ent See eae i eee - Bd i Soe l my THE CLASSROOM INTC Gee 5 FROM CONTENTS 6 My Favorite PROFESSOR: WSU alumni pay tribute to the professors they can't forget. A FEAST OF STORIES: Professional and amateur storytellers enchant children of all ages at the WSU Storytelling Festival. SPACE FOR ART: WSU's new Kimball Visual Arts Center adds dimension to Northern Utah's cultural scene. . y decision to retire from teaching at the end of the current school year was an inspired one. One October night, between CHANGING MINDS: Faculty, students and alumni the two times I woke up to relieve myself, my mind through unique contributions. dents and now it was time to go take care of my soul! demonstrate loyalty to WSU STADIUM SETS EW STANDARD: Stewart Stadium renovations inspire our football team to “represent” the best of WSU. | ALUMNI UPDATES: Check out the latest news about WSU alumni—from local government leaders and foot-stompin’ musicians to a paralympian and a Harvardeducated neurosurgeon. was made up—I had given my best years to my stu- Later | said to Neila, “Here I am on the verge of packing up and saying goodbye, without once realiz- ing how time has imperceptibly slipped by.” “If you are having fun doing what you love, time does fly by,” she said. She is right. They have been marvelous years— thirty-one in all. When | first came to Ogden in the fall of 1969, Weber State was a compact college with a familial atmosphere. | marveled how President William Miller knew the names of almost every single student. On his walks across the campus, he would stop to talk to students and keep a steady patter going: “Jenny, how is your grandma? Is her hip mended?” Or “Tom, Looking Forward/tookiioon when is Bob coming home from his mission?” President Miller brought a gracious personal touch to the business of educating students. The campus had a touch of the country, too. The Social Science, Education, and Wattis buildings and the LDS Institute were nowhere in sight. The land all around was full of wild growth and sagebrush. Neila reminds me that at the entrance to the campus on Edvalson there was a posted sign which read, “No Horses on Campus.” Cluster Nilsson, a long-time English instructor, would occasionally ride his goldenbrown quarter horse to campus—when he was low on gas, | suspect. Memories abound! | could relate one memory after another, as Shakespeare's Touchstone would say, for “eight years together, dinners, suppers and sleeping hours excepted.” My most precious memories are about people rather than about events and incidents; they are mostly about my students. | still remember the faces and names of students from my first class in American Romantic literature that fall quarter—Bill Washburn, Dave Yurth, Richard Richards, Ralph Allred. They are more than mere faces and names to me. SOUL FRIENDS | remember, for instance, how one late summer evening in 1971, Robert and Lela Newey, who had met in my freshman writing class, came by our apartment to invite me and Neila to climb to the top of Malan’s peak. They had recently been married on top of Malan’s and they wanted to retrace the hike in the company of two of their favorite professors; it would hallow the occasion for them, they said. Neila demurred—she did not have hiking shoes—but Rob, Lela and | hiked the trail in darkness the next morning. At the top, Lela and Rob lit a fire behind a rock ledge and cooked a breakfast of eggs and bacon. We talked about the early Mormon pioneers, rattlesnakes, reincarnation, Thoreau and Gandhi. The memory of that beautiful morning, splashed pink and orange and crimson across the filigreed sky, has stayed etched on my mind. Rob and Lela, two precious souls, did me the honor of even naming one of their children after me—Sesha, she is called, a lovely young, successful woman now. Not all memories are happy ones. In the early eighties, a bright, gangly student, full of charm and the love of life, brought his lovely fiancé to our home for an upper division class party and the two stayed on until after the clock had struck one in the morning. He wanted to be a lawyer and she a school teacher; love, hope and goodwill ruled our conversation. They felt close to us as much as we felt close to them, but life’s vagaries are inscrutable. He took his life not long ago; he was too young to die. As I stood in respectful silence before his casket, | said a prayer for him and wondered where this world had failed him. He had visited Neila, his favorite professor, in her office a week earlier and had sought her advice on how to juggle home, kids and law school. Neila calls this farewell meeting a shared moment of trust, now made poignant by his passing away. And then there was Matt, heavy, balding and garrulous, who one time called about three a.m. to rouse me from my sleep. “Are you busy?” he asked as | heard raucous noise and laughter all about him. He was calling from Las Vegas, he said, and had wagered with his California school-going friends that his Shakespeare professor could identify any quote from the Bard and could cite chapter and verse, to boot. “What is the wager?” | asked. “Twenty-five bucks,” Matt intoned. “Shoot,” | said. He recited: “The lunatic, the lover and the poet/ Are of imagination all compact./ One sees more devils than vast hell can hold;/ That is the madman.” “A Midsummer Night's Dream,” | said, “beginning of Act 5.” My relief from not losing face was so great that I hardly could go back to sleep. Matt showed up to class Monday morning, sheepish, apologetic—and sober. | wonder where he is now. A year ago at an Indian musical concert, Neila and | ran into David Yurth, a student from my first days at Weber State. We bonded immediately with him and his lovely wife, both now writers, as if no time had intervened. When we met next for an evening of talk and dinner at Rooster’s restaurant, Dave showed up with a full-fledged, book-length sci-fi manuscript. We were proud of Dave—an erstwhile lawyer, a Washington politico, and now a writer! | see that my memories are getting the better of me. Too many fond memories, too many stories to tell. —Dr. Candadai Seshachari is retiring this spring from his roles as professor of English and chair of both the English Department and the Faculty Senate. 5 Back “My most precious memories are about people rather than about events and incidents; they are mostly about my students. ” —Candadai Seshachari WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY NEWS HIGHLIGHTS and departments form partnerships with @ weber.edu the Wasatch THE PLAY’S THE THING Front. Billboards and tion among alumni and students. The campaign’s theme, “Changing Minds,” captures both our mission as a univer- The hit film October Sky had us all enter the regional college theater com- sharing the dreams of a coal-miners petition son who wanted to build rockets. More 1940s Radio Hour, a musical set at a in Las Vegas sity and the public's changing perceptions about WSU. in February: than 1,000 WSU students and community radio station during the War years, direct- members met the dreamer himself on ed by Jim Christian, and 7he Serpent, campus last fall. Retired NASA engi- a 1960s-era experimental theater piece neer Homer Hickam, whose memoir, based on the book of Genesis, directed Rocket Boys, inspired the film, spoke to by Tracy Callahan. In fact, it was the the standing-room-only audience about first time any university in the region the past and future of space exploration. has sent two plays to the competition. The visit wasn't his first experience in To top that, in April, The Serpent was Northern advanced by regional judges to national working for NASA, Hickam logged time here working competition at the Kennedy Center for with engineers at Thiokol Corporation. the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. WSU-NASA WorkKSHOP Hundreds of elementary and secondary school WSU science teachers met at in October as part of the ninth-annual WSU-NASA Scia aa dren and the community.” gans have prompted smiles of recogni- ductions. Two plays were selected to oh Fe was there. | am mostly interested in buses displaying a series of catchy slo- OCTOBER SKY AB ara Baa One alumnus spoke for many, when he wrote: “WSU has changed a lot since | They're hard to miss if you drive along encore performances of fall's hit pro- BS in WSU’s performing arts department. CATCHY CAMPAIGN WSU hit the big time this spring with While Others praised the “exceptional talent’ what the university has to offer my chil- CLICK HERE FOR NEWS ABOUT WILDCAT ACHIEVEMENTS, HAPPENINGS AND UPDATES Utah. related local businesses and industry. ae an E o. e. ence Teachers Workshop. Former astronaut Robert Crippen, now president of Thiokol Propulsion in Brigham City, Utah, was the keynote speaker. The workshops gave teachers expoSure to current topics, programs and products in the math and science fields. web site at www.alumni.weber.org to vote for your favorites. And while you're on, tell us how WSU Accounting students Carey Anderson, Nancy Farr, Chase Vernieuw and Chrystie Zaugg won a berth at the 1999 Arthur Andersen Tax Challenge, joining nine other university teams to compete in the national finals. Arthur Andersen donated $1,500 to WSU’s scholarship fund in honor of the team’s achievement. Let us know which billboards you like best. Visit our logged TAX TEAM, TOO has changed your mind. We'll feature alumni comments in the next issue of Vista. ALUMNI SPEAK UP How do alumni feel about their experience at WSU? Inquiring minds wanted to know, So we mailed a survey to some 5.000 alumni. Many of you expressed strong opinions about supporting WSU Athletics and about the positive experiences you had as students. Civicminded alumni hoped to see the university “act as a catalyst in revitalizing Ogden” and suggested that colleges JAWSAT TAKES OFF Swords were beaten into plowshares when, for the first time ever, a refitted intercontinental used to launch ballistic missile was JAWSAT (Joint Air Force Academy-Weber State University Satellite) into orbit in January from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. JAWSAT’s mission was to deploy four smaller satellites (ASUSAT1 from Arizona State University, FalconSat from the U.S. Air Force Academy, OPAL from Stanford University, and an Optical Calibration Sphere from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory) after launch aboard a refitted Minuteman II missile. The mission was successful, earning high praise from the U.S. Air Force. CAST MEMBERS FROM JHE SERPENT. VISTA MBA at WSU Future tycoons now can launch their executive careers at WSU since, this spring, of Regents the Utah Board approved our new master’s of business administration program. In 1998, John B. Goddard, namesake of WSU's business school, had challenged faculty members to initiate an MBA program and they came through. Students accepted into the program, which begins in July 2000, will split their classroom time between the Davis Campus in Layton, Utah, and cyberspace. Night classes at WSU-Davis will cover 60 percent of coursework. The remaining credits will GoOoD CHEMISTRY butions—as educators, leaders—to WSU's Helen J. James was a crowd pleaser this year, when she was honored with the 2000 Dixon Award. James has been recognized as an analytical chemist, campus leader and student favorite for almost 30 years. The Dixon Award is just one of many James has earned. Presidential It. Distinguished Mock trial teams from WSU continue to themselves in regional and national competitions. This spring, a WSU team, under the direction of political science professor Frank Guliuzza, took first place at the Macalester College Invitational Mock Trial Tournament held in St. Paul, Minn. Another WSU team also advanced from the regional competition held here on campus to the national tournament coming up in Des Moines. Stay tuned. You asked for it. Alumni have long requested Swenson Gymnasium to the facilities at affordable rates. Now, dues-paying members of the WSU Alumni Association can join students and employees who enjoy yearround access to the indoor track, basketball and racquetball courts, swimming pool and exercise equipment, for an annual fee of $99. It's easy to get your alumni gym card. Just call Alumni Relations at 801-626-7535. For information, check the alumni home page at www.alumni.weber.org. Teaching fessor and the 1993 Award. Apart from Pro- Lowe Teaching her distinguished teaching and scholarship, James also is noted for her generosity. She has donated more than $48,000 to WSU over the years. “| have a great deal of respect for the faculty at Weber State, but Helen ranks in the best of the best,” will receive a $750 cash prize. For FOR WHOM THE-BELL TOLLS — submission One of WSU'’s most noted landmarks, the Stewart Bell Tower is due for a facelift. After nearly three decades of service, the brick facade covering the old bricks were stripped last fall, exposing an orange-colored skeleton, which drew the attention of local alumni. Engineers determined the basic structure is sound and will withstand earthquakes and high winds. WSU administrators are left with the decision of what to do with the pillars. Options range from painting the structure or re-cladding it in steel or concrete panels, to again covering it in brick. WINNING MESSAGE In one of the shortest commencement Speeches based on record, Salt Lake City- industrialist and philanthropist Jon Huntsman shared some personal advice with WSU's May graduates: “No You CAN'T BEAM ME Up than reaching down to lift up another.” Krauss, author of /he Physics of Star Trek, spoke to several hundred WSU students in an address about movies. popular In sci-fi TV shows case youre and curious: Accelerating from a standing position to warp speed would crush the entire crew of the Enterprise. And “teleporting’ anything—let alone anyone— through space via the beaming process is Impossible. But, yes, transportation across the galaxy via “wormholes” is a theoretical possibility. criteria, visit the alumni home page at-www.alumni.weber.org, or call (801) 626-6982. exercise iS better for the human heart Graduates stood to repeat the sentence after Huntsman, then joined the audience in a standing ovation when he illustrated his message by announcing that he and his wife, Karen, would give. WSU $1 million for scholarships. CBS news correspondent Bob Schieffer, who was the University of Utah's com- mencement speaker, commented on the television program Face the Nation. “It there had been a commencement speech contest in Utah last week | wouldn't have stood a chance. The winner— hands down—would have been a Utah businessman named Jon Huntsman.” If there's a “song in your heart,” please submit it by September 30. Support structure must be replaced. The said Associate Provost Kathleen Lukken. Lawrence GO FOR THE BURN access Others include the 1984 Mock TEAMS ROCK prove of capital - campaign. If selected, the composer(s) scholars and community learners. Retiring chemistry professor limited to 30 students. about for events celebrating WSU's Staff who have made outstanding contri- gram unique in Utah. Class size will be no debate for an original song (music and lyrics) favorite, since it honors faculty and work. That combination makes the pro- simply Calling all songwriters! We're looking Dixon Award Luncheon as a sentimental be earned via the Internet from home or Theres \ THE SouND oF Music Alumni regard the annual H. Aldous —WMark Peterson, Media Relations Be the Change Five WSU ALUMNI RECALL THEIR MOST MEMORABLE TEACHERS~—AND HOW CLASSROOM 4 - SHAPED MAGIC THEIR AMBITIONS, CAREERS AND VALUES t's 2:15 p.m. and my back is aching. This guy’s got the worst breath and soggiest gums I've ever seen. Why am | a dental hygienist? At this time each day, | think of what Sarah Toevs, WSU's dental hygiene program director, taught me and remember why. People will not change unless they understand there’s a problem and have the desire to reform. It is your job to instill this desire, Sarah told me and my classmates. She also taught us that the most valuable 2 VUNG oc the L CY} am eternally grateful to the late Daniel T. Gallego, sociology professor, and the late Daily E. Oliver, ethnic studies professor. As a reluctant student-athlete transferring from an Oklahoma junior college to RYAN TOONE. tened to your concerns and complaints, who pushed you to think, and think, then think even more? Have success. | was fortunate to find these two. my face. Peeved yet caring, Dr. Gallego chastised me for my “jock-like arrogant tardiness” to his class, while Dr. Oliver delivered the piercing reminder to “take the Although they are no longer with us, these profes- sors remind me of L. R. McKay's quote: “The great obligation upon a teacher is to be prepared to teach. He cannot teach others that which he does not know. He cannot make his students feel what he does not feel himself.” My pledge is to continue the spirit of their legacy as best I can; striving for excellence through the power of reason. Forrest Crawford ’75 is a WSU professor of teacher education. He co-chairs the Utah Family Summit Foundation, a center for grieving children, and founded both the Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Commission and the Utah Coalition for the Advancement of Minorities in Higher Education. a “Be ethical. Serve all,” she said. Have you ever had a teacher who made you feel welcome in her office, classroom or clinic, who lis- you ever had a teacher who cared about and knew competitive collegiality. Somehow | knew it would take a caring faculty member to ensure my academic their enduring influence. DANIEL GALLEGO, AND CLYDE COOLEY WITH HIS GRANDSON, time spent is in educating our patients. Weber State, | clung to teammates to ensure my chain off my brain.” | stand as one among thousands of students who have been shaped by these men and From Lerr. DaILeY E. OLIVER, You Wish le See you as a person, not as just another student? | have. I'm sitting in Sarah's office, tears streaming down “I'm so discouraged,” I say. . “What can | do to help?” she asks, applying her own lessons about personal commitment. Sarah's power to change herself and inspire others is transcendent. “You must be the change you wish to see in the world,” she told us. So said Gandhi; so lives Sarah Toevs. Emily Reber ’99 lives in Ogden with her husband Richard Reber, also a WSU student. She has been practicing dental hygiene since graduating from WSU last spring. Tough, Mean and Meaningful here are some people who come into our lives, at the right time and place to make a difference. Sometimes that difference is permanent and affects a lifetime. | think it was fall of 1981. | was an accounting major, starting my upper division business classes at WSU. | signed up for a corporate finance class from Clyde Cooley, business administration professor, even though several had warned me to avoid his class. Too hard, too tough, too mean. Sounded like a fun challenge to me. | can still see the reading glasses VISTA perched on the end of his nose as he peered over the top of them: classic Clyde Cooley. Clyde never accepted sloppy thinking, or “winging it,” and he called us on it. He made us clarify our thoughts and open our minds. He showed me in the course of 10 weeks how a professor who really cares can bring learning, discipline and educational value together like magic. He made sure we learned. From that very class, | changed my major to finance and had the privilege of taking many more classes from Dr. Cooley. Those who thought him too tough and too mean never invested the time to know what he was asking and expecting of us. For several years, | taught as an adjunct professor at WSU and | patterned my teaching after this man. One of my greatest compliments came one day in the computer lab when I overheard two business students speaking. “Who are you taking for corporate finance?”one asked. “Anyone but Carter, he’s as tough as Clyde Cooley,” the other replied. | knew my teaching was about right. Since my graduation, Clyde has remained my mentor and friend. It is my privilege to have known him these years. Lee Carter ’83 is president and chief executive officer of Upland Corporation in Salt Lake City and president of the WSU Alumni Association. The Power of Paying Attention ‘ve known Gordon Allred, my former English professor, so long that | remember him when he had hair. The only trouble is, he can now say the same about me. When | first met Gordon, back in the ‘60s, he was a young professor and writer, and | was a writer “wannabe.” In class, he was personable, funny, caring, careful to criticize with a soft touch and always ready to encourage. What impressed me even more, however, was the individual attention he was willing to give me and my work. I've tried to model my own writing career on his. | care about craft, just as he does. At the same time, | have tried to learn from his practical understanding of the marketplace. I've even returned to teaching in the last few years, at Brigham Young University, and I try to give my students’ work as much personal attention as he gave mine. What I always felt in Gordon was his goodness, his love of his family, his concern for his community, his commitment to his teaching and his art. That's a model I'm glad | encountered early in my career. | hope it’s the sort of thing my students, now, would find in me. The Whole World in Her Hands F ive volumes of the Middle East Contemporary Survey sit on a bookshelf in my home. On the same shelf, Israel's Golda Meir stares from the cover of a recent biography. Not far away, champions of democracy like Czechoslovakia's Vaclav Havel can be found within the pages of a book called Democracy Reader. Nancy Haanstad, a WSU political science professor, brought them into my home. She didn't show up in a pickup truck and unload a lot of books out of sheer generosity, but she might as well have. They are here because of her. It’s been eight years since I've stepped into a classroom at Weber State University with notepad in hand and ears perked for a lecture, but the influence of Dr. Haanstad has not diminished with time. It has grown. Prior to her lectures, words were my world. Give me homonyms and synonyms, alliteration and elucidation, | said. Please don’t bore me with international human rights conventions, balance of power, treaties and the Israeli-Arab conflict. And just who the heck are the Kurds anyway? That was the way it used to be. As a fulltime journalist devoted to issues like zoning ordinances, criminal arraignments and driveby shootings, my goal simply was to get through college and complete my degree. My career path had already been chosen and that college degree was the gravy meant to enhance my chances for a promotion. Dr. Haanstad changed all that. All of a sudden, there was magic in the classroom. The Kurds became a passionate interest that, to this day, has me receiving e-mail news from the Washington Kurdish Institute and thumbing through the latest edition of Foreign Affairs. | walked into Weber State more than a decade ago believing | knew what kind of world I wanted. Because of Dr. Haanstad’s provocative lectures, my world expanded to embrace the far reaches of the Earth. You can’t ask for a better gift from a teacher. Ami Joy Bryson ’92 lives in Layton, Utah, with her two sons, works as a reporter at the Deseret News and, inspired by Dr. Haanstad, plans to pursue a graduate degree in political science. She is a former member of the WSU Alumni Association Board of Directors. Dean Hughes ’67 has published more than 80 books for children, young adults and adults. He is currently working on a series of historical novels about World War I, Children of the Promise, and he recently completed a series of baseball novels for middle-grade readers. He FROM TOP: NANCY HAANSTAD, GORDON ALLRED, AND SARAH TOEVS. ’ and his wife, the former Kathleen Hurst 66, have three children and three grandsons. S PRIN G 20 0 0 Sa A FEAST OF At WSU’s StoryTELLING FESTIVAL, WORLD-CLASS PERFORMERS AND TALENTED AMATEURS ENCHANT CHILDREN OF ALL AGES. __ istening to a well-told story is one of life's great pleasures, right up there “) with a foot massage and Belgian > chocolate. I've always loved a good "A good story teller is not just a talking head, but heart, body AUGUST MILLER/ STANDARD EXAMINER and soul.” tale, and my most pleasant hours of childhood were spent in the imaginary worlds created by books. At first my parents read to me, and then | learned to read for myself, immersing myself in such books as The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, The Five Children and It, The Hobbit, and Ballet Shoes. As a teenager, growing up in England, | would listen to books on the radio. The BBC’s “Book at Bedtime” introduced me to Isak Dinesen’s poetic rendering of her life on an African coffee farm in Out of Africa. | listened to Josephine Tey’s Daughter of Time, long episodes of Charles Dickens’ novels and many more I've forgotten. As adults, we're supposed to grow out of such childish pleasures, but the truth is most of us still love to hear good stories. What a treat, then, to indulge my love of stories at WSU's Storytelling Festival. For three days last November, | listened to a range of stories told by professional and amateur raconteurs. | don’t know which | preferred, the smooth professionalism of the adult storytellers who created complex, cohesive and credible new worlds, or the charming hesitancy of the nervous seven year old telling a familiar story for the very first time to a live audience. | laughed, I cried, | was amazed, inspired and touched. You name the emotion— felt it. For those of us who attended, the Storytelling Festival was a rich feast for the ears, the heart and the soul. | have to admit part of my pleasure in attending the festival was a chance to return to childhood, not just because | could listen to stories as| did when | was young, but because | could act like a child. At the evening performances at Peery’s Egyptian Theater in Ogden, most of the audience was under four feet tall and we didn't tolerate boredom. We were a mercilessly honest audience. If we liked the story, we laughed loudly and clapped often. If we were bored, we shifted in our seats, talked to our neighbors, and even walked around the theater. In the intermission, we claimed our cartons of milk and boxes of animal crackers, and settled down on the foyer floor with our friends and family to feast on the goodies. Some of us brought pillows to the theater ° so we could get really comfortable. Best of all, everyone could see well because so few of our heads rose above the top of the seats. PRINCESS OF QuiTE A LoT At the more formal occasion of the festival dinner, we adults behaved in a more reserved way, but that didn’t stop us from donning the gold crowns placed at the tables. Like the little girl in the Mary Engelbreit painting, | felt like “Princess of Quite a Lot” wearing my gold crown. After dinner, we listened enthralled as Rafe Martin told us the old, familiar story of the Three Little Pigs, and we all joined in the chorus: “I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house down!” After three days, | came away feeling refreshed and satisfied, not just because | could be childlike again, but because each of the four professional storytellers gave a series of marvelous performances, each one a mini-theatrical production, showing us that our everyday stories can be elevated to works of art. VISTA Rafe Martin breathed new life into familiar folk lore, while Patrick Ball enchanted us with Irish tales accom- panied by his playing of the Celtic harp. Olga Loya moved effortlessly between Spanish and English as she recalled her childhood in East L.A., and Brenda Wong Aoki delved into her own background as the daughter of a Chinese mother and Japanese father, to recount ancient stories from Asia. By giving us stories from their own backgrounds, the storytellers conjured up the different cultures they knew well. “It’s the way we humans share with one another, pass down history, ” Aoki said. Through the pleasures of a story, | was introduced to other cultures effortlessly, and I was reminded that the world is a wide, various and interesting place. Most cultures, it seems, engage with the same universal themes, such as the pursuit of love, or vice punished and virtue rewarded. Although the universe is inhabited by scary dragons and evil monsters, spoiled princesses and selfish princes, most stories reassure me that we live in a wonderful world and that good will win in the end, even if we don't always live happily ever after. What does it take to tell a story well? After watching these professional storytellers spin their yarns, we learned what an art, a craft, a skill anda practice it is to tell a story well. Loya explained that it takes focus, good listening and cooperation between teller and audience. Aoki showed us that we need to involve our whole bodies —a good story teller is not just a talking head, but heart, body and soul. In his workshop, Martin reminded participants to look for patterns of speech as he emphasized that oral stories are constructed with a careful attention to the poetry of the words: “She lived on Second Creek Road, which was between First Creek Road and Third Creek Road...1 sat under the apple tree and all the apples fell on me. Apple pudding, apple pie. Did you ever tell a lie?” And each of the storytellers showed us, through their performances, that it takes a lot of hard work to produce the magical, confident and seemingly Ss PRING 200 90 effortless performances they so consistently gave us. As Aoki said, “Our stories are all we really are. So make sure they're good ones!” Stories R Us Although we're mostly unaware of it, we're all telling stories all the time in our daily lives because that’s how we make sense of what happens to us. As we talk, we formulate our version of events and experiences: “You'll never guess what happened to me on my way back from school...and then he said to me...and what do you think | did?” Every one of us, then, is a living anthology of stories. We all have stories to tell, as Loya demonstrated in her workshop when we played games to help us recall childhood injuries and scary experiences. Storytelling pulses through our veins. In fact, we could say that telling stories is what makes us human. In the end, a good story is so much more than just pleasure, although that’s certainly a part of it. At the heart of storytelling is the great mystery of love. Love puts the world to rights; love saves us; constantly we learn the lesson that love is what connects us to other people and the world. Whether it’s romantic love, love of family and community, or love of the natural world, we become one with the world through the power of love. A good story, well told, invites us into the world of imagination, along magical paths to enchanted places, and then returns us to our lives renewed and affirmed. —Judy Elsley, English Department THE WSU FESTIVAL RENOWNED (FROM TOP NoH-Tec, AOKI, BILL ARRINGTON. STORYTELLING HAS ATTRACTED ARTISTS, INCLUDING TO BOTTOM): ETHBRENDA WoNG HARLEY AND JAMES BOTTOM LEFT: FOURTH-GRADE STUDENTS ANDY BOLOS AND JOSH BRODIS FROM UINTA ELEMENTARY LISTEN TO A ROAMING STORYTELLER. SPACE FOR KIMBALL VISUAL ARTS GENTER AKES ROOM FOR CREATIVE EXPRESSION Private donations will fund the $15-million Ethel Wattis Kimball Visual Arts Center. A $5-million gift from William R. Kimball and his sister, Barbara Kimball Browning, who has since passed away, was made in memory of their mother, after whom the building will be named. The Stewart Education Foundation committed $4 million to the project. Soon, art lovers will visit exhibits in the facility's Mary Elizabeth Dee Shaw Gallery, named in memory of the mother of the late Elizabeth Dee Shaw Stewart, a long- time WSU benefactor. Other major contributors are the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation, which gave $2 million; John A. and Telitha donated $1.2 the Lola G. which made a WSU has Lindquist, who million; and Austad Trust, $1-million gift. received an additional $1.3 million in gifts ranging from $100 to $150,000 from numerous other individuals and organizations. Although more than 97 percent of the funding has been raised, WSU is still seeking more than $500,000 for the new facility. efore paint touches the canvas or a mound of clay takes shape, most artists launch the creative process with quiet contemplation. Depending on the piece, it may take only minutes to define a direction, theme or concept. Other artworks can take days, even years, to develop. In the case of a WSU masterpiece, it’s been more than two decades in the making. For years, art and education advocates have dreamed about an aesthetic focus for the campus and community—and even lobbied the Utah Legislature for funding. But it wasn’t until students, faculty, alumni and friends of the university took the concept into their own hands that it moved from the drawing You don't have to look far to envision the benefits of a bigger, state-of-the-art facility. Visit any visual arts class today and you'll find students working elbow-to-elbow— om j 4 with critiques convened in crowded corridors. Increasing enrollment has forced the department to scatter makeshift darkrooms and studios in buildings across campus. board to construction. “It’s a good problem to have—signs of growing said Jim Jacobs, chairman of the visual arts depart- the Collett Art Building was constructed at WSU in 1966, there were approximately 80 [3 art majors. We have more a than 250 students in the program now, and serve an additional 700 others fulfilling general-education requirements each year. Our enrollments have simply surpassed what the current facility was built to handle.” In June, ground will be broken for the Ethel Wattis Kimball Visual Arts Center. “It's a dream come true,” ment. “It was the vision and support of the people of Northern Utah that moved this project forward. Like some of the best works of art, this new facility was once a wild idea that, through hard work and perseverance, has been translated into reality.” UREATING A WWIASTERPIECE The building's architecture itself will be a work of art. The center has been designed to serve as both a comprehensive learning facility for aspiring artists and an attractive venue for art admirers. From the atrium in the heart of the building to the large windows positioned for perfect light, “this will be a place everyone will enjoy visiting and can be proud of,” Jacobs said. Additionally, the Kimball Visual Arts Center will be located adjacent to the recently renovated Val A. Browning Center for Performing Arts. “The combination of the two facilities will create a premier fine arts complex,” he said. “It will give the community a front door to the university.” pains,” Jacobs said. “When Even storage space is at a premium. It can take stu- dents 15 minutes to get their projects and supplies set up, and another 15 minutes to put them away. “If you have only an hour in the studio, it becomes very challenging to make the most of the time,” he said. “Having the space to store work in progress will be a significant improvement, not to mention having room to dry and cure pieces without worrying about damage from stacking and hanging things on top of each other.” Faculty and students working with ceramics, drawing, graphic design, painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture soon will have a central home. “With all the disciplines located together, we all will share a richer educational experience and a deeper sense of community,” Jacobs said. In addition to abundant work space, the new center will offer a 10,000-square-foot gallery space. “That's nearly the same area as our current classrooms, studios and offices combined,” he added. The gallery will be built with security and climate control measures so it can host prestigious touring exhibitions, in addition to student and community shows. “Although Suzanne Kanatsiz and Scott Betz joined WSU’s visual arts department in 1999. Kanatsiz taught formerly at the University of Nevada at Reno, where she also served as director of the campus fine arts gallery. Among many intriguing projects, she has worked with disabled adults to create large experimental installations featuring performance art, sculpture and video projects. scott Betz, Suzanne whose studio there are other great venues for visual arts in the region, none fulfills the mission of bringing national and international art to Ogden. With the completion of the Kimball Visual Arts Center, “the department can take our community art scene to a new level,” TOP LEFT CORNER: ARTIST’S RENDERING OF THE ETHEL Wattis KIMBALL VISUAL ARTS CENTER. Jacobs said. —Pat Bean, city editor CLOCKWISE FROM TOP CENTER: “THE SLIP KNOT,” ACRYLIC ON COLLAGE BY SCOTT BETZ; AN UNTITLED SANDSTONE SCULPTURE, SANDBLASTED AND INSCRIBED WITH A TEXT FROM THE KORAN, BY SUZANNE KANATSIZ; “WISE KING DADDY,” ACRYLIC ON COLLAGE BY SCOTT BETZ; AND “BOWL,” A PIECE OF SOLID LEAD THAT SUZANNE KANATSIZ SHAPED BY POUNDING HUNDREDS OF SMALL RAISED DOTS IN A CIRCULAR MOTION. Ss P RIN G at the Standard-Examiner 20 0 0 ) Scott and Eden Betz is featured on the cover of this issue, moved to WSU from Mississippi State University. He has four, oneperson exhibitions scheduled in Texas, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Wyoming. His wife, Eden Betz, also is employed by the visual arts department, where she serves as media librarian and outreach coordinator. He explains that his current work grows from the organic chaos of his interests in garden design and Italian history, as well as the anticipated birth of their first child. Kanatsiz CHANGING STUDENTS, FACULTY, STAFF AND ALUMNI SHAPE NEW PERCEPTIONS of WSU r e h t e g o T MINDS Brad and Raeone topped off their children’s gifts with a $15,000 contribution and the Christy Jean Steuart ALL Asove: THE STEUART CLAN GATHERS TO CELEBRATE THE SPIRIT OF GIVING. RIGHT: DR. Betty ADAMS NOWAK IS THE NAMESAKE OF A NEW SCHOLARSHIP FUND ESTABisp Ba C0) ta ecHtUIB a TRSe Toe SUE CAREERS IN EDUCATION. FaR FIGHT: CraAic BUuNby, VAS}Geers] o)-Vles eerste] ol\ (eats PROFESSOR, STEPS INTO THE UNIVERSE, USING THE TELESCOPE HE DONATED TO WSU’s OTT PLANETARIUM. IN THE FAMILY leven years ago, Christy Steuart was walking to school with her older sister Kimberley when they were hit by a car. Five-year-old Christy became comatose on impact and died the following day. Kimberley survived with broken bones and bruises. Since her death, Christy's seven siblings and parents have sought ways to honor and remember her courageous spirit. “We decided as a family that, although she was taken from us, we could keep her memory alive by helping other people,” said Christy's brother Rodd Steuart, a 25-year-old WSU accounting student. “Each year, on Christy's birthday and at Christmas, we sit down together to determine how best to use the money we would have spent on her.” Creating a scholarship in her memory seemed only natural. “I told my parents, ‘We would have paid for Christy to go to college. Why not use that same amount to help someone else?’” he said. The idea seemed wonderfully appropriate to Brad and Raeone Steuart, who have sent three children to WSU so far. “Weber State has been the powerhouse behind our children and is an underpinning for much of their future success,” Brad said. “We liked the idea of giving back in a way that would assist other students who could not be successful without additional financial support.” Rodd made the first gift, $1,000 out of his own pocket. Then came Ryan and Kimberley with another $1,000 apiece. Soon the other siblings and their spouses followed, with their own $1,000 donations in memory of Christy. Scholarship Endowment came to life. The fund's initial scholarships will be awarded next fall to married graduate students majoring in accounting. Since 92 percent of the students in WSU's Goddard School of Business & Economics are employed and many have— children, the Steuarts’ impact is sure to be felt. | ENHANCING THE “THREE “R’s” emember. Respond. Results. Alan and Jeanne Hall 69 spun this variation of the three R’s when they decided to recognize a dynamic educator and enhance elementary education from the bottom up— by helping aspiring teachers. The couple has established an endowed scholarship fund in honor of Jeanne’s mother, Dr. Betty Adams Nowak, to commemorate her career in the Weber School District, and her continuing role as an adjunct education professor at Weber State University. “By helping build outstanding teachers, we are merely extending my mother's tireless efforts,” Jeanne said. “Her love of learning and dedication as both a teacher and school principal positively impacted the education of a generation of local children. We hope this endowment will benefit not only the scholarship recipients, but the children they ultimately instruct and the communities they work and reside in.” The Dr. Betty Adams Nowak Scholarship, which will cover the full cost of tuition, fees and books, will be awarded beginning this fall. ee Ss 7 Ba ol S SY © : he scope of Craig Gundy’s contributions to WSU is simply astronomical. The health sciences professor and his wife, LeAnne Gundy '85, a WSU nursing professor, have given more than $50,000 to the university since Craig joined the faculty in 1978. But it’s his most recent donation to the Ott Planetarium, a 25-inch-diameter, hand-built Dobsonian telescope, that is generating galactic excitement among professional and amateur stargazers throughout Northern Utah. : a < : - “This telescope is 100 times more sensitive to light than an average department store device. The images it produces are breathtaking,” said John Sohl, planetarium director. “When you look at a galaxy through a run-of-the-mill telescope, you'll usually see a small smudge. Through this enormous scope, stargazers can look at the same galaxy and see detailed images of its huge spiraling arms and star clusters—it makes you feel like you’re stepping into the universe.” To access this whopper of a view, observers actually have to perch above the ground— climbing a |4-foot ladder to peer into its eyepiece. What's more amazing is that Craig designed and pieced together one of the biggest telescopes in the state through nearly 600 hours of detailed labor. The commercial value of a used scope this size is $5,000. “I've been fascinated by astronomy since high school and wanted to share my enthusiasm with others,” Craig said. “Because of its size, the telescope takes two people to move and operate. It’s also difficult to find somewhere large enough to store it, yet convenient enough to use. Now instead of being used by only one person once a month, it will be available to the hundreds of people who visit the observatory each month,” he said. —Melisa Holmes, Development ELEVATING THE STEWART STADIUM RENOVATIONS SET New STANDARDS FOR WSU ATHLETES AND FANS epresent. That's the word members of the Weber State University football team shout every time they take the field. “Players must remember that they represent themselves, the game, their opponents, the university and the community,” said Jerry Graybeal, head coach. That's why he and his team are so excited about the $4.2 million upgrade planned for the Elizabeth Dee Shaw Stewart Stadium in the fall of 2001. “Players must remember they represent themselves, the game, The improved facility will better represent WSU athletics, bring loyal fans, garner greater community support and attract top recruits. “It’s a big project, and | think it will sculpt the future for Weber State athletics,” said John Johnson, athletic director. their Oppo- “What comes with the renovation is the opportu- nents. the about Weber State athlet- university Front, as well as within the nity to change perceptions ics along the Wasatch entire conference.” and the Recruits are already os. community. —Coach J erry Graybeal paying attention. Athletics pros know a facility is the number-one recruiting tool, although Coach Graybeal promotes ° WSU's many other advantages: “Obviously what we try to sell first is the academic strength of our university. We try to sell our city and the diversity of our community, as well as the recreational opportunities right here in our backyard.” Graybeal tells each prospect, “We are going to graduate all of our players and we are still going to win football games.” THIS PAGE FROM TOP: VATION OF THE ACCELERATED ACCESS ELE- RENOVATED The Stewart Education Foundation donated the STADIUM; CROWDS CHEER ON THE money for the stadium enhancement in memory of WILDCATS; REAR VIEW, OF PLANNED RENOVATIONS. OPPOSITE PAGE TOP LEFT: STEWART STADIUM TODAY, FAR RIGHT. PETTINGILL JOHN CLEARS SIX FEET. Elizabeth Dee Shaw Stewart. “I don’t think she ever FE casegenree eae te missed a football game,” said Jack D. Lampros, a friend of the family and chairman of the Stewart Education Foundation. But she found the long flight of amnplonst pasoll WILDCAT REVISITS HER hen Paula Pettingill John > received a letter telling her that she had been inducted into the WSU Athletics Hall of Fame, she was in the midst of moving to a new home. “I was shocked,” she says. “And then | realized that | would probably have to make a speech. I've stairs to the president’s box increasingly difficult in her later years, so part of the renovation will include two elevators for elderly and disabled Wildcat fans. The renovation plans also feature 28 corporate suites; a club-seating level, which will hold approximately 150 fans; a presidential box; media facilities and conference rooms. Other projected improvements for the general facility include amenities such as concession booths and...restrooms. The new design addresses a persistent concern of female fans nationwide—those long waiting lines caused by too few restrooms. “Right now we have | 2 been a mom for a little bit and | haven't really been doing things like that. But then when I got to the ceremony, it was fun to relive all the emotions | had.” Pettingill John is the only female indoor track-andfield athlete from WSU or the Big Sky Conference to become an NCAA Division | champion. She earned that distinction by winning the high jump at the 1989 NCAA indoor meet. John was a two-time All-American (1988-89) and three-time All-Big Sky selection (1987-89). Her top jump of 6 feet still ranks as WSU's indoor record. SURREAL SUCCESS acknowledged. “We kind of kid each other and say, ‘It's pretty bad when women have to start dehydrating themselves on Thursday in order to enjoy a Saturday football game."” Despite those impressive “stats,” Pettingill John says few of the emotions she experienced as a Wildcat were connected with her triumphs. “When those moments happen, they're surreal—they don't really sink in for a while.” Instead, the memory that comes to mind, when she thinks about her athletic career, is her first track practice A GATHERING PLACE bing on a rock in the foothills overlooking the campus. women’s stalls for a stadium of 17,000,” Johnson WSU President Paul H. Thompson hopes the stadium will become a gathering place. “In this new stadium enhancement, alumni and fans will have a chance to move around and talk to hundreds of people. At half time and during other breaks in the games, there is greater space for friendship and socialization.” Having fun brings fans; fans build excitement and excitement exhilarates the players. “Your energy level is a lot better when 16,000 people are at the game compared to 6,000,” said Corey Pantuso, a sophomore linebacker. Michael Thompson, a senior defensive back, agrees. “When you get out there, and you're playing with all your heart, and you have thousands of people behind you, it’s indescribable; it's an unbelievable feeling.” with Coach Jim Blaisdell—the workout that left her sobPettingill John recalls how, as the coach took his team out for their first run of the year, she found herself struggling to keep up and began breathing so hard the coach demanded to know who was huffing and puffing. Soon her teammates were out of sight. Left behind, she sat down on a rock and cried. When the team came running by on their return trip, she fell in behind them and no one ever mentioned her absence. “I was a lazy athlete in high school and had never really worked out,” she says. “I can only imagine what everyone else thought.” Whatever they thought at the time, her coach and teammates soon learned they had found a diamond in the rough. With just a little more conditioning and polish, she shone—just as she did last January at the annual WSU Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet. —Allison Barlow Hess, Communication Department —Joe Bartenhagen '98, Contributing Writer > PRitW 4 20 0 0 “4B PETTINGILL JOHN INDUCTED INTO Alumni Updates AND THE WW S U ALUMNI 9 ARE SHAPING THE 4dl ) ON POPULAR MUSIC SCENE, FROM LOCAL HAUNTS TO NATIONAL CONCERT STAGES ’ ames Brett Clark ’94-95 (top right) gained local * prestige as a percussionist in Utah Musical Theatre productions. Next stop: Boston, where he niques such as Roketsu-zome. Some of her scarves were recently exhibited in Park Ogden in 1969 and has been involved Europe and the Middle East by Dror and DiDi Levy. cation” program since 1976. Glidden is contributing to the second volume of Silk your band. Mike lverson ’80 and his wife, Shauna Painting by Susan Moyer. Howard Klein °68 and his wife, Susan, recently traveled to Penza, Russia, where they served as volunteer advisors for Uniprof, an employment agency, and the Modern University of Humanities. The trip, organized by the non-profit organization Citizens Democracy Corps, utilized the — Sugar Cooperative. 1960s Ross Robson ’65, associate dean and pro- fessor of Utah State University’s College Kleins’ experience in finance and leadership of Business, was inducted as a fellow into the World Academy of Productivity Science at its biannual World Congress. Robson to establish youth-recruitment programs and better young people’s chances of finding meaningful employment. Both of was recognized for his 10-year direction of USU's Shingo Prize for Excellence the Kleins have been employed by the IRS. in Manufacturing, an award which has recog- nized $1 companies since 1989, such as lomega, O.C. Tanner, gies and Johnson,& Lucent Technolo- recorded drum set parts for an album released in If cowpoke poetry soothes your soul, Blue Sage is (center right), interpret songs of the great American West, accompanied by banjo, guitar, fiddle and bass fiddle. In this writer's opinion, their rendition of “When You and | Were Young’ will tear your heart out if you allow yourself to sink into Mike's rich baritone and Shauna's haunting lyrical style. Northern Utah favorites, Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand, call their brand of music acoustic pop or, to be a little more descriptive, “PostHeeHawFunkadelicHipHopNewGrass.” With Don Paul ’68, terrestrial biologist for the Great Salt Lake Ecosystem Project, is rec- witty lyrics by Ryan Shupe ’94 (bottom n»bird surveying. Paul's ability to identify dynamic musicianship and hard-driving ognized as one of the world’s authorities Johnson. The prize Akroyd’s House of Blues, as well as the Back Bay Theatre's production of South Pacific. He recently with the Utah Arts Council's “Arts in Edu- : Sugar and président of thé’Snake River forming live in Aerosmith’s Mamakin Club and Dan City, Utah. She has designed two official scarves for the Salt Lake Olympic Bid Committee. The Seattle native moved to ly took ‘the positions tive officer at Amalgamated enrolled at the Berklee College of Music while per- ) birds by sound ed to gosmnagg) or sight has con- five-year 7. of MAGIC LANTERN Roberta Glidden ’67 creates beautifully dyed scarves using ancient Japanese tech- right), along with rapid-fire vocals, arrangements, the quintet had folks turning cartwheels during their performance at Ogden’s 1999 Summer in the Park concert series. The Knights of Freedom, a.k.a. Noni Blues Guys offer crowd-pleasing renditions of jukebox favorites. Gary Romer ’79, Tommy Joe - Clair Weenig, MD ’65 graduated from the University of California-San Francisco Medical School in 1969 and practiced anesthesiology for 25 years in the Walnut Creek, Calif., area. Since retiring from pri- vate practice, Weenig spends his time teaching as a part-time professor at UCSF golfing, skiing and visiting family in Utah. Weenig invites his WSU classmates to reach him at csweenig@home.com. where he ue Or ted a hunter-education program on KUED-TV and worked on the visitor center at Hardware Ranch, Utah. Paul is a founding member of the Wasatch Chapter of the Audubon Society. Lyons 86, and Mel Teeples ’77 (at left), do it all—handling their own sound, lyrics, arrangements, production and engineering—and travel frequently to tune into local, national and international audiences. “Choose a job you love,” they Say, Quoting Confucius, “and you will never have to work a day in your life.” —Lorine Murtagh, Alumni Relations VISTA | 1970s Leanna Willmore ’71 has spent her career as an arts education advocate in Utah. As president of the National Association for Music Education's western division, Willmore was honored as the Music Educator of the Year and received a Distinguished Service Award from the Utah High School Activities Association. She has served in various positions for the Utah Music Educators Association for 19 years and was chairwoman of the Utah Coalition for Music for five years. Willmore taught choir for 29 years, and band and orchestra for junior high and elementary students. She was named the 1998 Jordan School District Teacher of the Year and Bingham High's, most. inspirational teacher in: 4992, Col. Ronald K. Scoville DDS ’75 graduated cum laude from WSU with a bachelor’s degree, and received his doctor of dental surgery degree in 1980 from the University of Southern California. He recently was promoted to commander of the 7Sth Dental Squadron, 75th Medical Group, at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Scoville has held many chief dental positions around the world in places such as New Mexico, California, Texas, Oklahoma, United KingTurkey and Utah. He is currently a nat of the Federal Services Board of Atistry, is certified by the AmerGeneral Dentistry and is a Hartsock is also laser hair, removal. pedia USA. ones was a a WI Cat Gear? 1edical honors student-at the University William Riddle °74 retired from a career in ‘of Utah from of “chasing bad guys.” Riddle spent | | years along the Arizona/Mexico border and in Florida working in narcotics inves- State law enforcement in 1999, after 32 years tigation, serving as a member of then-Vice President George Bush's South Florida Joint Narcotics Task Force. In 1986, he was promoted to the smuggling and financial investigations division in Washington, D.C. Hong Kong was his next destination in 1988, where he was assigned to the U.S. Consulate General and traveled throughout Southeast Asia investigating issues ranging from child labor to intellectual property rights. In 1994, he and his family moved back to Tucson, Ariz. Upon retiring in 1999, Riddle obtained his private investigator's license. He now works as a substitute elementary and middle school teacher and plays as much golf as he can. 1979-81 and performed his residency in general surgery at Louisiana University from 1981-85. He received certification from the American Board of Surgery in 1988. Joné Koford °78 recently was named vice president of marketing and provider services of Altius Health Plans. She is an advising partner of the consulting firm Strategic Healthcare Innovations, in Salt Lake City and is a member of both the WSU National Advisory Council and the advisory board for the Goddard School of Business & Economics at WSU. After graduating from WSU with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Koford received a master’s degree in science and health administration from the University of Col- orado. She has served as regional vice president and was a founding member of Arcon Healthcare in Salt Lake City, as well as the regional vice president for Health Trust, Inc., in Nashville, Tenn. Susan H. McCollum ’78 was named “Attorney of the Year” by the Santa Barbara Women Lawyers organization. This award honors outstanding attorneys throughout Santa Barbara County who have worked to advance women, acted as mentors to colleagues and other women, personified professional excellence and ethics, and have shown a strong commitment to the community. STPERIYNG , 20 0 0 EVERYWHERE. Order on-line today from the WSU Bookstore with guaranteed credit card security. www.alumni.weber.org | 1980s AIMING FOR Craig Cooper °80 joined Washington Mutual’s Weber Home Loan Center as a consultant last November. Cooper began his 20-year career in financial services in Ogden with Commercial Security Bank and most recently worked with Washington Mutual in Medford, Ore. Jeanni (Hepworth) Gould 80 has co-writ- AcainsT OLyMPICc-SIZED opps, WSU ALUMNUS HITS THE BULL’S EYE freak accident during a bareback rodeo event on his 21st birthday left Sid _ Williams ’84 unable to move so much as a finger. ; “In one moment, my entire life changed,” he said. The strength of the 6-foot-4-inch, 260-pound athlete was snatched in an instant; . . . ten 10 Terrific Programs, a book containing programs, activities, skits and original music for young women ages 12-18. The book is now available on CD-ROM and contains the full version of each of Gould's songs. The disk and: book are published by Covenant Communications. sarre-d. Pet sia ““"Y *HighF telson Gv, a teacher at Bon School in Ogden, received neville his plans to take over the family dairy farm—shattered. Doctors said he would never the failed to take into consideration his unbreakable spirit. only carries prestige and public recognidon: but ako dn ‘inineSisicted’ fiaanclal dress himself again, let alone drive, work or live independently. Their diagnosis The Roy, Utah, resident turned to archery as therapy to rebuild his upper body—__— a to college as ine jOUnGEHOn fora few ite Though still considered quadripleg- 1999 Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award. This award not award of $25,000. Joan Wilcox 84 has joined the staff of ic, the 43-year-old lives on his own, drives himself to and from his job aS a VOCa- ———pikeCassels Design and Marketing Firm in tional evaluator at the Utah State Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, and has his Winston-Salem, N.C., as a proofreader. She has 12 years of experience in the sights set on an Olympic gold medal. “Target practice and weight training three hours a day, seven days a week are business and holds a master of arts degree from Purdue University. what won me back partial use of my arms, mobility of a ‘trig(= ger finger’ and the muscle to pull 45 pounds on an unadapted compound bow,” Williams said. “But my desire to be self-sufficient is what pushed . ; me through a six-year trek to a bachelors degree in sociology from WSU." His aspiration for “maximum As wetlands manager of Kennecott's new Inland Sea Shorebird Reserve, Neville has assisted in the creation of one of the most successful wetland mitigation projects in the world. She earned a bachelor’s degree potential’ has helped him rank among the world's top 10 archers, and earn numerous national and in zoology from WSU and a master’s degree in coastal ecology from the University of North Carolina in Wilmington. international titles including fifth Judy Oram ’88 didn’t listen to nay-sayers place at the when she started her new business—she 1992 Utah Paralympics and sixth at the 1996 Summer Games. Williams will again represent the U.s. at the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney, Australia, this October as one of only . three archers who qualified to compete in the event. . lronically, a former WSU instructor and alumnus Glen Harris of Whidbey Island, Wash., isnow listened to her heart. Jazz dancer Now expects the former her company, Pretzelmania, to bring in revenues of $5 million this year. Her products can be found at airports, shopping centers, col- leges, school districts and other hot spots across the country. Oram expects to see the number of licensees and wholesalers double or triple in the next few years. Robert Hodgson Van Wagoner ‘88, published his novel, Dancing Naked, which was named the “1999 Book of the Year” by the Utah Center for the Book. Van head coach of the national team. “Glen coached the Weber State © Wagoner lives in Concrete, Wash., with archery club team and taught classes on the sport when! WaS @ Student,” Williams said. “It's been fun to train under him again.” his wife, Cheri, and two children. He cur- rently is working on his second novel, The © Hammerfest Fraternity. ROBERT CASEY —WMelisa Holmes, Development 18 VISTA Michael S. Nielsen MD °94 recently joined the physician staff at the Intermountain 1990s Steven B. Cherrington 91 has joined the staff of Mountainlands Community Health Center in Provo, Utah. He is one of more Health Care Center in Layton, GOVERNING Alumni Utah. Nielsen completed his medical degree at the University of Utah School of Medicine and his three-year residency in family practice at McKay Dee Hospital, where he than 2,400 health-care professionals whose appointment was made possible through the Health Resources and Services Admin- was named the outstanding resident teacher. istration’s National Health Service Corps. Wendy Ashby ’92 is pursuing her degree in German studies at the University of Arizona, ee ou was nominated as the out- Michael J. Forrest ’95 recently completed his physician's assistant post-graduate degree with honors at Anne-Arundel College in Maryland. He also completed subinternships at Johns Hopkins and Bethesda Naval Hospital. Forrest will spend the next two years in underserved rural com- WSU GRADUATES ASSUME LOCAL GOVERNMENT LEADERSHIP ROLES IN OGDEN AND WEBER CouNTY T he youngest mayor in Ogden’s history—and a loyal Wildcat—Matthew Godfrey 95 brags about WSU every chance he gets: “Attending Weber State munities in Nevada working in urgent care was one of my best decisions. | received an outstanding education because | had personal interaction with professors and had opportunities unavailable at most higher education institutions.” With a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master's degree in accounting, Godfrey still schedules time for WSU classes—as an adjunct is © tional Systems Inc., and for the C and Weber Basin Job Corps Gapters, otorhinolaryngology nursing board exam, becoming two of three board-certified ear, nose and throat nurses in Utah. Keller and Estheimer both work as specialists for Gibbons, Wood and Bennion in Logan, Utah. P. Rochelle Cox 93 chairs the New Mexi- co Works Project at the University of New she trains welfare recipients to build skills, learn English as a Second Language, and obtain their GEDs. After graduating from WSU, she worked for four years as senior inves- tigator for the Children, Youth and Families Department in New Mexico and grad- uated in 1999 from New Mexico State University with a master’s degree in family preservation and social work. Allan A. Agee ’94, professional, took tial Advantage in He was formerly a facilities management a position with PrudenOgden last September. the director of facilities management for Davis County. Alan C. Burns 94, processing archivist at Clemson University Libraries-Special Collections, was recently named political collections archivist, as well. Burns is a liaison to the office of Sen. Strom Thurmond in Washington, D.C. Burns graduated in 1996 from Indiana University with master of library sciences and arts degrees. Mark Grogan *94 was featured in an Ogden Standard-Examiner series focusing Jason R. Martin ’96 will graduate from Ohio University this June with a master’s degree in international affairs and Latin American Studies. He recently traveled to Cuba with a group of students, where they spent cials, 12 days visiting government offi- university students, orphanages, grade schools and religious groups. for office probably came naturally to this former NCAA All-American in track and Ogden Councilwoman Mary Hall ’85 professor Kate Grandison “influenced the way | view the natural world and really modeled the life of a scientist.” Botany professor Gene Bozniak was “a tough teacher and a great friend,” while economics professor Richard Alston “taught me Starla K. Stanley 96 was crowned Mrs. to challenge and question traditional thinking.” After graduating, Hall worked for World last December at the competition obtained track coaches in the nation.” Stephen Clark. Other professors made indelible impressions. She says zoology raphers Association's monthly contests for spot news photography. Stanley State is fortunate to have one of the top WSU after taking a natural resource conservation course from botany professor place prizes in the National Press Photog- in Jerusalem. Weber State athletics,” he recalls. “Weber decided to pursue a botany degree at Brian Nicholson ’96 has been a photographer for the Ogden Standard-Examiner since 1997. His awards include two first held field. “I had a fantastic experience with MARK HAINS PHOTOGRAPHY both registered nurses, have passed the where business calculus and finance. Running her student both physically and mentally. Lisa Keller ‘92 and Kris Estheimer ’95, Mexico-Alamogordo, instructor teaching quantitative analysis, eda curriculum that benefits the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources at Hardware Ranch, Utah, and with a range her associate's degree from WSU in 1996 and will complete her bachelor’s degree after crew conducting big game habitat studies. She credits her education with prepar- her reign as Mrs. World. The beauty queen will act as a spokesperson for mothers and homemakers. Stanley toured throughout the Holy Land during her pageant visit. ing her to serve as director of the Ogden Nature Center which, in turn, provided the her LDS education gave her a greater drawn upon her experience as a WSU student and as a CPA firm administrator. In leadership training that boosted her confidence to run for public office. As Weber County Chief Deputy Auditor/Clerk/Treasurer, Linda Lunceford °91 may hold the longest title in local government. It's a big job too, one that has She said her strong sense of religion and appreciation for the region's history. 1998, Linda proposed and successfully lobbied for the passage of HB342, which authorized Weber County to work with the Department of Defense to design and David L. Wright ‘99 recently completed U.S. Navy basic training in Great Lakes, Ill. Wright’s eight-week training included physical fitness, classroom study and practical instruction on naval customs, first aid, fire fighting, water safety and survival, and shipboard and aircraft safety. test an Internet voting pilot project for military and overseas citizens during the November 2000 election. —Lorine Murtagh, Alumni Relations Tell Us Your Story What's new in your life? Have you landed a new job? Received special recognition? Had a recent wedding? Traveled to Timbuktu? Keep your fellow alumni posted by sharing your news in Vista’s “Alumni Updates.” Include your e-mail address, if you'd like old friends to get in touch. To submit an item, call Alumni Relations at 801-626-7535. Or fax to 801-626-6563. Or send an e-mail to jkilcup@weber.edu. —lTyler A. Holt ‘99, Alumni Relations on successful home-based businesses in Utah. Grogan is a personal-fitness trainer, who helps 25-30 clients a week. Our mailing address: WSU Alumni Relations, 3701 University Circle, Ogden, UT 84408-3701. Seen | N G 20 0 0 19 oy — 6 Z — 2295 2 O ee See a = ZS x WSU ALUMNA HEALS HEADS AND HEARTS AS PEDIATRIC. NEUROSURGEON “he believes in divin “There are times w someone's life by b right place at the right tim Smith M.D. ’83, A pediatric surgeon, Smith recalls her residency at Primary li Hu Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City: “I rarely left the— hospital. On many occasions, | workee 100 hours without sleep.” One memorable morning, she awoke at 3 a.m. “with a strong impression to visit a | 2-year-old girl in the intensive care unit.” The patient’s condition—a brain infection— turned deadly a few seconds after Smith left her side. The young doctor was called back just in time to conduct a ventriculostomy to relieve mounting pressure on the girl’s brain. “If | hadn't been there, she probably would have died. Today she’s a normal teenager with an exciting life ahead of her.” Smith’s medical talents have prolonged ped atric neurosurgeons. and profoundly changed the lives of hun- dreds of young people suffering from brain tumors, spinal-cord disorders, head injuries and cranial deformities. And although her Worse is primarily focused on the brain, her ec s have indirectly helped heal many aching hearts. From WSU To HARVARD Success isn't new to the 38-year-old from Las Vegas—it’s an inevitable product of her hard work. She attended WSU on a full-ride softball scholarship, graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s $6 is one of the best things I’ ed in relation to personal gr r advancement,” said Smith who has been recruited by as across the country. “At the time | specialized, . c= there cet A pA _ only 46 female neurosurgeons in the nation, " she said. “My experiences at WSU definitely helped prepare me for the challenges of my career. | look back at my time there with great fondness. | had wonderful role models.” —Jason Wanlass, Media Relations - = 28 Zs 2 & > <j Us m StH Eo [. Me a 7 tx AamMeES 7S$ 5 —_ bk DZ Bue Bo 8 rh. 2256