Alumni Association’s 125 Club alumni.weber.edu/join or call 801-626-7535 A and his wife, Nannette Shayne Slade Searles Nolden BS ’93, live in Conyers, Georgia, and have seven children and two grandchildren. Shayne received her master’s degree in psychology from Portland State University and is a member of the board of directors for View Point Health. A David R. Allison BS ’88 is a community involvement coordinator for the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. He lives in Ogden. A Allison Parker Riddle BS ’88 is the recipient of the 2015 National Education Association (NEA) Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence and the 2015 Horace Mann Award for Great, Plate! Kirk K. Thor BS ’88 is vice president of talent management and organization effectiveness at Flowserve Corporation in Dallas. He has spent the last 14 years consulting with the NFL, assessing draft picks and predicting on-field performance and potential off-field issues of professional athletes. Kirk began his career at the Pentagon profiling and selecting candidates in U.S. Special Forces and covert operations. He previously was vice president of talent management at JCPenney and Centex Corporation. Kirk also has led the organization development team at Walt Disney World. He received his master’s degree in organizational effectiveness and a Ph.D. in industrial psychology from George Mason University. He currently lives in Irving, Texas. Support WSU students and show Wildcat pride wherever you drive To learn more, visit alumni.weber.edu/lp or call 801-626-7535 42 alumni.weber.edu | Fall 2015 Utah Association for Adult, Community and Continuing Education, the Utah Coalition for Educational Technology and the Breakfast Exchange Club of Ogden. Michael and his wife, Lori, live in South Ogden, Utah. Teaching Excellence. She was also named a 2015 NEA Foundation Global Fellow (Peru studies). Allison is a fifth-grade teacher at Foxboro Elementary and a district mentor for the Davis School District. She was the 2014 Utah Teacher of the Year. As a member of the National Network of State Teachers of the Year, Allison served as co-chair of the organization’s 2015 national conference. She is also a math consultant for a California company and is involved in staff development workshops for schools, districts and universities across the country. Allison is currently in WSU’s Master of Education program. She has a son and a daughter, and lives in Centerville, Utah. A Michael F. Jacobazzi BS ’89 is a business technology instructor for OgdenWeber Applied Technology College. He belongs to the Tracy L. Johnson-Faulkner BS ’89 is the owner/president of Wasatch Individualized Services. She was previously employed by the state of Utah and Enable Utah. Tracy lives in Ogden with her wife, Marilyn. They are parents to a number of pets. Brian W. Motes AS ’86, BS ’89 is a buyer for Weber State University. His wife, Sondra Jolovich Motes BS ’89, is an executive director with the Ogden City School District. They have two children. ’90s A A Christopher H. Bauco BS ’90, MAcc ’93 is an account executive for Zions Credit Corporation in Salt Lake City. He recently surpassed his 17year mark with the company. Chris serves on Weber State’s School of Accountancy advisory board. He and his wife, Angela, live in Kaysville, Utah, and have three children. Bryan K. Benard BA ’94 works with Holland & Hart LLP in Salt Lake City as a partner specializing in labor and employment law and defense. He was named the 2015 Employment Lawyer of the Year for Utah by Best Lawyers in America. Mountain States Super Lawyers and Chambers USA have recognized him as a top management side employment lawyer. Bryan is an elected member of Holland & Hart’s firm management committee. He is a member of the Weber School District Foundation A A e h t g Br i n s h o m e ! n o i t i trad board and a councilman for the city of South Ogden, Utah. He also serves on WSU’s Social & Behavioral Sciences advancement board. Bryan is married to Monique Cypers Benard BS ’94, an English teacher for the Weber School District. They live in South Ogden and have five children. Caril Roblyer Jennings BIS ’95 is retired from Weber State’s Department of Performing Arts, where she served as marketing director for 16 years and secretary prior to that. Currently, Caril is director of Universe City Lives, an arts advocacy organization. She also helps market and produce Jazz at the Station, a monthly performance at Ogden’s Union Station. She assists with Weber Reads, the WSU Greek Festival and the WSU Gospel Music Festival. She is director of the WSU Alumni Jazz Band and has won the Mayor’s Awards in the Arts for Arts Advocacy. She has been a change leader for the Utah Division of Heritage and Arts. She and her husband, LeRoy, live in Ogden. She has two grandchildren. Aaron M. Campbell BA ’98 is a senior product manager at Boston Scientific, a company that provides innovative medical solutions to patients around the world. He previously was a global sales training manager and executive territory manager. Aaron and his wife, Aimee Wilson Campbell AS ’97, BS ’02, live in Grafton, Massachusetts. L A WSU F ED OUND 89 IN 18 Utah folk artist Eric Dowdle has captured the heart and history of Weber State in Wildcat Traditions. Get your keepsake puzzle or print for $18.89. Also available Canvas gallery wrap Framed giclée print 500-piece wood puzzle 3-D shadow box Be-Part-of-the-Art personalized artwork alumni.weber.edu/traditions Kase D. Johnstun BA ’98 is an award-winning essayist. He recently published a book, Beyond the Grip of Craniosynostosis: An Inside View of Life Touched by the Congenital Skull Deformity, a first-hand perspective of his own struggle with a cranial birth defect. Kase is also the co-editor/co-author of Utah Reflections: Stories from the Wasatch Front. His work has appeared nationally and internationally in journals and magazines. He is a full-time English lecturer at Utah State University. Lifetime Member of the Alumni Association Annual Member of the Alumni Association Member of the Alumni Association’s 125 Club ’00s Sean J. Knighton BFA ’01 works as the Sony Pacific Northwest regional technical representative, teaching photography to Sony photographic specialty stores in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana. Sean currently resides in Portland, Oregon, with his wife, Lanisa. A former member of the Weber State women’s golf team, Tenille Howe Slack BS ’01 is a 2015 WSU Hall of Fame inductee. After graduation, she went on to have a strong amateur golf career, capturing the 2000 Utah State Women’s Amateur Championship. Tenille also advanced to the top 16 of match play at the U.S. Public Links Tournament in 2000 and qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur. She served as an assistant golf coach at WSU and worked in marketing for R&O Construction before becoming a full-time mom to her four children. Tenille and her husband, Robert, live in Lehi, Utah, with their family. Fall 2015 | alumni.weber.edu 43 Nicole Bybee Carpenter BA ’02 is the founder of, and author and speaker for, MOMentity.com, an online community for mothers. Her book, 52 Weeks to Fortify Your Family: 5-minute messages, hit bookstores recently. She and her husband, Martin (Marty) G. Carpenter BA ’01, live in Syracuse, Utah, with their four children. Marty is director of communication and senior advisor for the office of Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert. A Miguel A. Aragon MBA ’03 is a regional information and communications services manager for the Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Riverton, Utah. Miguel and his wife, Vilma, live in Centerville, Utah, and have five children and four grandchildren. Miguel volunteers for the LDS church. Michael James Frost AS ’03, BA ’05 splits his time as a senior advisor for the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo, Norway, and as the director of JSI’s Center for mHealth (mobile health). Previously, he was the technical advisor for The USAID Deliver Project. Michael has worked in development and health sectors across the globe, providing direct technical support to assess health commodity supply chains, develop and deploy surveys and research activities, and lead the implementation of mHealth activities. Michael received a master’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin and serves on the mHealth Working Group Steering Committee and the International Association for Public Health Logisticians. He is married to Kimberly S. McFadden Frost AS ’02, BS ’15, who is a registered 44 Medical Care in Ogden as a senior biotechnology research and development technician. He lives with his daughter and son and is active in Boy Scouts of America, serving as a Cub Scout den leader in Germantown, Maryland. nurse. They are the parents of a daughter and two sons. A L A alumni.weber.edu | Fall 2015 Rainie L. Ingram AS ’03, BA ’04 is the academic advisor for the College of Engineering, Applied Science & Technology at Weber State. Previously, she worked as the college recruiter and outreach specialist, bringing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) events to WSU, including ParentDaughter Engineering Day and FIRST Tech Challenge. Rainie is pursuing a Master of Education at WSU. She and her husband, Jeff, have two sons. Steven E. Starks BIS ’03 was recently named president of Miller Sports Properties. He oversees the operation of the Utah Jazz, Salt Lake Bees and Miller Performance, which consists of Miller Motorsports Park, the Ford Racing School and Oneiro, EnergySolutions Arena, KJZZ 14 Television, The Zone Sports Network, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah professional cycling race, and All-Star Catering. He is also president of Miller Retail Properties, overseeing the Larry H. Miller Megaplex Theatres, Fanzz Sports Stores, and Saxton Horne Communications. Steve has received the Larry H. Miller Leadership Excellence Award and was also named a Forty Under 40 awardee by Utah Business Magazine in 2012. Steve serves as a member of the Utah State Governor’s Advisory Board and on the Weber State University Board of Trustees. Mitchell J. Hill AS ’04, BS ’09 is a technical specialist for Meso Scale Discovery, which develops and produces biological assays for cellular biomarkers, cytokines, and phosphoproteins. Previously, Mitchell worked at Fresenius Distinguished Stewardship Award. She was a National Technical Honor Society honorary inductee. Nallely has a daughter and son. A Pamela L. Page BS ’04 is a dental hygienist for Booth Dental in Ogden. She and her husband, John, live in Plain City, Utah, and have one daughter. Pam volunteers as the Utah program coordinator for Casting Recovery Utah. A A Sarah A. Garcia BS ’05 is a physician for Simi Obstetrics and Gynecology in Simi Valley, California. She attended medical school at Touro University Nevada. A Penny Pongpommard Isolampi AS ’06, BS ’13 is a development chemist for Albion Minerals. Previously, she worked as a chemist for Global Health Industries and Genysis Nutritional Labs. Penny and her husband, Andrew J. Isolampi BS ’09, live in Sunset, Utah, with their daughter and son. Andrew is an item manager for the Department of Defense at Hill Air Force Base. Penny is a member of Doxey Elementary PTA and of the Buddhist temple Wat Dhammagunaram in Layton, Utah. A Nallely Ruiz BIS ’06, MHA ’14 is director of the health and culinary programs at Ogden-Weber Applied Technology College. Previously, she was a practice director for Intermountain Healthcare’s Taylorsville Clinic. She also worked as a manager for Intermountain Healthcare’s Porter Family Medicine Center. Nallely is the secretary for Image de Northern Utah and received the Forrest C. Crawford Nicholas C. Mills BS ’07 works for the city of Layton, Utah, as an associate city attorney. He previously was employed as an associate city prosecutor for Salt Lake City and as a staff attorney for the Nevada Supreme Court. He and his wife, Ashley, live in Ogden and have three children. A A Jacob B. Priest BS ’07 is an assistant professor in the couple and family therapy program at the University of Iowa. Jacob lives in Iowa City, Iowa. Kathleen Valberg Buck AS ’08, BS ’09 and her husband, Romney, recently celebrated their 50th anniversary. They have seven children, 25 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren, with another great-grandchild on the way. Five of their children are graduates of Weber State. Kathleen’s lifelong goal was to complete her education, which she did while in her 60s. She has volunteered at the Hill Field Museum and is currently a volunteer at Heritage Elementary School, helping students who have difficulty reading. She is also a church volunteer. Kathleen and Romney own and operate a trucking business. A A Madalyn Fogg BA ’08 is an academic advisor for Southern Utah University. She previously worked at Broadview University as a high school admissions representative, director of career services and associate dean of education. She lives in Cedar City, Utah. Sean R. Lewis BS ’08 is a county land use planner for Summit County, Utah. He is A a member of the American Planning Association and is working toward his Master of Public Administration degree at Brigham Young University. Sean was the 2014 #ChappyAward winner in the “Best Ogden Tweep” category. He lives in Ogden with his wife, Kari Richards Lewis BS ’03, a stay-at-home mother to two children. Heike Bammann BS ’09 is a senior cost accountant for Five Star Airport Alliance, which provides quality systems, products and service to the aviation industry. A member of Intermountain Professional Photographers Association and Professional Photographers of America, Heike is the owner of HB1Photograpy. She is a volunteer for the Davis County Mounted Sherriff’s Posse. She lives in Clinton, Utah. Migliorini International. An avid volunteer, Kay helped Weber State raise funds for an international service project in Thailand, and chaired a number of community projects through Weber State’s Computer Labs. Kay also helped prepare taxes for WSU international students through the university’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. She and her husband, Pakorn Kongjaroon BS ’96, have one child and live in Roy, Utah. A Sofia Waugh Carrigan AS ’09, BS ’11 is an English and ballroom dance teacher at Copper Hills High School in West Jordan, Utah. She is a member of the Utah Dance Judges Association and is a cheerleader for the Rocky Mountain Mudd Ducks in the Rocky Mountain Football League. She and her husband, James, live in Sandy, Utah. ’10s Hailey Jean Brown Day BS ’10 MBA ’14 works for the Department of Defense as a financial technician in Okinawa, Japan, while her husband, Technical Sergeant Adam Day, serves in the U.S. Air Force. In the future, she hopes to earn a Ph.D. and open a business. Kornsuang (Kay) Kraikongchit BS ’10, MA ’13 is an accountant for Parker- L A Ashley Cross MA ’11 is the founder/distiller of New World Distillery, which produces super-premium craft spirits. She taught English at the secondary level for 24 years, 18 of which she taught Advanced Placement English at Davis High School. She and her husband, Christopher, live in Eden, Utah, and have a daughter and son. Ashley is secretary of the Ogden Valley Business Association. Morgan M. Bruderer AS ’12, BS ’14 is an associate development director for Weber State University. She previously was manager of customer relations for BullySpeak Referral Service. Morgan has volunteered in special education classes, for Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and for the 2013 Layton Marathon. A A Sarah Borseth Morris BS ’12 is a dental hygienist for Morgan Family Dental and Dr. Scott Carlton. Her husband, Trevor G. Morris BA ’03, is the director of marketing for TAB Bank. Sarah is a PTA volunteer, and Trevor is a volunteer coach for youth sports teams in the Wasatch Front Football League, American Youth Soccer Organization, Junior Jazz and city baseball league. They have two sons. Lifetime Member of the Alumni Association Annual Member of the Alumni Association Member of the Alumni Association’s 125 Club September 11-19, 2015 Events Include: Sept. 17 WSU Salutes Sept. 18 WSU Greek Life & Social Club Reunion Homecoming Dance Sept. 18 & 19 Alumni Band Reunion Sept. 19 Football: WSU vs. Sacramento State Sept. 19 Run d Fun he f or t ! of it Run for the Fund of It (5K plus kid’s fun run & breakfast!) For registration and details, visit alumni.weber.edu/yac5k A complete list of events is available at: weber.edu/ homecoming Petchompoo (Tara/Mo) Sanpanit BIS ’12 works for Specialized Loan Servicing’s investor reporting department as an electronic default associate. She was previously a human resource assistant at InnovAge Diversity Outreach and a recruitment coordinator for the U.S. Forest Service. Petchompoo lives in Denver, where she is finishing her Master of Professional Studies in Strategic Human Resource Management. L L Cynthia Phelps Ulrich BA ’12 is an executive assistant for advancement at the University of Missouri. Previously, she worked for Downtown Ogden. She and her husband, Ryan C. Ulrich BS ’14, who is a law student at the University of Missouri, live in Columbia, Missouri. A A Nicholas A. (Nick) Berg BA ’13 is a graduate assistant at the University of Utah, where he is pursuing his master’s degree in educational leadership and policy with an emphasis in student affairs. He lives in Ogden. Management Corporation and Sagemark Consulting. He and his wife, Riley, live in Farmington, Utah. Andrew serves on WSU’s Olene S. Walker Institute of Politics & Public Service Board of Directors. Kelsey E. Chugg BS ’13 is the membership director for the Utah Golf Association. She is a two-time defending champion in the Utah Women’s State Amateur Championship. Kelsey has also worked at the Willow Creek Country Club in Sandy, Utah, and the Wingpointe Golf Course in Salt Lake City. She lives in Salt Lake City. Westin F. Scanlon BS ’14 is an integrity data analyst for the Denver office of Willbros Engineers, a specialty energy infrastructure contractor serving the oil, gas, refinery, petrochemical and power industries. Andrew M. Gardiner BS ’14 is the e-commerce operations manager for Fanzz. He was previously employed as an intern for Larry H. Miller Brandi Lyn Fulmer Sibert BS ’14 is a dental hygienist for Dr. Scott Miller’s office in Roy, Utah. She is a member of the American Dental Hygiene Association. Brandi and her husband, Cameron, live in West Haven, Utah. Alumni Regional Chapters Stay Connected to WSU MICHAEL B. VAUGHAN Former Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs JUDY ELSLEY Professor of English and Director of the Honors Program For 25 years, British-born English professor Judy Elsley has helped Weber State University students become competent and confident readers, writers and thinkers. “I focus on students as real people whom I honor and respect,” said Elsley. “My teaching style is student-based and interactive, rather than lecturing.” Unique to some of Elsley’s lesson plans is a skillful weaving of her passion for quilting. “My two great loves are fabric and language,” said Elsley. “My doctoral dissertation explored the semiotics of quilting, and many of my publications focus on quilts in literature and the relationship between text and textile.” Over the past three decades, the self-described “fabric artist” has gradually moved from using commercial textiles and other people’s patterns to designing her own quilts made with fabrics she has hand-dyed and printed. Elsley is a tireless student advocate. From 1995 to 2000, she cocoordinated WSU’s First Year Experience, a program that helps new students learn the ropes of university life and connect with resources they need to succeed. She is a past director of WSU’s Writing Across the Curriculum Program, and in 1999 she started the Rising Star Scholarship for nontraditional students. She guided the Bachelor of Integrated Studies program from 2000 to 2007 and is the current director of the university’s Honors Program. Elsley is a Brady Presidential Distinguished Professor and a recipient of the John S. Hinckley Fellow Award for excellence in teaching. Former students post positive reviews online and describe Elsley’s courses as transformative moments in their intellectual development. “Dr. Elsley is the best professor I have had at WSU,” wrote one student. “I have never understood Shakespeare before, but she made it so relatable,” said another. No Matter Where You Live Mike Vaughan is a quiet man with a resounding influence on campus. He is a former dean of the John B. Goddard School of Business & Economics, and he served as provost and vice president of Academic Affairs from 2004 until June 2015, when he returned to the faculty as an economics professor. As provost, Vaughan expanded and promoted the intellectual climate of Weber State University. Under his direction, WSU initiated 25 new degree programs, including six at the master’s level. The scope of Vaughan’s responsibility as provost was daunting. Ultimately it was he who answered the demand for innovative, relevant instruction at WSU. Vaughan influenced each of the university’s seven academic colleges, which saw enrollments grow from 18,000 to more than 25,000 students during his tenure as provost. With support from his office, WSU was able to purchase enough Steinway pianos to earn a coveted All-Steinway School designation. Vaughan worked diligently to make higher education accessible and affordable. In 2008 he was instrumental in creating the Dream Weber program, which covers tuition and fees for qualifying WSU students with a household income of less than $40,000. “It has made the dream of a college education a reality for thousands of students,” Vaughan said. Upon establishing WSU’s Center for Community Engaged Learning, Vaughan appointed an enthusiastic director, Brenda Kowalewski. Under her leadership, and with Vaughan’s guidance and support, the center has flourished and provided service and learning opportunities for thousands of WSU students. He also helped establish Weber State’s active participation in the American Democracy Project, fostering a future generation of informed, engaged citizens. For his dedication, the Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) awarded Vaughan the 2015 William M. Plater Award for Leadership in Civic Engagement, a national honor. Vaughan has been appointed to serve on AASCU’s nationwide council to study economic inequality and its effects on democracy. He will lead WSU’s new Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality. Named in memory of the former Weber College president, the H. Aldous Dixon Awards have been presented annually since 1970 to honor faculty and staff who have demonstrated careers of excellence and have gone above and beyond the call of duty to support students. Dixon served as president of Weber College from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1937 to 1953. Learn more at alumni.weber.edu/regionalchapters Fall 2015 | alumni.weber.edu 47 Non-profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 151 1265 Village Dr. Dept. 4025 Ogden, UT 84408-4025 SLC, UT